On the Road to See Some Dutch BlueHen

Well it was my birthday yesterday. How old am I? Well since the Daytona 500 was yesterday, to use a relative analogy, my birthday equal's the number on Richard Petty's race car. Where has the time gone? Well, to celebrate that, one day early I went down to Newark, Delaware with my friend Tony Terentieff to see Hofstra take on Delaware in what turned out as another wacky day in the CAA on Saturday.

First, I left my car in a Petco parking lot in Valley Stream. Tieff had to go meet his wife after the game in Queens for a party. Thus we headed back onto Sunrise Highway for this all familiar trip. You see, it's certainly not the first time we have been down in Delaware. In fact, this is a common road trip for us. Belt to the Verrazano to the Outerbridge Crossing to the NJ Turnpike. It's the only way to go for CAA Road trips to Delaware, Towson, Drexel and yes Richmond.

We have done this many times before. The day trips to Delaware, Towson, and Drexel always involve a good meal, often either Waffle House or Dairy Queen, especially when we road to Towson, cause there is no place to eat around there (lots of malls, no places to eat). When we have gone to Drexel, once it was Shula's (very good but way too expensive) and Maggiano's (worth every penny).

So as you could cue Willie Nelson, back down to Delaware. Kyle Whelliston on his Mid Majority Site recently had a contest for the worst/most boring stretch of interstate in the country. I submit my nomination for the Jersey Turnpike, especially after it becomes two lanes when you head south. It's a long trip and its pretty much straight and consistent. Trees and a Molly Hatcher rest area. Yawn. Good thing we had each other for company, plus my cell phone gave us updates on George Mason/Northeastern and later ODU/VCU. More on those later.

Now heading into Delaware, the first thing that struck us was that the GPS wanted us to take another way and we somehow didn't listen. The right way was to take 896 off 295, which we did. The giant sign for University of Delaware, exit 1B, is a little bit of a giveaway. Anyway, the Bob Carpenter Center, otherwise known as "The Bob", is very easy to get too and opposed to other arenas I have been at, easy to park. The Bob is part of the David Nelson Complex - It's a nice complex -football/lacrosse field, basketball arena, baseball diamond, training facilities etc etc.

We didn't leave enough time to stop along the way to eat. So we decided to get to the arena a good 50 minutes early for a hot dog. It was the best thing we did, because we forgot about the Blue Hens' hospitality. They have a nice concessions area where you can get REAL food. We're talking BBQ Pork, hot turkey, roast beef sandwiches and they slice it up right in front of you. A couple of nice sides like mashed potatoes and real homemade macaroni salad, not the stuff you get in the supermarket. 12 bucks for a platter and a large drink. It's a real meal and certainly pretty good. There is another concessions booth where you can get the typical game fare, hot dogs etc. By the way, the hot chocolate chip cookies are good too.

What you can't also beat is the seating area. Large round tables that require you to sit with someone else and that invites conversation. Good conversation. We first sat down at a table as another couple, in fact Hofstra fans were getting up. The husband was having a talk with an older gentleman at the next table wearing a Phillies hat. The Phillies fan was asking who Hofstra had next after this game. The husband in the Hofstra hat looked at his schedule. We chimed in with "Madison" (as in James Madison) and the Hofstra fan said "Yeah, James Madison". The Phillie fan then said "Well, you can take our your frustrations from losing to us and beat them!". The Hofstra fan laughed and said "Go Dutchmen!". As you know from the previous column, there is nothing better than hearing that. :-)

So as we were eating another couple sat down next to us. Delaware fans, but very friendly. As we struck up a conversation, we noted to them that there were a lot of state troopers, both New Jersey and Delaware on the turnpike and 295. Seems the economy has resulted in the police looking to get as much money out of tickets as they possibly can. The woman stated her daughter was making the trip down from NY for the game too and was still on the road. She immediately called her and gave her a heads up because apparently she drives very fast. Nothing like being able to help someone avoid a speeding ticket.

After we finished our meal and wished the Delaware fans well, we headed to our seat. Now if you have ever been to the Frank A. Acierno arena which is located in the Bob, its actually a very nice mid major arena. Seats 5,000, about the same as the Mack Arena at Hofstra. However, its a larger and nicer facility. The first thing you notice is that as you walk on the left hand side of the arena, there is a very large reception area that they use for Blue Hen club members with a buffet etc. It's basically all glass so that you can watch the game from there if you wanted. Each ends of the court, the seating is classic bleacher seating. The left hand side section where we sat is all chair seating. The opposite end is a mix of chair and bleacher seating.

The turnout for the game was disappointing about 3200, so the arena was at 60 percent capacity. The student section had a decent turnout but they were not too vocal. However Delaware has two great things going for it. A terrific pep band with about 50 members in it. Their version of Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son" might be the best band version ever of that song. And there is of course, the Delaware Dance Team, which might be a great recruiting item for the male student market.

We were able to sit in Section 14 despite having tickets for section 15, which we have sat in before. That was definitely an indicator of the previous paragraph. When we were here before, we had to sit our section 15 tickets because there was a better turnout.

The game started off as if Delaware was going to blow Hofstra out of the building. You generally have that feeling with Hofstra because their offense consisted for the first few minutes of Charles Jenkins putting up shots. In fact, Jenkins had five of the first seven field goal attempts, hitting two of them. Meanwhile Delaware scored nine quick points with a couple of threes by Marc Egerson and DJ Boney, a layup by Boney and a couple of free throws by Jawan Carter. So the score was 9-4 with about four minutes gone by. Delaware looked like they were still on their torrid outside shooting from Thursday's nationally televised win over George Mason. And Hofstra, well, they were shooting like the team that's next to last place in the CAA in FG percentage.

But as basketball generally is, a game of runs, Hofstra would have a run of its own. The Pride would go on a 13-2 run as Hofstra actually had some balanced scoring to go up 17-11. But did I mention that basketball is a game of runs. Well, the Blue Hens came back on a 16-5 run to end the half, leading 27-22 into halftime. Egerson was a good part of this run to help the Hens get the deficit to one 17-16. Then he picked up his second foul with seven minutes left. This would become a big factor which I will pick up on shortly. But the Blue Hens seemed unfazed by the loss of their leading scorer. The Hens' other three guards, Boney, Alphonso Dawson and Brian Johnson picked up the slack and actually played better with Egerson on the bench.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half. Delaware shot 30 percent (despite shooting 4 of 8 from three) and Hofstra 26 percent, including an ugly 1 of 10 from three. What kept Hofstra in the game was they had less turnovers than Delaware (6 to the Blue Hens' 9) and thus had 11 more shots.

The second half was a much different story. After Delaware hit the first basket, Hofstra went on a 12-0 run, with Jenkins scoring seven of those points, to go up 34-29. Also during this time, with 17:30 left, Egerson picked up his third foul. However, Delaware coach Montae Ross decided to leave his star player out on the court and it turned out to be a critical mistake. Smelling blood, Hofstra worked the ball inside several times to Arminas Urbutis, the player Egerson was guarding. It took several tries, but Urbutis drew Egerson's fourth foul with 12:12 left in the game.

During the time Egerson was on the court with three fouls, Delaware had managed to close the gap without Egerson even scoring a point. In fact, shortly after Egerson left the court with his fourth foul, the Blue Hens tied the game at 40 and would actually take the lead at 45-43 with nine minutes left. As Tieff mentioned to me, Egerson was so out of rhythm for most of the game, it was better off he was not in there, which made Ross' decision even more questionable.

But without their best player, it was only a matter of time before Hofstra would take advantage and they did. Hofstra would go up 50-45 as Zygis Sestokas nailed a three and Urbutis and Jenkins would score baskets. Sensing the game slipping away, Ross brought Egerson back in with 7:37 left. Delaware then promptly tied up the game at 50 with 5:49 left. The game was tied at 52 with 5:19 left when Hofstra took the lead and never looked back. Greg Washington and Nathaniel Lester were responsible for the twelve of the next fourteen Hofstra points as the Pride pulled out to a 65-59 lead.

It is here with 39 seconds left and Hofstra on the line, there was a surprising mass exodus by the Delaware fans. Tieff and I increduously looked on as we saw lots of Blue Hens fans leave the arena figuring the game was over. Some stopped though as Hofstra missed the front end of a one on one free throw, but Delaware turned the ball over and the fans continued on out. Jenkins would add four more points on free throws and the Pride won 69-59.

The Pride, who shot 26 percent in the first half, shot 61 percent in the second half (16 of 26) to shoot 41.7 percent overall. The Pride also was 12 of 16 from the line in the second half as well. Jenkins led the way with 26 points on 9 of 18 from the field but he had help from his friends. Lester added 12 points and 9 rebounds, Greg Washington had 10 points and Zygis Sestokas added 9 points, all on three three pointers.

Hofstra held the Blue Hens to 35 percent from the field including 2 of 14 from the three point line in the second half. Egerson was held to seven points on 3 of 10 shooting from the field (he did have nine rebounds). Brian Johnson, who is quicker than a hiccup, led Delaware with 16 points, Alphonso Dawson added 12 and DJ Boney had 10 points.

If you have never seen Egerson, he looks more like a linebacker than a basketball player He is six foot six, 235 pounds. It was really impressive watching him stand next to Townes at the free throw line. Townes, who is no stick and pretty muscular was a twig compared to Egerson, who can be simply described as thick. You can see why Georgetown first recruited him. He can shoot the three, drive to the basket and rebound like there is no tomorrow. And you can see why he is the only player in the CAA to average a double double.

So we left the arena in search of a Dairy Queen to celebrate a good day. The GPS told us there was one in Newark a mile away. As the GPS said that we had reached our destination, we couldn't tell where there was one. Then we realized as we got close to it, the lights were off on the sign, but the place was open and hopping. The sign must be off to ward away out of towners like us, or as Tieff called it "The Stealth Dairy Queen". We got out large Blizzards and headed home.

It was just another part of a wacky day in the CAA. We already knew thanks to my cell phone updates that George Mason kept their home unbeaten streak in tact, defeating Northeastern 64-55. VCU then had a chance then to take sole possession of first place in the CAA and the updates kept us interested for the second part of the trip. But we knew right as the Hofstra- Delaware game started that they didn't get the job done. The Rams fell on the road to Old Dominion 69-65. James Madison and Drexel held serve at home as both teams won their games on Saturday and Sunday respectively. As a result, seven teams are separated by two games in the standings with three to play. Northeastern and VCU are tied for first at 11-4. Then Drexel and George Mason are tied for third at 10-5. Then James Madison, Hofstra and Old Dominion are all tied for third at 9-6.

