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Saturday, January 21, 2006
A special thanks to the folks who put together Saturday's schedule for starting the Lehigh-Lafayette game at 1 p.m. and the Colgate-Bucknell matchup at 7. That ought to give us enough time to dash from Easton to Lewisburg for the first of what we expect to be three double dips this season.
The last time we tried this, we got to Lewisburg a few minutes into the nightcap, in plenty of time to catch Chris Niesz's dramatic game-winning three-pointer, capping off a day of two exciting down-to-the-wire ballgames.
The good Lord willing, the Jetta don't break down, and the johnnies don't catch us speeding, we are going to do it again. Let's hope Lehigh-Lafayette doesn't go to overtime.
We will blog the whole day's adventures, updating as frequent as possible. Between our posts, you can use the scoreboards to keep tabs on what is going on around the league.
Patriot League scoreboards
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Lehigh at Lafayette, 1 p.m.: Throw out the records. Forget about scholarships vs. non-scholarships. All bets are off when these two get together.
It is the 203rd meeting between these two Lehigh Valley neighbors, who first hooked up back in 1902. Lafayette has actually dominated the series, leading 133-69. Especially in Easton, where the 'Pards hold a 73-21 edge over the Mountain Engineers.
That homecourt advantage is a factor that cannot be overstated. Folks who only follow the two teams casually would probably figure the balance to have shifted in the last few years, given Lehigh's scholarship advantage. But like we said, when these two teams meet, you can throw such conventional wisdom out the window.
Over the past four seasons, the two have split down the middle each year. In each of those eight games, it has been the home team coming out on top, including an by the Leopards back in February 2005.
The casts have changed since then. Especially for Lafayette, which no longer has the services of the two guys who led them in scoring in that game-- Sean Knitter and Jamaal Douglas (16 points each). But Jamaal Hilliard, who had 15 in that game, and Bilal Abdullah (12) are still around, and the game is still being played in Kirby, where the 'Pards are 6-2 this season.
Lafayette is averaging almost 79 points per game at home. It is tough to imagine that kind of offensive pace against a defensive-minded team like Lehigh. Then again, Lehigh has been defensive-minded since Billy Taylor arrived in Bethlehem and Lafayette has still averaged almost 93 points per game when Lehigh has come to visit. Even if you toss out the 111 they scored in a double-overtime epic two years ago, they still have averaged 83.5 in the other two gamesin Easton against Taylor-coached Lehigh teams.
On paper, Lehigh would appear to be the better team this season. The gap would appear to be significant. But until they show they can win in Easton, only a fool would bet the mortgage payment on the Hawks.
Lehigh ended a 14-game losing streak in Hamilton when they beat Colgate Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks shot just 38 percent in that game. Odds are they will have to shoot significantly better to end their losing ways in Easton.
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Colgate at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: Just like the Lafayette-Lehigh series, records don't always mean a lot when these two meet. Bucknell swept the two-game series between the two last year, but those two wins came by a total of 3 points. That is the way this series has gone. In 10 meetings this century, Bucknell has won 7. But three of those games were decided by a single point and three more by 5 or less.
Colgate is 1-7 in away games this season, the only win coming at Army and the Raiders have lost 6 of their last 8. Bucknell comes in on a three-game win streak since losing at Duke on Jan. 2. The Bison have won 7 straight Patriot League games, dating back to a 60-59 win over Colgate in last season's final regular season game and they have a won 18 straight league games in Sojka Pavilion.
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American at Holy Cross, 3:30 p.m.: Since joining the Patriot League, the AU Eagles have posted a 46-25 record in league games. AU is .500 or better against everybody in the league, except Holy Cross, which has pretty much had AU's number.
The Crusaders are 8-3 against the Eagles, and have lost only once at home against AU.
American's chances of getting a second win in Worcester likely depend on the health of HC's Keith Simmons. Simmons' cramping problem returned in the second half of HC's loss at Bucknell and were worse in Tuesday's game against Boston College.
With Simmons on the floor, HC's backcourt has a clear edge in a game between two teams who have not gotten much from their big men. Without Simmons, the matchup is much closer. Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas still give HC an advantage on AU's starters, but AU is a little deeper on the perimeter.
