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Simmons suspended ‘indefinitely’

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:33 +0000

UNCW will rely on three scholarship guards for final seven games of regular season.… Read More »

The Feed is a curated aggregation of CAA-related news and blogs. Our goal is to highlight the great articles being written and direct traffic back to the original sources, introducing fans to new places to find news and opinion about the teams and league they follow fervently.

Future is brighter for Hofstra and Towson

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:30 +0000

Future is brighter for Hofstra and Towson

Men’s basketball atop the CAA; win 10 consecutive – Drexel University The Triangle Online

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:28 +0000

Men’s basketball atop the CAA; win 10 consecutive
Drexel University The Triangle Online
4, 1989, the University of Richmond Spiders, then members of the Colonial Athletic Association, won 17 consecutive regular-season conference matchups. That is the CAA’s longest standing winning streak, although the Spiders are now members of the …

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Thursday Work Session: Rob, Get Me A Hashtag…

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:26 +0000

Today, for the first time, I ask the NCAA selection committee to trust me. You will be rewarded for your faith, just like last year and in many years past.

Popular opinion, based on a lousy November, is that CAA is down this year. There’s no way the CAA is worthy of a second bid, right? Today I’m going to show you that the opinion is only partially right.

You see, our Association is certainly having its challenges, but I’m telling you right now that the top four teams in the CAA are not actually having a down year. Not anymore. In fact, they’ve all kicked it into high gear as we cross into February, The Proving Month.

If you want closing speed, I submit four teams already moving fast, and getting faster:

Drexel has won 10 straight and is 16-1 in its last 17 games. Only seven of the vanquished 16 teams have come within 12 points of the Dragons, and four within seven points.
VCU, a team of which you’re probably familiar, has won eight in a row (since losing to Drexel) and is 16-2 in its last 18 games. Ten times Rams’ foes haven’t reached 60 points, and six times they haven’t even hit 50 points.
Mason is 11-2 in its last 13 games–one of those losses is Drexel. They are the deepest team in the league.
Old Dominion is 7-1 in its last eight games and 8-2 in its last 10 games. Their only losses are to VCU and Mason. Two of Blaine Taylor’s best players became eligible in December and his very best player is finally healthy.

Let me put it this way: these top four teams are 36-4 versus the rest of conference.

So yes, the CAA as a whole is a victim of youth, sketchy scheduling, and transition in the year after three teams made The Dance and two of those teams won games. But the bellwether programs are playing at a Sweet 16 level and you should take note.

Now let me add a little fodder perhaps nobody has noticed: this regular season is beginning to structure very much like the 2005-06 season. You remember that one, right? You trusted the CAA to include George Mason, and look how that paid off. And while we’ve almost forgiven you for not including Hofstra, remember they played ODU in the NIT quarterfinals. We’ve been playing damn good basketball for years.

Here’s the other side. In 2007 you put your faith in Stanford, a fourth-place PAC 10 team who was 18-12 and had lost four of its last five games. You ignored a stumbling finish and bought into the brand. The Cardinal “rewarded” you by falling behind Louisville by more than 20 points inside of 10 minutes of their first round game, by more than 30 points for much of the second half, and fell by a lopsided margin. You know now what we knew then–you should’ve taken Drexel.

Remember, too, that VCU backed up that faith in 2007 by beating Duke. Old Dominion plunked Notre Dame in 2010. Last year must still be fresh in your minds. I think we’ve proven the point that the CAAs best can beat anybody, anytime.

So here’s what I mean by similar structure. In 2005-06 the conference had three distinct tiers. There were four very good teams (final conference victories 15, 15, 14, 13). There were four good-to-middling teams (final conference victories 12, 11, 8, 8). There were four terrible teams (final conference victories 4, 3, 3, 2).

This year the top four have separated themselves in a manner very similar to 2005-06. Each has 10 victories, and the fifth place team is three games back with a 7-5 record. In fact, both Georgia State and Northeastern have seven wins, Delaware is 6-6, and we’ll add the 4-8 Dubmen to get us the middle tier of four teams. The bottom four teams are JMU at 3-9, Hofstra/W&M at 2-10, and Towson at 1-11.

See where I’m going?

