Northeastern

CAA First Round Preview

CHN — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:46:47 -0800

By Robert Canady: robert_canady@msn.com

The Colonial Athletic Conference tournament begins Friday in Richmond, VA. The conference’s top four teams, Drexel (regular season champions) George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion all have byes into the tournaments quarterfinals on Saturday. We will take a closer look at them later in the week. Here is a look at the first round matchups.

Game 1: #8 James Madison 12-19 (5-13) vs. #9 UNCW 9-20 (5-13) 12:00 pm

The two teams only met once in the conference season and that was a 69-61 JMU victory in Wilmington, NC on January 18^th. Senior guard Humpty Hitchens who had a career high 27 points in the win led the Dukes in scoring. Redshirt junior guard A.J. Davis also contributed 18 points and a career high eight rebounds. Kieth Rendleman the CAA’s fifth leading scorer (15.6) had 12 points to go along with 18 rebounds for the Seahawks.

While the teams may have finished in the lower half of the conference, the game could offer some good individual offensive performances. Four of the top league’s top 10 scorers will be in the matchup: JMU’s Davis 4^th and Hitchens 7^th along with UNCW’s Rendleman 5^th and Adam Smith 10^th.

Both teams finished season with an equal record in conference play. A key to the matchup may be determined from behind the 3-pt arc. JMU is second in the conference in three-point percentage. They are making a conference leading average of 7.8 per game and shooting .362 percent from 3-point range. UNCW on the other hand trails only Drexel and VCU in three-point defense, allowing only .314 percent.

Coaches: James Madison is coached by Matt Brady who is in his fourth year at the helm. Buzz Peterson, a member of North Carolina’s 1982 national championship team, is completing his second year as the Seahawks head coach. Pick: JMU 58 UNCW 52

Game 2: #5 Delaware 17-12 (12-6) vs. #12 Towson 1-30 (1-17) 2:30 pm

These two teams will be meeting for the third time this year and second time in the past nine days. Delaware won the first meeting of the year 62-43 in Newark. The Tigers played the Blue Hens much closer on February 22^nd in Towson before falling 76-69, a game that wasn’t decided until the last minute. In that game, Delaware freshman Jarvis Threatt scored a season high 29 points including 16 of 19 from the free throw line. Towson kept the result in doubt until the end, in part due to seven combined three-pointers from sophomore Marcus Damas (21 points) and freshman Kris Walden (18 points.)

There is a stat that no team that has played on Friday has made it to the final game of the tournament. Delaware is a team that is fully capable of pulling off that task. The Blue Hens enter the game on an eight game winning streak that started with a 65-60 victory over George Mason. They and Drexel are the only two CAA teams not to have lost during the month of February.

Delaware under head coach Monte’ Ross is loaded with offensive firepower. Threatt has been named CAA Rookie of the Week four times since January 23^rd. Sophomore Devon Saddler is second in the conference in scoring at 18.7 points per game. Junior Jamelle Hagins adds 12.7 points a game and guard Kyle Anderson leads the team and all freshman in the conference with 64 three pointers.

Coaches: Towson has begun rebuilding under first year head coach Pat Skerry. Despite the inexperienced roster that has only one scholarship letter winner, the Tigers have played very hard and taken a few of the league’s top teams down to the wire. Better days are ahead for the Tigers in the tournament, but this year most likely will not be one of them. Pick: Delaware 71 Towson 55

Game 3: #7 Northeastern 13-16 (9-9) vs. #10 William & Mary 6-25 (4-14) 6:00 pm

This may be the least intriguing game of the first day matchups. The two teams split the season series each winning at home, Northeastern prevailing 64-50 in January and William & Mary winning big 79-54 on February 11^th. Northeastern started the conference season with a promising 5-2 mark before losing six of their next eight games. They also had non-conference wins against, St. Johns, Boston University and Southern Illinois. In addition, Northeastern knocked George Mason out of a first place tie with Drexel in the second to last game of the season with an 85-82 Overtime victory at home.

Junior guard Jonathan Lee leads the Huskies. Lee provides constant on court leadership, as he was second in the CAA this year with 35.7 minutes played per game. He is also the team’s leading scorer contributing 14.6 points per game. Junior Joel Smith, who is the Huskies second leading scorer with 12.9 points per game, compliments Lee in the backcourt. Both players are capable of taking over a game and putting up big numbers. Smith ended the regular season averaging 20.7 points a game over his last four games and had a season high 29 points in the victory over St. Johns. Lee was very consistent all season, scoring in double figures in all but three games and two of those he had nine points. Lee had a season high 27 points in the win over George Mason.

