February fever hits overtime for the first time in four years as area schools get back on track, celebrate senior nights and miss golden opportunities.
Maryland made a major move in the ACC with a 74-70 win at Wake Forest. After two games of battling foul trouble and 30 percent shooting, James Gist notched 18 of his career high 31 points in the first half--using his inside moves as well as his outside shot (3 three-pointers before intermission). Greivis Vasquez added 24 points with 8 assists (and only 4 turnovers) while providing spot-up defense on the Demon Deacons' Jeff Teague (2-11 shooting) while scoring 7 straight points to give the Terps the lead for good midway through the second half.
It was nice to see the bench get in the act as well with multiple contributions for the first time in more than a few games. Jerome Burney contributed quality minutes for the second time in a week (after not playing since early January) while Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker both gave coach Gary Williams solid outings.
At 18-11 and 8-6 in the ACC the Terps host Clemson Sunday in the battle for 3rd place of the conference...Greivis Vasquez's hands will be full trying to contain the Tigers' K.C. Rivers (16 ppg, 43% from three point range)--can Maryland improve their passing and force opponents to defend them instead of turning the ball over?
Other ramblings inside and outside the beltway--
Georgetown visits up-tempo Marquette Saturday in a battle of top 25 teams; the Golden Eagles have won five straight and boast a balanced attack with three guards as well as a 6-foot-6 forward. Coach John Thompson III said transition defense and rebounding would be the keys-- the Hoyas lone impressive road win of the winter came over Alabama--who's now 15-13.
George Mason follows up a senior night win over William & Mary with a trip to Northeastern-- it was an emotional evening at the Patriot Center as Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell shined one last time...Campbell scoring 14 of his 17 points after halftime. John Vaughan also came through big with several key threes against a 2-3 zone collapsing on big man Will Thomas. If that's become the book on how to defend GMU, Vaughan and Campbell will have to continue to make opponents suffer from outside. The concern as always with George Mason this winter is how will they fare on the road?
American wraps up its regular season this weekend by hosting Lafayette...the Eagles missed a chance to clinch the Patriot League regular season title Wednesday when they visited Navy; the 83-68 loss means the Midshipmen own the season sweep and now AU needs to beat the Leopards while hoping for a Navy loss to Colgate.
George Washington goes to #11 Xavier playing as well as it has all year with three straight wins; the Colonials lost by eight at home to the Musketeers but were actually within three with under a minute left and had possession when Damion Hollis stepped out of bounds... with three games remaining in the regular season, you'd have to think two wins would wrap up an A-10 berth--while Colonial fans are rooting for the demise of Fordham, Dayton and Rhode Island...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Bubble Trouble--with no champagne...
Thank you Kent Benson. Thank you Quinn Buckner. Thank you Scott May. In a year where quite a bit of attention was focused on a certain Eugene Morris and who was "good enough to be on his block"--I'm just glad the last college basketball team to finish an unbeaten season hasn't turned into a bunch of killjoys rooting for teams' demise each February/March...
Meanwhile, area teams are moving towards March-- with just one school virtually assured of a berth in the field of 65. Georgetown (22-4, 12-3 Big East) is looking at a 2nd or 3rd seed, depending on how they fare over the final three regular season games (a potential battle for the league regular season crown March 8th against co-leader Louisville)... coach John Thompson III has done a nice job insulating his team from the curse of top 5 expectations; despite having most everyone back from a Final Four team this is a different squad and a different year--Saturday's 73-53 thumping of Cincinnati was textbook taking care of business.
Maryland's in a completely different world than the one they were in a week ago--Saturday's 78-63 loss to Miami drops the Terrapins to 7-6 in the ACC-- foul trouble plagued James Gist for the second straight game as the senior was held to 10 points on 3 for 11 shooting after scoring just 7 against Virginia Tech; Jerome Burney was the lone Terp to score off the bench (4 points and 5 boards over 12 minutes)... can this team regain the groove that saw them win 7 of 9? It won't be easy-- as they'll visit Wake Forest (Deacons are 14-1 at home) before hosting Clemson (Tigers regarded as the third best team in the conference) this week.
Virginia Tech is now the hot team in the conference's underbelly- two straight wins puts the Hokies at 7-6 (they own the tiebreaker with Maryland after sweeping the Terps)... and the little engine that chugged its way to a 5-3 ACC mark is back--while A.D. Vassallo's 27 points served as the highlight, the fact that the Hokies only committed ten turnovers helped Seth Greenberg's bunch prevail... you'd have to think they'd need to beat
Boston College Tuesday to provide some margin of error (Hokies wrap up the regular season against NCAA-contenders Wake Forest and Clemson).
George Mason's hopes for an at-large bid may have taken its final breath Saturday as the Patriots waste a 13 point halftime lead in a 69-57 loss to Ohio. The road continues to haunt coach Jim Larranaga's team (7-8 away from Fairfax) after the Bobcats got back into the game with an 8-0 run after intermission. Will Thomas was contained for the first time all season (9 points and 9 boards-the first time this winter the senior's been held to less than ten points and ten rebounds)... Patriots resume CAA play Wednesday by hosting William and Mary (Senior Night at the Patriot Center) before wrapping up the regular season at Northeastern Saturday. At this point, one would think GMU's only path the NCAA's would be to win the CAA Tournament.
American had the weekend off-- Wednesday's game at Navy looms as a battle for the top spot in the Patriot League- a win and the Eagles clinch the regular season title while a loss to the Midshipmen would place the schools into a tie for first--and Navy would own the tiebreaker thanks to a regular season sweep. By the way, in the Patriot League Tournament the teaml with home-court advantage for the conference tournament final is 12-3.
Somebody forgot to tell George Washington their season is a wash-- the Colonials have been between a rock and a hard place since point guard Travis King's campaign ended with a knee injury; but coach Karl Hobbs' crew has play has upped their level of play in February with three wins in four games-the most recent a 59-53 victory over Richmond. Although there are no light touches remaining on their schedule (Xavier, Rhode Island, UMass and Charlotte), GW has an outside shot at qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Tournament (they probably need to split their final four games to have a chance)...