Well things should change on "Something's Gotta Give" Wednesday. This Wednesday, Drexel goes to George Mason to try to break the Patriots undefeated home court streak. One thing will be broken for sure in that game, the tie for third. Madison travels to Hofstra as at least one team will fall out of the tie for fifth. Northeastern looks to stay in first by hosting Georgia State. Meanwhile VCU is home to Delaware, with revenge on their mind for the opening season conference loss to the Blue Hens. ODU travels to UNCW hoping to at least stay tied for fifth after the evening.

All in all it was a great early birthday present and another reminder why college basketball road trips make the best presents. :-)

An IPod Influenced Basketball Column

It’s 6 am in the morning. On the IPod is “Love on the Air” by David Gilmour (actually written by Pete Townsend). Kind of fitting for a Valentine’s Day Post, don’t you think?

Well, I am off to Delaware today to watch Hofstra take on the Fighting Blue Hens in the Bob Carpenter Center. I know what you are saying. It’s Valentine’s Day and shouldn’t you be spending it with your lovely wife and two children. Well, tomorrow is my birthday and my wife and I always celebrate both days then. As a birthday present to me, she is letting me go down to Delaware with my friend Tony Terentieff. His wife has appointments in the city all day, showing off the family’s apartment building in the city, which is up for sale. Thus he is free too.

Back, to the Blue Hens and Pride. I still remember back in March 2000 watching ESPN’s coverage of the America East Championship between Hofstra and Delaware from the PFC. I was in Washington DC at a conference and I snuck out to watch the game from the bar in the hotel I was staying at. I remember the bartender asking where Hofstra was located. Turned out he had relatives in Massapequa. ☺ But what struck me the most was the beginning screen;

Delaware Fighting Blue Hens
Vs.
Hofstra Flying Dutchmen

As Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” now plays on my IPod, I remember that so vividly. It was the last season I believe of the Flying Dutchmen. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to the Pride. I guess Flying Dutchmen was not PC enough. The change was made by then President James Shuart. I really wish he had just shortened it to Hofstra Flying Dutch. Two Dutch Emigrants, Kate and Willie Hofstra founded the school. That would have been PC, gender neutral, but alas, no it had to be the Pride. To be honest, I can’t stand that nickname. Sounds conceited. As the Moody Blues “Talking out of Turn” is playing on my IPod, I can’t help thinking that as a Hofstra employee, I might be talking out of turn. Oh well, so be it.

Anyway, I just thought those were two of the most unique mascot names in college basketball. There are tons of teams nicknamed Wildcats, Tigers, Panthers, and Lions etc. But names like “Fighting Blue Hens” and “Flying Dutchmen” make college sports so unique and so cool. Well for me today, when I watch the game at the Bob Carpenter Center, it’s the Fighting Blue Hens and the Flying Dutchmen. Kicking it old school. It’s the only way I know how.

Watching both George Mason and St Mary’s lose Thursday, I can’t help but think I am watching two teams play themselves out of the NCAA tournament. Now, I know what you’re saying, George Mason didn’t have anywhere the at large hopes that St Mary’s had. True, but at one time the Patriots were a viable contender for the CAA regular season championship. And a number one seed in the CAA tournament often goes to the Dance. In fact, off the top of my head, three of the last four number one seeds in the CAA tournament, Old Dominion in 2005, UNC Wilmington in 2006 and VCU in 2007 won the CAA tournament. Only last season did a non #1 seed win the tournament - #3 George Mason.

As for Mason this season, the Patriots have lost five of their last seven, all on the road. In fact, all eight of their losses on the season are on the road. The latest was their loss to Delaware 66-58. The Blue Hens shot the lights out from three (11 of 27) on a usually good defensive Patriots team. Also, the Patriots killed themselves at the line. They shot 10 of 23 including 3 of 10 by Darryl Monroe, who otherwise had a monster game with 27 points and 11 rebounds. As “Who’ll Stop the Rain” plays on my IPod, the Patriots must find a way to win their two remaining road games (Bracketbuster at Creighton and at UNCW) or they’re not going to survive a neutral site tournament, especially if they stay in third place and have to play VCU in the semifinals in what amounts to a home game for the Rams.

As for St Mary’s, as Jeff Healey’s version of “Hoochie Coochie Man” is playing on my IPod, I can’t help thinking about St Mary’s Patty Mills. Correlation you ask, well Mills is obviously the difference maker, "the man" for the Gaels. With him, only one loss and a halftime lead on the Zags. Without him, the Gaels have lost four out five including that game against Gonzaga. Give them an A for effort for hanging with Gonzaga on Thursday night. But too many turnovers down the stretch doomed them against the Bulldogs (another frequent nickname of teams) as they lost 72-70. The Gaels now have to win their next three games including their Bracketbuster next Saturday vs. Utah State to have any chance to get an at large.

As “Clocks” plays on my IPod there are several late stretch games in the Mid Majors today. First, in the WCC, the aforementioned Gaels have a home revenge game vs. Portland. The Pilots who are in second place a game and a half ahead of St Mary’s crushed the Gaels by 18 on their home court in the previous meeting. In the CAA, The aforementioned Patriots try to end their slide by hosting first place Northeastern. In the Horizon, the second place Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix try to continue their rise as they face a re-emerging Cleveland State. In the Sun Belt, the two best teams in the east division face off as first place Western Kentucky, 11-2 in the Sun Belt, travels to Troy to take on the second place 11-3 Trojans. In the Big West, third place Portland State travels to first place Weber State. And Utah State looks to keep their undefeated WAC record in tact when they travel to third place Boise State.

As for me, in a few hours I will be heading down to Delaware to kick it old school. What’s on the IPod right now? Bob Seger’s “Roll Me Away”. How fitting. Enjoy your Valentine’s Day.

Just When You Figure Things Out, Then Comes the CAA

Looking at last night's games on the schedule. I figured all four home teams would win. William and Mary home vs. UNCW. Check. Easy win for the Tribe. Towson at home vs. Georgia State. Close game as expected, overtime even but the Tigers win. Check. Then things got a little interesting.

Northeastern was home to Drexel last evening. I figured that Northeastern's style play fit perfectly against Drexel's. Slug it out, defensive game but the Huskies had much better shooting. A loss by Drexel and Madison would create a four way tie for fourth (with ODU and Hofstra) with four games left in conference for each team. Ah, the possibilities!

The game showed early on it was going to be a game of runs. Northeastern jumped out to a 11-4 lead. Drexel game back with a 9-2 run to tie it at 13. Then the Huskies came back with a 10-2 run to make it 23-15 Northeastern at the half.

The Huskies came right out and went on a 8-3 run, with the score 31-18 Northeastern with 17:20 left as Matt Janning nailed two three pointers during the beginning of the second half. The Huskies were shooting 50 percent at this point (12 of 24) and the Dragons were shooting 7 of 24, typical for the team last in the CAA in FG percentage. It looked like a done deal as far as the outcome of the game.

Then a funny thing happened. As it was a game of runs, Drexel caught fire from the field. And the Huskies went ice cold. First, the Dragons went on a 15-0 run over the span of only four and half minutes. Over the next seven minutes, the teams traded baskets and free throws and the score was tied at 42 with 4:47 left. But during this span of nearly 13 minutes, the Huskies were 1 of 9 from the field and committed four turnovers. All but 2 points came on free throws and the Huskies were missing several including sure fired Matt Janning who missed two from the line during this time. Unusual for a team that came in second in the CAA in free throw percentage.

The Dragons then sealed the game with a 17-6 run over the next four minutes and change to go up 59-48, 11 of which came from the line (Drexel only missed one free throw during this stretch). The Huskies would end with a 10-3 run over the last 47 seconds that was too little too late. And they would fall into a first place tie with VCU. The Huskies, despite shooting 6 of 10 from beyond the three point arc, shot 38 percent over all. This was due in part to the Huskies frontcourt going 6 of 18 from the field.

Scott Rodgers scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. When Rodgers, the leading scorer on the season for Drexel, scores in double figures, the Dragons are 10-5 (3-5 when held under 10 points). The Dragons who started out the game 7 of 24, would go 12 of 19 the rest of the way to shoot 44 percent from the field, which is like 60 percent shooting for the way they shoot.

VCU did their best to try to blow the chance to tie Northeastern. The Rams shot 14 of 25 from the line during their game with JMU. But Eric Maynor scored 13 of his 22 points in the final 8 minutes of the game, including the five minute overtime period to bring VCU back from the brink of disaster at home to win 76-71. Maynor hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds left in the second half to tie the game.

So now VCU is tie with Northeastern for first place in the CAA at 11-3. But Northeastern has the tiebreaker, winning the only game the two teams will play this season. As for Drexel, they stand alone in fourth place 9-5, one game ahead of the trifecta of Hofstra, ODU and James Madison who are in fifth place. But already Drexel and Hofstra have beaten Northeastern. Hell William and Mary beat Northeastern. And VCU has a loss to UNCW and if not for Maynor, should have lost to JMU last night. Simply put, it's the wild wild CAA. It's anyone's guess who is going to win the tournament.

Defense 101 and The New Baker's Dozen

Perennial wisdom says defense wins championships. Well in the CAA, it certainly keeps you in the discussion. No better example of that than Hofstra, arguably the best defensive team in the CAA. Last night in front of a national audience on ESPNU, the Pride (16-9, 8-6 CAA) showed the country how good a defensive team they are, shutting down the Monarchs (15-9, 8-6 CAA) 60-51.

Hofstra, the team that leads the CAA in field goal percentage defense, held ODU, a team coming into the games shooting 44.5 percent, to 27.5 percent shooting from the field (19 of 69). In fact, in the first half, the Pride held the Monarchs to 20 percent shooting. Hofstra, the team that leads the CAA in blocks at over 5 per game, had THIRTEEN on the night. And finally, in the most important stat, the Pride who were second to the Monarchs in rebounding margin, dominated the glass with a 48-39 advantage.