The Tribe has a combination of experience and youth. Senior Quinn McDowell leads the way with 12.7 points per game and freshman Marcus Thornton is close behind with 11.1 per game. Thornton seems to thrive on tough completion as he had a team season high 28 points against VCU on February 1^st and scored 23 on the road against George Mason in January. McDowell for his part had 27 points against UNCW and 26 on the road at Towson.

Coaches: Bill Coen is completing his sixth season as head coach at Northeastern. Tony Shaver is in his 9^th year at William & Mary. He took his team to the 2010 NIT and is a two time (2008, 2010) CAA Coach of the Year. Pick: Northeastern 64 William & Mary 50

Game 4: #6 Georgia St. 20-10 (11-7) vs. #11 Hofstra 10-21 (3-15) 8:30 pm

Because of the CAA’s unbalanced schedule, these teams only met once and that was not until the 13^th conference game of the season in which Georgia St. won easily on the road in Hempstead, NY. Georgia State has had a roller coaster season if ever a team has had one. After losing all three games in the season opening World Vision Classic in Seattle Washington, they won 11 games in a row. That included a 5 -1 mark to start the conference part of the season. They played a killer stretch of three games in five days against Drexel at home, then VCU and George Mason on the road. The Panthers hit a bit of a mid season swoon as they dropped four out of five games in late January, including a double overtime loss at Delaware. Speaking of overtime, Georgia St. might be the only team in the country that has lost three conference overtime games in the same season. The first two of those came against the Blue Hens of Delaware.

Hofstra finished 3-15 in the conference but had their most impressive outing of the year in the season finale, a 93-64 win at home over UNCW. Hofstra boasts the CAA’s leading scorer, senior guard Mike Moore. Moore averaged a league best 20.7 points per game and had three outings of over 30 points, including the win over UNCW. Moore finished third in the conference with 79 three-pointers on the season including six in the season finale.

Coaches: Ron Hunter is in his first year as head coach at Georgia St. and has garnered some talk as a Coach of the Year candidate in leading the Panthers to 20 wins after taking over a team that had an 11-18 campaign last year. Mo Cassara completes his second season as Hofstra’s coach. He had a very successful first season leading the Pride to a 21-12 record. Pick: Georgia St. 78-69

Quarterfinals Saturday March 3^rd

#1 Drexel vs. JMU/UNCW winner 12:00 pm

#4 ODU vs. Delaware/Towson winner 2:30 pm

#2 VCU vs. Northeastern/William & Mary winner 6:00 pm

#3 George Mason vs. Georgia St/Hofstra winner 8:30 pm

Semifinals Sunday March 4^th

Drexel/JMU/UNCW vs. ODU/Towson/Delaware winner 2:00 pm

VCU/Northeastern/William & Mary vs. George Mason/Georgia St/Hofstra winner 4:30 pm

Championship Game Monday March 5^th at 7:00 pm

Conference USA Having Bubble Issues: Wednesday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:39:10 -0800

In the big game of the night #18 Notre Dame continued their run with a 71-44 beating of West Virginia in South Bend.

1. While Memphis took care of business Southern Miss and UCF didn't, which is bad news for Conference USA.
For some time it's been assumed by many that Conference USA would send two teams to the NCAA tournament, with those teams likely being Memphis and Southern Miss. UCF has tried to fight their way into consideration of late but the Knights may have done irreparable harm to their at-large hopes on Wednesday night. Up 49-37 at the half at Rice, Donnie Jones' team was outscored 45-26 in the second half of what would become an 83-74 loss. How did this happen? UCF turned the ball over 18 times to just nine for the Owls, who converted those UCF mistakes into 21 points, and wound up being outscored in the paint 38-20. When that happens on a night that saw Rice's Arsalan Kazemi make two field goals it's easy to see that there were problems.

Southern Miss would most likely still make the tournament at this point barring an absolute disaster, but their margin for error is smaller thanks to their 76-68 double overtime loss at UTEP. C.J. Cooper led five Miners in double figures with 16 points and as a team UTEP shot 50% from the field while Southern Miss made just 37.5% of their shots. Shots inside of the arc proved to be the difference as UTEP shot 58.5% to just 34.8% for the Golden Eagles, who were led by Darnell Dodson (16 points). Could C-USA ultimately end up being a one-bid league? While this is an unlikely scenario for the league they've lost some of their margin for error with Wednesday's results.