Meanwhile, area teams are moving towards March-- with just one school virtually assured of a berth in the field of 65. Georgetown (22-4, 12-3 Big East) is looking at a 2nd or 3rd seed, depending on how they fare over the final three regular season games (a potential battle for the league regular season crown March 8th against co-leader Louisville)... coach John Thompson III has done a nice job insulating his team from the curse of top 5 expectations; despite having most everyone back from a Final Four team this is a different squad and a different year--Saturday's 73-53 thumping of Cincinnati was textbook taking care of business.
Maryland's in a completely different world than the one they were in a week ago--Saturday's 78-63 loss to Miami drops the Terrapins to 7-6 in the ACC-- foul trouble plagued James Gist for the second straight game as the senior was held to 10 points on 3 for 11 shooting after scoring just 7 against Virginia Tech; Jerome Burney was the lone Terp to score off the bench (4 points and 5 boards over 12 minutes)... can this team regain the groove that saw them win 7 of 9? It won't be easy-- as they'll visit Wake Forest (Deacons are 14-1 at home) before hosting Clemson (Tigers regarded as the third best team in the conference) this week.
Virginia Tech is now the hot team in the conference's underbelly- two straight wins puts the Hokies at 7-6 (they own the tiebreaker with Maryland after sweeping the Terps)... and the little engine that chugged its way to a 5-3 ACC mark is back--while A.D. Vassallo's 27 points served as the highlight, the fact that the Hokies only committed ten turnovers helped Seth Greenberg's bunch prevail... you'd have to think they'd need to beat
Boston College Tuesday to provide some margin of error (Hokies wrap up the regular season against NCAA-contenders Wake Forest and Clemson).
George Mason's hopes for an at-large bid may have taken its final breath Saturday as the Patriots waste a 13 point halftime lead in a 69-57 loss to Ohio. The road continues to haunt coach Jim Larranaga's team (7-8 away from Fairfax) after the Bobcats got back into the game with an 8-0 run after intermission. Will Thomas was contained for the first time all season (9 points and 9 boards-the first time this winter the senior's been held to less than ten points and ten rebounds)... Patriots resume CAA play Wednesday by hosting William and Mary (Senior Night at the Patriot Center) before wrapping up the regular season at Northeastern Saturday. At this point, one would think GMU's only path the NCAA's would be to win the CAA Tournament.
American had the weekend off-- Wednesday's game at Navy looms as a battle for the top spot in the Patriot League- a win and the Eagles clinch the regular season title while a loss to the Midshipmen would place the schools into a tie for first--and Navy would own the tiebreaker thanks to a regular season sweep. By the way, in the Patriot League Tournament the teaml with home-court advantage for the conference tournament final is 12-3.
Somebody forgot to tell George Washington their season is a wash-- the Colonials have been between a rock and a hard place since point guard Travis King's campaign ended with a knee injury; but coach Karl Hobbs' crew has play has upped their level of play in February with three wins in four games-the most recent a 59-53 victory over Richmond. Although there are no light touches remaining on their schedule (Xavier, Rhode Island, UMass and Charlotte), GW has an outside shot at qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Tournament (they probably need to split their final four games to have a chance)...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Throwing up, Cold Shakes, Milestones and Home Court...
Although Virginia Tech's Dorenzo Hudson was the player vomiting on the Comcast Center floor last night--it was Maryland that coughed up an 11 point second half lead as the Terps tumbled 69-65 to the Hokies. The season-saving win by Seth Greenberg's team (more on him later) is a major head-scratcher for what was until yesterday the ACC's hottest team.
The seeds to defeat were sown midway through the first half when James Gist and Bambale Osby both went to the bench with foul trouble at the 6:35 mark--without the two big men to pound the post with, Maryland managed just one basket in their last 23 possessions of the first half and a 28-14 advantage shrunk to 31-29 at intermission.
Credit Virginia Tech with playing bumber-car basketball-- the Hokies physical style is similar to the other former Big East schools competing in the ACC...and Maryland's 4-11 against those schools since they joined up. The Hokies also got prime production from DC native Jeff Allen (14 points and 14 rebounds) and A.D. Vassallo (11 of his 19 points-including 2 threes-came in the game's last four minutes).
Instead of being 8-4 in the conference with some breathing room entering a tough stretch, Gary Williams takes a 7-5 squad that has lost two of three (and trailed second-division Florida State for much of their one win) to Miami,Wake Forest and Clemson in succession: the Terps were swept by the Hurricanes last year, the Demon Deacons are fresh off an upset of #2 Duke and the Tigers have had the reputation as the ACC's third-best team for much of the year.
One couldn't help but notice an interesting handshake between the two coaches-- Seth Greenberg and Gary Williams didn't even look at each other while briefly shaking hands before and after the game...any bad blood between the two might be stemming from the de-committing of Hokie recruit Augustus Gilchrist after the Blacksburg shootings last spring and his subsequent signing with Maryland. It's rare to see a player transfer inside the conference (Luke Recker from Indiana to Iowa the only one I can think of)--these coaches compete on the court and recruiting trail and it's somewhat of a give not to go after players once they've signed with someone else. Still, the tragedies of last April are a special situation-and a young man who was leaving home for the first time should have been given the latitude to re-think his decision to attend Virginia Tech. It's a shame there's an apparent rift between these two sideline generals, although it makes the media's job more interesting.
One last thing about vomiting...shouldn't throwing up on the court be a one-shot foul plus possession?
Congratulations to George Mason coach Jim Larranaga in posting his 400th career victory as the Patriots prevailed over Delaware 70-58, avenging a loss from January. Will Thomas scored 18 of his 24 points after halftime; the forward also added 12 rebounds in the win. While the top seed in the CAA Tournament is a longshot at best (GMU needs to win twice while hoping for VCU to lose twice and UNCW to split their remaining games), the Patriots have a chance to boost their at-large profile Saturday with a Bracket-Buster game at Ohio.
American is one step closer to homecourt advantage for the Patriot League Tournament; while the Eagles' 49-40 triumph over Army wasn't the prettiest of games, AU wins its 6th straight game for the first time in 20 years and is a win over Navy away from clinching the conference title. Garrison Carr was the only Eagle scoring in double figures with 16 points despite 4 of 14 shooting--American as a team shot just 28% from the field.
The seeds to defeat were sown midway through the first half when James Gist and Bambale Osby both went to the bench with foul trouble at the 6:35 mark--without the two big men to pound the post with, Maryland managed just one basket in their last 23 possessions of the first half and a 28-14 advantage shrunk to 31-29 at intermission.
Credit Virginia Tech with playing bumber-car basketball-- the Hokies physical style is similar to the other former Big East schools competing in the ACC...and Maryland's 4-11 against those schools since they joined up. The Hokies also got prime production from DC native Jeff Allen (14 points and 14 rebounds) and A.D. Vassallo (11 of his 19 points-including 2 threes-came in the game's last four minutes).
Instead of being 8-4 in the conference with some breathing room entering a tough stretch, Gary Williams takes a 7-5 squad that has lost two of three (and trailed second-division Florida State for much of their one win) to Miami,Wake Forest and Clemson in succession: the Terps were swept by the Hurricanes last year, the Demon Deacons are fresh off an upset of #2 Duke and the Tigers have had the reputation as the ACC's third-best team for much of the year.
One couldn't help but notice an interesting handshake between the two coaches-- Seth Greenberg and Gary Williams didn't even look at each other while briefly shaking hands before and after the game...any bad blood between the two might be stemming from the de-committing of Hokie recruit Augustus Gilchrist after the Blacksburg shootings last spring and his subsequent signing with Maryland. It's rare to see a player transfer inside the conference (Luke Recker from Indiana to Iowa the only one I can think of)--these coaches compete on the court and recruiting trail and it's somewhat of a give not to go after players once they've signed with someone else. Still, the tragedies of last April are a special situation-and a young man who was leaving home for the first time should have been given the latitude to re-think his decision to attend Virginia Tech. It's a shame there's an apparent rift between these two sideline generals, although it makes the media's job more interesting.
One last thing about vomiting...shouldn't throwing up on the court be a one-shot foul plus possession?
Congratulations to George Mason coach Jim Larranaga in posting his 400th career victory as the Patriots prevailed over Delaware 70-58, avenging a loss from January. Will Thomas scored 18 of his 24 points after halftime; the forward also added 12 rebounds in the win. While the top seed in the CAA Tournament is a longshot at best (GMU needs to win twice while hoping for VCU to lose twice and UNCW to split their remaining games), the Patriots have a chance to boost their at-large profile Saturday with a Bracket-Buster game at Ohio.
American is one step closer to homecourt advantage for the Patriot League Tournament; while the Eagles' 49-40 triumph over Army wasn't the prettiest of games, AU wins its 6th straight game for the first time in 20 years and is a win over Navy away from clinching the conference title. Garrison Carr was the only Eagle scoring in double figures with 16 points despite 4 of 14 shooting--American as a team shot just 28% from the field.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Hot, Cold and Lukewarm on the Tournament Trail...
Three-plus weeks before NCAA Tournament bids are handed out, "moving month" continues as area schools range from red-hot to ice-cold with a few lukewarms in betweeen...
Georgetown began the month the unquestioned beast of the Big East but has since cooled off...Monday they bounced back from a tough loss and very rough first half at Syracuse (Hoyas trailed 36-15 before making things respectable in a 77-70 loss) to rally past Providence 68-58... a 17-2 run that gave G'town the lead for good was powered by seniors Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert (the pair scoring 11 straight points for the Hoyas during the spurt); the duo combined for 32 points while fellow senior Patrick Ewing Jr. posted his usual quality game off the bench with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Despite whatever offensive problems this team has had recently (six straight games shooting under 50% from the field) the Hoyas control their Big East destiny at 11-3; after a pair of games against second-division schools (Cincinnati and Marquette) John Thompson III's team tangles with ranked opponents Marquette and Louisville.
Maryland meets Virginia Tech Wednesday evening in a classic matchup of hot vs cold; the Terps have won 7 of 9 since losing in Blacksburg by a point January 12th (those two losses coming to ACC leading Duke) while the Hokies have dropped three straight--including a 39 point blowout at North Carolina (but the one that really hurts is the 3 point defeat at home to Miami). This is a key contest for the Terps as three of their final four regular season games are on the road; for the Hokies it's a chance to keep slim NCAA hopes alive.
George Mason suffered a heartbreaking two point loss to North Carolina-Wilmington (their first defeat at the Patriot Center this winter)--and instead of being one win away from tying CAA leading VCU while owning the tiebreaker with the Rams, Jim Larranaga's team drops to third in the league (as they've been swept by the Seahawks). The rest of the regular season won't be any easier-- Delaware, William & Mary and Northeastern all boast winning conference records while Bracket Buster opponent Ohio is an at-large contender (despite a recent slide).
Meanwhile, American is quietly the region's hottest team with five straight wins...the Eagles have had a problem maintaining double-digit halftime leads this winter but Sunday at Colgate AU rallied from nine points down at intermission to beat the Raiders 68-60. Garrison Carr continues to make his case for Patriot League MVP--over the last three weeks the junior guard has averaged 25 points during an Eagles five game winning streak that's moved the team from middle of the pack to the top of the conference standings; a win over Army Wednesday plus a Navy loss to Holy Cross clinches the regular season title for Jeff Jones' team.
George Washington doesn't have to worry about going winless on the road after a nine point victory at St. Bonaventure; the Colonials built a double digit halftime lead behind solid play from Damian Hollis and Maureece Rice--before holding off a late Bonnies rally with four free throws over the last 27 seconds. Now the focus moves to qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Tournament-- GW trails Fordham by a game and a half for the 12th and final spot-- and just one of their final five opponents has a losing record in the A-10 (UMass).
Georgetown began the month the unquestioned beast of the Big East but has since cooled off...Monday they bounced back from a tough loss and very rough first half at Syracuse (Hoyas trailed 36-15 before making things respectable in a 77-70 loss) to rally past Providence 68-58... a 17-2 run that gave G'town the lead for good was powered by seniors Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert (the pair scoring 11 straight points for the Hoyas during the spurt); the duo combined for 32 points while fellow senior Patrick Ewing Jr. posted his usual quality game off the bench with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Despite whatever offensive problems this team has had recently (six straight games shooting under 50% from the field) the Hoyas control their Big East destiny at 11-3; after a pair of games against second-division schools (Cincinnati and Marquette) John Thompson III's team tangles with ranked opponents Marquette and Louisville.
Maryland meets Virginia Tech Wednesday evening in a classic matchup of hot vs cold; the Terps have won 7 of 9 since losing in Blacksburg by a point January 12th (those two losses coming to ACC leading Duke) while the Hokies have dropped three straight--including a 39 point blowout at North Carolina (but the one that really hurts is the 3 point defeat at home to Miami). This is a key contest for the Terps as three of their final four regular season games are on the road; for the Hokies it's a chance to keep slim NCAA hopes alive.
George Mason suffered a heartbreaking two point loss to North Carolina-Wilmington (their first defeat at the Patriot Center this winter)--and instead of being one win away from tying CAA leading VCU while owning the tiebreaker with the Rams, Jim Larranaga's team drops to third in the league (as they've been swept by the Seahawks). The rest of the regular season won't be any easier-- Delaware, William & Mary and Northeastern all boast winning conference records while Bracket Buster opponent Ohio is an at-large contender (despite a recent slide).
Meanwhile, American is quietly the region's hottest team with five straight wins...the Eagles have had a problem maintaining double-digit halftime leads this winter but Sunday at Colgate AU rallied from nine points down at intermission to beat the Raiders 68-60. Garrison Carr continues to make his case for Patriot League MVP--over the last three weeks the junior guard has averaged 25 points during an Eagles five game winning streak that's moved the team from middle of the pack to the top of the conference standings; a win over Army Wednesday plus a Navy loss to Holy Cross clinches the regular season title for Jeff Jones' team.
George Washington doesn't have to worry about going winless on the road after a nine point victory at St. Bonaventure; the Colonials built a double digit halftime lead behind solid play from Damian Hollis and Maureece Rice--before holding off a late Bonnies rally with four free throws over the last 27 seconds. Now the focus moves to qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Tournament-- GW trails Fordham by a game and a half for the 12th and final spot-- and just one of their final five opponents has a losing record in the A-10 (UMass).
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Presidential Separation in the Beltway Basketball Bonanza...
Hope you all had a happy Presidents' Day weekend-- naturally it was a busy time on the Beltway Basketball Bonanza...and the holiday brings a very pressing matter to mind:
Just one holiday for 42 people? I'm all for honoring our nation's leaders-- but does James Buchanan deserve equal billing with George Washington? Did Benjamin Harrison have the same impact as Franklin Roosevelt? I believe it's completely unfair; we as a country place a premium on being a successful chief executive but then honor everyone with the same 1/42 share-- that's 2.38%. Thomas Jefferson brought us the Louisiana Purchase, and gets less than a 3% tip?
The solution: create a Presidents' Day Weekend. Separate the wheat from the chaff and honor those who don't make the cut on Friday afternoon/evening, followed by "Super Presidents' Day" on Monday. Who exactly is a "Super President"?
1--Must be deceased-- (sorry Bill)...
2--Mount Rushmore-- If you are chiseled into the side of a hill-- you qualify. That means Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.
3--Money-- You get consideration if you're on a coin or a dollar bill-- but it's not automatic. Sorry Grant, Cleveland and McKinley--congratulations FDR, Wilson and Jackson.
4--Veterans Committee-- An alternating honoree from the 19th and 20th centuries--two highly underrated chief executives: James K. Polk is my 1800's choice; Harry Truman my 1900's representative.
5--Partisan Picks-- Let's throw a bone to each party by adding Reagan and JFK--if the Kennedy half dollar was still in circulation I'd be on the fence, same with the Eisenhower silver dollar.
There you are-- ten super presidents honored together the third Sunday of every month-- while the other 32 share a happy hour at Tchotchkies (Grant would love that).
Just one holiday for 42 people? I'm all for honoring our nation's leaders-- but does James Buchanan deserve equal billing with George Washington? Did Benjamin Harrison have the same impact as Franklin Roosevelt? I believe it's completely unfair; we as a country place a premium on being a successful chief executive but then honor everyone with the same 1/42 share-- that's 2.38%. Thomas Jefferson brought us the Louisiana Purchase, and gets less than a 3% tip?
The solution: create a Presidents' Day Weekend. Separate the wheat from the chaff and honor those who don't make the cut on Friday afternoon/evening, followed by "Super Presidents' Day" on Monday. Who exactly is a "Super President"?
1--Must be deceased-- (sorry Bill)...
2--Mount Rushmore-- If you are chiseled into the side of a hill-- you qualify. That means Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.
3--Money-- You get consideration if you're on a coin or a dollar bill-- but it's not automatic. Sorry Grant, Cleveland and McKinley--congratulations FDR, Wilson and Jackson.
4--Veterans Committee-- An alternating honoree from the 19th and 20th centuries--two highly underrated chief executives: James K. Polk is my 1800's choice; Harry Truman my 1900's representative.
5--Partisan Picks-- Let's throw a bone to each party by adding Reagan and JFK--if the Kennedy half dollar was still in circulation I'd be on the fence, same with the Eisenhower silver dollar.
There you are-- ten super presidents honored together the third Sunday of every month-- while the other 32 share a happy hour at Tchotchkies (Grant would love that).
Friday, February 15, 2008
In a Big Country Beltway Basketball Bonanza...
Big Country was one of many UK rock acts to find marginal success on the US charts in the 1980's...their biggest hit was, ironically enough, "In a Big Country"...which they were compelled to sing in every concert-- because it's what they did well. I never saw them live, but I would imagine they opened with "In a Big Country", wrapped up with it, used that song in their encore and played a medley throughout...especially as other songs ("Look Away", "Fields of Fire") failed to catch on.
At the mid-February mark (bids go out in four weeks) the area schools have rehearsed their material and know what their hits--everyone is playing to their strengths, for better or for worse...and in order to succeed you must not only have a plan but have faith in that plan.
#8 Georgetown at Syracuse--John Thompson III's offense has been called precise as a surgeon by some or deliberate as a beaureaucrat by others...the same could be said about the Orange's vaunted 2-3 zone defense. Gtown's looking for its first win at the Carrier Dome since 2002...I imagine coach John Thompson III will find the SU zone a little easier to figure out after having played against it for 45 minutes (plus, the team is rebounding much better)--and it's tough to forget how the Hoyas held the Orange without a field goal for the game's final eight minutes.
Maryland meets Florida State--the Terps have been playing inspired ball since starting 0-2 in the ACC (the only defeats since then have come to #2 Duke)--Greivis Vasquez is "In a Big Country" personified-- able to feather a soft pass to the post one possession while jacking up a crazy 3 the next. How controlled will he be against the Seminoles? More importantly, how sharp will the team be after the letdown of losing a high-charged game to the Blue Devils?
George Mason meets UNC-Wilmington as their Patriot League hopes get slimmer with every VCU win (Patriots trail the Rams by 2 games with 4 to play)...they lost by three to the Seahawks down there; the in ability to get to the line (only 4 free throws) hurt them over 40 minutes. Production from Will Thomas will be pivotal--but what's keyed GMU this winter has been a supporting cast from Dre Smith to Folarin Campbell as well as a versatile bench that Jim Larranaga has been able to skillfully manipulate.
George Washington has perhaps its best opportunity for a road victory this season when the Colonials visit St. Bonaventure; the running question for this year's team has been how effective they'll be offensively on a nightly basis--this was the one year GW didn't have depth at point guard and it's cost them mightily. But don't count out Karl Hobbs' grit--and the same goes for his team.
American visits Colgate Sunday--don't look now but the Eagles currently lead the Patriot League thanks to their four game winning streak, and only one of their four remaining games are against a team with a winning record. Lately the play of Garrison Carr (25ppg during the streak) and Brian Gilmore's boost off the bench have placed AU in title contention. Now the regular season title is doubly important in this conference because it translates into home-court advantage for the tournament.
At the mid-February mark (bids go out in four weeks) the area schools have rehearsed their material and know what their hits--everyone is playing to their strengths, for better or for worse...and in order to succeed you must not only have a plan but have faith in that plan.
#8 Georgetown at Syracuse--John Thompson III's offense has been called precise as a surgeon by some or deliberate as a beaureaucrat by others...the same could be said about the Orange's vaunted 2-3 zone defense. Gtown's looking for its first win at the Carrier Dome since 2002...I imagine coach John Thompson III will find the SU zone a little easier to figure out after having played against it for 45 minutes (plus, the team is rebounding much better)--and it's tough to forget how the Hoyas held the Orange without a field goal for the game's final eight minutes.
Maryland meets Florida State--the Terps have been playing inspired ball since starting 0-2 in the ACC (the only defeats since then have come to #2 Duke)--Greivis Vasquez is "In a Big Country" personified-- able to feather a soft pass to the post one possession while jacking up a crazy 3 the next. How controlled will he be against the Seminoles? More importantly, how sharp will the team be after the letdown of losing a high-charged game to the Blue Devils?
George Mason meets UNC-Wilmington as their Patriot League hopes get slimmer with every VCU win (Patriots trail the Rams by 2 games with 4 to play)...they lost by three to the Seahawks down there; the in ability to get to the line (only 4 free throws) hurt them over 40 minutes. Production from Will Thomas will be pivotal--but what's keyed GMU this winter has been a supporting cast from Dre Smith to Folarin Campbell as well as a versatile bench that Jim Larranaga has been able to skillfully manipulate.
George Washington has perhaps its best opportunity for a road victory this season when the Colonials visit St. Bonaventure; the running question for this year's team has been how effective they'll be offensively on a nightly basis--this was the one year GW didn't have depth at point guard and it's cost them mightily. But don't count out Karl Hobbs' grit--and the same goes for his team.
American visits Colgate Sunday--don't look now but the Eagles currently lead the Patriot League thanks to their four game winning streak, and only one of their four remaining games are against a team with a winning record. Lately the play of Garrison Carr (25ppg during the streak) and Brian Gilmore's boost off the bench have placed AU in title contention. Now the regular season title is doubly important in this conference because it translates into home-court advantage for the tournament.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Hoyas hold on...Eagles soar and road woes...
Seriously, the weekend isn't really finished in college basketball until ESPN's Big Monday wraps up... and what a battle between #8 Georgetown and Villanova... it's a shame it ended with two free throws from a foul called 75 feet away from the basket.
The final tenth of a second obscures what was an incredible twenty minutes of defense: although Jonathan Wallace's free throws wrapped the Hoyas 55-53 win, stifling defense that held the Wildcats to 13% shooting in the second half =Nova went 0-13 from three-point range while leading scorer Scottie Reynolds shot 1-for-6 after the break.
The exclamation point was Jeremiah Rivers containing Reynolds in the final seconds with the score tied at 53... the sophomore has turned into the team's lockdown defender (remember how he forced Syracuse's Johnny Flynn into an off-balance three-pointer in the Hoyas' overtime win over the Orange last month?)
Another gut-check win for the Big East leaders on a tight turnaround...I guess the biggest question from Saturday's loss to Louisville involved Rick Pitino imitating Harold Hill from the Music Man or Mister Roarke from Fantasy Island--I'm still torn between the two... with Colonel Sanders entering as a potential third-party candidate.
American enters Wednesday's battle with Bucknell with a chance to build on their Patriot league lead and smash an eight game losing streak to the Bison... the Eagles have won three straight for the first time this year and buoyed by Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore's recent play. Bucknell's been the recent bully of the Patriot League--can Jeff Jones' team make another move towards a first ever NCAA berth?
Nice win by George Washington Saturday 57-54 over Dayton--the Flyers were ranked in the early stages of the season and have been in the at-large mix for much of the year--this has not been an ideal season for the Colonials, and although this team is in a far different place than they were in last February--it's good for coach Karl Hobbs to have relief, if even for a moment (before it's time to focus on road games at St Louis and St Bonaventure)...
GW isn't the only school with problems on the road--George Mason isn't 0-9 away from the Patriot Center, but they have struggled outside Fairfax (3-4 in the CAA with an at-large eyesore like Georgia State ) and wrap up a three game roadswing Wednesday at Towson... the health of the Patriots in the conference race (they trail league-leading VCU by two games) rests partially on the health of John Vaughan's left knee (not 100 percent in the loss to the Monarchs).
I covered both the Maryland men and women last weekend--not only did each squad notch a hard-fought win, both games were preceded with National Anthems belted by vocal ensembles (give the edge to the ladies Friday night), proving more is more--(unless it's the hockey guy singing on top of an old-school organ)--now if they can only drop the "O's" chant...
The final tenth of a second obscures what was an incredible twenty minutes of defense: although Jonathan Wallace's free throws wrapped the Hoyas 55-53 win, stifling defense that held the Wildcats to 13% shooting in the second half =Nova went 0-13 from three-point range while leading scorer Scottie Reynolds shot 1-for-6 after the break.
The exclamation point was Jeremiah Rivers containing Reynolds in the final seconds with the score tied at 53... the sophomore has turned into the team's lockdown defender (remember how he forced Syracuse's Johnny Flynn into an off-balance three-pointer in the Hoyas' overtime win over the Orange last month?)
Another gut-check win for the Big East leaders on a tight turnaround...I guess the biggest question from Saturday's loss to Louisville involved Rick Pitino imitating Harold Hill from the Music Man or Mister Roarke from Fantasy Island--I'm still torn between the two... with Colonel Sanders entering as a potential third-party candidate.
American enters Wednesday's battle with Bucknell with a chance to build on their Patriot league lead and smash an eight game losing streak to the Bison... the Eagles have won three straight for the first time this year and buoyed by Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore's recent play. Bucknell's been the recent bully of the Patriot League--can Jeff Jones' team make another move towards a first ever NCAA berth?
Nice win by George Washington Saturday 57-54 over Dayton--the Flyers were ranked in the early stages of the season and have been in the at-large mix for much of the year--this has not been an ideal season for the Colonials, and although this team is in a far different place than they were in last February--it's good for coach Karl Hobbs to have relief, if even for a moment (before it's time to focus on road games at St Louis and St Bonaventure)...
GW isn't the only school with problems on the road--George Mason isn't 0-9 away from the Patriot Center, but they have struggled outside Fairfax (3-4 in the CAA with an at-large eyesore like Georgia State ) and wrap up a three game roadswing Wednesday at Towson... the health of the Patriots in the conference race (they trail league-leading VCU by two games) rests partially on the health of John Vaughan's left knee (not 100 percent in the loss to the Monarchs).
I covered both the Maryland men and women last weekend--not only did each squad notch a hard-fought win, both games were preceded with National Anthems belted by vocal ensembles (give the edge to the ladies Friday night), proving more is more--(unless it's the hockey guy singing on top of an old-school organ)--now if they can only drop the "O's" chant...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Terrapins decked out in...Pink and Gold?
February Fever took some unexpected twists and turns over the weekend-- starting with two colors one doesn't usually associate with Maryland basketball. The Terrapin men wore gold uniforms for the second time this season (previous appearance came against Holy Cross January 8th) during an 84-70 win over North Carolina State.
James Gist notched a career high 30 points, notching 16 of the Terps' first 27 in the first half when the rest of his teammates were struggling from the field--once again the senior continues to make his stamp on this year's team...the Terps took their offense to another level in the second half, shooting 74 percent after halftime (the highlight a 17-2 run that gave them the lead for good)--Greivis Vasquez tied a school record with 15 assists while keeping everyone involved (all five starters finished in double figures). It's hard to imagine this team was once was 0-2 in the ACC; now at 6-3 coach Gary Williams's club is on the NCAA track if they continue to play well. A side note: Saturday they showed a video tribute to Williams reaching 600 career wins--and it was a joy seeing how happy he was after winning the ACC Tournament in 2004... a coach deals with a lot of ups and downs over the course of a season and can rarely sit back and "just enjoy the moment"--it was nice to see coach Williams get a 5 minute rest from the grind.
Friday night pink was the color--Brenda Frese's 4th ranked team outlasted Virginia 86-80 in an ACC battle royale...while the Terps won an exciting game and former team captain Shay Doron had her #22 raised to the rafters, the highlight for many involved a parade of breast cancer survivors walking on the Comcast Center floor to celebrate the "Think Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness weekend.
Other highlights from the weekend...coming shortly...
James Gist notched a career high 30 points, notching 16 of the Terps' first 27 in the first half when the rest of his teammates were struggling from the field--once again the senior continues to make his stamp on this year's team...the Terps took their offense to another level in the second half, shooting 74 percent after halftime (the highlight a 17-2 run that gave them the lead for good)--Greivis Vasquez tied a school record with 15 assists while keeping everyone involved (all five starters finished in double figures). It's hard to imagine this team was once was 0-2 in the ACC; now at 6-3 coach Gary Williams's club is on the NCAA track if they continue to play well. A side note: Saturday they showed a video tribute to Williams reaching 600 career wins--and it was a joy seeing how happy he was after winning the ACC Tournament in 2004... a coach deals with a lot of ups and downs over the course of a season and can rarely sit back and "just enjoy the moment"--it was nice to see coach Williams get a 5 minute rest from the grind.
Friday night pink was the color--Brenda Frese's 4th ranked team outlasted Virginia 86-80 in an ACC battle royale...while the Terps won an exciting game and former team captain Shay Doron had her #22 raised to the rafters, the highlight for many involved a parade of breast cancer survivors walking on the Comcast Center floor to celebrate the "Think Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness weekend.
Other highlights from the weekend...coming shortly...
Friday, February 8, 2008
Three games--three different worlds...
Big weekend on the Beltway Basketball Bonanza-- February fever takes a different turn with four games that involve a rivalry, two hot teams, a squad making their move up the standings and a club looking to end a major skid (not necessarily in that order).
Friday at 7pm, College Park: the 4th ranked Maryland women entertain Virginia in a clash for second place in the ACC... the Cavaliers lone loss in the league came to Maryland January 18th after the Terps turned a one point halftime deficit into a 12 point victory. Expect and offensive extravaganza--nobody in the conference is shooting from the field, line or three point range as well as Maryland right. There's plenty of local influence on display as well--three of Virginia's starters are from in and around the beltway.
Saturday at 8pm, College Park: Maryland meets North Carolina State in a nice ACC undercard; both schools have won 3 of their last 4--the lone loss coming to Duke in a game where they led by 9 at halftime. One key for the Terps--how will the much improved Bambale Osby match up with Wolfpack guard J.J. Hickson (16 points and 8 rebounds a game)?
Sunday at noon, Mass. Ave.: American looks to solidify its status as Patriot League contender-- the Eagles stand half a game behind Lafayette and try to complete a regular season sweep of Lehigh-- but there are no gimmees whatsoever in that conference: two weeks ago AU dropped back to back games at Bender to sub-500 Navy and Holy Cross.
Friday at 7pm, College Park: the 4th ranked Maryland women entertain Virginia in a clash for second place in the ACC... the Cavaliers lone loss in the league came to Maryland January 18th after the Terps turned a one point halftime deficit into a 12 point victory. Expect and offensive extravaganza--nobody in the conference is shooting from the field, line or three point range as well as Maryland right. There's plenty of local influence on display as well--three of Virginia's starters are from in and around the beltway.
Saturday at 8pm, College Park: Maryland meets North Carolina State in a nice ACC undercard; both schools have won 3 of their last 4--the lone loss coming to Duke in a game where they led by 9 at halftime. One key for the Terps--how will the much improved Bambale Osby match up with Wolfpack guard J.J. Hickson (16 points and 8 rebounds a game)?
Sunday at noon, Mass. Ave.: American looks to solidify its status as Patriot League contender-- the Eagles stand half a game behind Lafayette and try to complete a regular season sweep of Lehigh-- but there are no gimmees whatsoever in that conference: two weeks ago AU dropped back to back games at Bender to sub-500 Navy and Holy Cross.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Maryland milestones and football follies...
Congratulations to Gary Williams in posting his 600th career coaching victory--more than just a milestone, this win gives the Maryland a 5-3 ACC record halfway through the league's regular season. A night of redemption for Greivis Vasquez--after fouling out with 10 minutes to play in the Terps' loss to BC last month, the sophomore led the way with 25 points and 8 assists.
It's hard to imagine this was once a 6-6 team coming off a home loss to American.
While the Terps proved that December defeat was a fluke, the Eagles are showing that victory may have been an omen. AU's 62-46 win over Holy Cross moves Jeff Jones's team one win behind Patriot League-leading Lafayette. Potential separation games loom over the next week against Lehigh and Bucknell--while both games are at home, American lost back to back at Bender in January to sub-500 in the league schools Navy and Holy Cross.
George Washington's year turned upside-down continued with an 80-58 loss to LaSalle-- up next for the 5-17 Colonials: a visit from Dayton (ranked earlier in the season).
College Football trumpeted its National Letter of Intent day: Maryland's yield included 5 All-Americans in its 18 recruit class-- including wide receivers Kenny Tate, Kevin Dorsey and Kerry Boykins...the Terps also added significant depth by bringing in four defensive lineman (favorite out of the gate--Masengo Kobongo who speaks four languages)...
Breaking down the class--9 players hail from Maryland or Washington DC, 2 are from Virginia while 2 more come from North Carolina. Coach Ralph Friedgen and Recruiting Coordinator Dave Sollazzo are looking to make more inroads in Pennsylvania and New Jersey--setting up a "five hour driving radius" where they will focus their efforts--meaning the state of Florida (with the emergence of South Florida, Central Florida, Florida International and Florida Atlantic) will see less attention.
Rivals.com ranked Maryland's class 4th in the ACC--by comparison Virginia Tech's recruits rated 4th while Virginia's incoming players was deemed 11th in the conference. But to paraphrase Maryland Radio sideline reporter Tim Strachan "It's not the rank of the players on their way into the program, but the ranking of the team when the players depart the program"...
It's hard to imagine this was once a 6-6 team coming off a home loss to American.
While the Terps proved that December defeat was a fluke, the Eagles are showing that victory may have been an omen. AU's 62-46 win over Holy Cross moves Jeff Jones's team one win behind Patriot League-leading Lafayette. Potential separation games loom over the next week against Lehigh and Bucknell--while both games are at home, American lost back to back at Bender in January to sub-500 in the league schools Navy and Holy Cross.
George Washington's year turned upside-down continued with an 80-58 loss to LaSalle-- up next for the 5-17 Colonials: a visit from Dayton (ranked earlier in the season).
College Football trumpeted its National Letter of Intent day: Maryland's yield included 5 All-Americans in its 18 recruit class-- including wide receivers Kenny Tate, Kevin Dorsey and Kerry Boykins...the Terps also added significant depth by bringing in four defensive lineman (favorite out of the gate--Masengo Kobongo who speaks four languages)...
Breaking down the class--9 players hail from Maryland or Washington DC, 2 are from Virginia while 2 more come from North Carolina. Coach Ralph Friedgen and Recruiting Coordinator Dave Sollazzo are looking to make more inroads in Pennsylvania and New Jersey--setting up a "five hour driving radius" where they will focus their efforts--meaning the state of Florida (with the emergence of South Florida, Central Florida, Florida International and Florida Atlantic) will see less attention.
Rivals.com ranked Maryland's class 4th in the ACC--by comparison Virginia Tech's recruits rated 4th while Virginia's incoming players was deemed 11th in the conference. But to paraphrase Maryland Radio sideline reporter Tim Strachan "It's not the rank of the players on their way into the program, but the ranking of the team when the players depart the program"...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Beltway Basketball Bonanza...February Fever and Best Supporting Actors...
In College basketball February is moving month... while teams learn what they've got in December and show who they are in January-- this is the month in which teams move from the bubble into the tournament or vice versa while the elite fine-tune their seeding possibilities...and mid-majors battle for conference positioning (especially in the one-bid leagues)...
Most schools making moves towards the tournament are doing so thanks not only to stellar performances from their stars but by quality minutes from unsung heroes...
While #6 Georgetown is unquestionably senior center Roy Hibbert's team, the Hoyas topped Seton Hall Saturday 73-61 behind 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench from Patrick Ewing Jr--the senior forward has been providing enormous energy off the pine and is a swiss army knife on defense; at 6-foot-8 he's able to cover perimeter and post players alike.
Maryland's topped 80 points in four straight games after reaching that mark just once over the first 18 games of the season--and still under the radar is the steadily improving play of sophomore Landon Milbourne (averaging 12 points and shooting over 50% from the field in the Terps 5-1 run)...the more heat he can draw away from Greivis Vasquez and James Gist, the better the odds of the Terps continuing their midseason roll.
Virginia Tech is clearly the ACC's surprise team at 5-3, despite being picked to finish in the bottom half of the league after the graduation losses of Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon... thanks to the instant impact of freshman Jeff Allen and his 13 points a game (including six double-doubles)--how long can this team scrap their way through a mine-laden league schedule?
While George Mason's guided by Will Thomas inside and Folarin Campbell on the perimeter, John Vaughan has emerged as a productive third option (he's scored in double figures every game since the BB&T Classic) who rebounds very well for a 6-foot-3 guard (very handy for a team that can play four outside with Thomas in the pivot).
American moved within a game of Patriot League leading Lafayette thanks to Saturday's 11 point win over the Leopards...and although the buzz at Bender Arena has been focused on the backcourt of Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, forward Brian Gilmore has been a major asset off the bench lately (averaging 13 points the last four games with a 10-4 assist to turnover ratio).
One last loop-- the Best Press setup... Georgetown's Verizon Center houses NBA and NHL franchises so naturally their facilities are first-rate...what I like is how the press work-room is right next to the interview room--at George Mason it's across a hallway while at George Washington one heads downstairs from the court. At Maryland one gets an excellent workout... walking down two hallways before taking a ramp/staircase through a door before a third hallway- I'm sure we've lost more than a few members of the press making the trek over the years.
Most schools making moves towards the tournament are doing so thanks not only to stellar performances from their stars but by quality minutes from unsung heroes...
While #6 Georgetown is unquestionably senior center Roy Hibbert's team, the Hoyas topped Seton Hall Saturday 73-61 behind 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench from Patrick Ewing Jr--the senior forward has been providing enormous energy off the pine and is a swiss army knife on defense; at 6-foot-8 he's able to cover perimeter and post players alike.
Maryland's topped 80 points in four straight games after reaching that mark just once over the first 18 games of the season--and still under the radar is the steadily improving play of sophomore Landon Milbourne (averaging 12 points and shooting over 50% from the field in the Terps 5-1 run)...the more heat he can draw away from Greivis Vasquez and James Gist, the better the odds of the Terps continuing their midseason roll.
Virginia Tech is clearly the ACC's surprise team at 5-3, despite being picked to finish in the bottom half of the league after the graduation losses of Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon... thanks to the instant impact of freshman Jeff Allen and his 13 points a game (including six double-doubles)--how long can this team scrap their way through a mine-laden league schedule?
While George Mason's guided by Will Thomas inside and Folarin Campbell on the perimeter, John Vaughan has emerged as a productive third option (he's scored in double figures every game since the BB&T Classic) who rebounds very well for a 6-foot-3 guard (very handy for a team that can play four outside with Thomas in the pivot).
American moved within a game of Patriot League leading Lafayette thanks to Saturday's 11 point win over the Leopards...and although the buzz at Bender Arena has been focused on the backcourt of Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, forward Brian Gilmore has been a major asset off the bench lately (averaging 13 points the last four games with a 10-4 assist to turnover ratio).
One last loop-- the Best Press setup... Georgetown's Verizon Center houses NBA and NHL franchises so naturally their facilities are first-rate...what I like is how the press work-room is right next to the interview room--at George Mason it's across a hallway while at George Washington one heads downstairs from the court. At Maryland one gets an excellent workout... walking down two hallways before taking a ramp/staircase through a door before a third hallway- I'm sure we've lost more than a few members of the press making the trek over the years.
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