Tuesday: Play of the Day

[superbook]

Last posted POD was Saturday and I got a push with Fullerton +8.

College Hoops YTD: 190-166
Play of the Days: 5-3-2


Tonight's play is:

Marist -3.5 First Half

If you like Marist -7.5 over Iona then you have to like this first half line.

Marist has established themselves as the class of the MAAC by beating Manhattan in their last game on the Jasper's home court.

Iona isn't the same team from 1999-2000, they're a middle of the pack MAAC team which had to come back to beat Loyola Maryland in their last game.

Marist is tough at home and in their last five home games they've led at the half all five times. They went on to win three of these five but lost to Niagara by four after being up by four at the half and lost to Lasalle by six after leading by 11 at the break.

Marist is a fast starter so if you think they'll get the job done tonight, then a first half play looks like a good bet.


gl

 

[superbook]

Just to add:

This is a must-win game for Marist. The Red Foxes are 4-2 in the MAAC, one game in the loss column behind Manhattan (4-1) and Siena (5-1).

Marist can't afford to go to 4-3 with games at Niagara and at Manhattan coming up in their next two.

 

[superbook]

Marist ready to battle Iona
Red Foxes seek 11th win in MAAC
By Dan Pietrafesa
Poughkeepsie Journal

The Marist College men's basketball team will play an opponent with a strong tradition and yet, on a roller coaster journey in the 2001-02 season.
The Red Foxes will oppose Iona College at 7:30 tonight in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at the James J. McCann Recreation Center in the Town of Poughkeepsie.

Marist, which is tied with Iona at 4-2 for third place in the MAAC standings, is coming off a thrilling 58-56 MAAC win over Manhattan College on Saturday night. Nick Eppehimer nailed a three-point field goal and took a defensive charge in the final 8.1 seconds to lead the Red Foxes, who snapped Manhattan's 12-game winning streak.

''Now, we've got to see where we go from here,'' Marist head coach Dave Magarity said following Saturday's win. ''We've got to take this into (tonight's) game. (Tonight) is as big a game as Manhattan was.''

Iona, the preseason coaches favorite to win the MAAC, has struggled through a 7-10 campaign thus far. The Gaels lost their first six games, rebounded to win five of six and then suffered through three losses in four outings.

Iona is coming off a 68-63 MAAC victory over Loyola College (Md.) on Sunday.

''It has been a tough place to play,'' Iona coach Jeff Ruland said of Poughkeepsie. ''We've had success up there but I'm still trying to figure out my guys.''

In Iona's most recent skid, the Gaels lost two MAAC games in overtime at home where the New Rochelle college suffered only two setbacks all of last season.

Iona, the MAAC representative in the last two NCAA Division I Tournaments, is 1-4 at home this season.

''When we play hard, we're good and when we don't, we stink,'' said Ruland, a two-time NBA All Star with the Washington Bullets in the 1980s. ''We can't seem to play hard for a whole game.''

In addition, Iona's Leland Norris was dismissed from the team last week for breaking the college's code of conduct. Ruland did not go into detail as to why the dismissal came for Norris, who had a career-high 22 points one week ago against St. Peter's College (N.J.).

Hurt Marist last year

Norris burned the Red Foxes last year by hitting three consecutive three-point field goals to quickly erase Marist's nine-point lead at halftime. Marist lost that game, 73-70, on Jan. 29, 2001.

As for Marist, the Red Foxes will look for another big game from senior point guard Sean Kennedy, who was recruited heavily by Ruland to attend Iona. Kennedy leads the Red Foxes in scoring, assists and steals. The tri-captain scored a career-high 23 points in the 81-80 loss to Canisius College in Buffalo and had a triple-double for points, rebounds and assists in the 70-66 setback to upstate Niagara University in Poughkeepsie.

Kennedy and fellow guards Rick Smith and Eppehimer will look to exploit the Iona guards. Smith scored 15 points in the win over Manhattan.

In the frontcourt, the Red Foxes will need some rebounding from Matt Tullis and Jared Hunsaker to neutralize Iona's size advantage. Freshman Steve Castleberry and sophomore Dennis Young have contributed in recent games to the Marist frontcourt.

''We've got to play this hard in every game,'' Kennedy said. ''If we do, good things will happen for us."


TIP-OFF

 

[superbook]

6-3-2 :toast:

Watch Marist give some of that 17 point halftime lead back in the second half.

gl

 

[BrandonC21]

Excellent job Superbook.. Keep up the great work..

 

[skulldog]

I wanted to bring this back up to say thanks Superbook, I follow your info everyday and last night I pulled the trigger

Thanks again

 

[cperry32]

Good job SB. I follow your picks daily and believe you have the best info on west coast plays around. Keep it up!!!!!!

 

[Anders]

Thanks from me also, supe

Good info, good reasoning, solid play, $$$$

Keep up the good work :toast:

 

[superbook]

Thanks, and guess who's playing again tomorrow?

Yes that's right Marist visits Niagara who just beat them at home. Marist was up by four at the half and let it slip away.

Let's see what the line is.