2. USF and Wyoming allow great opportunities on the road to slip away.
Stan Heath's Bulls got off to an excellent start at the Carrier Dome as they took on #2 Syracuse. The team many refused to respect due to the lack of marquee wins on their schedule held a 20-7 lead nearly ten minutes into the first half. This would be where the tide turned however as the Orange went on a drawn out 26-0 run to gain control of the game, and even though USF hung tough throughout they didn't have enough offensively to win. Scoop Jardine led Syracuse to the 56-48 win with 15 points and four assists, and Anthony Collins led the Bulls with 12 points and ten assists. USF's pace worked out well as their deliberate style limted the Orange's fast-break opportunities. But when teams turned the ball over twice as many times as their opponent, especially on the road, it becomes near impossible to win.

Wyoming on the other hand took control of their game at #24 San Diego State in the second half, as they led by as many as nine points and had the hobbled Aztecs on the ropes. Larry Shyatt's team couldn't land the knockout blow however, eventually leading to the game going into overtime and the Aztecs winning 67-58. Wyoming scored just three points in the extra session, and to not have Leonard Washington (nine points, five rebounds) on the floor didn't help matters either. SDSU shot and made twice as many two-point shots as Wyoming, and the 14 points scored by Garrett Green proved to be huge with Washington struggling. USF and Wyoming will still have chances to reach the field, but things got a lot tougher for two teams whose resumes aren't the greatest when looking at their strength of schedule numbers.

3. Northeastern upsets George Mason, dropping the Patriots out of first in the CAA.
Turnovers have been an issue for Paul Hewitt's team for much of the season, but the Patriots may have hit fock bottom in that area. Mason turned the ball over 21 times (Northestern 22) in a game they would go on to drop 85-82 in overtime in Boston. This result leaves Drexel in sole possession of first place going into this weekend's matchups pitting the top four teams in the league against each other. Jonathan Lee scored 27 points and Kashief Edwards 22 to lead the Huskies past George Mason, and the job NU did on Ryan Pearson defensively was nothing short of impressive.

Pearson, widely regarded by many as the clear choice to be named CAA Player of the Year, shot just 3-for-12 from the field and scored 11 points. To win a share of the regular season title George Mason needs to beat VCU while also receiving help in the form of s Drexel loss to Old Dominion. Next weekend's conference tournament in Richmond is too tough to call at this point, and given the play of the upper half of the league against the lower half the most important thing for the contenders to do at this point is set themselves for th highest seed possible.

Quick Hitters

1. Minnesota's hopes of an at-large berth likely ended with their 66-61 loss to #6 Michigan State at The Barn, and Tubby Smith's team has no one to blame but themselves. The Golden Gophers went more than three minutes without scoring a point until Andre Hollins made a three with less than two seconds remaining. At 5-10 in Big Ten play Minnesota would likely not only have to win their last three league games but also do some damage at the Big Ten tournament to make a solid case for a bid.

2. Joe Ragland scored 14 points and Garrett Stutz added 12 and 14 rebounds as #19 Wichita State beat Illinois State 68-55 to wrap up the Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown. Gregg Marshall's team has multiple offensive weapons, and the fact that the Shockers are willing to defend (the Redbirds shot 37.7%) makes them a serious threat to reach the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

3. Also clinching their regular season league title was UT-Arlington, who won at McNeese State 93-89 behind 28 points from LaMarcus Reed. Four starters reached double figures for the Mavericks, who got back on the right track after a two-point loss at Weber State ended their 16-game win streak. UT-Arlington shot 10-for-18 from three and 27-for-20 from the foul line, making up for the fact that McNeese State grabbed 14 offensive boards.

4. #22 Temple found a way to hang onto sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 as they won 80-79 at La Salle in overtime. Micheal Eric played very well as he finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots and Khalif Wyatt scored 25 to lead the Owls offensively. Earl Pettis scored 33 to lead the Explorers but it wasn't enough as the Owls also clinched a share of the Big 5 crown.

5. Keep an eye on the play of #5 Kansas guard Elijah Johnson as it will likely play an important role in the Jayhawks' play in the next month. Johnson scored 21 points as Kansas survived a tough night for Thomas Robinson, winning 66-58 at Texas A&M. Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor are the offensive leaders for Bill Self's team, but the more he can get from Johnson and Jeff Withey down the stretch the better.

6. Kevin Jones has some company in the race for Big East Player of the Year, and at this rate #10 Marquette forward Jae Crowder may even pass the Mountaineer senior. Crowder was all over the box score in the Golden Eagles' 82-65 win over Rutgers, accounting for 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots. He and Darius Johnson-Odom are two big reasons why Buzz Williams' team has been one of the best in the Big East.

7. Zeke Marshall led five Akron players in double figures with 16 points as the Zips locked up a share of the MAC regular season title with a 79-68 win over Bowling Green. Marshall also grabbed seven rebounds for the Zips, who have now won 20 or more games in seven straight seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot.