It gets more intriguing. At a similar point in 2006 (2/6) we didn’t even have this much separation at the top. Mason (11-2) and UNCW (10-3)–who would eventually tie for the regular season crown at 15-3–led the way. Hofstra followed at 9-3 and then came three teams (ODU, VCU, NU) at 9-4.

Only Wilmington would finish the regular season without losing again. We could be talking an even greater level of dominance this year from the top tier.

Now, I’m certainly not comparing 2006 to this season in a phony attempt to make it look apples-and-apples. I know the CAA RPI numbers that year were astronomically better. I know this year lacks a signature win. My point is that the top tier of the CAA–in any season–is quality basketball that can compete with anyone, and it has very little to do with pre-Thanksgiving action.

My mitigating evidence is that the early season was terrible, for sure, but there was a reason.

Mason was dealing with a whole new coach and system, and lost core elements of its team. VCU lost four seniors from its Final Four team. ODU lost just as many of its weapons, as well as Frank Hassell, who was as valuable for what he provided more than his raw numbers. And Drexel was banged up–no Chris Fouch–and nobody knew who Damion Lee was.

The poor RPI showing is manifested in bad losses–due in part to newness and injury–and not having heavy duty schedules. But each team has improved over two months and flourished of late. Isn’t that exactly the kind of team you want?

Here’s the other side of that. Weren’t Connecticut and Pitt preseason top 10 teams? All I ask is that if you’re going to hold November against the CAA, please hold January against those teams.

Let’s face it–a big part of your business is storytelling anyway, right? Isn’t the CAA a way more exciting story than some humdrum, fifth-place Big Ten team? You do a good job selecting teams, but somebody is going to be unhappy they were left out. They always are. Heck, Seth Greenberg already has his speechwriters scribbling away.

I may be an idiot for several things, like the CAA Hoopsapalooza. But trust me on this one.

JMU wrap

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:30:56 +0000

Maybe it was those recovered home uniforms, laundered with a touch of silk.
Or perhaps, as the ever-helpful Kent Bazemore suggested, it was a change in the pre-game routine. ODU took more “game shots” in warm-ups than usual, he explained.

Rams aiming for a better February – Richmond Times Dispatch

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:46:08 +0000

RVANews

Rams aiming for a better February
Richmond Times Dispatch
The Rams turned things around in the Colonial Athletic Association and NCAA tournaments and ended up in the Final Four. VCU (19-5, 10-2) entered Wednesday’s game with the same overall record as last season, and that may have had something to do with …
Reddic scores 20 points as VCU defeats William & Mary 87-78 to forge first …Washington Post
Rams-Tribe PreviewUSA TODAY
NCAA Game Summary – Virginia Commonwealth at William & MaryToday’s THV
Virginia Gazette
all 36 news articles »

Old Dominion holds off James Madison 80-71 (AP)

TheFeed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:46:05 +0000

Chris Cooper grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds and was one of six double-digit scorers for Old Dominion in an 80-71 win over James Madison on Thursday night. The Monarchs (15-9, 10-2 Colonial Athletic Association) have won four straight games and eight of their last nine. The Dukes have lost three in a row, five of their last six and seven straight to Old Dominion, which also won 67-61 in overtime…

Hooch…

TheFeed — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:16:34 +0000

The freshie freshies showed up last night in abundance, perhaps the sweetest thing in the world for certain–or all–coaches.

Damion Lee had 25 points and eight rebounds and was the horse down the stretch for Drexel in its win over Northeastern. Quincy Ford played 36 minutes and scored 12 points for NU.
Kyle Anderson hit 5-7 threes, 8-10 overall, and scored 25 points to lead Delaware past Mason. This was on a night Devon Saddler hit 2-10 field goals and committed seven turnovers.
VCUs Treveon Graham scored 13 points, hitting a three to ignite a 20-5 first half spurt, and grabbed three rebounds in just 21 minutes in VCUs win over William & Mary.
Marcus Thornton made 5-6 threes, 10-12 overall, and scored 28 points in the loss.
An injured Freddie Jackson had five assists and five rebounds in 33 minutes for the Dub in its loss to Georgia State.

