LATEST HEADLINES

Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Go west young men
Patriot League scoreboards
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo! | Mid-Majority


BUCKNELL vs. Boston U. 11 p.m.: Beware the Terriers 4-6 record. All the losses have come to quality opponents. Just look at the list: Michigan, UMass, Duke, George Washington, Rhode Island and Rider (at Rider). BU has a win over a good Harvard team , though none of the other wins came against teams above .500. An Achilles heel might be BU's shooting. They are hitting just 41.6 percent from the floor thus far. But their defense has been strong. Opponents are shooting only 40.1 percent against them.

According to the San Jose Mercury Times, Bucknell is the headliner of the tournament. But if the Bison do not come out hard against BU, they could find themselves facing winless UC Riverside in the consolation game tomorrow night. Suffice to say Bucknell best not get caught up in the excitement of the ESPN camera crew along for the trip or looking ahead to Duke.

From the report we received on the team's demeanor during an alumni function last night, that does not appear to be a problem. Our West Coast Correspondent (former Bucknell center Tom Welch) reports the team seemed focused on Boston U.

Reports Welch:
The real impressive thing to me is that all of the guys I spoke with (or overheard) only mentioned one team, Boston University. They did answer questions about Syracuse and talk about going to Durham, but always turned the conversation back to how much they are looking forward to playing Boston University. There is a lot of respect for (the other) BU's defense and a determination to execute against their physicality. Now it is understandable to stick to the talking points when in front of a camera or a coach, but this focus on the next game was across the board, in private and public discussions. I continue to be impressed with their mental toughness and ability to focus on the task at hand.
Welch also reported the airlines lost three guys' luggage (since recovered). You can't get those details from the WWLIS, eh?

Bucknell notes | Boston U. notes | USA Today matchup |Bucknell Radio

COLGATE vs. Mississippi Valley St. 7:30 p.m.: The Delta Devils rank last in the SWAC in scoring and last in scoring defense. Guess that makes it easy to understand why they are 0-8. Swingman Jesse Taylor (6-4) went off for 20 points in a loss to Texas-El Paso in the first round of the Sun Bowl tournament, but that does not mean Colgate should key on him. In two other games this season he has been scoreless and the UTEP game was his first in double figures.Mini-guard Tychicus Snow (5-7) is the only MVS player averaging in double figures-- just barely at 10.3 ppg..
Colgate notes (pdf) | MVS Web site | USA Today matchup | 'Gate radio
Published at 9:46 AM by Hoop Time.
Help Hoop Time