Northeastern: Cheerleader of the Day

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:34:27 -0800

CollegeHoops.net's Cheerleader of the Day is back in 2012. Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media. Check out our new college cheerleader archive.

Cheerleaders of the Day
>>		>>		>>			..Archive

#102 Northeastern: 2010-11 Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:04:22 -0700

Overall Rank: #102

Conference Rank: #5 Colonial Athletic Association

2009-10: 20-13, 14-4

2009-10 postseason: NIT

Coach: Bill Coen (66-62 at Northeastern, 66-62 overall)

Northeastern graduates one of its best senior classes ever and they failed to reach their ultimate goals of winning a CAA championship or reaching the NCAA Tournament. Yet, despite the absence of so many quality and experienced players, last season showed that Coach Bill Coen had some talent sitting down his bench that was just not able to find too many minutes. Those that did play, performed very well and this team may not take as big of a step back as many expect.

Key Losses: F Manny Adako, G Baptiste Bataille, G Matt Janning, C Nkem Ojougboh

Key Newcomers:

This is a young team and the freshmen will battle it out with a bunch of sophomores for playing time. Alex Harris is a versatile 6-4 wing who can score and bring the ball up the court. Chris Avenant redshirted last season and his year in the program could be a big help. Power forward Alex Bates and center Ryan Pierson will at least have to provide some quality minutes off the bench this year. It is Pierson who seems most likely to make an impact right away. The 6-10, 235 pound St. Louis, Missouri product already has the strength to compete under the basket and should at least be able to help on the boards while his offense comes around.

Backcourt:

Neither Alwayne Bigby or Joel Smith will be the next Matt Janning, but they are the likely candidates to start on the wing. Bigby started 28 games during his freshman campaign and by the end of the season was a pretty solid all-around player. He was never asked to score much, but he certainly can when given the opportunity. And the opportunity will be there now. The Huskies hope Smith can take over some of the outside shooting left behind by Janning. Smith is a shooter, but it did not look that way most of his freshman campaign. He only averaged seven minutes per game, but if his shot starts falling, Smith could go from 1.9 points per game to double figures pretty easily.

Frontcourt:

The frontcourt has many of the same issues facing them. Like Bigby, Kauri Black played some good ball late in the season and is ready to take the next step. Black, a 6-7 sophomore, only played in 19 contests during his first year with the Huskies, but by the end of the season he was a key player off of the bench. Now he will step into a starting job and have to keep up his offensive output and hit the glass with a little more tenacity. The starting five spot could belong to Vinny Lima just because he is one of two seniors on the roster. Lima has never played too much, but he is a big guy who has enough talent to surprise a few people. Dinko Marshavelski is another one of those sophomores who barely got to play last season. In Marshavelski’s case he needed some time to develop. That time is up now and he will have to play a big role on this team.

Who to Watch:

The player who will hold this team together is the conference’s Player of the Year runner-up, Chaisson Allen. Allen is an experienced senior who will do everything. Last year he averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He also connected on nearly 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. That is not bad at all for a 6-4 point guard. His size allows him to attack the basket and Allen will be dangerous even if he does not get open looks this season since inevitably the opposing defense will be keying in on him. But Allen is a smart enough player to get the rest of his team involved and even if the opposition can stop Allen from scoring, they will not be able to stop him from penetrating and finding an open teammate.

Final Projection:

There will be some growing pains, but Coach Coen proved last year that he can manage a slow start and still have a great year. The start this year might be a little slower as most of the team adjusts to playing more minutes, but by the end of the season this is a team that can come close to winning 20 games and reach the postseason for the third straight year, albeit not the postseason tournament they would prefer.

Projected Post-season Tournament: CBI/CIT

Projected Starting Five:

Chaisson Allen, Senior, Guard, 13.6 ppg

Joel Smith, Sophomore, Guard, 1.9 ppg

Alwayne Bigby, Sophomore, Guard, 3.2 ppg

Kauri Black, Sophomore, Forward, 2.3 ppg

Vinny Lima, Senior, Forward, 1.2 ppg

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College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

2010 CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Americans

CHN — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:47:47 -0800

Being the best player on a Top 15 team is a recipe for earning CollegeHoops.net's Mid-Major Player of the Year honors. Gordon Hayward averaged 15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.8 apg in leading Butler to a 28-4 record. He's joined on the Mid-Major First Team by CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, Cornell leader Ryan Wittman, and big men Keith Benson of Oakland and Art Parakouski of Radford.