If either team has a big guy step up, it could turn the table. Given the absolute inconsistent showings by both frontcourts, that is not something either would want to depend on, though.
| | | |
The last time we tried this, we got to Lewisburg a few minutes into the nightcap, in plenty of time to catch Chris Niesz's dramatic game-winning three-pointer, capping off a day of two exciting down-to-the-wire ballgames.
The good Lord willing, the Jetta don't break down, and the johnnies don't catch us speeding, we are going to do it again. Let's hope Lehigh-Lafayette doesn't go to overtime.
We will blog the whole day's adventures, updating as frequent as possible. Between our posts, you can use the scoreboards to keep tabs on what is going on around the league.
| | | |
Lehigh at Lafayette, 1 p.m.: Throw out the records. Forget about scholarships vs. non-scholarships. All bets are off when these two get together.
It is the 203rd meeting between these two Lehigh Valley neighbors, who first hooked up back in 1902. Lafayette has actually dominated the series, leading 133-69. Especially in Easton, where the 'Pards hold a 73-21 edge over the Mountain Engineers.
That homecourt advantage is a factor that cannot be overstated. Folks who only follow the two teams casually would probably figure the balance to have shifted in the last few years, given Lehigh's scholarship advantage. But like we said, when these two teams meet, you can throw such conventional wisdom out the window.
Over the past four seasons, the two have split down the middle each year. In each of those eight games, it has been the home team coming out on top, including an by the Leopards back in February 2005.
The casts have changed since then. Especially for Lafayette, which no longer has the services of the two guys who led them in scoring in that game-- Sean Knitter and Jamaal Douglas (16 points each). But Jamaal Hilliard, who had 15 in that game, and Bilal Abdullah (12) are still around, and the game is still being played in Kirby, where the 'Pards are 6-2 this season.
Lafayette is averaging almost 79 points per game at home. It is tough to imagine that kind of offensive pace against a defensive-minded team like Lehigh. Then again, Lehigh has been defensive-minded since Billy Taylor arrived in Bethlehem and Lafayette has still averaged almost 93 points per game when Lehigh has come to visit. Even if you toss out the 111 they scored in a double-overtime epic two years ago, they still have averaged 83.5 in the other two gamesin Easton against Taylor-coached Lehigh teams.
On paper, Lehigh would appear to be the better team this season. The gap would appear to be significant. But until they show they can win in Easton, only a fool would bet the mortgage payment on the Hawks.
Lehigh ended a 14-game losing streak in Hamilton when they beat Colgate Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks shot just 38 percent in that game. Odds are they will have to shoot significantly better to end their losing ways in Easton.
| | | |
Colgate at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: Just like the Lafayette-Lehigh series, records don't always mean a lot when these two meet. Bucknell swept the two-game series between the two last year, but those two wins came by a total of 3 points. That is the way this series has gone. In 10 meetings this century, Bucknell has won 7. But three of those games were decided by a single point and three more by 5 or less.
Colgate is 1-7 in away games this season, the only win coming at Army and the Raiders have lost 6 of their last 8. Bucknell comes in on a three-game win streak since losing at Duke on Jan. 2. The Bison have won 7 straight Patriot League games, dating back to a 60-59 win over Colgate in last season's final regular season game and they have a won 18 straight league games in Sojka Pavilion.
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American at Holy Cross, 3:30 p.m.: Since joining the Patriot League, the AU Eagles have posted a 46-25 record in league games. AU is .500 or better against everybody in the league, except Holy Cross, which has pretty much had AU's number.
The Crusaders are 8-3 against the Eagles, and have lost only once at home against AU.
American's chances of getting a second win in Worcester likely depend on the health of HC's Keith Simmons. Simmons' cramping problem returned in the second half of HC's loss at Bucknell and were worse in Tuesday's game against Boston College.
With Simmons on the floor, HC's backcourt has a clear edge in a game between two teams who have not gotten much from their big men. Without Simmons, the matchup is much closer. Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas still give HC an advantage on AU's starters, but AU is a little deeper on the perimeter.
If either team has a big guy step up, it could turn the table. Given the absolute inconsistent showings by both frontcourts, that is not something either would want to depend on, though.
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