Using my best teevee voice: “In other CAA action, Hofstra downed Towson 74-49 behind 28 points from Mike Moore. Nat Lester chipped in with 19 points, crossing the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Erique Gumbs scored 12 points to lead Towson.”

A few interesting items from Delaware’s upset win over Mason. Freshman Jarvis Threatt, who has been playing very well as of late, sprained his ankle and didn’t play in the second half. No word on his status this morning.

In the two games prior to last night, Anderson had not scored and missed all five three point attempts.

***

Let me now state the obvious: If Old Dominion puts down James Madison tonight in The Ted, we have a four-way tie atop the standings. ODU will join VCU, Drexel, and Mason at 10-2.

What’s more those four will be three games clear of fifth place. Thus, barring a temples-bursting collapse in the final six games of the season, those four begin a Willie Shoemaker dance to the end of the regular season.

Coaches are coaches and they are not happy, even in victory:

Shaka Smart: “We certainly didn’t defend the way we wanted to tonight, but in the end we were able to make winning plays.”

Bruiser Flint, to the Philly Inquirer: “The thing I got on my team about is that I didn’t think they prepared well for the game yesterday. I told them that we’ve been playing well. Don’t prepare yourself to lose. We know they’re a good team, and they played us physical tonight. They brought their physicality because they know we like to play that way. They brought it to us tonight, and I didn’t like our mental approach.”

They are frustrated in a loss.

Paul Hewitt, to Steven Goff: “We just couldn’t shoot. We took some bad ones early and it got us off to a bad start. At the end, it was just like the beginning.”

Here’s Goff’s gamer, which has one of my favorite words, treacherous.

Buzz Peterson, to Brian Mull: “When you go through times like this, there’s nobody that’s going to feel sorry for us,” said Peterson, who picked up his fourth technical foul of the year.

Here’s Mull’s full gamer. A 15-0 Georgia State run in the first half essentially sealed the deal. The Hawks never got within nine points the rest of the way.

***

Quick standings, for your reference:

Drexel: 10-2

VCU: 10-2

Mason: 10-2

Old Dominion: 9-2

Northeastern: 7-5

Georgia State: 7-5

Delaware: 6-6

UNCW: 4-8

James Madison: 3-8

Hofstra: 2-10

Will & Mary: 2-10

Towson: 1-11

***

And tonight Old Dominion inhospitably hosts James Madison.

Though Donte Hill’s stats don’t jump out at you (7.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.9apg), he’s getting awfully comfy in the ODU lineup. Comfort in what Blaine Taylor wants to accomplish is always dangerous to the health of a Monarchs opponent because in the ODU system comfort equals effective.

Here’s what jumps out at me for this one. JMU is playing its second consecutive MON-THU-SAT week, giving the Dukes six games in 12 days. They are practicing with a student manager and playing with a seven-man rotation. They get 30.1% of their minutes from the bench–201st nationally.

I love that they leave it on the floor every night out, but eventually there is a game where you get gassed and can’t find that next gear. At ODU in the sixth game in 12 days sounds just like that game.

ODU 68, JMU 54.

Turnovers, Blown Whistles and Bill Murray (Recap of Towson vs. Hofstra)

TheFeed — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:31:16 +0000

When Towson defeated UNCW last Saturday, the Tigers ended their NCAA record forty one game losing streak. With the win, Towson entered a tie for eleventh place in the CAA with Hofstra. The Pride had just lost earlier in the day at Northeastern. Both teams entered last night’s game with a 1-10 conference record.

One team at the end of the night would be in eleventh place and the other team

UD men upset CAA’s best – Newark Post

TheFeed — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:31:09 +0000

Augusta Free Press

UD men upset CAA’s best
Newark Post
University of Delaware men’s basketball head coach Monté Ross has said all season that when his team is on, the Blue Hens can beat any team in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blue Hens proved that Wednesday night as freshman Kyle Anderson’s hot …
Anderson scores 21 points as Delaware pulls off a 65-60 upset of George Mason …Washington Post
Ryan Pearson – George MasonUSA TODAY
WBB Preview: No. 12 DelawareUNCWsports.com
The News Journal -Augusta Free Press
all 38 news articles »