Butler has three players on the list: Hayward, 2nd teamer Shelvin Mack, and Honorable Mention Matt Howard. Other teams with multiple players include Cornell (Wittman & Jeff Foote), IUPUI (Alex Young & Robert Glenn), Northeastern (Matt Janning & Chaisson Allen) Siena (Ryan Franklin & Ryan Rossiter),

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Year:

Gordon Hayward, Butler, So

CollegeHoops.net First-Team Mid-Major All-America
G Charles Jenkins, Hofstra
G Gordon Hayward, Butler
G/F Ryan Wittman, Cornell
F Keith Benson, Oakland
C Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford

Second-Team Mid-Major All-America

G Shelvin Mack, Butler
G CJ McCollumn, Lehigh
F Kenneth Faired, Morehead St
F Alex Young, IUPUI
C Adnan Hodzic, Lipscomb

Third-Team Mid-Major All-America
G David Kool, Western Michigan
G Damian Lillard, Weber St
F Marqus Blakely, Vermont
F Larry Sanders, VCU
F Alex Franklin, Siena

Fourth-Team Mid-Major All-America

G Gerald Lee, Old Dominion

G Matt Janning, Northeastern

F Tyren Johnson, Louisiana-Lafayette
F Charles Garcia, Seattle
F Orlando Johnson, UCSB

Honorable Mention

Chaisson Allen, Northeastern

Noah Dahlman, Wofford
Rahmon Fletcher, UWGB
Jeff Foote, Cornell

Robert Glenn, IUPUI

Andrew Goudelock, Charleston

Joseph Harris, Coastal Carolina
Marquez Haynes, UT-Arlington

John Holland, Boston U

Reggie Holmes, Morgan St

Anthony Johnson, Montana

Matt Howard, Butler

Jeremy Lin, Harvard

Ashton Mitchell, Sam Houston St

Derek Needham, Fairfield

TJ Robinson, LBSU

Ryan Rossiter, Siena
David Schneider, William & Mary

Chris Singletary, Kent St
AJ Slaughter, Western Kentucky
Ben Smith, Jacksonville
Ryan Thompson, Rider

G Dominic Waters, Portland St

Northeastern 2010 NIT Capsule

Joel Welser — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:34:50 -0800

Northeastern Huskies

Colonial Athletic Association (20-12, 14-4)

Big Wins: 11/21 Utah State (64-61), 12/30 vs Kent State (61-58), 1/30 ODU (74-64)

Bad Losses: 11/25 at Boston U (64-69), 12/23 vs Western Michigan (60-75), 1/27 Drexel (48-61)

Coach: Bill Coen

Why They Can Surprise:

Northeastern has progressed quickly under Coach Bill Coen and with a senior heavy team, the Huskies have not disappointed. It has taken some time, but Coach Coen has created a team that takes care of the ball and takes smart shots. Chaisson Allen is the catalyst of the offense and dishes out 3.7 assists per contest. Allen is more than simply a point guard though, he is also a superb scorer who connects on an impressive 40.6 percent of his attempts from long range.

Surprisingly though, Allen is not the team’s leading scorer. That honor goes to Matt Janning. The 6-4 senior is a capable outside shooter, but is not nearly as consistent from long range as Allen. Janning is more effective attacking the basket or driving the lane and pulling up for a mid-range jumper. Allen and Janning are both solid ballhandlers and it will be important for Northeastern to keep control of the ball if they hope to pull off an upset.

Why They Can Disappoint:

And the Huskies need all the possessions they can get since they are often outrebounded. Nkem Ojougboh has developed into a fine rebounder and an effective scorer, but he cannot do it all by himself. Ojougboh is also the team’s lone shot blocking threat and has really stepped up his game for his senior season. Manny Adako will be starting next to Ojougboh. Adako is a great interior scorer and his presence on the offensive end opens up space for Janning and Allen on the perimeter, but he is not very effective on the glass. The lack of depth up front is the main reason for the lack of rebounding. Kauri Black, a 6-7 freshman, is the only forward left on the roster who plays any significant minutes and he has been very inconsistent since he started playing in January.

Who To Watch:

Alwayne Bigby is a wing who has stepped into the starting lineup and has become the glue guy. He is not much of a scorer, but he is a solid defender and gives the team some more size on the perimeter. Baptiste Bataille is another intriguing guard. Like Bigby, Bataille lets Janning and Allen do most of the perimeter scoring, but Bataille is a solid ball handler and is capable of doing some scoring from beyond the arc or by using his speed to get to the basket.