Every inside shot the Monarchs put up was contested. If the shot wasn't blocked, it was altered. Gerald "General" Lee, the Monarchs leading scorer got his points, 20 for the game. But they weren't easy. Lee, who is third in the CAA in FG percentage at 55.5 percent, shot only 7 of 19 for the game. The rest of the Monarchs shot even worse, 12 of 50, and the next highest scorer for ODU had 8 points (Darius James). With Hofstra collapsing inside, ODU couldn't shoot from outside, going 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.

The Pride never trailed in the entire game and the game was never tied. ODU was only down four, 38-34 with 14:20 left but never got closer. Despite having 18 more shots than the Pride due to a difference in turnovers (Hofstra had 16, ODU only had 8), Hofstra's defense kept ODU from taking advantage of that. But there was also another factor which I talked about in my column yesterday. Free throw shooting. Despite shooting 38 percent from the field, which is on average for them, Hofstra shot 16 of 20 (80 percent) from the free throw line. ODU, the second worst free throw shooting team in the CAA was 9 of 16 from the line (56.3 percent).

Hofstra got balanced scoring from Charles Jenkins (15 points), Nathaniel Lester (11 points and 10 rebounds), Darren Townes (10 points) and Ziggy Sestokas (9 points). Sestokas has played a lot more lately, which was a good move on Coach Tom Pecora's part. Desperately needing scoring, Sestokas has given the Pride a viable outside scoring threat which they sorely need.

Another key factor last night was the Hofstra student section, the Lion's Den. Since the article in the Chronicle by Nick Bond, which chastised the student section for not being consistently into the game, the student section has seemed more consistently passionate the last two games. Unfortunately, the section still makes vulgar chants and many of them again last night were directed at Bond's way, who was sitting at his usual seat at the press table. But Bond's article has done what was needed to be done. Despite only 2200 fans for a nationally televised game, the student section, which had a really good turnout last night, was very raucous and I think definitely affected ODU at the free throw line. Good job guys, keep it up (though can you please not say "sucks" so much. Please?).

It was a huge win for Hofstra. Now the Pride are only a half game behind Drexel and James Madison for fourth place in the CAA. The Pride also now have the tiebreaker on the Monarchs should they finished tied, since ODU and Hofstra only meet once this season. With a little help (ie two Drexel losses), the Pride could then be in control of their own destiny. With four conference games remaining, including James Madison at home, the Pride could very well run the table the rest of the way. But that starts by keeping up their play at Delaware on Saturday.

Ok, its time for a quick rendition of the new Baker's Dozen. Ten of the thirteen teams from last week's countdown lost in the past week, so some teams have moved up, some have moved out and some new teams have moved in.

1) Butler (22-2, 12-1 Horizon) - The Bulldogs bounced back from losing at Wisconsin Green Bay by pasting Wright State on the Raiders home court. Still the best mid major team in the country.

2) Utah State (23-1, 11-0 WAC) - Ho Hum, another week of 50 percent plus shooting from the field. Gary Wilkinson might be the most underrated big man in the mid major fiefdom.

3) Davidson (20-4, 13-1 Southern) The streak had to end sooner or later. Problem was, you don't want that happening on your home court. Still, people don't realize how good College of Charleston really is (they beat South Carolina earlier in the season) and they provide a very difficult matchup for the Wildcats with their balanced scoring. Again, Davidson really needs their other players to step it up when Stephen Curry gets shut down, like he was in the second half vs. CofC.

4) Gonzaga (17-5, 8-0 CAA) - That was just a terrible effort on Saturday on national TV at home vs. Memphis. Probably didn't hurt their at large bid all that much, but it certainly hurt their seeding. Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo and Austin Daye all had bad games.

5) Siena (19-6, 13-1 MAAC) - So much for that undefeated conference run. Rider is a decent team, so losing on the road to the Broncs is not so bad. As for their at large bid chances, despite playing a really tough non conference schedule, the Saints need to beat Northern Iowa on Bracketbuster Saturday to strengthen their resume.

6) Northern Iowa (17-7, 11-2 MVC) - Speaking of the Panthers, their amazing Valley winning streak had to end. Problem, you don't like that happening at home, even if it's to the second place Creighton Bluejays. Still the Panthers are up two games on the Jays and split the season series having won at Creighton early in the season.

7) Western Kentucky(17-7, 11-2 Sun Belt) - Last season's sweet sixteen team is flying under the radar while again being the number one team in the Sun Belt. They even got a little love showing their wares on national TV in a tough win over South Alabama on Saturday.

8) Northeastern (16-7, 11-2 CAA) - Losing to the last place team in the CAA, William and Mary, a team that only had one conference win going into the game is just unacceptable. I don't care if it was on the road. Just goes to show you that the CAA is more wide open this year than ever I can remember.

9) Wisconsin Green Bay (19-6, 11-2 Horizon) - The Phoenix are certainly rising. Beat first place Butler and third place UW Milwaukee in the same week. Impressive. By the way, look for a really high scoring game when the Phoenix travel to Long Beach State on Bracketbuster Saturday.

10) Buffalo (16-5, 8-1 MAC)- Time to give the MAC some love. It's been a while since a Mid American team was in our countdown, but the Bulls have won eight straight in conference after losing their first game of the conference season. Buffalo vs. Vermont is a very underrated game on Bracketbuster Saturday.

11) Creighton (19-6, 9-4 MVC) - The Bluejays are back! Took em long enough. The Bluejays have won four in a row in the Bizarro Valley to take over sole possession of second place. Of the three Valley teams in contention (which includes Illinois State), Creighton has the best resume for an at large bid with back to back A10 wins at St Joseph's (second in the A10 at 7-1) and over Dayton.

12) North Dakota State (18-5,12-1 Summit) - Hey a Summit team cracks our Baker's Dozen. The high scoring Bison, who average 81 points per game, have won 10 straight conference games. That streak should continue as NDSU has three consecutive home games against teams with .500 or below records in conference. The game at UW Milwaukee will show how legit the Bison are.

13) Saint Mary's (19-4, 6-3 WCC) - I was very torn who I was going to pick for this last spot. VCU was off the table by losing to the defensively challenged, next to last place UNCW Seahawks. Illinois State was certainly off the board losing at home on Sunday for the second time to bottom feeding Indiana State. George Mason has lost 4 of their last 5 games, so they are toast in this countdown for now. I strongly considered Charleston after they beat Davidson on the Cougars home court, but couldn't do it after they had lost earlier to bottom feeding Elon. Eek.

Finally, I thought about Miami of Ohio but with their 8 losses, I decided to put St Mary's here instead. The Gaels are playing themselves out of an at large bid. I know Patty Mills is hurt but to get blown out by Portland and Santa Clara by 18 points in each game is downright terrible. The Gaels, especially their guards, need to step up, give a better effort and win 3 of their next 4 before Mills gets back. All the games are at home, so there's no excuses here. You have to beat Gonzaga, Portland, San Diego and Utah State on your home court to be seriously considered for an at large.

Near Misses - College of Charleston and Miami of Ohio. Off the board - George Mason, VCU and Illinois State.

Hofstra-ODU Preview and a Hofstra Chronicle Article

Tonight at 7:00 PM on ESPNU, Hofstra (15-9, 7-6 CAA) hosts Old Dominion (15-8, 8-6 CAA) at the Mack Arena.   The game could very well determine who will be in fourth place by the end of tomorrow.  ODU is tied with Drexel and James Madison for fourth place with Hofstra one game back.  Drexel is at Northeastern tomorrow, while James Madison is at VCU.

The Monarchs have won four straight conference games to pull into that tie for fourth place, including an impressive 63-53 win at Drexel on Saturday.  The main reason, the play of junior forward Gerald Lee.  In those four games, Lee has averaged 22 points per game.  In the last two games, Lee has averaged a double double.  Lee shoots 57 percent from the field, which is third in the CAA and nearly 80 percent from the free throw line.  The Monarchs have shot 47 percent or better in three of those four games and is fourth in the CAA at 44.5 percent from the field.  

The Pride came from behind at home to beat Towson 71-68 to snap a two game conference losing streak.  Hofstra got 24 points from Charles Jenkins, the second leading scorer in the CAA averaging 18 points per game and who is also second in the CAA in free throw attempts (he trails Eric Maynor in both categories).   Nathaniel Lester had a big game on Saturday scoring 19 of his 21 points in the second half, many of which while Jenkins was on the bench with four fouls, to lead the comeback. 

It will be a battle of the two best rebounding teams in the CAA, as ODU and Hofstra are one-two in rebounding margin.  The Pride also lead in rebounding offense and field goal percentage defense (the only team under 40 percent in the CAA).  ODU leads the CAA in assists per game at 15.8 while Hofstra is dead last in that category at 11.  The Monarchs also lead the CAA in assist to turnover ratio while Hofstra is again dead last.  

The game will be decided by several factors.  One, the Pride need to contain Lee and win the rebounding margin.  As a result, the Pride will probably collapse on the front line of the Monarchs.  This means that the ODU guards must hit their outside shots to keep the Pride honest.  On the defensive end, ODU must contain Charles Jenkins with double and even triple teams when he drives to the basket without fouling him.  Towson failed to do so and Jenkins burned the Tigers for 24 points.   Jenkins must find the open man then and he may finally have some help in Nathaniel Lester.   The Pride also have to shoot better from the field at least 40 percent.  What will help is that ODU is in the middle of the pack in that category giving up an average 42.7 percent from the field.

What to expect?  Expect a physical slugfest of  a game with lots of fouls.  ODU has played very well on the road, having won two big games at Drexel and James Madison.  And Hofstra and ODU always play close games.  It's why they are being featured on rivalry week.  If it comes down to free throw shooting, Hofstra has an advantage.  The Pride average the second most free throw attempts in the league, while 7th in percentage at 67.8 percent but have been much better recently.  Meanwhile, ODU is next to last in the CAA in free throw percentage at 64.3 percent and that's with Lee averaging 79.6 percent.   

Remember, the winner of this game probably controls the destiny for the fourth and final first round tournament bye spot.  Hofstra and ODU only play each other once due to the uneven CAA schedule and will have the tiebreaker on the series.  ODU has a tougher schedule remaining with VCU still at home and at Northeastern to finish the season.  Hofstra has an easier schedule remaining with their toughest game left James Madison at home.

