thursday ncaa hoops

[loophole]

flat 3-3 last night, 54-42 overall, 5-0 double plays. will not be able to post during the day and have one game tonight that should be put in early:


ecu -9-: this line will probably push into dd during the day once joe p becomes acquainted with the status of geo mason. patriots are hurting and come into greenville with six scholarship players and two freshmen walk-ons. 6'10" sr jesse young (12.5 ppg, 7 rpg) has been suspended for two games for violating team rules. this loss comes on top of the following - derek franklin left the team; colin wyatt, out w/ knee injury; lamar butler, out w/ academics; deon cooper, out w/ stress fracture of foot. not the best time to come into greenville and face the improved pirates shorthanded. pirates will try to become the first ecu team in history to start 8-0 in a game that has some special significance for coach bill herrion. two years ago, when herrion was trying to limp through the caa season doing the best that he could with limited resources, he took the pirates up to fairfax where coach larranaga pinned his ears back with a 42 point whuppin', keeping a full court press on the outmanned pirates until the last minute of the game. ecu fought like hell a couple of weeks later and lost by only three to gmu in greenville, but herrion just didn't have the horses to lead him to redemption. there's a new sheriff in town tonight, and i promise you herrion has not forgotten that rout. the issue has been played down in the press, but word out of greenville is that tonight is payback. pirates have the horses now, and play smothering d, allowing a measley 57.6 ppg and 34.5% fg (4th in the country). this is not the kind of defense you want to face shorthanded on the road when you can't keep fresh bodies in the game. the university is promoting the game with a $5 ticket special in order to assure that there are plenty of pirate fans in the stands. i look for a 16-20 point pirate win.

 

[Heyward]

Thanks for the info, especially on GM. I was planning to look at this game at some point today because ECU is much improved, but I was unaware of the problems with George Mason. I better go ahead and look now, the line is at -9.5. Thanks.

 

[Sausage Fingers]

I like this one a lot as well, I think I will get it in early as well.

Good Luck to you.

 

[IE]

Loop, any idea or insight of how much of an impact the transfer from Virgina (Young) will have for the Bonnies tonight?, thanks in advance...

IE

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Dec. 19 has been circled on the calendars at Canisius and St. Bonaventure for a long time.
For very different reasons.

Tonight's showdown in the Koessler Center ends a nearly two-year wait for Canisius fans to get at their most hated rivals. Meanwhile, the Bonnies have a simpler agenda: trying to snap a five-game losing streak and gauge the impact 6-foot-5 Virginia transfer Maurice "Moe" Young will have in his Bona debut.

Fewer than 100 tickets remain and they will be available at Koessler beginning at 11 a.m. or at Ticketmaster.com. Canisius is 5-2 while the Bonnies are 2-5 and on their longest skid in nearly seven years.

The teams were scheduled to meet in Koessler last year but Bona ruffled Canisius officials by reneging on a signed deal and instead playing a home game with Davidson, which turned into a quality win against an NCAA Tournament team. It was the first time Canisius and Bona had not played since 1945-46.

The relationship is getting better. Just this week, the teams signed contracts to meet Dec. 6, 2003, in the Reilly Center and Dec. 4, 2004, in HSBC Arena.

But the atmosphere on those nights won't rival the supercharged emotion that figures to fill the refurbished 2,100-seat Koessler Center tonight.

"It will be a zoo but a controlled zoo," said Canisius Athletics Director Tim Dillon. "It's something Canisius College has been pointing toward for a long, long time. I was down in the Cage Club room with the old-timers (following Tuesday's win over Morgan State) and they're so excited and proud about what our place looks like.

"The fans are feeding the team and the team is feeding the fans, which is outstanding. It's going to be a great atmosphere for college basketball."

For a time last year, as mutual carping built between the schools, it looked like the Bonnies might never set foot in Buffalo again. But now Big 4 fans can be sure of seeing the teams meet for at least three straight seasons.

"It's Christmastime. Everybody is in a happy mood," deadpanned Griffs coach Mike MacDonald. "Those things happen. (Players) can't let it affect them. When you're in that 94-foot rectangle, you've got to worry about what you do basketball-wise."

MacDonald, a 1988 Bona grad, is 3-3 against his alma mater. He spent this week trying to get his players not to overlook Morgan State (they didn't, cruising to a 72-46 win) and trying to convince people this is just another game.

"I've been at Canisius for 15 years (as an assistant and a head coach), so the Jesuits have pulled a lot of that Franciscan out of me," he quipped. "It is very important - only because it's the next game on our schedule.

"It's really special because it's our last home game until Jan. 14. (The Bonnies) have had 10 days off to get ready and add a new player (Young). That will make them that much better."

Young, a sophomore from Mitchellville, Md., figures to step right into the Bona starting lineup at small forward thanks to the season-ending Achilles tendon injury suffered by Patrick Methot-Lottin on Dec. 7 at Alabama.

As a freshman at Virginia, Young averaged 2.6 points and seven minutes per game. But he was twice named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week and earned the team's Promising Prospect Award. Young played just 21 minutes over the first two games last season before transferring.

All five of Bona's losses (Brigham Young, Saint Louis, Boston College, Alabama and Davidson) have been by single digits, and the Bonnies have been leading or tied in the second half in four of the games. The Bonnies have played well offensively, averaging 75.3 points. But they've also given up 75.3 points and been outrebounded by eight per game.

Canisius, meanwhile, is allowing just 64.6 points and holding opponents to 34.6 percent from the field. The Griffs' chief defensive challenge tonight will be stopping Bona point guard Marques Green, who is leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 20.7 points.

"I respect him as much as any guard in the country," said Canisius senior point guard Brian Dux. "He's awesome. Their other guys are tough, too. They like to press a lot, and it will be fun."

Bona leads the series, 92-58, but Canisius has won seven of the last 11 meetings. This will be just the second time they've played in the Koessler Center, and the Griffs made some dubious history in the first one, a 67-53 Bona win Jan. 21, 1995. Canisius was 0 for 22 from three-point range, an NCAA record for futility that still stands.

The teams haven't met since Canisius upset the Bonnies, 86-82, in the RC on Dec. 30, 2000. Bona entered that game 8-1 and on the verge of cracking the Top 25.

 

[loophole]

the rest:

the rest:

ill-chi +2: not much to add to what already posted around the forum except to say that my numbers spit out the flames -6! not sure i trust that number but i watched carmody's offensively challenged team play in raleigh and was summarily unimpressed.


canisius +5-: this game has also been analyzed ad nauseum around the forum, so i don't really care to repeat all of what's been said. yes, the bonnies are supposed to have some shooters and yes, they've shot under 40% as a team so far this year, so maybe they're due to break out. the reason i don't think it's tonight, beyond the intangible rivalry issues, is that canisius has been playing a tough 2-3 zone that thus far this year and has kept their opponents to 35 fg% shooting.

ie - in answer to your question, i haven't really kept up with young so can't really speak to whether it's possible that he has developed into an impact player, though i doubt it or gillen i suspect wouldn't have let him get away - i mean, it was all about playing time and pete could have fixed that enough to keep him.

evansville -6: back in the bronze age when i played freshman ball at ky wesleyan i saw firsthand what the purple aces' homecourt ad can be. now that they're starting to come around again it should be enough to hold off the generals.


glta