Probable Starters:

Chaisson Allen, Junior, Guard, 13.7 ppg, 3.7 apg, 4.8 rpg

Matt Janning, Senior, Guard, 15.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg

Alwayne Bigby, Freshman, Guard, 3.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg

Manny Adako, Senior, Forward, 11.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Nkem Ojougboh, Senior, Center, 9.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.3 bpg

Key Roleplayers:

Baptiste Bataille, Senior, Guard, 5.5 ppg, 1.5 apg

Kauri Black, Freshman, Forward, 2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 64.6 (263^rd in nation, 9^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 60.1 (15, 2)

Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (92, 2)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (73, 4)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.3 (256, 8)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.5 (150, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 72.0 (72, 2)

Rebound Margin: -2.7 (272, 11)

Assists Per Game: 12.0 (241, 9)

Turnovers Per Game: 11.9 (44, 2)

Follow Joel Welser's Postseason Capsules & College Basketball Previews on Twitter @Joel_Welser and on his Facebook page. Joel will be back in June for his annual Top 144 Teams in 144 Days preview on CollegeHoops.net

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BracketBusters Saturday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:04:02 -0800

FRIDAY RECAP
Northern Iowa 71, Old Dominion 62
The Panthers won their second straight without center Jordan Egleseder, knocking off the Monarch in Cedar Falls behind a 23-point night from Ali Farokhmanesh. Farokhmanesh hit five of nine shots from behind the arc and Kwadzo Ahelegbe added ten points. Gerald Lee led the Monarchs with 19 points but it wasn't enough to prevent ODU's first loss in the BracketBusters event.

Iona 69, William & Mary 53
The Gaels dealt the Tribe's at-large hopes a serious blow with a thorough beating in New Rochelle. Scott Machado led three Iona players in double figures with 17 points while Alejo Rodriguez and Jonathan Huffman added twelve apiece. David Schneider scored 17 to lead William & Mary but as a team they shot just 36.2% from the field.

SATURDAY PREVIEW

Nine televised games to be had on the ESPN family of networks with Siena and Butler kicking things off at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The most important player for the Saints if they're to win: shooting guard Clarence Jackson, who slid into the spot vacated by the graduation of Saints great Kenny Hasbrouck. When the Marlton, NJ native is on he can hit just about any shot in the gym but when he isn't Siena lacks one offensive weapon with the ability to be the ultimate "trump card". He will most certainly be tested by Shelvin Mack and with the two teams matching up well at the other positions this one likely determines the outcome. Also, keep an eye on Matt Howard's foul count. The Bulldogs got into trouble early in the year when he got into foul trouble and with Siena using three different players to guard him he's got to stay on the floor.

The final game of the night is also an intriguing affair with Wichita State taking on Utah State in one of the nation's best environments (which should be noted when looking at Saint Mary's since they won there). The Shockers still have the stigma of losing to previously winless Evansville a short time back, likely tossing away their at-large hopes in the process. A win in Logan would most certainly put them back into the conversation if not move them just short of "lock" status. But they'll have to deal with the tandem of forward Tai Wesley and point guard Jared Quayle, two of the best players out west. If Wichita State is to win they'll need to value the basketball and keep their heads on a swivel defensively; Stew Morrill's team runs an offensive system with enough sets to make NFL offensive coordinators jealous.

As for games not part of the televised portion of the event there are some intriguing matchups as well. Fairfield visits Vermont in a matchup of two teams that could very well make runs in their respective conference tournaments. Ed Cooley's Stags do as good a job as anyone at shrugging off injuries and simply competing; add in one of the best freshmen in America in guard Derek Needham and you have a team that's given Siena a hard time in both of their meetings. Mike Lonergan's Catamounts are a contender in America East thanks in large part to the conference's best player, forward Marqus Blakely. This should be one of the better games of the day despite the fact that it won't be televised nationally. Some have the ability to improve their at-large profiles while others are simply in need of a confidence-boosting win going into their league tournament, which should make for an entertaining day of basketball.

TV GAMES

11a ESPN2 Siena at Butler
Noon ESPNU Morgan St at Murray St
1p ESPN2 Louisiana Tech at Northeastern
3p ESPN2 Nevada at Missouri St
4p ESPNU Akron at VCU
8p ESPN2 College of Charleston at George Mason
8p ESPNU Western Carolina at Kent St
10p ESPNU New Mexico St at Pacific
11:59p ESPN2 Wichita St at Utah St

OTHER GAMES

2p Fairfield at Vermont
2p Buffalo at Saint Peter's
3:05p Western Michigan at Southern Illinois
4p Wright St at Ohio
4p Rider at Hofstra
5:05p Morehead St at Illinois St
7p Winthrop at Eastern Kentucky
8p Niagara at Milwaukee
8p Indiana St at Green Bay
8:05p Drexel at Bradley
8:30p Oral Roberts at Austin Peay
9p San Jose St at Montana St
10:30p UC Santa Barbara at Fresno St

ONE PREDICTION

Louisiana Tech over Northeastern: The Bulldogs nearly left Utah State with a win earlier this week; Kerry Rupp's team has one of the best tandems in the WAC in guard Kyle Gibson and forward Magnum Rolle. They will be tested by a Northeastern squad led by Matt Janning and Chaisson Allen but they've got the mettle required to win on the road in an unfamiliar environment. Bulldogs by four.

