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Saturday, February 04, 2006
Trio of games on tap
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Holy Cross at Lafayette, 1 p.m.: Holy Cross beat the Leopards by 20 points when they met Jan. 7 in Worcester and will be the heavy favorites in this one. Lafayette really has no answer for Tim Clifford, whose emergence in the post has made the Crusaders better than they were the first time these two met. The 'Pards really don't have an answer for Kevin Hamilton or Torey Thomas, either. Ditto for Keith Simmons if he is healthy.

But Lafayette is a very different team at home than it is on the road. The 9-11 Leopards are 6-3 in Kirby. Lafayette does have an advantage in numbers. Fran O'Hanlon will run nine guys at HC, a lot of whom can shoot the three. If a couple of those guys get hot, an upset is not out of the question. NOTE: When we were in Eatson for the lehigh game, we had trouble getting connected to the wireless net in Kirby. If we can solve that this time, we will live blog this one.
HC notes | Lafayette notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker | HC radio

Bucknell at Colgate 1:30 p.m.: When these two met in Lewisburg two weeks ago, Colgate managed to hang around into the second half. Then Bucknell went on a 15-0 run fueled by some pressure defense. The Bison unleashed some full court and half court traps and Colgate had no answer. The Raiders also had no answer for Chris McNaughton, especially after Marc Daniels got into foul trouble trying to guard the big German.

Colgate has not won a game against a team not named Army since the start of 2006. The Raiders are 3-10 in their last 13 against Division I opponents, the non-Army win in that stretch coming against a Mississippi Valley State team that has not won a game outside of its own conference (SWAC) all season.

But Colgate always seems to play Bucknell tough, especially in Hamilton. Bucknell has had trouble putting two halves together the last few times out, though its defense has been strong enough to keep it in those games until the offense gets on track. But Army shot better than 50 percent Wednesday night against the Bison. If Bucknell lets Colgate get anywhere close to that, it could be a long afternoon. Especially given the Raiders plethora of capable perimeter shooters.
Colgate notes | Bucknell notes | USA Today matchup | Bucknell Radio | 'Gate radio

American at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: This was an 11-point Lehigh win when the two met in D.C. a few weeks back. Since then, American has seemed to make strides. The Eagles have won three of their last five.

But that improvement has mostly manifested itself on AU's home court. Away from Bender the Eagles are 2-10, including a loss at Navy in its last road game.

Lehigh has won 7 of its last 8 against Division I opposition, the only loss coming against league-leading Bucknell. Still, watching the Mountain Hawks last three games, you get the sense they are never more than an off night (Knight?) by one of their two guards from being upset. The only game Lehigh showed any sort of inside presence offensively was at Lafayette, which lacks a true post type on its roster.

The Mountain Hawks will be favored here, but if they have a letdown coming off back-to-back games against Bucknell and Holy Cross, in this game or any of their next five before closing the regular season at Bucknell and at Holy Cross, they can be beaten. Lehigh is not a team with a built-in margin for error.
Lehigh notes | AU notes | USA Today matchup | AU radio
Published at 9:37 AM by Hoop Time.
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