New Jersey Tech

NJIT Basketball finds a conference

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:44:33 -0700

Metro Review Part 4: All-Rookie & Bottom Teams

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:56:27 -0700

Now we come to the bottom of the poll, where there wasn’t much in the way of positives to be found this season. NJIT (0-29) completed a historically bad season, the worst winless campaign in the history of Division I basketball. With head coach Jim Casciano stepping down at season’s end the Highlanders are also in need of a head coach. Whoever steps into that opening will have a lot of work to do in terms of talent along with the confidence level of the returning players. Princeton (5-22) also made history for the wrong reasons, with year one of the Sydney Johnson regime coming in as the worst in school history. Add to this the fact that their two leading scorers (Noah Savage and Kyle Koncz) are both seniors, and you have to hope that guys like Lincoln Gunn can step into those holes next season.

Stony Brook (7-23) once again had a tough season in America East, but they were able to win their first round conference tournament game before falling to eventual champion UMBC. Their top two scorers from this year, Ricky Lucas and Mitchell Beauford, are both out of eligibility so any improvement made will most likely rest upon the shoulders of returnees such as Demetrius Young and Michael Tyree. Monmouth (7-24) was the benefactor of some help on the season’s final weekend, resulting in a trip back to the Northeast Conference Tournament after a one-year hiatus. However, for Dave Calloway’s team to improve upon their seven wins they must improve on the offensive end of the floor.

St. Francis (7-22) came into 2007-08 feeling optimistic about their chances at competing in the NEC, and instead was one of the area’s more disappointing teams as they didn’t even qualify for the conference tournament. The loss of a few key seniors, most notably Robert Hines and Marcus Williams, will put Brian Nash’s program into rebuilding mode heading into next season. Finally, St. Peter’s (6-24) says goodbye to a trio of seniors in Todd Sowell, Raul Orta and Tim Spitler. They had the unenviable task of trying to get the program moving in a positive direction after the graduation of Keydren Clark and the retirement of Bob Leckie. But with youngsters such as Wesley Jenkins, Darrell Lampley and Nick Leon due back, John Dunne won’t have an empty cupboard in 2008-09.

Before the actual ranking of these last six teams, here are the members of the Metro All-Rookie team.

Metro All-Rookie Team

G Jay Gavin (Marist) – 12.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 77.1% FT

With Louie McCroskey missing a good chunk of the season due to injury, things could have headed downhill in a hurry for the Red Foxes. But they didn’t, thanks in large part to the play of Gavin, who’s been racking up the honors this off-season. He’s also been named MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year, CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention Mid-Major All-Freshman, and CollegeInsider.com Freshman Mid-Major All-American. And with a number of key contributors out of eligibility, this young sharpshooter is capable of even more in 2008-09.

G Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall) – 12.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.4 spg

The word explosive would be an accurate one to use in describing the scoring ability of Jeremy Hazell. The freshman from the Bronx, named to the Big East’s All-Rookie Team, was able to put on clinics at times this season. He lit up Louisville for twenty-nine points, and was also hot in losses to Connecticut (28 points) and West Virginia (30). But to underscore his streakiness, Hazell also have seven games in which he made no more than one field goal. Improved consistency could result in Hazell making one of the two All-Big East teams next season.

G Charles Jenkins (Hofstra) – 15.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg

Jenkins, named CAA Rookie of the Year, was the man to step into the role of being Hofstra’s number two scoring option. The freshman from Queens reached double figures in every game except for two: the season opener against Holy Cross, and their game at VCU January 12^th. And those are two teams who tend to do pretty well on the defensive end so there shouldn’t be much shame in that. His most impressive effort came in their BracketBusters win at Iona, a game in which he recorded his first career double-double (28 and ten rebounds). With Antoine Agudio moving on, more of the scoring load falls upon his shoulders. But Charles has shown this season that he can get it done.

G Wesley Jenkins (St. Peter’s) – 13.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 41.7% 3PT

Named to the MAAC’s All-Rookie Team, Jenkins led the Peacocks in scoring this season. Hailing from Newark, Wesley was one of three St. Peter’s freshmen among the team’s top four scorers, which should mean good things in the future. The first sign of thing to come from Jenkins came in the fourth game of the season, one in which he scored twenty-six in a loss to Rutgers. This remained his career-high until the BracketBusters game with Boston University in which he scored twenty-seven.