College Basketball Odds & Predictions: Tuesday

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:14:01 -0800

Betting odds are a great guide to college basketball entertainment. I'll discuss my daily predictions after the lines.. these are posted solely for fun, as I do not bet on games myself, nor do I suggest anybody else does either (it's not easy). If you agree or disagree with my picks, have thoughts on the day's lines, or have upsets or picks to announce, post them below.

February 2nd: College Basketball Lines & Predictions

- listed are the day's 6 most popular/intriguing games. I only predict games from this pool due to fan interest.

7:00

Michigan
at Northwestern

Favorite

Northwestern by 1.5

Over/Under

125

7:00

Providence
vs Syracuse

Favorite

Syracuse by 15

Over/Under

168.5

7:00

Mississippi
vs Kentucky

Favorite

Kentucky by 11

Over/Under

150.5

7:00

Seton Hall
at Villanova

Favorite

Villanova by 10

Over/Under

166.5

7:00

Miami-Florida
at Wake Forest

Favorite

Wake Forest by 6.5

Over/Under

142

9:00

Michigan St
at Wisconsin

Favorite

Wisconsin by 2

Over/Under

123.5

- Lines as of 11:30 am (from BetUS) - Check out the day's full set of odds as the day progresses. Predictions below:

College Hoops Thursday Recap: Michigan Storms Back

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:39:22 -0800

While much of the country was caught up in the hoopla that was the BCS Championship Game, an amazing comeback was taking place at Penn State. The Nittany Lions looked to be well on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season, leading a cold-shooting Michigan at the half 31-16. But if you're familiar with John Beilein-coached teams you know that at the snap of a finger they can heat up from the field. And that's exactly what happened in the second half, as the Wolverines outscored their opponents 48-24 in the final twenty minutes on their way to a 64-55 victory. DeShawn Sims led the way with 25 points and Laval Lucas-Perry knocked down four key three pointers in the comeback.

Down 42-26 with just over twelve minutes left in the game after a Chris Babb three pointer the Wolverines outscored Penn State 38-13 for the remainder of the contest. What also helped Michigan was their defense on All-Big Ten performer Talor Battle, who went scoreless in the second half and finished with nine points. Penn State also finished the game with seventeen turnovers, something that doesn't harm you much when your opponent goes 0-for-12 from behind the arc as Michigan did in the first half. But when they recover to shoot 7-for-12 in the second half you're in trouble.

Despite Penn State's 0-3 league record this is a huge win for the Wolverines, who moved to 2-1 on the season. Instead of fighting for their lives simply to stay above water following a loss they host Minnesota on Sunday with a chance to move to 3-1 and pick up a solid resume win in the process.

Three Key Happenings

1. Northeastern continues George Mason's road woes. Of course the Patriots did win a road game in league play, beating UNC Wilmington. But to be frank the Seahawks aren't likely to be a player in the CAA race. The wins over Old Dominion and Hofstra followed a serious beating at the hands of Radford, and George Mason fell to 1-4 on the road with their 71-46 loss at Northeastern last night. Chase Allen was the star for Bill Coen's squad, leading the Huskies in scoring with twenty points. Ryan Pearson led GMU with 20 points and 10 rebounds but he really didn't receive much help; no player scored more than seven points (Cam Long) and as a team the Patriots shot 37.7% from the field. If George Mason is to remain a contender in the CAA their offensive execution on the road has to improve against the other contenders for the conference title.

As for the Huskies, it was easy for some to forget about how good this team is in light of their less than stellar non-conference record. But keep in mind the teams they took on in those games, facing the likes of Siena, Utah State, Rhode Island, Saint Mary's and Providence. Matt Janning is one of the more versatile players you'll see and the frontcourt has a pair of solid contributors in Manny Adako and Nkem Ojougboh. Now they're part of a five-way tie for first place and it should be of no surprise that they're in that position.