Prediction-  It's going to come down to the last second, and somehow, some way, the Pride are going to pull this out.  Don't ask me why.  It's just a feeling.

Speaking of feelings, apparently Hofstra Chronicle columnist Nick Bond seemed to have bothered the feelings of the Hofstra student section, known as the Lion's Den this past Saturday.  The students chanted some nasty words at Bond and held up an article, which apparently was his.  So I went on to the Hofstra Chronicle web site and read the article.

First thing I thought, was "Thank You Nick Bond for finally saying something that a lot of fans have thought."  Having been a season ticket holder for the past six seasons and having attended just about every game, I can honestly say Nick is right.  Every game,  when the starting lineup for the opposing team is announced, the Hofstra Student section ends each name announced with "Sucks!".  Great?  No.  Original? Not.  Vulgar? Yes.    They have also said some other dandies that I can't repeat here, including what they called Nick Bond on Saturday.   And its not just me who thinks that.  Everyone in my section thinks that.  Friends of mine who go to games think that.  Even my friend's ex boyfriend who played at Nevada with Nick Fazekas pointed that out immediately a couple of years ago.

The student section does have a history of being very creative.  In 2004-05 when I was at the CAA tournament, during the second round of the tournament, ODU was playing William and Mary before Hofstra's game vs. Drexel.  The Pride student section, the largest contingent I had seen from Hofstra until the next season, came into the arena and sat behind us near the ODU student section at the one end of the court.   Since the Pride had recently beaten ODU, the Hofstra fans started some creative chants and the ODU fans returned in kind.  (Hofstra fans chanted "We just beat you!" while ODU fans chanted "Drexel's gonna beat you")  It was hilarious the back and forth.  And both student sections and the fans in general got a kick out of it.

That's the way its supposed to be. No vulgar chants.  No sucks.  No words that can't be repeated on regular TV.  

Bond also hit upon something that I wrote in an article this past week.  The Hofstra fan base is not as large or as loud as other CAA home teams have (VCU, Mason, or ODU for example).  The turnout for the VCU game was incredibly disappointing, considering also the game was on TV.  But it has been this way for a long time, sans the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.  I was at the Hofstra opening home game in the  2001-02 vs. Florida Atlantic, which was after two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.  The size of the crowd for that game.  1800 fans.  It was embarrassing and its been that way for most of my time at Hofstra games, sans those two seasons.  I don't know if its the history of Hofstra being mostly a commuter school, but considering now there are a lot more of out state students at Hofstra, that should change.  Both recent home games averaged 3000 fans out of 5000 seat arena.  That's only 60 percent capacity.

Hofstra fans, Nick wasn't trying to upset you.  He was trying to challenge you.  He was challenging you to show up, to be passionate for the entire game and to be creative in your chants with no vulgarity.   Like me, Nick wants a loud supportive fan base at Hofstra.  And a large, loud student section helps in a game.  It really really does.   

Now did the Hofstra fans cost the Pride the game vs. VCU by calling Eric Maynor overrated.  No I don't think so.  I was there.   It was Eric Maynor being Eric Maynor  and the Pride shooting bricks in the second half that resulted in VCU winning.

But that's not the point.  The point is Nick is right.   A large supportive fan base helps the home team.  And it also provides a wonderful atmosphere for college basketball, the best sport around.  I remember the sellout games vs. Mason , ODU and Nebraska in 2005-06.  The place was rockin.  And it can again.  But that's up to you Hofstra fans.  You have a national game on TV tonight vs. ODU.  Come down, be supportive, be creative and be loud.  And you just might make a difference.   Thanks Nick for reminding us of that.

Why It's the Bizarro Valley

What a wild way to end the week for the Baker's Dozen.  Two of the top teams in the countdown from the Missouri Valley playing at home.  And both teams lost!   At least you could understand second place Creighton beating first place Northern Iowa on the Panthers home court.  OK, acceptable.  But Illinois State losing at home on national TV (ESPNU) to bottom feeding Indiana State?  Well, that's why the Valley is called the Bizarro Valley.

I watched some of that game last night on the U and you could tell things were not going the Redbirds way.  First, Illinois State had almost as many turnovers in the first half, 12, as they average in a game all season, 13.  Second, Indiana State seemed to be shooting over the heads from beyond the arc.  For the game, they shot 14 of 30 (46.7 percent).  On the season, the Sycamores are next to last in the Valley in field goal percentage at 39 percent.  So to shoot 46 percent from three (they average 34 percent) is the second indicator that it wasn't in the cards for the Redbirds (get it cards, redbirds..ha ha ha).   The third indicator that it wasn't Illinois State night,  as a friend of mine would say, you never let a lesser team hang around at the end of a game.  The Redbirds did just that.  Up twelve, 57-45 with 2:38 left, Indiana State nailed FIVE three pointers in that span, the last tied the game with 31 seconds left.  Even though they made those three pointers, the Sycamores needed some help from the Redbirds.  

Finally, the fourth and final indicator;  an indicator that I talk about a lot on this site.  Free throw shooting.  There was only one way that the Sycamores could hit all those threes in the span of two and half minutes to tie; poor free throw shooting by the Redbirds.  Illinois State would miss FIVE free throws in the last three minutes of the game.  Just one of those missed free throws goes in, game set and match.  Illinois State only made 58 percent from the line for the game (14 of 24).

The kicker was that Illinois State had the ball and the chance to win with 31 seconds left.  Enter my favorite play in all of college basketball.  Shot clock off, tie game, what do you do?  Give the ball to your best player, have him dribble the clock down, then have him run a one on one play with 8 seconds left on the clock.  If you read this blog a lot, you know that I hate this play.  It is run by a certain CAA member team constantly.  It often doesn't work and last night, it didn't work in that case.  Osiris Eldridge got the ball, ran down the clock and ran a one on one play shooting a jumper in the corner that bounced off the rim twice as the clock expired.  Overtime.

The Redbirds came back from a late five point deficit to tie, only to see Harry Marshall hit a jumper with no time left on the clock to win the game for the Sycamores.  Some teams have other teams numbers.  In this case, it's the Sycamores who have the Redbirds' number.  Indiana State swept the season series from Illinois State having won the previous game on their home court, in you guessed it, overtime.  Never keep a lesser team in the game.

So what does this mean?  Well, for starters, Creighton is back in the discussion for the Valley conference lead.  They are two games back with five games to play.  Both Creighton and Northern Iowa have three home games left.  The Panthers' schedule is a little more difficult with still a road game left at Illinois State.   As for Illinois State, their at large bid hopes were officially ended by losing at home to the Sycamores.  With no signature non conference wins, no hope for the regular season conference title, the Redbirds have to win the tournament, plain and simple.  As for Northern Iowa and Creighton, their at large bids are slim with actually Creighton with a better chance due to a signature win over Dayton.  Safe to say the best bet is to win the conference tournament and don't leave it in the hands of the tourney committee.

Bad Day at Black Rock for Top Mid Major Teams and Saturday CAA in Review

An FYI for you all.  You can find all the Bracketbuster scheduled games at www.espnubracketbusters.com.  But again, try to find the link on ESPN's college basketball site. Good luck.

It was not a very good day for top mid major teams.  In fact four of the top eight teams in the Mid Majors Baker's Dozen lost yesterday (that actually makes eight of the top thirteen teams in the most recent countdown have lost a game this week).  

First, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Siena was up thirteen points, 67-54, with 10 minutes left.  Unfortunately, the Saints could not hold the lead and lost 90-88.  Justin Robinson torched the Siena defense for 25 points, shooting 9 of 12 from the field,  including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Rider as a team shot 55 percent from the field including 11 of 19 from beyond the arc.  Siena's Kenny Hasbrouck led all scorers with 29 points as all five Saints' starters scored in double figures.  Unfortunately for Siena (18-6,12-1 MAAC), who suffered their first conference loss of the season, they doomed themselves by only shooting 10 of 18 from the free throw line in the second half.

On ESPN2 yesterday evening, another top mid major team that also had a large second half lead, but saw that lead slip away and lose their first conference game of the season was Davidson (20-4, 13-1).  The Wildcats were shutdown by the College of Charleston defense in the second half and lost to the Cougars 77-75.  Antwaine Wiggins, who did an absolutely terrific job clamping down on Stephen Curry in the second half, blocked a potential game winning three point attempt by Curry at the buzzer to save the win for the Cougars.  Curry, who led all scorers with 25 points, was held to six second half points on 1 of 12 shooting mainly due to Wiggins hounding him with his six foot seven inch frame.  With Wiggins clamping down on Curry, the Wildcats had no other scoring options and often forced up a lot of three point bricks.  Bryant Barr, 16 points, and Andrew Lovedale, 13 points, did help contribute but the team as a whole shot 10 of 30 in the second half while Charleston shot 43 percent in the second half and the game.  Tony White Jr led the Cougars with 19 points.  With the loss, Davidson's 43 game conference winning streak ended, one short of the SoCon record by West Virginia in the late 50's. 

At least Davidson and Siena were competitive in their games for the most part.  The same could not be said for Gonzaga.   On national TV on ESPN, the Zags led 8-6 with 14:40 left in the first half.  That was their last lead for the game as Memphis dominated the rest of the way and coasted to a 68-50 win.  The Tigers were up by as many as 26, 60-34 with 8:34 left, before a run by the Gonzaga subs actually cut the lead to 62-50 with 1:24 left, but the Zags could get no closer.  Memphis shot 44 percent from the field, which is eight percent higher than normally Gonzaga allows (36 percent).  Also the Tigers crushed the Bulldogs on the glass, outrebounding Gonzaga 37-21.  The Tigers also clamped down on the Gonzaga starters as Jeremy Pargo, Matt Bouldin, Stephen Gray and Austin Daye combined to shoot a paltry 6 of 26 from the field as Gonzaga as a team only shot 36.7 percent.  Tyreke Evans, the super freshman for Memphis, led all scorers with 22 points while Robert Dozier added a double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Micah Downs came off the bench to lead Gonzaga with 13 points. 

At least Gonzaga got dominated by a ranked team.  The decline of St Mary's (19-4, 6-3 WCC) continued with a beat down by the Broncos at Santa Clara 70-52.  Kevin Foster and John Bryant combined for 47 points on 17 of 23 shooting from the field.  Santa Clara shot 58.5 percent from the field as opposed to St Mary's 35 percent, including 4 of 14 from the beyond the arc.  Bryant had his 19th double double of the season with 15 rebounds.  Omar Samhan had 10 points and 15 rebounds for his ninth double double of the season.  With the loss, the Gaels have now lost three of their last four games due to the Patty Mills injury.  It only gets tougher for the Gaels who now have to face Gonzaga this Thursday and then Portland on Saturday, both home games.  The Gaels are in desperate needs for a couple of wins this week.

One of the few top mid major teams to survive the day was Butler (21-2, 12-1 Horizon), who crushed Wright State (14-10, 8-5 Horizon) 69-51.  The Bulldogs roared out to a 19-2 lead forcing seven Raiders turnovers and holding the Raiders to 1 of 11 from the field.  The lead was eighteen, 39-21, at halftime.   Butler shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (12 of 24) led by Zach Hahn burying five three pointers.  Hahn led all scorers with 17 points.  The Raiders shot only 26.7 percent from the field.  It was the first win for Butler at Wright State in eight tries, and it was Wright State's third loss in their last fifteen games. 

In the CAA yesterday, things got a whole lot tighter for third and fourth place in the conference.  First, James Madison (16-9, 8-5 CAA) jumped into a three way tie for fourth place in the CAA as the Dukes held off third place George Mason (16-7, 9-4 CAA) 68-66.  Mason was actually up 60-57 with 4:41 left before Devon Moore scored seven of the last eleven Madison points.  JMU shot 46 percent from the field, led by Kyle Swanston's 19 points.  Jon Vaughan matched Swanston with 19 for the Patriots who have lost now four of their last six games in conference .   The Dukes are now only one game behind Mason, along with ODU and Drexel. 

That's because Drexel (12-10, 8-5 CAA) was the only CAA home team yesterday to lose as Old Dominion (15-9, 8-5 CAA) dominated from start to finish in an impressive 63-53 win over the Dragons.   Gerald Lee had a double double for the Monarchs with 23 points and 10 rebounds.   The Monarchs shot 47 percent from the field and 2o of 25 from the free throw line.   Drexel's largest lead was four, 11-7  with 13:25 left in the first half.  Then ODU went on a 19-3 run to go up 26-14 at the half and the Monarchs never looked back.  Drexel, last place in the CAA in FG percentage, shot true to form by shooting 32 percent from the field.  Only Jaime Harris, who shot 6 of 11 from three and had 20 points, was the only exception to the Dragon's shooting woes. Evan Neisler, Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne combined to shoot 2 of 21 from the field.   Jonathan Adams added 12 points for ODU.  The Monarchs and Dragons are now tied with the Dukes for fourth place.

Hofstra (15-9,7-6 CAA) actually moved to within one game of fourth place after overcoming a hot shooting Towson (8-17, 3-10 CAA) for a 71-68 win.  Yours truly was there to see the coming out party for Hofstra's Nathaniel Lester who had 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Pride to victory.  Charles Jenkins led the Pride with 24 points while Junior "Don't call me Happy" Hairston  had 23 points for the Tigers.

The first half saw Towson scorch the CAA's leading FG percentage defense team, Hofstra, for 50 percent from the field including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.  Towson jumped out to a 30-18 lead before the Pride, despite shooting 26 percent in the first half, went on a 13-5 run to end the half to trail by four.   This was mainly due to two reasons.  One, Charles Jenkins had 16 first half points on 6 of 11 shooting.  Two, the Pride was able to get to the free throw line where they were 14 of 19.  The second half saw the six foot five Lester repeatedly get inside for layups.  And again, the Pride shot extremely well from the line shooting 10 of 13 from the charity stripe.  Contrast this with Towson shooting a poor 11 of 19 from the line from the line and you can see how their 9 of 17 shooting from three was counteracted.  Arminas Urbutis had a double double for the pride with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Josh Thornton added 13 on four three pointers for the Tigers.  

Northeastern (16-7, 11-2 CAA) and VCU (17-7, 10-3 CAA) kept serves with home wins.  VCU had a very easy 76-54 win over William and Mary while Northeastern had to struggle somewhat to beat UNCW 77-65.  The last team to hold serve at home was Georgia State who rallied to beat Delaware 70-67.  For at least one day, the CAA's home winning percentage was .833 (5 of 6 home teams won) as opposed to the stunningly low season average of 55 percent.  Perhaps it's a sign of things to come for the rest of the CAA season. 

This week's action in the CAA will be very important in determining seeding.  Hofstra, coming off a much better effort against Towson (as opposed to the dreadful game vs. Mason on national TV), hosts Old Dominion on ESPNU.  A win by the Pride could very possibly force a wild four way tie for fourth place in the CAA by the end of Wednesday night's action.  That's due to Drexel having to travel to first place Northeastern on Wednesday and James Madison having to travel to face second place VCU on Wednesday as well.   Imagine four teams tied for fourth, the last first round conference tournament bye spot, with four games left in conference.  Now that would be cool.

Mid Major Games to Watch Today

There are several mid major games to watch today. Obviously, the highlight is #18 Gonzaga home to #14 Memphis tonight on ESPN2. Also games of interest are Butler at Wright State, home of the Raiders and home to two of my favorite mid major coaches. #1 on my list is Wright State coach Brad Brownell and #5 on my list is Butler coach Brad Stevens. A close second in my favorite mid major coach ratings is Bob McKillop and his Davidson Wildcats are home to Charleston. Fourth in my favorite mid major coach ratings is Blaine Taylor. His ODU squad travels to Drexel to take on the Dragons for fourth place in the CAA. Remember, the top four teams in the CAA get that all important first round bye. If you are wondering who is in third place in my favorite mid major coaches, that's Jim Larranaga.

There are still even more good games. Siena, undefeated in the MAAC travels to Jersey to face third place Rider. While Butler and Wright State might get most of the publicity, the battle for second place in the Horizon, the rematch between UW Milwaukee and UW Green Bay. This game is on the Phoenix' home court. The first game saw Green Bay win at Milwaukee in overtime. And finally, after getting on my soapbox earlier in the week, the Sun Belt actually has a televised game on ESPN2. It features the two teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, Western Kentucky, who has the best record in the Sun Belt at 10-2 (14-7 overall), home to South Alabama.

Shortly, it's off to Hofstra. Enjoy the Bball!

It's all about the CAA

Ok, it's almost all about the CAA. I was probably one of the few people I know watching the Fairfield-Canisius game last night on ESPNU. Hey, I needed to scout the Stags for the Hofstra-Fairfield game on February 21. The Stags are an interesting story. They started off the season losing three of their first four. Then the Stags won seven in a row. Then in the month of January, the Stags first lost their fourth leading scorer Warren Edney for the season due to an injured achilles tendon. Then at the end of January, Anthony Johnson, their third leading scorer was lost for the season to an illness. Right around the same time as losing Johnson, second leading scorer, point guard Jonathan Han was suspended for a violation of team policy. So last night, the Stags only fielded eight players. Yet those eight players were more than enough to beat Canisius 65-51 last night. Yorel Hawkins, who coming into the game only averaged 7 points per game had 18 to lead the way. The Stags are now 15-9 overall, 8-5 in the MAAC.

By the the Chris Gadley Resurrection Watch is Still on. Gadley went an ugly 0 for 7 from the field, 0 for 2 from the line, for zero points. But he had eight rebounds. It reminded me of one of those efforts Gadley had while at Hofstra. A little too soft on the offensive end and he needed to go up strong on some attempts. He is coming back from back surgery and has come off the bench for the last few games (he was the starting center until he got hurt). Hopefully he rounds into shape.

One last thing to note about that game. It was nice to hear the announcers last night talk about Canisius' struggles shooting outside. Going into last night, the Golden Griffiths were dead last in the MAAC in scoring, due in large part to being dead last in three point field goal percentage at an unseemly 26.8 percent. The announcers talked about the fact that they needed to work the ball inside first, then kick it out for the open three. As one of them put it "then you will be shooting uncontested threes as opposed to contested threes". Simply and perfectly put. Maybe an aforementioned CAA team will take notes on that.

Just a word of warning, this is going to be one of my longest posts. But it's a good one, so get a cup of coffee and read on. :-)

So, if you are a fan of Kyle Whelliston's Mid Majority site, as I definitely am, you will have read this past Thursday's article about the CAA. It is a very interesting article about how the CAA has fallen on hard times as the league fares against Top 50 RPI teams. In 2005-06, the glory year of the CAA (with George Mason making it to the final four, UNC Wilmington also making the NCAA tournament, ODU and Hofstra winning five games in the NIT), the CAA had 17 Top 50 wins. In 2006-07, when the CAA again had two NCAA tournament teams in VCU and ODU, the number of Top 50 wins was 16. Last season, that dropped all the way to two, this year none. Also, what coincides is a significant drop off in home court wins in the CAA this season which is at only 55 percent compared to 69 percent in 2005-06.

Kyle talked about the reasons for the drop, specifically the lack of fans on these home courts. And i understand that fully, being a Hofstra season ticket holder. However Kyle did also say the following

"you can't fault a lack of talent -- not with Eric Maynor around, a player who might end up sticking in the NBA, and at least 20 quality players worthy of power-conference starting lineups sprinkled throughout the league."

Now for those of you that read my blog, all five of you (I'll get to that more in a second), you know how much I love Eric Maynor. And not only will he stick around the NBA, he will be very successful. Mark my words. However, I disagree with Kyle on the talent level in the CAA. So having occasionally conversed with Kyle over the years via e-mail (and yes Kyle is the first one to admit he is lousy when it comes to e-mail), I sent him an e-mail about the article. Let me note what I said.


....1) I have watched a good number of CAA games at Hofstra and on TV this season. And for the past several seasons, I have season tickets to Hofstra games, go on many road trips and have been to the CAA tournament since the 2002-03 season. Sorry to disagree with you, but the fact is the talent is not as good as the last several seasons. It's certainly not the only reason for the lack of quality home play and the play in general. But on the whole, the past several seasons, it was much more difficult to name a first team, second team and third team All CAA. This year you have Maynor, Matt Janning, Marc Egerson (the only player in the CAA averaging a double double), Gerald Lee and Larry Sanders probably as your first team. Then it's a struggle from there. Charles Jenkins started off the season really well, but has struggled mightily (due in fact that they have no one else who can score..what a shock with a team that shoots 37-38 percent regularly). Then you could go Jon Vaughan and Darryl Monroe, perhaps Manny Adako. But its a struggle to name the third team. I could rattle off ten players easily from 2005-06 CAA teams (Loughton,Stokes, James, Barea, Agudio,George, Neal, Courtney, Jai Lewis, Skinn, TJ Carter, Goldsberry etc), even 06-07 (Stokes, Agudio, Maynor, Courtney, Gary Neal, Frank Elegar, Valdus Vasilyus ) and last season in 07-08 you had Agudio, Maynor, Will Thomas, Folarin Campbell, Herb Courtney Jamal Shuler,and Frank Elegar ) But it's very hard now because there are not as many elite players.

2) Some of the teams just aren't as good all around as last season, partially due to losses of key players and partially due to teams that are very young. VCU truly misses Jamal Shuler not for just his scoring ability but also for his defensive ability. I've watched VCU several times against Oklahoma, Hofstra, Northeastern and UNCW. They do not have as successful a press as they used to, and they do not get the same stops on the defensive end that they did when they had Shuler. Plus Larry Sanders often gets in foul trouble. Also, early on in the season, the Rams were too reliant on Maynor and didn't have a true second or third scoring option and thus they struggled non-conference. They did play well against Oklahoma but they just couldn't hold them on the defensive end.

ODU is very dependent on their young guards being able to shoot the three to offset teams collapsing on Lee. If the guards are on, they are in good shape, if not, then you see the losses at home to James Madison for example.

Northeastern is a very Mid American type team. Good defensively, and they slug their way through. However, they can have off shooting days from the outside, sometimes become too dependent on Janning and that explains their losses to William and Mary and Hofstra.

Hofstra and Drexel are two teams that can play defense, rebound and play hard, but can't shoot a lick and can't hold onto the ball to save their lives (see their assists and turnover to assists ratio). They beat teams they are supposed to beat but they can not beat teams with superior records in conference (Hofstra is 1-6 vs. teams above them in conference and Drexel is 0-3..the Dragons have had an easy first half CAA schedule). Plus, the way Hofstra runs their offense the past few seasons, they will never be consistent.

Of all the teams, Mason has probably been the most consistent. Their three CAA losses were at Northeastern at VCU and at ODU - all three very close losses. If you look, they had Dayton on the ropes but lost at the end. Likewise with Liberty. They are very balanced and they have three terrific freshmen who will only get better.

3) Some of the teams that usually draw great home crowds, such as UNCW, aren't very good this year. It was obviously early on to the hardcore fan, or the casual mid major observer that UNCW was so defensively challenged (I call them the Denver Nuggets of the CAA). So the casual student fan at UNCW is just not interested this season. In the past, I have listened to games on the WRHU radio internet feed and the Trask Center was loud..really loud. Drexel was always sold out especially for Hofstra games. But last season, I could tell that there was not much of a crowd. I don't know about this season but my guess is that it is still down. Even the Mason-Hofstra game on the U, I was surprised by the number of empty seats at Mason. And this was a team that went to the Final Four (three years ago). They still are good this year, so I have no explanation for that.

4) Some teams will never draw good crowds unless they are really, really good. Case in point, Hofstra. I have stated on my site and always said to friends who don't know college basketball that in the Long Island NY area there is no better value than a Hofstra game. Unfortunately, Hofstra has never been a place where they have a consistent fan base. Apparently there is either too much to do being close to the city, other sporting events with the Islanders literally across the street, the Knicks, Rangers etc and you have an apathetic student population. That's the way Hofstra has been unfortunately. Hofstra never really drew a large contingent to the CAA tournament until 2005-06 (2004-05 wasn't bad either) but it has dropped off substantially the last two seasons. Likewise their home games. Thus Hofstra in particular doesn't have that much of a home court advantage anymore and if you remember, one time Hofstra had the longest home court home streak in the nation until ODU beat them in 05-06.

Likewise Northeastern never draws much of a contingent, even when they were good in 05-06. I have a friend who went to Northeastern during this time, and she said she was never interested in basketball there (though football and hockey were big there). I am worried that the current first place team in the CAA will have no one there at tournament time. EEK.

Just my two cents on it, but I am glad you brought it up. I don't know what next season will bring but the CAA simply isn't as good as certainly the really good seasons of 05-06 and 06-07 and not even last season when you had two veteran teams in Mason and VCU. Right now you won't here me screaming about the lack of love for the CAA. Right now, it's not deserved...."


Now I know that some of that seems a little harsh about the CAA, but it is all true. I know the CAA very well from all the Hofstra home games, the road trips I have done, and I plan my free time around watching nationally televised CAA games (and thank you ESPNU for making the CAA pretty well known now). It's not the same as three years ago. Whelliston's stats prove my point.

Kyle was kind enough to respond on this and I appreciate his thoughts and his kind words about my blog. So now I know six people read my blog. :-)

I just want to end on this note. I really hope that those two CAA seasons 2005-06 and 2006-07 were not simply a blip in time. I would love to see the CAA have two teams in the dance every year. And perhaps a year from now we might see Mason and ODU for an example be in the dance together. But right now, we have to be patient and we also need to see teams in the CAA schedule stronger non conference competition. It's the only way the CAA will be taken seriously come selection time.

See you at Hofstra today at noon vs. Towson (also on MSG+ and probably CAA network too). First 1000 fans I believe get a free backpack. Like I said, it's the best entertainment value on Long Island. Come on out. I sit in section 111 Row D, aisle seat. I will always gladly talk hoops. :-)

The Zags Roll

I stayed up very late last night to watch #18 Gonzaga vs. Portland on ESPN2. A very entertaining close first half slowly became a blowout in the second half as the Zags pulled away for a 93-78 win. Gonzaga looked absolutely terrific on both ends of the court in the second half shutting down the very offensively talented Pilots while torching them with 51 second half points.

The entire starting five for the Bulldogs scored in double figures led by Matt Bouldin's career high 26 points. The more I see of Bouldin, the more I see a future NBA star. Adrian Branch, the analyst working for ESPN said last night that Bouldin reminds him of Dan Majerle, who had a very successful career in the NBA. And the more I remember Majerle, the more Branch is right. Bouldin has a solid NBA physique (6 foot 5 220 pounds) can shoot the three (three of four from beyond the arc), drive the lane, can pass (8 assists last night) and is not afraid to draw contact and go to the line (7 of 8 free throws last night). Jeremy Pargo (22 points) gets most of the publicity, but Bouldin I think might be the best player. He is quick enough and certainly big enough to play the two and solid enough to play the three.

Portland by the way is a good team. They played a very good first half and were up at halftime 43-42. They also shot 43 percent from the field (including 11 of 26 from three), which is impressive since Gonzaga leads the nation in FG percentage defense at 36.2 percent. With the Pilots, it's like going back in a time warp and watching some of Rick Majerus' Utah teams. A lot of size, a lot of shooting ability with a good offensive scheme. Plus, there is some basketball history on Portland. First, the Pilots' best player Nik Raivio, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, should be familiar to mid major basketball fans. He is the brother of Derek Raivio, who starred at Gonzaga. Their dad Rick is the all time Portland scoring leader. And then there is Luke Sikma, son of Seattle Supersonic NBA star Jack Sikma, one of Anthony Terentieff's all time favorite players. Luke had 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Pilots.

As I noted the Bulldogs clamped down on the Pilots by switching to a zone in the second half and forced several Pilots' turnovers (actually both teams were pretty solid on the assist to turnover ratio - Gonzaga 14-7, Portland 17-10). Also the Zags shot the lights out shooting 53 percent on the game, including 8 of 16 from beyond the arc and 23 of 31 from the line. If the Gonzaga continues to get balanced scoring last night and they get Robert Sacre back from his foot injury to add a little toughness, the Zags will be hard to beat come tournament time.

Also last night #11 Butler and #22 Utah State both won their games. Butler held off Detroit 66-61. Meanwhile Utah State had another 50 percent shooting night from the field and from beyond the arc, ho hum, beating New Mexico State 78-59. It was a very good night for ranked mid major teams.

Delaware Completes the Wild Night in the CAA

I meant to include this late last night but being up since 5:30 am yesterday with my youngest son caught up with me around 10:30 last night. Delaware completed a wild night in the CAA knocking off Drexel in overtime 73-70. Delaware could have won in regulation, but the Bluehens blew a five point lead with 1:37 left. Delaware's Jawan Carter hit a three with 42 seconds left to break a tie at 67 and the Dragons never got closer. The loss broke an seven game CAA winning streak for Drexel. Earlier in the evening, first place Northeastern lost at last place William and Mary, then second place VCU lost at next to last place UNC Wilmington. The Blue Hens moved up from tenth to a tie for eighth place with Georgia State. So, you had #12 beat #1, #11 beat #2 and #10 beat #4. That's pretty impressive. Only #6 James Madison survived the upset party, knocking off underwhelming Georgia State 82-69. The CAA tournament just got a whole lot more interesting after last night's festivities.

The End is Near

Hell must have froze over in the CAA. Tonight, first place Northeastern lost at last place William and Mary while second place VCU with a chance to tie for first lost at next to last place UNC Wilmington 81-72. I was switching between both games tonight on ESPN360 and neither the Huskies or the Rams played well tonight. Eric Maynor had 21 points but shot 7 of 23 from the field, while UNCW shot 49 percent from the field. Meanwhile William and Mary shot 47 percent from the field tonight and held Northeastern to 7 of 26 from beyond the three point arc in their 68-63 win. The dual losses by the top two teams benefits George Mason who won last night and is now tied for VCU for second, one game behind Northeastern. Drexel may also benefit if they beat Delaware, but the Dragons and Blue Hens are currently tied at 43 with a little more than eleven minutes.

The bizarro night continued when I saw on the ESPN bottom line that Binghamton beat Vermont 85-83. The Bearcats had been down 53-30 at halftime before coming back to win on a layup with seven seconds left. The stunning loss knocks the Catamounts out of first in the America East.

What's next, #6 Wake Forest losing by 27 tonight? Oh wait...

A New Baker's Dozen

There was an article this week in Newsday about Hofstra's future in the CAA. All I have to say is that if Hofstra thinks moving to the A10 will improve their basketball fortunes, they are sadly mistaken. The article talks about how Hofstra has been unable to recruit a solid big man. Folks, that has nothing to do with what conference you are in. Marcus Blakely is a legitimate forward. He's at Vermont in the America East. Ron Everhart was able to recruit Shawn James to Northeastern who was in the America East in James' freshman season. Larry Sanders is at VCU. Will Thomas was dominant at Mason. Remember Jai Lewis?

Simply put, Hofstra has had two solid forward recruits under coach Tom Pecora; Adrian Uter and Auremis Kieza. And the Hofstra offense, as I aformentioned in yesterday's column, is a guard oriented offense. The current offense does not allow big men to develop. Plus the loss of assistant coach Tom Parrotta to Canisius a few years ago has hurt more than anyone at Hofstra will admit. Parrotta, a standout forward at Niagara was responsible for working with the big men and they have never filled that void since he has left.

The article talks about how Hofstra has not made a NCAA tournament appearance since leaving the America East despite three consecutive years in the NIT. Do you think it's going to get any easier for Hofstra to recruit a solid big man if they move to the Atlantic 10, which as any knows reading this column, is a legitimate major conference and not a mid major conference (more on that in a later column). Will that change their guard oriented offense? Very simply, no. Besides if you are the A10, do you really want Hofstra right now? Perhaps two seasons ago yes. Not now.

Well, the rest of the non Bracketbuster televised games were announced on Tuesday. After skimming through the list (more on that in a second), two teams standout as being snubbed for a televised game; Drexel and North Dakota State (99 and 100 respectively in the Inside RPI rankings). Drexel is in fourth place in the CAA at a very solid 8-3, two and half games ahead of the now seventh place Hofstra, who has a televised Bracketbuster game. North Dakota State is first in the Summit at 10-1 and 16-5 overall. Compare these three teams with teams that have Bracketbuster games that have significantly lower RPIs; Long Beach State (148), Portland State (124), Liberty (181) and Old Dominion 182. You could have had North Dakota State at Drexel instead of at UW Milwaukee and shelved the Liberty ODU game. Of course, we know why that game is televised - Seth Curry, Stephen's little brother plays for Liberty.

By the way, try to find all the Bracketbuster matchups on ESPN's site. Just try. Best of luck. I stumbled on it accidentally on my IPod and now I can't find it. There is no link on the main ESPN College Basketball site. Nice marketing by ESPN. Thank goodness for Kyle Whelliston.

It's time for the latest installment of the Baker's Dozen, the tastiest thirteen teams in the mid major kingdom. And I like to think, its a healthy list with no fat,ie no Atlantic 10 teams! (Sorry, couldn't resist).

1) Butler (19-2, 10-1 Horizon). It had to happen sooner or later, the Bulldogs were not going to run the table in a very competitive Horizon league. It is asking a lot for a young team with no seniors to go undefeated in conference, especially an underrated one like the Horizon. The Bulldogs still keep the top spot due to their high RPI. The matchup with Davidson should be a dandy. I am keeping my dance card free on February 21st.

2)Davidson (19-3, 12-0 Southern). Could it be possible that the Wildcats might run the table again in the Southern? With a home game vs Charleston the only signifcant test remaining in the regular season, Stephen Curry and company will most likely go into the SoCon tournament with zero losses in conference. Nice to see Andrew Lovedale step up his game this season (12 points, 8.9 rebounds a game).

3)Utah State (21-1, 9-0 WAC). What even might be more impressive than a Davidson repeat undefeated season in the SoCon would be an undefeated run by Utah State in the WAC. However, two tough conference road games vs Boise State (Feb 14) and Nevada (Feb 28) loom in the distance. First, it's take care of business against New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech (both at home), then Idaho. The Saint Mary's game, despite the loss of Patty Mills, is still huge. The Aggies so need a win in front of a national audience.

4) Gonzaga (16-4,7-0 WCC). Yes, the Zags survived the battle with St Mary's and now are in the driver's seat with Mills out until perhaps the last week of the season. Despite the home game against #14 Memphis on Saturday, the Zags must clearly focus on their road game vs. second place upstart Portland (who waxed the Millsless Gaels last Saturday). A win against Portland then followed by a win on Saturday at home vs. #14 Memphis will basically lock up an at large for the Zags.

5) Siena (18-5,12-0 MAAC). The Saints just keep rolling along after disposing of Saint Peter's. Ho Hum, another MAAC win. It is amazing that there are four teams in my top five that are still undefeated in conference. Siena deserved the third best Bracketbuster matchup vs. Northern Iowa (more on that when we get to Northeastern), but they can't afford to look ahead. At Rider on Saturday won't be easy, then following two home games, the road game at Iona on President's Day will certainly be a test. The Saints only beat the Gaels by one at home late last month.

6) Northeastern (15-6, 10-1 CAA). The more I think about it, the more I believe that Northeastern got hosed by the folks at ESPN. A definitely higher RPI and SOS than Northern Iowa in a similarly comparable conference to the Panthers and the Huskies get to face a team, Wright State, with a RPI of 87 spots lower than Siena. Like I said in my previous posting, too many strong road teams in the Bracketbuster matchups. Huskies have some tough games ahead including home vs. fourth place Drexel on February 11 followed by a rematch at George Mason on Valentine's Day.

7) Northern Iowa (17-6, 11-1 MVC). Picked to finish a lot lower than their current standing in the Valley, the Panthers couldn't ask for a better matchup on Bracketbuster Saturday than a road game against #20 RPI ranked Siena. A road win there goes a long way towards a case for an at large bid. But as always, the road in the Valley will be tough for the Panthers before that game. They got off to a good start on that with a win at Bradley last night. Four more conference games are in between that matchup with Siena.

8) St Mary's (18-3, 5-2 WCC). Eight spots into the countdown and we have our first team not in first place in their conference. Hell, the Gaels aren't even in second in the WCC after losing at Portland on Saturday for their second loss in a row. But let's face it, the Gaels showed for a half that they are a better team than Gonzaga when they have a healthy Patty Mills. It was incredibly difficult to ask the Gaels' players to adjust without having Mills two days later vs. the Pilots. Now Diamon Simpson, Omar Samhan and especially Carlin Hughes must pick up the slack and keep the Gaels afloat in the WCC. Luckily all their tough games coming up, the rematches with Gonzaga, Portland and San Diego are all at home. Run the table there and the Gaels will be fine..just fine.

9) Western Kentucky (15-7, 9-2 Sun Belt). Why do you think the Hilltoppers get no love. Sweet Sixteen team from last season. First place in the Sun Belt East Division and a showcase signature win at Louisville (yes it was supposedly a neutral game..but at Freedom Hall? Cmon). So why do Sun Belt teams like the Hilltoppers get little attention. I'll tell you why. Name another Sun Belt national TV game except for the win at Louisville. Name one. See you can't and neither can I.

The Sun Belt inexplicably is not part of the Bracketbusters. They need to be. Imagine the Hilltoppers with a home game vs. Northeastern? I can. Yoohoo Sun Belt!! No one remembers that you had two teams in the NCAA's last year (South Alabama and Western Kentucky) and that one was in the Sweet Sixteen. A little more national exposure might just get people to remember. Ok, I will get off my soapbox now.

10) VCU (16-6, 9-2 CAA) - The Rams are coming off a come from behind win at Hofstra as Eric Maynor again proves he is one of the most clutch players in college basketball. The Rams get to travel to Reno for their bracketbuster game against Nevada on Feb 20. But first is more CAA conference action with the only difficult game in the next five being a road game at ODU on Valentine's Day. VCU could very well be tied for first place come their Bracketbuster showdown vs. the Wolfpack.

11) Illinois State (18-4, 7-4 CAA) - The Redbirds are struggling to stay in second place in the Missouri Valley. Having split their last four games, Illinois State has to find a way to make a run in the Missouri Valley to make it a two team race with Northern Iowa. Unfortunately, three of the next four games in conference are on the road. Therein lies the problem. All four of the Redbirds' losses on the season are road losses in conference. In fact, Oguchi, Eldridge and company have only won one game on the road in conference. If the Redbirds want to be seriously considered for an at large bid, they need to run the table in their next five conference games,then win at Niagara on February 21.

12) George Mason (16-6, 9-3 CAA) - Coming off a solid effort against Hofstra, the Patriots look to try to make the CAA a three team horse race. They have a chance with Northeastern at home being a part of their next four conference games (along with a game vs. fourth place Drexel) before they get Creighton in Omaha in their Bracketbuster game. Unfortunately, due to the uneven schedule in the CAA, George Mason lost their only game vs. VCU so the Rams have the tiebreaker on that. The development of freshmen Ryan Pearson, Michael Morrison and Andre Cornelius over those games will be key in the Patriots' run.

13) Wisconsin Green Bay (18-6, 10-2 Horizon) - The Phoenix are rising! With a huge home win over #11 Butler, the Phoenix have firmly established themselves as a serious contender in the Horizon League. This is due in large part to having nearly five playera average in double figures (Terry Evans is at 9.5 points per game). Green Bay's high powered offense causes fits for their opponents. Ryan Tilemma scored 18 points in the second half vs. Butler but the key stat was the Phoenix' defense holding the Bulldogs to 37.7 percent from the field. The Phoenix will get to show a national TV audience how good they are when they face Long Beach State in their Bracketbuster game.

Hofstra Gets Trounced by Mason

Well, I just got finished watching a truly, truly, truly ugly performance by the Pride against George Mason on an ESPNU nationally televised game. It was so bad, I was on the phone with my friend Tony Terentieff for the last eight minutes of the game. We were often laughing hysterically as we described the action we were watching. It was so bad it was that funny. Mason won the game 78-54 but it wasn't even that close as the Patriots were up by as many as 34 in the game.

The Patriots never trailed in this game. It was never even tied. It was 10-2 Patriots before you blinked. Then 20-8. The closest the game got was 30-20. Then the Patriots went on a 9-1 run to make it 39-21 at the half. I had texted my friend Mal Galletta before the game and said "Watch for Ryan Pearson. He's a stud". Sure enough Pearson had nine points at the half.

The combination of Pearson, Darryl Monroe and Michael Morrison had 21 of the 39 Patriots points. Compare that with the six points that Hofstra got from its frontcourt in the first half. There's the difference. George Mason made a concerted effort to look inside. Hofstra did not. In fact, they didn't look inside at all for the first three and half minutes.

The Patriots started the second half on a 12-5 run to make it 51-26 with 15:27 left. The Pride would cut it to 18, 53-35 with 13:25 left. That's as close as they would come. Mason would then outscore Hofstra 22-6 over the next nine minutes to make it 75-41 with four minutes. The Patriots shot 49 percent for the game and were 24 of 31 from the line. Pearson and John Vaughan each had 16 points. Darryl Monroe added 10 (I still think the Patriots don't work it inside enough to Monroe, who was 4 of 5 from the field).

It was during that 22-6 run that Tieff and I started dissecting every Hofstra offensive possession. We called every three point clank by Cornelius Vines and Tony Dennison, even saying "Clank" seconds before the ball clanked off the rim. Dennison was just chucking up shots left and right. Charles Jenkins, the second leading scorer in the CAA was forcing the action too, missing shots, causing turnovers, even committing stupid fouls. Vines (5 of 15), Jenkins (4 of 15, and Dennison (2 of 19..TWO OF NINETEEN) combined to shoot 11 for 49. The team as a whole shot 28 percent.

Therein lies the problem. First, I have never ever ever seen a team that has such a blatant disregard for an inside game such as Hofstra. It has been like this for the past three seasons (they had at least balance in 2005-06 with Adrian Uter and Auremius Kieza). The Pride offense is truly a guard oriented offense. And that works for the most part if you have talented guards like Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio, and Carlos Rivera like they did from 2004-05 through 2006-07, when the Pride made three consecutive NIT appearances. Hell even the combination of Agudio and Jenkins last year was a serious offensive threat.

The problem is this season, outside of Charles Jenkins, who has struggled mightily the second part of this season, the rest of their guards aren't very good. But have they tried to look inside? With really the lone exception a game against Towson early in the season (their best offensive game by the way, a 90-79 win), the answer is a resounding no. The Pride's true frontcourt players had twelve field goal attempts tonight. Twelve out of sixty six. Do the math. That's less than 20 percent (compare that with Mason whose frontcourt had 20 of the 51 FG attempts the Patriots had, making 13 of them). The team shoots 38 percent overall, which if it wasn't for Drexel, would be dead last in the CAA. When your guards take on average 80 perecent of the shots and shoot less than 25 percent, perhaps it's time for a change.

The Pride guards didn't look inside much at all. When they did, they seemed either disinterested in passing the ball in, or simply incapable of doing so. They continued to chuck up three pointers, or drive in the lane out of control and shoot off balance shots. This simply comes down to lack of preparation, lack of adjustments and simply lack of good coaching.

My friend Tieff had the line of the night. When the ESPNU analyst, a former coach at Furman and VMI, noted that despite Hofstra's bad play "Pecora continues to coach". Tieff responded "I wish he would stop!" It was the laugh out loud line of the night. And why it was so dead on funny is because it was true. This was a game Hofstra desperately needed to try to stay in contention for fourth place and the final first round bye spot in the CAA tournament. And to give an all around horrible effort from this team on national TV speaks volumes for the players and the coaching staff tonight.

I don't want to shortchange George Mason (16-6, 9-3 CAA). They are a very good team. They played smart, aggressive and they have tons of talent, including three extremely talented freshman in Pearson, Michael Morrison and Andre Cornelius. If they continue to develop over the next seven games, they can win the CAA tournament.

But the result was mainly in part due to truly bad play by Hofstra. My friend Mal texted me towards the end stating "How did they (Hofstra) get into a televised Bracketbuster game?" If I was Bruiser Flint, coach of the Drexel Dragons, a team that is in fourth place in the CAA and swept the now seventh place Pride during the season, I would be asking the same thing. Right now, the Pride are not worthy of it. And unless they make a conscientious effort to develop an inside game, it is only going to get worse. And it won't be so laughable.

Bracket Busters Announced

By the time, I finish writing this, #11 Butler will have lost its first game in the Horizon league to Wisconsin Green Bay. Right now the Bulldogs are down nine, 68-59 with 46 seconds left.

The Bracket Busters were announced today with the two best matchups not surprising anyone. On February 20, Saint Mary's (18-3) will host #22 Utah State(21-1) and on February 21, Butler (19-2) travels to Davidson (19-3) .

The game that I am probably surprised most about was Northern Iowa (16-6), the leader in the Missouri Valley Conference , was selected over Northeastern (15-6), the leader of the CAA, to travel to Albany to face Siena (18-5), the leader in the MAAC on February 21. It was a difficult selection, I grant you that, considering both the CAA and Missouri Valley are on relatively equal footing. But I think the powers that be at ESPN shortchanged Northeastern, since the Huskies have a definite advantage in the RPI; 57 for the Huskies, 73 for Northern Iowa (along with a better SOS). Northeastern got seriously shortchanged because now they travel on February 21 to Wright State, who as much as I love Brad Brownell's group, is fourth place in the Horizon and has a RPI of 101. This game does not help Northeastern much at all.

There is a nice sleeper game involving two first place teams as Buffalo (14-5), first place in the Mid American travels to Vermont (16-6), the first place team in the America East. The other games are Virginia Commonwealth at Nevada and Illinois State at Niagara on Feb. 20. On February 21 the games are as follows; George Mason at Creighton, Miami of Ohio at Evansville, Hofstra at Fairfield, Green Bay at Long Beach State, Liberty at Old Dominion, and Boise State at Portland State.

This reminds me of the 2005-06 Bracketbusters matchups where they had too many strong home teams. This time, they had too many strong road teams. Here's a suggestion; Have all the teams keep their arenas available for that Bracketbuster game. This way you can then determine the best games and not be hamstrung by who is home or on the road. If you had it that way, then here's what could have been instead.

RPI in Parentheses

Butler (9) vs. Davidson (30)
Utah State (40) vs. St Mary's (50)
Northeastern (57) vs. Siena (20)
Buffalo (71) vs. Northern Iowa (73)
Illinois State (59) vs. VCU (61)
George Mason(60) vs. Wisconsin Green Bay (79)
Vermont (121) vs. Creighton (74)
Evansville (70) vs. Miami Ohio (52)
Niagara (75) vs Boise State (84)
Wright State (101) vs. Nevada (90)
Long Beach State (150) vs. Portland State (125)
Hofstra (99) vs. Fairfield (88)
Liberty (181) vs. ODU (182)

I based many of those matchups on the team's conference ranking and RPI. Those matchups seem to me a lot better. A key thing to note. Patty Mills is having surgery on his broken hand. St Mary's hopes to have him back by the last week of the regular season. The Gaels desperately need to hold serve until he gets back. An at large bid may depend on how St Mary's does without him, thus a win over Gonzaga Saturday and a win against the Aggies on February 21st would be huge.

Well, Butler lost to Wisconsin Green Bay 75-66. UW Green Bay shot an amazing 32 of 35 from the free throw line. WOW! Butler wasn't bad either (18 of 20). Another key stat. UW Green Bay only had four turnovers while the usually sure handed, ball controlled Bulldogs had 16.

Review of Hofstra- VCU

Often in college basketball, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Such was the case Saturday at the Mack Arena in Hempstead as VCU overcame a 12 point first half deficit and edged Hofstra 66-62 in the CAA game of the week. It may have been Speedy Claxton day as Hofstra retired the two time America East Conference Player of the Year's jersey. But in truth, it was Eric Maynor Day, as the reigning CAA player of the year had a monster day.

It truly was a tale of two halves as the Pride marched out to an early 17-8 lead, then expanded that lead to 28-16 with 5:25 left. The Pride held the Rams to 8 of 24 shooting in the first half, including 1 of 6 from beyond the three point arc. Maynor, himself was held to 2 of 8 shooting. Hofstra only shot 38 percent in the first half but were 13 of 16 from the free throw line. VCU stayed in the game by shooting 12 of 15 from the line in the half. The last three from the line were courtesy of Maynor, who was fouled by Hofstra guard Cornelius Vines on a three point attempt with two seconds left in the half. Those points would turn out to be very big in the second half as the Pride went to the locker room with only a seven point lead 36-29 instead of a ten point lead.

As it is with many great players, Maynor stepped up his game in the second half. After Hofstra went back out to a 42-33 lead on a Charles Jenkins three, Maynor and company went to work. VCU would go on a 15-4 run, eleven of which were scored by Maynor and the Rams had their first lead, 48-46, since the 16:56 mark of the first half. Hofstra would come back and be ahead 58-55 on a Tony Dennison layup with 4:31 left. But Maynor had one last charge in him as the Rams would finish the game on a 11-4 run, six of which came from Maynor and the other five from Bradford Burgess.

Maynor shot 7 of 10 in the second half, hitting both of his three point attempts and also went 5 of 6 from the line. 21 of his 33 points were in the second half. Amazing. He also wore out Hofstra's star guard Charles Jenkins who defended him the entire game. Jenkins only shot 2 of 10 from the field in the second half (but 6 of 8 from the line). As a team, VCU shot 50 percent in the second half, 14 of 28 including 4 of 6 from three. The Pride kept themselves in the game by going 10 of 12 from the line. But again the season of cold shooting continued for Hofstra as they shot 7 of 28 from the field in the second half and 31.6 percent overall.

The Pride did a good job of getting Larry Sanders in foul trouble and he only managed 6 points. They also shut down Joey Rodriguez who had only 5 points only 5 FG attempts. Bradford Burgess though chipped in with 11. Jenkins had 21 points for Hofstra but on 5 of 23 shooting. Nathaniel Lester added 12 and Tony Dennison chipped in 9 points. The Pride again failed to work the ball inside to their frontcourt as they only had eight FG attempts (making four of them).

VCU now has sole possession of second place in the CAA at 9-2 after George Mason lost a heartbreaker at ODU. The Pride now are tied with ODU and James Madison for fifth place at 6-5, two games back of Drexel. The Dragons are now tied for third with George Mason at 8-3 after downing Towson. However, Mason has the tiebreaker on Drexel having won at the DAC 56-55 earlier in the season.

By the way, if Eric Maynor didn't prove to everyone that he is one of the best guards in the country after that performance, I don't know what will. Look for Maynor on a NBA team later this year. He's that good.