F Justin Burrell (St. John’s) – 10.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 73.5% FT

Of all the youngsters to enter the St. John’s program this season, Burrell was the most impressive. Leading the team in rebounding and ranking second in scoring, the Big East All-Rookie Team selection showed he was more than capable of banging inside with some of the more established post presences in the league. With some of the other post players around him gaining some experience as well, look for him to improve his numbers with additional help from the likes of Sean Evans, Dele Coker and Rob Thomas.

Honorable Mention All-Rookie

G Corey Chandler (Rutgers)

G David Devezin (Marist)

G Kyle Johnson (Long Island)

F D.J. Kennedy (St. John’s)

F Mike Ringgold (Rider)

Final Rankings 18-23

18. St. Francis (7-22)

Maybe I went into this season expecting a little too much from the Terriers, but is reaching the middle of the pack in the NEC too much to ask? When relying too much on the three, St. Francis struggled to win games. But when they got the ball inside to Robert Hines and resolved to attack the basket they were capable of doing some things, most notably their win at Sacred Heart. Five seniors, including three starters, now leave the program and it should be interesting to see whether or not the Terriers can make a move up the standings next season.

19. St. Peter’s (6-24)

Like the Terriers, St. Peter’s will have to replace some senior leaders. However, they should look forward to next season with some optimism since three of their top four scorers will be back. Oh, those three were all freshmen this season. Nick Leon will take over full-time at the point, and while talented he has a tendency to speed up a little too much at times. The key to the Peacocks improving upon their six wins will be finding a replacement inside for Todd Sowell. And that will not be an easy task for John Dunne and his coaching staff.

20. Monmouth (7-24)

The Hawks scuffled at times on the offensive end, averaging an NEC-worst 59.2 points per game. Jhamar Youngblood and Whitney Coleman both averaged double figures, but when your top two scorers both hover around twelve points per game you’d better be getting it done by committee. Dave Calloway had no such luck this season. The good news is that Monmouth didn’t have one senior on the roster, and Coleman was one of just two juniors (Alex Nunner the other). So inexperience was a factor, and this should mean that next year the Hawks will move up in the NEC pecking order.

21. Stony Brook (7-23)

Steve Pikiell will have to replace his starting backcourt of Ricky Lucas and Mitchell Beauford heading into next season. And how well players such as Demetrius Young and Michael Tyree do in expanded roles will determine if the Seawolves can get out of that 8/9 game in the America East Tournament. But along with Emanuel Neto, Lucas and Beauford are the only players who won’t be returning so some progress is possible. But in order for Stony Brook to improve their standing, they’ve got to shoot the ball better. 39% from the field and 32.6% from behind the arc will make it tough on just about anyone to win games.

22. Princeton (5-22)

Year one under Sydney Johnson was a tough one and it may not have been a good year in which to make the trip out to the Maui Invitational. Senior forward Noah Savage was named Second Team All-Ivy League due to his play, but the Tigers struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor. Lincoln Gunn will be the team’s leading returning scorer in 2008-09, but their style of play is one that will light up the scoreboard. So the assist-to-turnover ratio, which was tied for last in the conference, and rebounding margin (last in the Ivy) must improve next year.

23. NJIT (0-29)

The best way for the Highlanders to get over this season is to erase it from memory. Secondly, they’ll need to find a new head coach who understands the challenges that come with leading a provisional program. Forward Nesho Milosevic was a bright spot this season, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding in his first season on campus. So the question remains: how much better can this team be in 2008-09? Hate to say it, but unless the new coach is a miracle worker they should be right back at the bottom of this poll again next year. Just hope that the Highlanders win a couple in the process.

More:

NYC Metro Year End Review: Part One

All-Metro Team & Ranking 1-5

NYC Metro Year End Review: Part Two

Ranking 6-11

NYC Metro Year End Review: Part Three

Ranking 12-1

It's finally over...NJIT finishes the season 0-29

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:54:14 -0800

Well, if you're going to do something there's no sense in doing it halfway, right? Unfortunately for the New Jersey Institute of Technology, their move up to Division I has been a lesson in why you shouldn't rush things. Saturday, on a day highlighted due to Bracket Busters weekend along with the 1 vs. 2 matchup of Memphis and Tennesse, the Highlanders made their way onto "SportsCenter", and not for anything good. Here's the following exchange between Jay Harris and Stan Verrett on the 6 PM edition of the show: Stan: I bet those kids are good with a slide ruler. Jay: I didn't even know they had a team. Stan: They didn't even know they had a team. Wow. Such is life when you set the NCAA record for the most losses in a winless season with your 29th defeat. In the 76-50 loss at Utah Valley State (another provisional member), the Highlanders followed the familiar script of getting blitzed in the first half. But at least they continue to compete, being outscored by the Wolverines by two points in the second half. Head coach Jim Casciano announced his resignation on Wednesday due to the futility, and freshman guard Jheryl Wilson seems to be willing to do just about anything to remove himself from the situation or any reminders of it (Trust me, Jheryl, even if you transfer people are going to mention where you transferred from and will ask you "weren't you on that team..."). In the Associated Press recap of today's game, Wilson stated that he's "just hoping to forget about it in a month or two". But how does one simply erase a season like this from their mind? The season started off with two bad omens: a 70-28 loss to Manhattan in the opener, followed by Coach Casciano taking a 12-game leave of absence due to health issues. Former Syracuse standout Wendell Alexis took over in his stead, and I guarantee he never saw anything like this playing for Jim Boeheim (had he seen something like this, I don't think Coach Boeheim would still be employed by the school). Not really sure where you turn to fill this opening, and who would take it (according to the article, AD Lenny Kaplan has received 30+ calls regarding the position), but I guess we'll have to just wait and see. Unfortunately for NJIT, things may get worse before they get better. In addition to the new regime, they are still without conference affiliation. The league that would be the best fit in regards to the institutions and geography would probably be the Northeast Conference. But with Bryant University (located in Smithfield, Rhode Island) slated to join the league in 2012, the NEC has twelve members. I don't see how the Highlanders would fit into the MAAC or Patriot (although the Patriot does only have eight members) either. They still have some time to figure this all out for their athletic programs, and I wish them the best. Just hope there aren't any more winless seasons along the way to a solution.

Daily Dribble: Monday Report Card

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:38:01 -0800

The Report Card

A - Wake Forest

In the last Report Card, I gave Wake some love simply for getting to .500 in league play. But I wrote that .500 would be a distant memory as they faced Duke and UNC next. Who knew that they'd go on to beat Duke in impressive fashion, responding well after losing the lead and doing just about everything right down the stretch. Watching Cuse/G'Town on Sunday.. so much was said about the youth and inexperience of Syracuse.. using that as an excuse for bonehead plays down the stretch. But here was an equally inexperienced squad that played consistently solid basketball against the country's 2nd ranked team. Suddenly Wake is in the NCAA Tournament conversation.. and they now have more Top 50 wins that teams like Florida, Maryland, Ohio State & Syracuse.

B - Michigan

If you saw their three game winning streak coming, then you have some amazing predictive powers. After dropping to a dismal 5-17 record, the Wolverines have responded with wins over Penn State, Iowa, and Ohio State. Amazingly, Ohio State was the first team in the Top 125 that Michigan's beaten all year. Guess who their previous best win was against? Brown.. back on November 11th. As good as the win was for Coach Beilein and his young squad.. what does it say about OSU? If not for good name recognition and name recognition of the two other mediocre teams they've beaten (Florida & Syracuse), then the Buckeyes would be on the outside of the field looking in.

C - USC

I really want to like USC.. hot weather, attractive chearleaders, and cool young talent.. but strip all that away and you have a .500 Pac-10 team that has beaten one sure-fire NCAA Tournament team. Take away the UCLA win.. and you have a bunch of wins over bubble-level teams like Oklahoma, Oregon and Arizona State. I'm not suggesting USC is bad.. its just that I keep expecting more. Maybe I simply need to lower my expectations.

D - DJ Augustin

D is usually for Diebler, Ohio State's young shooting guard that has finally pushed his FG% above 30 on the season. Today, D is for DJ though.. as the Longhorns star guard is mired in an epic shooting slump. He's perhaps my favorite player in college ball today.. but the numbers don't lie: He's only hit 8 of his last 38 threes (21%).. and even worse, just 15 of his last 68 shots (22%). The only person who would take those numbers are another D.. Doug Gottlieb.

F - NJIT

I feel bad about this selection.. as the Highlanders represent my home state, and are an independent in over their heads. But 0-27 speaks for itself, especially now that they've completed their home schedule. Their only remaining games are at Longwood and Utah Valley State.. both probable losses. There is some hope against Longwood as they are the 325th RPI team and NJIT did beat them twice last year. But I'm just being kind, it would take a minor miracle for them to win.

The Daily Report Card tells you all you need to know about the day in college hoops. From good to bad and bad to worse, I'll be laying down the law.

Previous Best / Worst

February 15th - Oral Roberts / Big Ten Predictions

February 13th - Mike Green / Ed Donato

February 11th - Charron Fisher / Tim Morris

February 8th - Big West / Virginia

February 6th - Chris Lofton / Dick Vitale

February 5th - Bob Knight / Josh Heytvelt

February 4th - New York Giants / Washington State

February 1st - Nevada / Penn

January 31st - Kansas State / St. John's

January 29th - Winthrop / Dyson & Wiggins

January 28th - Rutgers / Doris Burke

January 25th - Ron Hunter / Princeton Offense

January 23rd - Kentucky / Archbishop Burke

January 22nd - DJ Augustin / Scott Sutton

January 21st - New York Giants / Marquette

January 20th - Maryland / ESPN.com editors

January 18th - Cleveland State / Marquette

January 17th - Drake / HP Laptops

January 14th - Roy Hibbert / Michigan State

January 10th - Tony Bennett / Saint Louis

January 9th - DJ White / CSTV

January 8th - Robert Morris / Schedule Makers

January 7th - Wayne Ellington / Illinois

January 6th - Herb Sendek / Kentucky

Welser Wonders: Will Purdue's Run End?

Joel Welser — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:14:37 -0800

What makes college sports so great is the fans. And who enjoys dressing up like an idiot more than college students? Or was that just me during my college days? My hat goes off to the little fan club of Stanley Pringle of Penn State. The guys wear full body size boxes of Pringles. Not only does it make me want to eat Pringles, but it’s just plain fun. Maybe I just don’t look in the crowd enough to notice or I’m too quick to flip to a different game when they show the crowd shots, but why don’t more people do this type of thing? There are tons of great names out there, although maybe none which lend themselves to such brilliance as the Pringles, but if Pringle can do it, so can the two Mayo’s in the NCAA. However, that has little to do with what “Welser Wonders…”

…when Eddie Sutton will get win number 801?

I would say ‘if’ Eddie Sutton is going to get win number 801, but ‘if’ doesn’t start with a ‘w’ so it doesn’t quite work with this arrangement. It was largely believed that once Coach Sutton got number 800, his temporary team of Dons would relax a bit and start reeling off a few victories. But that didn’t happen.

There are only five games left in the regular season for San Francisco, but the good news is four of them are at the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym and three of those are against teams that are 2-7 in conference right now. The Dons should be able to get a victory against Portland, Loyola Marymount or Pepperdine to get Coach Sutton up to at least 801. Really the team could be considered somewhat lucky to get a couple road wins at Portland and Pepperdine earlier in the season. Otherwise right now we would be wondering if Coach Sutton was even going to get the two wins he needed.

…what the deal is with the SEC?

Kentucky’s non-conference portion of the schedule went so poorly that even a 6-3 record in conference play has them well outside of the bubble. Getting absolutely slaughtered by Vanderbilt on Tuesday doesn’t help either. Mississippi, after winning their first 13 games, is 3-5 in conference play and in danger of missing out on dancing if things continue to go how they have been recently. Mississippi State is in a similar position as Kentucky. The Bulldogs started out really slow, but have since won 11 of their last 13.

Mississippi State should be in right now, but they could lose that with a poor showing in February and early March. Tennessee and Vanderbilt are pretty much locks and Arkansas and Florida have a pretty good shot. In all likelihood we are looking at five teams and it will be a fierce battle down the stretch. There are a ton of important games left in the SEC, but none may end up being as big as the hardwood version of the Egg Bowl on February 20^th. Mississippi State won the first leg at home by 20 and Mississippi needs to defend the home floor if they want to stay in the race for an NCAA Tournament bid.

…who the winless teams are in conference play?

Memphis gets their fair share of publicity for being undefeated. Duke, Drake, Cornell, Davidson and Oral Roberts are added to the list when you talk about undefeated teams in conference play. But what about the other end of the spectrum?

Independent New Jersey Institute of Technology, better known (sort of) as NJIT, is currently 0-25. The closest the Highlanders have gotten to a win is a couple nine point defeats. They only have four games left and that best shot to avoid a winless season is hosting Chicago State on Saturday. North Florida, The Citadel, Northwestern, Rice, Colorado State and Oregon State are also winless in conference play.

Oregon State fired their coach already this year and Colorado State is in rebuilding mode with a new head man. The only other major program on that list is Northwestern. Coach Bill Carmody is a great offensive mind, but it might be time to try something else in Evanston after eight years. Northwestern has never made an NCAA Tournament and certainly Bill Carmody cannot be totally blamed for that failure. The high academic standard is an old excuse. The basketball team only needs to look across the street to the football squad to see that it can be done. Nobody expects consistent top 25 seasons out of Northwestern, but this team should be able to go dancing at some point. But it probably won’t be with Coach Carmody leading the way.

…when it will end for Purdue?

The Boilermakers were supposed to be a decent team, but now they are looking at a Big Ten title. And don’t give me the Big Ten is down junk. This is a team that just beat Wisconsin in Madison. That doesn’t happen everyday. Even teams like Iowa and Penn State have had decent moments. It is very impressive to be on top of the Big Ten with an 11-1 record.

Purdue is a young team and they just keep getting better and better. Freshmen Robbie Hummel and E’Twaun Moore have already become superstars in the Big Ten and will be taking the rest of the nation by storm soon enough. Purdue might be a little slim in the paint, but the size of their guards puts plenty of mismatches in their favor. Most of that is in the form of 6-8 Hummel. The guy can make opposing power forwards look incompetent on defense if that is how the match-ups work out.

The big game left is against rival and fellow one-loss team Indiana. The winner of that game will likely be the Big Ten champions and earn a nice seed in March.

NYC Metro Preview: #19 New Jersey Tech

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:55:47 -0800

19. NJIT (2006-07 Record: 5-24)

Head coach: Jim Casciano

Returning Starters: 3- G Kraig Peters (senior): 6’4”, 191; F Nesho Milosevic (junior): 6’8”, 245; C Dan Stonkus (sophomore): 6’9”, 245.

Roster

Stats & Team Info

The Highlanders, entering their second season at the Division I level, have a lot of turnover to deal with this season. Ten newcomers, seven of them freshmen, join a program that only won five games in 2006-07. The growing pains were evident in their first season, even though they did get some nice wins along the way. In order to improve upon last season’s win total, the Highlanders mush become stronger on both ends of the floor (scored 57.1 ppg; allowed 70.6 ppg) and take better care of the basketball (17.9 turnovers per game).

The first task is to find a replacement for last season’s leading scorer, the graduated Clayton Barker (12.6 ppg). Luckily for Coach Casciano, Kraig Peters will be back for his senior season. The guard from Mt. Laurel, NJ averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.6 rpg last season. Now, with Barker gone, a lot of the offensive responsibilities will fall upon his shoulders. With Peters being the only returnee in the backcourt to log major minutes last season, six incoming freshmen backcourt players will have an opportunity to earn minutes. As for the other backcourt returnees, seniors Brett Johnson (6.5 minutes per game) and Courcy Magnus (10.7 minutes per game) will look to increase their playing time.

In the frontcourt, the two leading rebounders for the Highlanders in 06-07 are back in the form of Nesho Milosevic and Dan Stonkus. Milosevic, a sophomore from Montenegro led the team with seven rebounds per game last season. He also averaged 8.3 points per game, making him a likely candidate to score in double figures this season. Stonkus had a decent freshman season, averaging 5.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 06-07. Frontcourt depth will be provided by four newcomers, three of them juniors. There is some size in the NJIT lineup, but they may still have a hard time improving upon their rebounding margin of -2.5 boards per game.

Ten newcomers in all will arrive on campus for the 07-08 season, with six of them having the ability to play in the backcourt. The point guard job is up for grabs, and there are a few newcomers who will compete for the job. Freshmen Jheryl Wilson, Tyler Epps and Brendon Lyn will all look to earn playing time, with fellow guards Rey Jefferson and Justin Garris will look to get some minutes either at the two or on the wing. In the frontcourt, Paulius Skema, who received interest from some mid-major programs before signing with NJIT, is the only true freshman. Johnathan Dixon and Kyle Edwards have both been with the program, but missed last season due to injury. All three will be needed to give Milosevic and Stonkus some help on the block.

As for the schedule, it’s tough to schedule an entire campaign as an independent, but the Highlanders do have a solid schedule that will go a long way in introducing the newcomers to Division I college basketball. After the opener against Manhattan (who they beat last year), NJIT heads to Seattle for the Preseason NIT November 13^th-14^th (opening with Washington, then playing either Utah or High Point the following night). Other games of interest on the schedule include Vermont (November 20^th), at Rider on the 28^th of November and games against Army (December 6^th) and Rutgers (December 13^th) in the new Prudential Center. The Highlanders will also take part in the UCF Holiday Classic to close out 2007. They will play home-and-home against the other Division I independents- Chicago State, Longwood, Texas Pan-American and Utah Valley State.

2007-08 Prospects

Given how much the Highlanders struggled offensively last season, combined with the fact that Clayton Barker has graduated, this could be a long year for the young program. They will take their lumps, but they will compete. Whether or not NJIT improves upon last season’s win total will depend upon the newcomers being able to contribute, and the leading returnees stepping up their production from last season. But hey, no one said that the growth of a program would be painless.

Metro Basketball Report & Ranking

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 09:41:03 -0800

Well, we have now hit the stretch run of the basketball season. BracketBusters is completed, and the New York City area schools involved in the event went 4-2 overall. While the MAAC took a weekend off from conference play, the NEC attempted to get some sense of order in the middle of the league standings. Sacred Heart, Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner all find themselves jockeying for seeding in the eight-team conference tournament, and Long Island and St. Francis (NY) need wins and help in order to qualify.

In the Big East, St. John’s is getting closer to the Big East Championship, holding a three game edge in the win column over 13^th place. Who’s in thirteenth? Seton Hall, and with two games separating the Pirates from a Connecticut team that they’ve already lost to, things don’t look too good for Bobby Gonzalez’s club. In the Atlantic 10, Fordham is stuck in the middle of the pack record-wise, and where they could end up in terms of seeding by the end of next weekend is still to be decided. Army and Stony Brook find themselves at the bottom of the Patriot and America East conferences, and they don’t figure to stick around their conference tournaments for too long.

In the Colonial, it’s going to be tough for Hofstra to make up their two-game deficit with two games to go, but they still need wins in order to ensure that they end up on the side of the bracket opposite first-place Virginia Commonwealth. Lastly, Columbia doesn’t have the luxury that other teams in the area have since the Ivy League doesn’t have a conference tournament. And with the Lions five game behind Pennsylvania in the loss column with five games (for the Quakers) to go, it looks like another year without an NCAA tournament for CU. Now here are a few games to keep an eye on over the next couple of days in the area.

Lafayette @ Army, Wednesday 7 PM EST

Yes, both teams are tied at the bottom of the Patriot League standings with 3-9 league records, but the winner of this contest will go a long way in avoiding the bottom two seeds in the conference tournament. All games in the tournament are played at the higher seed, and with the top two teams being Holy Cross and Bucknell (their order is still up in the air as well), any pipe dream of making a miracle three-game run would have to include finishing at least sixth in the league.

The Black Knights have lost their last seven, and with Bucknell visiting West Point to end the season three days later, they need this one for confidence reasons as much as for their record. The Leopards certainly aren’t hot right now either, going 3-11 in their last fourteen games. Expect this one to be a low scoring affair with the team doing the better job of limiting their turnovers getting the win.

Also: St. John’s @ Louisville.

Manhattan @ Siena, Thursday 7 PM EST

This one is big for seeding in the MAAC Tournament, as well as the fact that Siena is one of three teams one game (in the loss column) behind first-place Marist. Siena’s won six straight heading into this contest and a win at home over the Jaspers sets them up for a showdown at Marist on Saturday for a share of the regular season crown. The Jaspers have a lot to gain in terms of seeding as well, but if they want to play the role of spoiler they’d better make sure that all five Saint starters don’t reach double figures in points like they did in the first meeting, an 80-69 Saint win on January 21^st. Manhattan must have an answer for guard Kenny Hasbrouck, who went for 22 in the first meeting, if they are to keep this one close.

Also: Mount St. Mary’s @ Wagner.

St. Peter’s @ Iona, Friday 7 PM EST

An ESPNU audience will get to watch two area rivals get together in what should be an entertaining game despite their records. Iona has been hit hard by injuries and academic issues, but they silver lining in their cloud of a season has to be that freshmen are getting valuable experience for next year. St. Peter’s is also a young team that will have a lot of returnees next season, so this game could be a springboard into 2007-08 for both teams. And given the unpredictable nature of conference tournaments, one of these teams (or both) could pull an upset or two in Bridgeport next weekend.

Siena @ Marist, Saturday 11 AM EST

Yes, this game starts at eleven, but it also gets an ESPN2 audience. And depending on what Siena does against Manhattan on Thursday night, this one could be for a share of the MAAC regular season title. Marist won the first meeting between the two back on January 15^th thanks to twenty-four from their star guard Jared Jordan. But look out for reserve forward Wilfred Benjamin; better known as “Spongy” (this is one of the best nicknames in college basketball). Neither team relies heavily on their bench, but in his last four games Benjamin has averaged 11.2 points per game for the Red Foxes. The McCann Field House should be jumping for this one, regardless of the time of day.

Also: Fordham @ Rhode Island, Fairleigh Dickinson @ Wagner

Duke @ St. John’s, Sunday 2 PM EST

The Blue Devils make yet another trip north to take on the Red Storm, and this is one that St. John’s usually has no problem getting up for. This SJU team is nowhere near the teams of Artest and Bootsy Thornton that found a way to win at Cameron Indoor, but don’t expect Norm Roberts’ bunch to back down from this challenge. Lamont Hamilton will have his hands full with Josh McRoberts, but this one may ultimately be decided by how well Duke point guard deals with St. John’s guard Eugene Lawrence, one of the better defensive guards in the Big East. On paper, Duke should leave the Garden with a win, but you never know what can happen in this one.

Here are the updated rankings.

Marist (last week: 1): The Red Foxes took care of business last week, and they have a few extra days off before Siena comes to town on Saturday.
Hofstra (2): Hofstra got lucky at home on Senior Day, needing two free throws and a lost second block from Carlos Rivera to beat Holy Cross.
St. John’s (3): They lost a tough on at Providence last week, but the fact that none of the teams behind them did anything of note last week keeps the Red Storm at three.
Fairfield (4): The Stags have alternated wins and losses in their last five, but a win over St. Peter’s on Sunday could go a long way in giving the Stags a boost heading into the MAAC Tournament.
Sacred Heart (8): The Pioneers recovered nicely from their loss to CCSU by taking Mount St. Mary’s out behind the woodshed, then winning a close one over FDU.
Fairleigh Dickinson (7): They lost a tough one against Sacred Heart, but the Knights win over Central Connecticut State gave the rest of the NEC hope that someone could beat the Blue Devils come tournament time.
Fordham (5): The Rams ended their four-game skid by holding on at home against Duquesne on Sunday. Next up is a two game road swing at Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure.
Manhattan (6): The Jaspers have lost their last four games, and they need some kind of positive momentum to take into the MAAC Tournament next weekend.
Seton Hall (9): The Pirates haven’t played very well of late, but none of the teams behind them in this poll have either.
Wagner (11): The Seahawks won at St. Francis (PA), and then lost at Robert Morris. This team has had a hard time sustaining positive momentum throughout the season.
Columbia (10): The road sweep at the hands of Penn and Princeton pretty much ended the Lions’ chances to win the Ivy, not that the numbers were in their favor heading into the trip to begin with.
LIU (13): The Blackbirds, winners of three of their last four, are starting to wake up. Unfortunately for them, however, it may be too late to qualify for the NEC Tournament. The St. Francis (PA)/Robert Morris road swing wraps up the season.
St. Francis (NY) (12): The Terriers made a run at eighth, but it looks like with a two-game gap to make up in the final two games of the season, it may be too late. Don’t expect this team to be on the outside looking in next year, however.
Stony Brook (15): The Seawolves beat New Hampshire by eighteen on Sunday, but they’re going to have a much tougher time with Albany on Thursday night.
Army (14): The losing streak has hit seven, and if they want to end it before the season ends, they need to take care of Lafayette.
NJIT (16): The Highlanders, led by senior guard Clayton Barker, have gone 2-2 in their last four games.
St. Peter’s (17): The Peacocks found a way to beat Iona, but they weren’t so fortunate in their 59-58 loss at Tennessee-Martin.
Iona (17): The Gaels got their first road win of the season, 52-50 at Delaware. Yes, it was Delaware, but for this young team it’s still a good win.