2. Long Island takes over sole possession of first place in the NEC. The matchup between the Blackbirds and Robert Morris matched two of the three undefeated teams in the league, and that came in seemingly headed in different directions. The Colonials were riding a three-game win streak due to the emergence of some key role players and the improvement of senior Rob Robinson, and this was despite the loss of Jimmy Langhurst for the rest of the season. LIU on the other hand had lost six straight, a stretch that featured the two-game suspension of their best player (Jaytornah Wisseh) and a suddenly porous defense. Well, the recent trends went out with the night's refuse thanks to Kyle Johnson, who scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in LIU's 74-64 win in Brooklyn.

Michael Culpo gave RMU a 44-41 lead with a three pointer but all that did was trigger a 14-2 LIU run that gave the Blackbirds the lead for good. In seasons past LIU would lean heavily upon Wisseh to make things happen; they don't have to do that this season. Johnson has been a steady force alongside Wisseh in the backcourt and freshmen Jamal Olawasere and Kenny Onyechi have played well enough to merit serious consideration for NEC Rookie of the Year honors. They were expected to be a factor in the race despite the loss of some key players expected to contribute this season (Aurimas Adomaitis, Lucas Faggiano and Julian Boyd), and they showed exactly why last night.

3. Western Kentucky wins in overtime at South Alabama. In a game matching two contenders in the Sun Belt the Hilltoppers remained undefeated in league play with a 67-64 overtime win in Mobile (their second consecutive season beating USA on the road). AJ Slaughter led the way with eighteen points, including a three pointer that gave the Tops a 65-64 lead in the extra session and Steffphon Pettigrew added seventeen and made the two free throws that sealed it. There wasn't much that separated these two, as is the case when they meet. Last season the visitors won both regular season meetings, which could bode well for Ronnie Arrow's squad when the meet again on February 18th. WKU has played just two league games to the Jaguars' four and those games in hand could be the difference in this race; there are teams in the Sun Belt (Arkansas State and Denver being two of the many) who can spoil either teams' run to a regular season title.

Top Three Games

1. Western Kentucky 67, South Alabama 64 (OT) See above.

2. Quinnipiac 64, Mount St. Mary's 63 Two James Feldeine (18 points) free throws sealed the game for the Bobcats, and it's a good thing that he made both as Jeremy Goode (game-high 24 points) hit a three-pointer with one second left on the clock. The Mount, preseason favorites to win the league, drops to 0-3 in the NEC.

3. Coastal Carolina 58, UNC Asheville 57 A Chad Gray jumper with 5.5 seconds left in the game won it for the Chanticleers, who move to 5-0 in the Big South as a result. Gray scored 18 off the bench to lead the way while J.P. Primm led Asheville with 18 points of his own.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Jonathan Rodriguez (Campbell) The senior posted the line of 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Camels' 82-73 loss at Mercer.

2. F Jeremy Buttrell (Illinois-Chicago) Buttrell scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Flames' 76-67 loss at Youngstown State. As a team UIC finished with twenty-six rebounds.

3. G Nate Rohnert (Denver) One of the Sun Belt's most versatile players, Rohnert scored 27 points while adding seven assists, three rebounds and three steals in the Pioneers' 75-66 win over New Orleans.

CAA Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:55:50 -0800

With four teams legitimately battling for the CAA title, and top-notch players like Charles Jenkins and Chad Tomko on lesser teams, the CAA season should be one to remember.

Conference Rank: 13th

10 year average: 14th

CAA Conference Page

All-CAA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Charles Jenkins	Hofstra	Jr
G	Chad Tomko	UNC Wilmington	Sr
G/F	Matt Janning	Northeastern	Sr
F	Gerald Lee	Old Dominion	Sr
F	Larry Sanders	VCU	Jr

Player of the Year - Charles Jenkins Freshman of the Year - Luke Hancock (George Mason)
CHN Award Winners		Leaders
CHN All-Americans Larry Sanders Mid-Major All-Americans Charles Jenkins (2nd Team) Larry Sanders (2nd) Matt Janning Gerald Lee		Best Scorer Charles Jenkins 19.7 Best Rebounder: Larry Sanders Assists: Darius James

CAA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

48	Old Dominion	Colonial	1	NCAA
66	George Mason	Colonial	2	NIT
83	VCU	Colonial	3	NIT
102	Northeastern	Colonial	4	CBI/CIT
125	James Madison	Colonial	5	CBI/CIT
162	Hofstra	Colonial	6
172	Drexel	Colonial	7
229	Georgia State	Colonial	8
244	William & Mary	Colonial	9
251	Towson	Colonial	10
278	Delaware	Colonial	11
292	UNC Wilmington	Colonial	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CAA?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews