≈ Saturday, February 18, 2006
Northern Iowa 65, Bucknell 62 (2 OT)
(Originally posted 5:53 p.m., updated at 11:27 p.m.)
For want of an inbounds pass.
*sigh*
Pat Flannery told :
The ball bounced over the far end line untouched, giving UNI the ball in its own end with no time off the clock.
Northern Iowa's Eric Crawford tied it to send the game to a second overtime. Eric Coleman scored 6 in the second extra session.
UNI seemed to wear Bucknell out at the end. Coleman, who had not done much damage in regulation, scored 9 of his 15 points in the two overtimes. Either he got quicker, or Bucknell's defenders slowed a half-a-step. On the road in double-OT, with the wind taken out your sails not once, but twice when you looked to have the game won, sounds like the latter.
The Bison could have won in regulation had they gotten the rebound of Ben Jacobsen's miss with 8 seconds left. But Coleman beat Bucknell to the carom and put it back to tie it at 51-51.
Not everyone is convinced this loss is a bad thing for Bucknell in the long run. It's hard to see a double-OT loss on the road against a team like UNI hurting their chances of getting an at-large bid if they don't win the Patriot League tournament.
And there are some who think it might actually enhance Bucknell's chances of winning the league.
Bill Gibbons, the Holy Cross womens coach, waited until the end of the Bucknell-UNI game before getting to Bender Arena for his team's game in the nightcap of a mens-womens twinbill.
"If they had won, I think Lehigh would have had a good chance of catching them Wednesday. Now I think they will come back and beat Lehigh pretty good and be on a roll heading into the tournament," Gibbons said.
(Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
For want of an inbounds pass.
*sigh*
Pat Flannery told :
"It was just the kind of thing where we didn't read it well. That was a miscommunication, and they happen in the game."For those who have been hanging with Bin Laden the past coupla hours, we're talking about the play at the end of the first overtime that cost Bucknell the game. With 2.8 seconds to go, holding a 2-point lead, Bucknell failed to get the ball inbounds. As Flannery pointed out, there was a mixup. Out around midcourt, Chris McNaughton made a run towards inbounds passer Donald Brown right about the same time Brown launched a bomb, expecting McNaughton to break the other way.
The ball bounced over the far end line untouched, giving UNI the ball in its own end with no time off the clock.
Northern Iowa's Eric Crawford tied it to send the game to a second overtime. Eric Coleman scored 6 in the second extra session.
UNI seemed to wear Bucknell out at the end. Coleman, who had not done much damage in regulation, scored 9 of his 15 points in the two overtimes. Either he got quicker, or Bucknell's defenders slowed a half-a-step. On the road in double-OT, with the wind taken out your sails not once, but twice when you looked to have the game won, sounds like the latter.
The Bison could have won in regulation had they gotten the rebound of Ben Jacobsen's miss with 8 seconds left. But Coleman beat Bucknell to the carom and put it back to tie it at 51-51.
Not everyone is convinced this loss is a bad thing for Bucknell in the long run. It's hard to see a double-OT loss on the road against a team like UNI hurting their chances of getting an at-large bid if they don't win the Patriot League tournament.
And there are some who think it might actually enhance Bucknell's chances of winning the league.
Bill Gibbons, the Holy Cross womens coach, waited until the end of the Bucknell-UNI game before getting to Bender Arena for his team's game in the nightcap of a mens-womens twinbill.
"If they had won, I think Lehigh would have had a good chance of catching them Wednesday. Now I think they will come back and beat Lehigh pretty good and be on a roll heading into the tournament," Gibbons said.
Colgate 63, Navy 60
Navy squandered a six point halftime lead and a chance to position themselves to grab one of those 4-5 slots for the league tournament. A Middies win would have pulled them within a game of American for fourth, with a good chance of being tied with Lafayette for fifth should the Leopards lose Sunday at Lehigh.
It was tied with 2:07 to play, following a Matt Fannin layup that made it 55-55. But Kendall Chones was fouled by Fannin while he was making a dunk, and coverted the free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play, putting Colgate ahead to stay.
Chones finished with 13 points to lead Colgate. The Jons -- Foss (11 points) and Simon (12)-- also reahed double figures.
Greg Sprink 9-15, three treys, 25 points to lead Navy.
These two are tied for seventh at 3-9. Colgate hosts Holy Cross Wednesday. Navy is at American Thursday. Then the two meet again Saturday in Annapolis in their last regular season game.
It was tied with 2:07 to play, following a Matt Fannin layup that made it 55-55. But Kendall Chones was fouled by Fannin while he was making a dunk, and coverted the free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play, putting Colgate ahead to stay.
Chones finished with 13 points to lead Colgate. The Jons -- Foss (11 points) and Simon (12)-- also reahed double figures.
Greg Sprink 9-15, three treys, 25 points to lead Navy.
These two are tied for seventh at 3-9. Colgate hosts Holy Cross Wednesday. Navy is at American Thursday. Then the two meet again Saturday in Annapolis in their last regular season game.
Holy Cross 69, American 62
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Special to The Telegram & Gazette
WASHINGTON -- It is one of the most boring chores a basketball player has to tend to. Standing on a line 15-feet away from the basket, shooting free throw after free throw is not the fun part of a players workout. It is not the part of practice that anybody looks forward to. But it can be one of the most important skills a player develops. All it takes is one glance at the box score from Holy Cross' 69-62 Patriot League win Saturday at American to understand why.
In a game where the Crusaders suffered through one of their worst shooting halves of the season, free throws were the difference between winning to keep hopes alive for a home court edge in the first two rounds of the upcoming league tournament and packing their bags for another long bus ride to Pennsylvania.
The win was the fourth in a row against American for Holy Cross (16-11, 9-3 Patriot League), which has no margin of error as the regular season winds down. To get one of the top two seeds in the league tournament, and the homecourt edge that comes with one of those seeds, the Crusaders need to win out and get some help. Ironically HC put itself in that position in no small part by missing 9 of 20 free throws in a 5-point loss to Bucknell last week.
That loss assured Bucknell of one of those two host slots and put HC two-games behind Lehigh in the loss column in the race for the other. That is not where you want to be headed down the stretch. But with Lehigh having to go on the road Wednesday to league-leading Bucknell before coming to Worcester for the regular season finale, those are not as dire straits as they might seem.
That scenario is still intact, thanks to all those hours practicing free throws. In a 7-point win, it is easy to point to the line in the box score that made the difference. The Crusaders went to the foul line six more times than American (35-29) and they made eight more shots (28-20) when they got there.
"We'll take a free throw contest with anybody in the league," said Holy Cross captain Kevin Hamilton, who finished with 22 points and a game-high 8 rebounds, despite being so banged up that he didn't even practice Friday.
Playing with a foot so heavily taped that it resembled a cast and a pad protecting a bone contusion in his back, Hamilton refused to settle for no contact jumpers from the perimeter. Hamilton was 3 for 4 from the three point arc. But where he really did his damage was in the lane. He didn't finish often, he was only 1 for 7 inside the arc. But he got to the foul line 12 times and knocked down 11 of those 12 free throws.
The line was similar for Hamilton's fellow all-league pick, Keith Simmons. Simmons shot it a little better from the field, making 6 of 9, including all three treys he put up. he was also 8 for 9 at the foul line, finishing with one more point than Hamilton (23) and one less rebound (7).
The pair's success at the foul line was not exactly a surprise. Both players are ranked in the top 10 in the league in free throw shooting.
"If there is anybody that is going to step up to the line and knock down free throws, it's us. Free throws are our strong point," Simmons said.
That was especially true in the second half. Holy Cross came out strong, hitting 11 of 22 from the field, including 5 of 8 from the three-point arc, en route to a 12-point, 34-22, lead at the half. In the second half, though, the shots stopped falling. Holy Cross only made six field goals after the intermission, shooting an icy 27.3 percent (6 of 22).
Four of those second half field goals came in the first 10 minutes of the half, while the Crusaders were extending their lead to 18. But after a three by Simmons that made it 51-33 with 10:37 to go, Holy Cross managed only two more buckets the rest of the game-- a Torey Thomas layup at the 8:18 mark and an Alex Vander Baan layup with 4:26 to play. The Crusaders would not hit another field goal, but with Simmons and Hamilton hitting 6 of 7 from the charity stripe, American was never able to get closer than four points.
Credit the Holy Cross defense. While the offense was struggling, the defense stepped up. Andre Ingram has a pair of treys in the last 1:24, but those we the only American field goals in the final 4:44. Ingram's second three-pointer cut the Holy Cross lead to 61-57 with 1:24 on the clock. But the Crusaders hit 8 of 10 from the line in the final minute, holding on for the win.
"We are a good free throw shooting team, we really are," said Willard.
Ingram led American with 16 points, but he needed 15 shots (5 of 15) and six trips to the foul line to get his points. Ingram was not the only AU shooter to struggle. Arvydas Eitutavicius (4 for 7, 12 points) was the only Eagle to make more shots than he missed. As a team, American was 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field. It was the eighth time in 12 league games that the Crusaders held an opponent under 40 percent from the field.
Holy Cross will be scoreboard watching when they visit Colgate Wednesday in their final regular season road game, Assuming Lehigh gets past visiting Lafayette this afternoon, a Crusaders win Wednesday, coupled with a Bucknell win over Lehigh, would set the stage for a second-place showdown next Sunday when Lehigh visits the Hart Center in the league's last regular season game.
Should that scenario play out, a win would leave Holy Cross and Lehigh with identical 11-3 records. The Crusaders would get the homecourt edge in the tournament by virtue of their higher RPI ranking.
Special to The Telegram & Gazette
WASHINGTON -- It is one of the most boring chores a basketball player has to tend to. Standing on a line 15-feet away from the basket, shooting free throw after free throw is not the fun part of a players workout. It is not the part of practice that anybody looks forward to. But it can be one of the most important skills a player develops. All it takes is one glance at the box score from Holy Cross' 69-62 Patriot League win Saturday at American to understand why.
In a game where the Crusaders suffered through one of their worst shooting halves of the season, free throws were the difference between winning to keep hopes alive for a home court edge in the first two rounds of the upcoming league tournament and packing their bags for another long bus ride to Pennsylvania.
The win was the fourth in a row against American for Holy Cross (16-11, 9-3 Patriot League), which has no margin of error as the regular season winds down. To get one of the top two seeds in the league tournament, and the homecourt edge that comes with one of those seeds, the Crusaders need to win out and get some help. Ironically HC put itself in that position in no small part by missing 9 of 20 free throws in a 5-point loss to Bucknell last week.
That loss assured Bucknell of one of those two host slots and put HC two-games behind Lehigh in the loss column in the race for the other. That is not where you want to be headed down the stretch. But with Lehigh having to go on the road Wednesday to league-leading Bucknell before coming to Worcester for the regular season finale, those are not as dire straits as they might seem.
That scenario is still intact, thanks to all those hours practicing free throws. In a 7-point win, it is easy to point to the line in the box score that made the difference. The Crusaders went to the foul line six more times than American (35-29) and they made eight more shots (28-20) when they got there.
"We'll take a free throw contest with anybody in the league," said Holy Cross captain Kevin Hamilton, who finished with 22 points and a game-high 8 rebounds, despite being so banged up that he didn't even practice Friday.
Playing with a foot so heavily taped that it resembled a cast and a pad protecting a bone contusion in his back, Hamilton refused to settle for no contact jumpers from the perimeter. Hamilton was 3 for 4 from the three point arc. But where he really did his damage was in the lane. He didn't finish often, he was only 1 for 7 inside the arc. But he got to the foul line 12 times and knocked down 11 of those 12 free throws.
The line was similar for Hamilton's fellow all-league pick, Keith Simmons. Simmons shot it a little better from the field, making 6 of 9, including all three treys he put up. he was also 8 for 9 at the foul line, finishing with one more point than Hamilton (23) and one less rebound (7).
The pair's success at the foul line was not exactly a surprise. Both players are ranked in the top 10 in the league in free throw shooting.
"If there is anybody that is going to step up to the line and knock down free throws, it's us. Free throws are our strong point," Simmons said.
That was especially true in the second half. Holy Cross came out strong, hitting 11 of 22 from the field, including 5 of 8 from the three-point arc, en route to a 12-point, 34-22, lead at the half. In the second half, though, the shots stopped falling. Holy Cross only made six field goals after the intermission, shooting an icy 27.3 percent (6 of 22).
Four of those second half field goals came in the first 10 minutes of the half, while the Crusaders were extending their lead to 18. But after a three by Simmons that made it 51-33 with 10:37 to go, Holy Cross managed only two more buckets the rest of the game-- a Torey Thomas layup at the 8:18 mark and an Alex Vander Baan layup with 4:26 to play. The Crusaders would not hit another field goal, but with Simmons and Hamilton hitting 6 of 7 from the charity stripe, American was never able to get closer than four points.
Credit the Holy Cross defense. While the offense was struggling, the defense stepped up. Andre Ingram has a pair of treys in the last 1:24, but those we the only American field goals in the final 4:44. Ingram's second three-pointer cut the Holy Cross lead to 61-57 with 1:24 on the clock. But the Crusaders hit 8 of 10 from the line in the final minute, holding on for the win.
"We are a good free throw shooting team, we really are," said Willard.
Ingram led American with 16 points, but he needed 15 shots (5 of 15) and six trips to the foul line to get his points. Ingram was not the only AU shooter to struggle. Arvydas Eitutavicius (4 for 7, 12 points) was the only Eagle to make more shots than he missed. As a team, American was 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field. It was the eighth time in 12 league games that the Crusaders held an opponent under 40 percent from the field.
Holy Cross will be scoreboard watching when they visit Colgate Wednesday in their final regular season road game, Assuming Lehigh gets past visiting Lafayette this afternoon, a Crusaders win Wednesday, coupled with a Bucknell win over Lehigh, would set the stage for a second-place showdown next Sunday when Lehigh visits the Hart Center in the league's last regular season game.
Should that scenario play out, a win would leave Holy Cross and Lehigh with identical 11-3 records. The Crusaders would get the homecourt edge in the tournament by virtue of their higher RPI ranking.
BracketBusters not only games in town
| | | |
Bucknell at Northern Iowa, noon (ESPN2, 110): We previewed this one yesterday. What more is there to say? A Bucknell win would go a long way towards making the Bison a likely at-large bid should they falter in the Patriot League Tournament. A close loss won't hurt much, but a blowout would almost make it certain that the Bison's only way into the dance is as the champion.
Northern Iowa is banged up and in a little slump right now, having lost two straight and three of its last five. Bucknell need only look at its own recent past to know that very good teams can go through that stuff and still be a very good team. It happened to them last season. It's a big challenge for Bucknell. Would be even against a lesser foe. Flying 900 miles, shooting around in a strange dome for 20 minutes, then getting up the next day to play an opponent the caliber of UNI would seem to put BU at a disadvantage. If they play defense the way they have most of the season, they might overcome that.
Chris McNaughton could be the key. Both teams seem pretty even in the backcourt, but McNaughton, at 6-11, should give the Bison an edge in the post.
| | | | | | | | |
Navy at Colgate, 1:30 p.m.: In a scheduling quirk, these two meet twice in their final three games. Navy still has a chance to move into the four-five game in the first round, a coveted spot among the teams not named Bucknell, Holy Cross or Lehigh, since that is the only way to avoid playing one of those three in the first round. Why is that important? Because those three are the teams with winning records, the rest are all below .500. Matter of fact, BU, HC and LU combined have 30 wins in conference play. The other five teams have all of 15 conference wins between them.
| | | |
Holy Cross at American, 2 p.m.: American is another team looking to lock up one of those 4-5 spots. A win here would clinch that by giving the Eagles a two-game lead in the loss column over fifth place Lafayette with two games left. For that to happen, they will need to find a way to stop Tim Clifford, who poured in 27 the last time the two met.
| | | |
Friday, February 17, 2006
Listen up!
Hoop Time editor Chris Courogen will talk Bucknell-Northern Iowa and the BracketBusters with the guys in this afternoon at 4:40 on The Zone Sports Radio 640 in Springfield, Mass..
The Press Box is a Western Mass. sports talk show hosted by UMass radio guy extraordinaire Bob Behler.
For those fo you outside the Western Mass. area, sorry. The station's Web site does not stream its broadcasts.
The Press Box is a Western Mass. sports talk show hosted by UMass radio guy extraordinaire Bob Behler.
For those fo you outside the Western Mass. area, sorry. The station's Web site does not stream its broadcasts.
Flannery wary of 'Busters
Forgive Pat Flannery if he does not sound thrilled about Bucknell’s BracketBusters game Saturday.
Flannery realizes this is tremendous exposure for his program and a great experience for his team. A tough matchup against a team the caliber of Northern Iowa is the type of challenge his ballclub has thrived on the past two seasons. Flannery likes the idea of having a quality team like UNI coming into Sojka for a payback will boot next season’s schedule. Make no mistake, the guy understands the benefits of this whole BracketBusters thing.
Then why is he not smiling?
Well, for starters, the game could not have come at a worse time on the Bison’s schedule. Riding a 12-game unbeaten streak in conference play, with the next league game one that could determine the regular season championship, the last thing a coach wants right now is a hiccup.
As important as this game might be for Bucknell – for exposure, for possible NCAA seeding, for national rankings – it could mean nothing if the Bison don’t win the Patriot League title. Despite all the hype, there is no guarantee that Bucknell will be inside the bubble when it bursts if they don’t win the Patriot League.
When Flannery agreed to participate in the BracketBusters, he didn’t imagine his team being nationally ranked and flying two-thirds of the way across the country to play in the middle of the conference schedule.
“I thought we’d be getting on a bus and going to play someplace like Manhattan or Iona,” Flannery says.
In other words, a step up and out of the league, but without a break in the rhythm and routine of the conference schedule.
The Bison are chartering to Northern Iowa to minimize the disruption to their class schedule and to allow them to get back to Lewisburg Saturday night following the game.
Even by charter, it’s a long trip, the better part of the day spent on buses and planes. Not that the Bison need hurry to get to Cedar Falls. To accommodate the game, UNI moved a track meet that was scheduled for Saturday up a day. That means Bucknell can’t get on the court at the UNI Dome for a shootaround until 9 p.m. local time. By then the Bison’s body clocks will be reading 10 p.m., a late hour for a practice after a tiring day of travel.
Flannery does not expect to get much done other than to get a feel for the game ball UNI uses and the background in the dome.
“We will shoot around for about 20 minutes, then try to get there early Saturday morning to shoot some more,” Flannery says
Flannery is not too worried about his team shooting in the cavernous dome. The Bison won earlier in the season in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, where most of the team also played twice last season. They have played in a number of other big arenas, too.
“It will be 10-foot baskets and a 94-foot court,” said Flannery, sounding a little like Gene Hackman.
Flannery is not worried about the dome, his focus is on preparing for its tenants.
Northern Iowa (21-6, 11-5 Missouri Valley Conference) has lost two in a row and three of its last five. But the losses have all been in the mucho-tough MVC. Even though the Panthers are a little banged up and tired, they are a very good team.
UNI has spent all season in the Mid-Major Top 25, where they were No. 5 last week. Before their recent slide, it was the Panthers who were ranked in the Top 25.
Flannery says Northern Iowa reminds him of his own team. That is not just because both teams played tough in losing to Wisconsin in Oklahoma City last March.
“They play good defense and they have kids who can really shoot the ball,” Flannery says.
“It’s a similar matchup. We’ll have to see how the quickness is when we get on the floor.”
Flannery says at times UNI goes with a four-guard lineup, spreading the floor to open things up inside for 6-8 Grant Stout, who averages 12.6 points per game. Stout also helps open the floor with his perimeter shooting. His range extends to the arc.
“He can shoot from the perimeter or drive to the basket,” Flannery says.
Senior guard Ben Jacobsen (6-3) leads the Panthers with 14.2 points per game. Flannery says he is “a real legitimate scorer.”
“They spread you out and have good, quick post kids who can hurt you,” Flannery says.
From watching tape of the Panthers, Flannery can’t really say they remind him of anybody Bucknell has played so far. “Ask me after the game,” he says.
NORTHERN IOWA LINKS:
(Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
(message board)
Flannery realizes this is tremendous exposure for his program and a great experience for his team. A tough matchup against a team the caliber of Northern Iowa is the type of challenge his ballclub has thrived on the past two seasons. Flannery likes the idea of having a quality team like UNI coming into Sojka for a payback will boot next season’s schedule. Make no mistake, the guy understands the benefits of this whole BracketBusters thing.
Then why is he not smiling?
Well, for starters, the game could not have come at a worse time on the Bison’s schedule. Riding a 12-game unbeaten streak in conference play, with the next league game one that could determine the regular season championship, the last thing a coach wants right now is a hiccup.
As important as this game might be for Bucknell – for exposure, for possible NCAA seeding, for national rankings – it could mean nothing if the Bison don’t win the Patriot League title. Despite all the hype, there is no guarantee that Bucknell will be inside the bubble when it bursts if they don’t win the Patriot League.
When Flannery agreed to participate in the BracketBusters, he didn’t imagine his team being nationally ranked and flying two-thirds of the way across the country to play in the middle of the conference schedule.
“I thought we’d be getting on a bus and going to play someplace like Manhattan or Iona,” Flannery says.
In other words, a step up and out of the league, but without a break in the rhythm and routine of the conference schedule.
The Bison are chartering to Northern Iowa to minimize the disruption to their class schedule and to allow them to get back to Lewisburg Saturday night following the game.
Even by charter, it’s a long trip, the better part of the day spent on buses and planes. Not that the Bison need hurry to get to Cedar Falls. To accommodate the game, UNI moved a track meet that was scheduled for Saturday up a day. That means Bucknell can’t get on the court at the UNI Dome for a shootaround until 9 p.m. local time. By then the Bison’s body clocks will be reading 10 p.m., a late hour for a practice after a tiring day of travel.
Flannery does not expect to get much done other than to get a feel for the game ball UNI uses and the background in the dome.
“We will shoot around for about 20 minutes, then try to get there early Saturday morning to shoot some more,” Flannery says
Flannery is not too worried about his team shooting in the cavernous dome. The Bison won earlier in the season in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, where most of the team also played twice last season. They have played in a number of other big arenas, too.
“It will be 10-foot baskets and a 94-foot court,” said Flannery, sounding a little like Gene Hackman.
Flannery is not worried about the dome, his focus is on preparing for its tenants.
Northern Iowa (21-6, 11-5 Missouri Valley Conference) has lost two in a row and three of its last five. But the losses have all been in the mucho-tough MVC. Even though the Panthers are a little banged up and tired, they are a very good team.
UNI has spent all season in the Mid-Major Top 25, where they were No. 5 last week. Before their recent slide, it was the Panthers who were ranked in the Top 25.
Flannery says Northern Iowa reminds him of his own team. That is not just because both teams played tough in losing to Wisconsin in Oklahoma City last March.
“They play good defense and they have kids who can really shoot the ball,” Flannery says.
“It’s a similar matchup. We’ll have to see how the quickness is when we get on the floor.”
Flannery says at times UNI goes with a four-guard lineup, spreading the floor to open things up inside for 6-8 Grant Stout, who averages 12.6 points per game. Stout also helps open the floor with his perimeter shooting. His range extends to the arc.
“He can shoot from the perimeter or drive to the basket,” Flannery says.
Senior guard Ben Jacobsen (6-3) leads the Panthers with 14.2 points per game. Flannery says he is “a real legitimate scorer.”
“They spread you out and have good, quick post kids who can hurt you,” Flannery says.
From watching tape of the Panthers, Flannery can’t really say they remind him of anybody Bucknell has played so far. “Ask me after the game,” he says.
NORTHERN IOWA LINKS:
A tale of two hirings
Do a search on the Bucknell Athletics Web site for Rick Hartzell and it turns up no matches.
That does not mean Hartzell shouldn’t be accorded a prominent place in the history of Bucknell sports. For 11 years, from 1988 to 1997, Hartzell served as Bucknell’s athletics director. During that period, Hartzell guided the Bison into the Patriot League, renovated the , Davis Gym and the and raised the funds and got the ball rolling on the Langone Athletics and Recreation Center, which includes Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison also enjoyed tremendous competitive success on Hartzell’s watch. In the nine years under Hartzell that Bucknell was a member of the Patriot League, the school won six President’s Cups, symbolic of overall athletic superiority in the league. The long list of championship teams during the Hartzell era includes the school’s only Patriot League football title in 1996.
Off the field, Bucknell was annually ranked among the top 10 in the nation in the NCAA graduation rate surveys, a tradition that continues in Lewisburg (as does winning the Presidents Cup on a fairly regular basis).
Since then, Hartzell has duplicated many of those successes at his new gig at Northern Iowa, his alma mater. Here’s a cut from on the school’s Web site:
Obviously Hartzell is part of the storyline as Bucknell visits the UNI Dome Saturday for the BracketBusters matchup with Hartzell’s Panthers (although it has been overlooked by many in favor of the now-tired pep band story).
What you will hear, or read, about the link between the two schools will almost certainly include a – Northern Iowa’s and Bucknell’s Pat Flannery, who, coincidentally are both alums of the places they work.
True, both coaches got their jobs when Hartzell was the A.D. at the school. But it is tough to give Hartzell the credit for Flannery’s hiring.
Bucknell is not like some of those big conference places where a coach leaves and the A.D. hires his hand-picked replacement a day or two later. As one former athletics department staff member put it, “Bucknell is very famous for large, unwieldy committees. The committee was what picked Pat.”
When Charlie Woollum left Lewisburg in 1994, after a highly successful 19-year run at Bucknell, Flannery was not Hartzell’s choice for the job. Hartzell’s choice for the job would have been current Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik..
Hartzell even went public with his support of Bzdelik in an interview with The Danville News, saying it would take an awfully strong horse to beat Bzdelik in the race to replace Woollum.
Bzdelik, then an assistant with the NBA’s then Washington Bullets (now the Wizards), and Hartzell had been acquainted since Hartzell’s days as an assistant A.D. at Northwestern, where Bzdelik was an assistant basketball coach. When Hartzell got the head job at Maryland-Baltimore County, it was Bzdelik whom he hired to coach his basketball team.
Bzdelik, by the way, was not Hartzell’s first choice. That would have been then-Duke assistant Tommy Amaker, the current Michigan coach. Hartzell, who moonlights as a one of the top refs in Division I, was working the Atlantic Coast Conference in those days, which is how he knew Amaker.
Although it was never clear how serious the pursuit of Amaker ever got (Hartzell also floated the idea of interviewing Cheryl Miller), it did go as far as to enlist the help of a former Duke women’s player who was interning at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa.
Amaker’s wife was a doctor at the Duke medical center. The former Duke player, who was also a volunteer assistant with the Danville High School program, gathered together a recruiting packet touting Geisinger to be used in an effort to make central Pa. more attractive to Amaker’s wife.
Five guys came to town to interview with the committee. Bzdelik was one of them. So was Flannery. Woollum assistant Terry Conrad, who stayed on as an assistant with Flannery and now is head coach at D-II Bloomsburg, was another. The then-coach at D-III Kenyon also interview with the committee. The fifth candidate defies the memory of everyone interviewed for this story.
Bzdelik bombed in those interviews.
“He was not prepared. He could only name one other coach in the league,” a member of the committee recalled.
“(Bzdelik) was Hartzell’s guy. But I don’t think he was ever the committee’s guy,” a former B.U. athletics staffer said.
The committee's top two were the guy from Kenyon and Flannery, whose passion for his alma mater ultimately might have been his trump card, though his Lebanon Valley team winning the D-III national title just weeks earlier certainly did not make a bad impression.
“Pat was very well organized, very well prepared. He had a passion for the place. He knew what it took to be successful at Bucknell on and off the court, he had done it,” a committee member said.
Flannery knew he was not Hartzell’s first choice.
“I got the distinct feeling (Bzdelik) was. That was why I pulled out of it originally,” said Flannery, who withdrew from consideration, then later agreed to put his name back in the hat.
In hindsight, it has worked out for everyone in the end. Hartzell and Flannery are both likely to have teams in the NCAA Tournament again this season. Bzdelik eventually landed a $1.5 million deal to be a head coach in the NBA before landing at the Air Force Academy.
That does not mean Hartzell shouldn’t be accorded a prominent place in the history of Bucknell sports. For 11 years, from 1988 to 1997, Hartzell served as Bucknell’s athletics director. During that period, Hartzell guided the Bison into the Patriot League, renovated the , Davis Gym and the and raised the funds and got the ball rolling on the Langone Athletics and Recreation Center, which includes Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison also enjoyed tremendous competitive success on Hartzell’s watch. In the nine years under Hartzell that Bucknell was a member of the Patriot League, the school won six President’s Cups, symbolic of overall athletic superiority in the league. The long list of championship teams during the Hartzell era includes the school’s only Patriot League football title in 1996.
Off the field, Bucknell was annually ranked among the top 10 in the nation in the NCAA graduation rate surveys, a tradition that continues in Lewisburg (as does winning the Presidents Cup on a fairly regular basis).
Since then, Hartzell has duplicated many of those successes at his new gig at Northern Iowa, his alma mater. Here’s a cut from on the school’s Web site:
The football team has claimed two conference titles the past four seasons, and the men's basketball team won its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference championship in 2004, with back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances - including the school's first-ever bid as an at-large team in 2005. UNI volleyball has won six of the past seven conference championships, and made three appearances in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 during that span. Panther wrestling crowned its first Division I national champion in 2000, and has placed as high as 11th in the national tournament. Track and field and cross country have claimed numerous conference titles, including the last six indoor men's crowns, and baseball made its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2001, winning the rugged MVC crown. In fact, no less than 10 sports have seen teams or individuals in postseason action since Hartzell came back to the Cedar Valley.Like he did at Bucknell, Hartzell has overseen a lot of infrastructure improvements. Next season the basketball team moves into a spanking new 7,000-seat arena.
In addition, the Panthers have finished in the upper half of the Missouri Valley Conference's all-sports standings each year under Hartzell's direction, including a best-ever finish of second in the 2000-01 campaign. Prior to his arrival, UNI had finished in the upper half of the league all-sports standings just once. UNI has also consistently finished in the top 90 in the annual Director's Cup standings since Hartzell's arrival, a ranking that measures a school's success in various sports in NCAA championships during that athletic year. In 2003-04, UNI finished 80th nationally, tops among schools in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Obviously Hartzell is part of the storyline as Bucknell visits the UNI Dome Saturday for the BracketBusters matchup with Hartzell’s Panthers (although it has been overlooked by many in favor of the now-tired pep band story).
What you will hear, or read, about the link between the two schools will almost certainly include a – Northern Iowa’s and Bucknell’s Pat Flannery, who, coincidentally are both alums of the places they work.
True, both coaches got their jobs when Hartzell was the A.D. at the school. But it is tough to give Hartzell the credit for Flannery’s hiring.
Bucknell is not like some of those big conference places where a coach leaves and the A.D. hires his hand-picked replacement a day or two later. As one former athletics department staff member put it, “Bucknell is very famous for large, unwieldy committees. The committee was what picked Pat.”
When Charlie Woollum left Lewisburg in 1994, after a highly successful 19-year run at Bucknell, Flannery was not Hartzell’s choice for the job. Hartzell’s choice for the job would have been current Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik..
Hartzell even went public with his support of Bzdelik in an interview with The Danville News, saying it would take an awfully strong horse to beat Bzdelik in the race to replace Woollum.
Bzdelik, then an assistant with the NBA’s then Washington Bullets (now the Wizards), and Hartzell had been acquainted since Hartzell’s days as an assistant A.D. at Northwestern, where Bzdelik was an assistant basketball coach. When Hartzell got the head job at Maryland-Baltimore County, it was Bzdelik whom he hired to coach his basketball team.
Bzdelik, by the way, was not Hartzell’s first choice. That would have been then-Duke assistant Tommy Amaker, the current Michigan coach. Hartzell, who moonlights as a one of the top refs in Division I, was working the Atlantic Coast Conference in those days, which is how he knew Amaker.
Although it was never clear how serious the pursuit of Amaker ever got (Hartzell also floated the idea of interviewing Cheryl Miller), it did go as far as to enlist the help of a former Duke women’s player who was interning at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa.
Amaker’s wife was a doctor at the Duke medical center. The former Duke player, who was also a volunteer assistant with the Danville High School program, gathered together a recruiting packet touting Geisinger to be used in an effort to make central Pa. more attractive to Amaker’s wife.
Five guys came to town to interview with the committee. Bzdelik was one of them. So was Flannery. Woollum assistant Terry Conrad, who stayed on as an assistant with Flannery and now is head coach at D-II Bloomsburg, was another. The then-coach at D-III Kenyon also interview with the committee. The fifth candidate defies the memory of everyone interviewed for this story.
Bzdelik bombed in those interviews.
“He was not prepared. He could only name one other coach in the league,” a member of the committee recalled.
“(Bzdelik) was Hartzell’s guy. But I don’t think he was ever the committee’s guy,” a former B.U. athletics staffer said.
The committee's top two were the guy from Kenyon and Flannery, whose passion for his alma mater ultimately might have been his trump card, though his Lebanon Valley team winning the D-III national title just weeks earlier certainly did not make a bad impression.
“Pat was very well organized, very well prepared. He had a passion for the place. He knew what it took to be successful at Bucknell on and off the court, he had done it,” a committee member said.
Flannery knew he was not Hartzell’s first choice.
“I got the distinct feeling (Bzdelik) was. That was why I pulled out of it originally,” said Flannery, who withdrew from consideration, then later agreed to put his name back in the hat.
In hindsight, it has worked out for everyone in the end. Hartzell and Flannery are both likely to have teams in the NCAA Tournament again this season. Bzdelik eventually landed a $1.5 million deal to be a head coach in the NBA before landing at the Air Force Academy.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
BracketBusters buzz
They are in full court pressure mode about the BracketBusters over at WWLIS.com.
Start out by making some predictions in their . While you are having fun clicking the little buttons to make your poll choices, cast a vote for which games you are looking forward most to watching, which team is most likely to win a game in the Big Dance, which team has the most to gain from the BB and predict an All BracketBusters team. You can participate in with one click on the mouse.
Not sure who to choose in all those polls? Bone up on the BracketBusters by reading Kyle's .
Also, if you missed Thursday afternoon's chat with Bucknell's Charles Lee and other BB participants, you can of the whole session.
SO-CALLED EXPERTS: We like a lot of the stuff found on the WWLIS site, but occasionally you have to wonder if they actually have a clue.
Today's example comes from Andy Glockner's column on ESPN.com.
Glockner writes that Bucknell should be in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team should the Bison stumble in the Patriot League tournament.
Nothing wrong with that.
But read his reasoning:
Glockner probably was referring to the Bison's win Saturday at Holy Cross. A significant hurdle, sure. But with Lehigh, which is actually ahead of Holy Cross in the league standings, coming to Sojka Pavilion next week for a showdown, it is hard to figure how Holy Cross could be considered the "last significant hurdle."
Lehigh's 10-1 mark is one of the best through 11 games in league history. The Mountain Hawks only conference loss was by 5 points against Bucknell. The last three games between these two have all gone down to the wire. If that is not a significant league hurdle, we're not sure what is.
SOME SURPRISE: Here's a formula that is almost certain to make a kind gesture seem calculated and contrived. Decide to repay a favor with a nice surprise. Then issue a ahead of time with a headline saying you have prepared a surprise.
By the way, the release says the Bucknell pep band is taking 26 musicians. They might want to wear name tags since we are pretty certain this will be the first time this season they have all played at the same game.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Here's some of what we are working on for Friday:
One of the storylines you will hear heading into Saturday's BracketBusters is bound to be about Rick Hartzell, the former Bucknell Athletics Director who now has that job at Northern Iowa. Hartzell is the guy who hired both team's coaches. As Paul Harvey would say, we'll have the rest of the story.
Also, we'll take a look at Northern Iowa, including a quick scouting report from Bucknell coach Pat Flannery
And, of course, we will have links to all the news about the Bucknell-UNI game and the rest of the Patriot League.
We'll post stuff throughout the day, so be sure to check back often.
Start out by making some predictions in their . While you are having fun clicking the little buttons to make your poll choices, cast a vote for which games you are looking forward most to watching, which team is most likely to win a game in the Big Dance, which team has the most to gain from the BB and predict an All BracketBusters team. You can participate in with one click on the mouse.
Not sure who to choose in all those polls? Bone up on the BracketBusters by reading Kyle's .
Also, if you missed Thursday afternoon's chat with Bucknell's Charles Lee and other BB participants, you can of the whole session.
SO-CALLED EXPERTS: We like a lot of the stuff found on the WWLIS site, but occasionally you have to wonder if they actually have a clue.
Today's example comes from Andy Glockner's column on ESPN.com.
Glockner writes that Bucknell should be in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team should the Bison stumble in the Patriot League tournament.
Nothing wrong with that.
But read his reasoning:
Bucknell [20-3 (12-0), RPI: 40, SOS: 187] Congrats to the ranked Bison for getting past last significant PL hurdle. Win at Northern Iowa in BracketBusters would be nice insurance in case something screwy happens in the league tournament, but it's hard to imagine the Bison would get shafted at this point. "Marquee" win at Syracuse is losing some glitz.We added the italics for emphasis.
Glockner probably was referring to the Bison's win Saturday at Holy Cross. A significant hurdle, sure. But with Lehigh, which is actually ahead of Holy Cross in the league standings, coming to Sojka Pavilion next week for a showdown, it is hard to figure how Holy Cross could be considered the "last significant hurdle."
Lehigh's 10-1 mark is one of the best through 11 games in league history. The Mountain Hawks only conference loss was by 5 points against Bucknell. The last three games between these two have all gone down to the wire. If that is not a significant league hurdle, we're not sure what is.
SOME SURPRISE: Here's a formula that is almost certain to make a kind gesture seem calculated and contrived. Decide to repay a favor with a nice surprise. Then issue a ahead of time with a headline saying you have prepared a surprise.
By the way, the release says the Bucknell pep band is taking 26 musicians. They might want to wear name tags since we are pretty certain this will be the first time this season they have all played at the same game.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Here's some of what we are working on for Friday:
We'll post stuff throughout the day, so be sure to check back often.
Bison take care of business
(Originally posted Wed. night at 9:21 p.m., updated with links at 7:17 a.m.)
Looking for a soundtrack for Bucknell's 69-49 win Wednesday evening over Lafayette, just cue the Bachman Turner Overdrive.
It was a Taking Care of Business kind of game for the No. 24 ranked Bison, who came into Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center with a bullseye on their backs and left with their 12th straight win after a workmanlike effort that was all steady and little spectacular, save for a handful of dunks by Charles Lee and Donald Brown.
The game had all the makings of a trap game, with the Bison riding their long win streak and a first-time ever national ranking, coming into a game against an opponent that has been little more than a speed bump throughout most of the current Bucknell roster's careers.
Pat Flannnery acknowledged as much after the game. "This was one we really had to focus on because we travel this weekend," said Flannery, conspicuously avoiding mentioning the BracketBusters by name.
Bucknell did all the things it has done most of the season. They shot the ball well, hitting 26 of 45 (57.8 percent) from the field, put four guys in double figures, and played their usual tough defense, holding Lafayette to 30 percent for the game (15 of 50). The only thing that kept Lafayette from becoming the seventh team the Bison have held under 30 percent this season was an Andrew Brown three-pointer at the buzzer when he was the only starter for either team still on the floor.
It was the seventh time this season that Bucknell held an opponent under 50 points, the second time they did that against Lafayette. It was the 17th time the Bison, ranked third in the nation in defense, held an opponent below 40 percent from the field.
"Every shot I took was contested," said Lafayette's Andrei Capusan, who came into the game ranked second in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 57.3 percent. Capusan finished with 12 points, but they did not come easy. He shot 4-for-13 from the field and only had a pair of field goals after hitting two quick buckets in teh first 3:17 of the game.
Bilal Abdullah also reached double figures, scoring 10 points. Abdullah was 3 for 5 from the arc. The rest of Lafayette's shooters were a combined 5 for 21 from three-point range.
"Against a good team, you think that you are open and they close out pretty fast so your shots are a little rushed. You have to give them credit, they are not ranked third in the country for nothing," Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon said.
Offensively, the Bison did the things they needed to do to win on their seventh straight on the road. They got good balance, with four players in double figures, moved the ball well (15 assists) and, for a change, avoided the kind of slow start that has been worrisome in recent weeks away from Sojka Pavilion.
It did take Bucknell about four minutes to figure out Lafayette's zone, but once it was solved, they put on a clinic, especially in the final 9:30 of the first half, when they broke open a 17-17 tie with an 18-3 run, holding Lafayette to a single field goal in that stretch.
"We have seen so much man to man. We just haven't seen (zone) that much. It got us standing around a little bit," Flannery said. "We were a lot better after the four minute mark than we have been."
Bucknell also dominated on the boards, out rebounding Lafayette 44-23.
Charles Lee led the attack, grabbing 11 rebounds to complete a double-double. Lee had 14 points. Kevin Bettencourt also had 14 for the Bison, going 5 for 7 from the field, 4 for 6 from the arc. Chris McNaughton, who was limited to 23 minutes by foul trouble, added 12 points and helped his ranking as the league's top field goal shooter with a 5 for 7 night. Donald Brown had identical numbers off the bench
The only blemish on the victory was Bucknell's 23 turnovers, its most all season.
"I hate 23 turnovers. You can't play that way," said Flannery.
Hard to say which Flannery hated more, the turnovers, or the team's ranking written in soap on a window of the bus when it picked them up in Lewisburg.
"The coaching staff got a broom and wiped it off. That 's the last thing we were going to come down to Lafayette in. It's great that the fans are like that, but I am glad the kids are rooted," Flannery said.
"It's great to be ranked and stuff. We obviously feel pretty good about it and we should. But it doesn't change anything about the way we play on teh court," McNaughton said.
The Bison will step out of the Patriot League Saturday when they head to Northern Iowa for an ESPN BracketBusters matchup on national television. Lafayette will face another tough challenge when they travel down I-78 to meet their archrivals from Lehigh, who entered the night one game behind Bucknell in the loss column.
BISON CHIPS: BU's Donald Brown got hit with a technical in the first half . . . What did Brown do to draw ref Rich Giallella's ire? Apparently Giallella was offended that Brown would not retrieve the ball after he was whistled for a personal foul . . . Brown insisted after the game he never even opened his mouth and teammates backed that account . . . Bucknell's 21-3 start equals the school's best ever 24-game record, set in the 1983-84 season . . . Bucknell's 12-0 mark in league play is the best start in league history . . . the win was the Bison's 16th straight against league foes, dating to last season . . . The win was Bucknell's 11th on the road this season, tying a school record . . . The 12-game win streak is Bucknell's longest since 1919.
Game blog
Looking for a soundtrack for Bucknell's 69-49 win Wednesday evening over Lafayette, just cue the Bachman Turner Overdrive.
It was a Taking Care of Business kind of game for the No. 24 ranked Bison, who came into Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center with a bullseye on their backs and left with their 12th straight win after a workmanlike effort that was all steady and little spectacular, save for a handful of dunks by Charles Lee and Donald Brown.
The game had all the makings of a trap game, with the Bison riding their long win streak and a first-time ever national ranking, coming into a game against an opponent that has been little more than a speed bump throughout most of the current Bucknell roster's careers.
Pat Flannnery acknowledged as much after the game. "This was one we really had to focus on because we travel this weekend," said Flannery, conspicuously avoiding mentioning the BracketBusters by name.
Bucknell did all the things it has done most of the season. They shot the ball well, hitting 26 of 45 (57.8 percent) from the field, put four guys in double figures, and played their usual tough defense, holding Lafayette to 30 percent for the game (15 of 50). The only thing that kept Lafayette from becoming the seventh team the Bison have held under 30 percent this season was an Andrew Brown three-pointer at the buzzer when he was the only starter for either team still on the floor.
It was the seventh time this season that Bucknell held an opponent under 50 points, the second time they did that against Lafayette. It was the 17th time the Bison, ranked third in the nation in defense, held an opponent below 40 percent from the field.
"Every shot I took was contested," said Lafayette's Andrei Capusan, who came into the game ranked second in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 57.3 percent. Capusan finished with 12 points, but they did not come easy. He shot 4-for-13 from the field and only had a pair of field goals after hitting two quick buckets in teh first 3:17 of the game.
Bilal Abdullah also reached double figures, scoring 10 points. Abdullah was 3 for 5 from the arc. The rest of Lafayette's shooters were a combined 5 for 21 from three-point range.
"Against a good team, you think that you are open and they close out pretty fast so your shots are a little rushed. You have to give them credit, they are not ranked third in the country for nothing," Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon said.
Offensively, the Bison did the things they needed to do to win on their seventh straight on the road. They got good balance, with four players in double figures, moved the ball well (15 assists) and, for a change, avoided the kind of slow start that has been worrisome in recent weeks away from Sojka Pavilion.
It did take Bucknell about four minutes to figure out Lafayette's zone, but once it was solved, they put on a clinic, especially in the final 9:30 of the first half, when they broke open a 17-17 tie with an 18-3 run, holding Lafayette to a single field goal in that stretch.
"We have seen so much man to man. We just haven't seen (zone) that much. It got us standing around a little bit," Flannery said. "We were a lot better after the four minute mark than we have been."
Bucknell also dominated on the boards, out rebounding Lafayette 44-23.
Charles Lee led the attack, grabbing 11 rebounds to complete a double-double. Lee had 14 points. Kevin Bettencourt also had 14 for the Bison, going 5 for 7 from the field, 4 for 6 from the arc. Chris McNaughton, who was limited to 23 minutes by foul trouble, added 12 points and helped his ranking as the league's top field goal shooter with a 5 for 7 night. Donald Brown had identical numbers off the bench
The only blemish on the victory was Bucknell's 23 turnovers, its most all season.
"I hate 23 turnovers. You can't play that way," said Flannery.
Hard to say which Flannery hated more, the turnovers, or the team's ranking written in soap on a window of the bus when it picked them up in Lewisburg.
"The coaching staff got a broom and wiped it off. That 's the last thing we were going to come down to Lafayette in. It's great that the fans are like that, but I am glad the kids are rooted," Flannery said.
"It's great to be ranked and stuff. We obviously feel pretty good about it and we should. But it doesn't change anything about the way we play on teh court," McNaughton said.
The Bison will step out of the Patriot League Saturday when they head to Northern Iowa for an ESPN BracketBusters matchup on national television. Lafayette will face another tough challenge when they travel down I-78 to meet their archrivals from Lehigh, who entered the night one game behind Bucknell in the loss column.
BISON CHIPS: BU's Donald Brown got hit with a technical in the first half . . . What did Brown do to draw ref Rich Giallella's ire? Apparently Giallella was offended that Brown would not retrieve the ball after he was whistled for a personal foul . . . Brown insisted after the game he never even opened his mouth and teammates backed that account . . . Bucknell's 21-3 start equals the school's best ever 24-game record, set in the 1983-84 season . . . Bucknell's 12-0 mark in league play is the best start in league history . . . the win was the Bison's 16th straight against league foes, dating to last season . . . The win was Bucknell's 11th on the road this season, tying a school record . . . The 12-game win streak is Bucknell's longest since 1919.
Around the league
(Originally posted Wed. night at 11:52 p.m., updated at 7:45 a.m.)
Lehigh 67, Colgate 58 -- After trailing a good portion of the first half, Lehigh took a 27-26 lead at the break, then opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Colgate never got closer the 5 back the rest of the way.
Jose Olivero led three Mountain Hawks in double figures with 15 points. Mitch Gilfillan and Kyle Neptune each added 12 as Lehigh won its 10th league game, a scool record.
Kyle Roemer (14 points) and Jon Simon (20) each had four three-pointers for the Raiders.
As seems to be the norm for Colgate, the difference came at the free throw line. Lehigh went 17 of 21 at the stripe. Colgate shot only 9 free throws all night, making six.
Holy Cross 72, Navy 62 -- Holy Cross scored the first 5 points of the game and never looked back, leading by as many as 20 en route to the win. Kevin Hamilton led the Crusaders with a 17-point, 11 rebound double-double.
Keith Simmons added 16 and Torey Thomas had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Alex Vander Baan also reached double figures with 10 points for HC.
Freshman Bryce Brigham led Navy with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including a perfect 3 for 3 from the three-point arc. Kaleo Kina added 12 points for Navy. Corey Johnson added 11 and Greg Sprink finished with 10, despite hitting just 2 of 12 from the field. Sprink was 0 for 6 from the arc.
The Crusaders won despite 25 turnovers. HC's 38-23 edge on the glass helped make up for the turnovers.
After the game, HC coach Ralph Willard made it clear to Jen Toland of the (subscription needed) that he was not happy with the sloppy play:
The win was HC's 14th straight against Navy.
American 68, Army 55 --American opened the game with an 11-1 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Army managed to cut the deficit to 1 with about 5 minutes to go in the first half, but never got closer.
By the half AU's lead was 8 and the Eagles built it to as many as 26 points in the second half.
Derrick Mercer's career-high 19 points led AU to the win, which gave the Eagles sole possession of fourth place in the league. Brayden Billbe (12) and Paulius Joneliunas (11) also in double figures for AU.
Matt Bell led Army with points. Kenny Brewer added 11.
Lehigh 67, Colgate 58 -- After trailing a good portion of the first half, Lehigh took a 27-26 lead at the break, then opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Colgate never got closer the 5 back the rest of the way.
Jose Olivero led three Mountain Hawks in double figures with 15 points. Mitch Gilfillan and Kyle Neptune each added 12 as Lehigh won its 10th league game, a scool record.
Kyle Roemer (14 points) and Jon Simon (20) each had four three-pointers for the Raiders.
As seems to be the norm for Colgate, the difference came at the free throw line. Lehigh went 17 of 21 at the stripe. Colgate shot only 9 free throws all night, making six.
Holy Cross 72, Navy 62 -- Holy Cross scored the first 5 points of the game and never looked back, leading by as many as 20 en route to the win. Kevin Hamilton led the Crusaders with a 17-point, 11 rebound double-double.
Keith Simmons added 16 and Torey Thomas had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Alex Vander Baan also reached double figures with 10 points for HC.
Freshman Bryce Brigham led Navy with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including a perfect 3 for 3 from the three-point arc. Kaleo Kina added 12 points for Navy. Corey Johnson added 11 and Greg Sprink finished with 10, despite hitting just 2 of 12 from the field. Sprink was 0 for 6 from the arc.
The Crusaders won despite 25 turnovers. HC's 38-23 edge on the glass helped make up for the turnovers.
After the game, HC coach Ralph Willard made it clear to Jen Toland of the (subscription needed) that he was not happy with the sloppy play:
“We threw the ball all over the place like it was a hand grenade. Twenty-five turnovers is ridiculous. It’s not like they were pressuring us. Most of the turnovers were just unforced, bad plays on our part.”Willard was particularly incensed by the way the 'Saders played in the second half, after building a 15-point lead at the break.
“I’ve been in this profession long enough to know this was a hangover game,” Willard said, “but at this point in the season you can’t afford a hangover game. You’ve got to get better. We have to go into the tournament playing our best basketball and tonight was not a step in that direction.”The problem is, between all the injuries and the lack of depth, Willard's guys have played a lot of minutes. The Crusader to come up hurting is Kevin Hamilton, who has battled nagging injuries all season, played with a pad on his back after suffering a bone contusion in the loss to Bucknell. He also has an injured toe.
The win was HC's 14th straight against Navy.
American 68, Army 55 --American opened the game with an 11-1 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Army managed to cut the deficit to 1 with about 5 minutes to go in the first half, but never got closer.
By the half AU's lead was 8 and the Eagles built it to as many as 26 points in the second half.
Derrick Mercer's career-high 19 points led AU to the win, which gave the Eagles sole possession of fourth place in the league. Brayden Billbe (12) and Paulius Joneliunas (11) also in double figures for AU.
Matt Bell led Army with points. Kenny Brewer added 11.
Welcome to Meisterville
From the , this report on Holy Cross recruit Eric Meister's final regular season home game:
"Meisterville" was set up outside the State College North building for much of the afternoon, and moved inside the gym for the evening, and most of the students wore white "Meisterville" T-shirts while chanting his name.For the rest of the story,
The Little Lion senior did not disappoint the near-capacity crowd in his final home basketball game.Meister scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots as State College (18-6, 5-1) dropped rival Altoona 59-48 to clinch the program's fifth straight Mountain Athletic Conference Section 1 crown.
"This is the best possible way we could have gone out," said Meister, who is heading to Holy Cross in the fall with 1,365 career points thus far. "I couldn't imagine anything better than this. It just feels great."
We might be wrong
In our preview of the Navy-Holy Cross game, we wrote "Holy Cross will gain the No. 2 seed if it wins out."
That prompted a deluge of e-mail reminding us that Holy Cross would still be No. 3 if Lehigh wins out, including at Bucknell next week.
We appreciate the keen observations of those who rushed to tell us we were wrong.
However, we are not wrong yet, and won't be if Bucknell and Holy Cross both beat the Mountain Hawks.
That prompted a deluge of e-mail reminding us that Holy Cross would still be No. 3 if Lehigh wins out, including at Bucknell next week.
We appreciate the keen observations of those who rushed to tell us we were wrong.
However, we are not wrong yet, and won't be if Bucknell and Holy Cross both beat the Mountain Hawks.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Bucknell-Lafayette game blog
We're live in Easton, where Lafayette is set to host the Patriot League's first-ever ranked team in front of looks like it might be a sparse crowd, despite all the hype about advance ticket sales.
With about 6 minutes till tip off, Kirby is nowhere close to full. Could be a late arriving crowd, though, thanks to CSTV's ridiculous 6 p.m. start time.
Anybody coming from further than abouyt a half-hour away almost had to hook out of work early if they planned to make the early tip.
Let's hope that the leverage of having a media darling like Bucknell can translate into more favorable start times next year, not only for the CSTV games, but also from the WWLIS when it schedules the tournament finale. I don't know about anyone else, but I would rather go watch somebody else on the tube during Friday afternoon happy hour and see the league final played at a reasonable time.
LCLC'sBy the way, this is the first time in three attempts that we have been able to connect to the wireless network in Kirby. Lafayette's Scott Morse, the Director of Athletic Communications and Promotions, pointed that out and suggested maybe that means a change of luck for the Leopards, who lost the other two games we have been here for.
We hereby disavow any responsibility for the outcome, so spare us the nasty e-mail either way.
Two pro scouts on hand tonight. One from the Charlotte Bobcats, the other representing the Knicks. We will try to get their impressions later in the evening.
Bucknell 7, Lafayette 7 (15:49 first)
Andrei Capusan scores the first bucket of the game and the dozen or so remnants of teh once-proud zoo crew start the "overrated" chant. It ends seconds later when McNaughton lays in a bucket to tie it at 2-2.
How much respect does Charles Lee get? On a breakaway after a steal, Lafayette's Andrew Brown sense Lee catching up and pulls the ball out instead of going strong to the hole.
Capusan with 4 of Lafayette's points. Bucknell's spread between Lee, McNaughton and Bettencourt (1-2, both threes)
Bucknell 15, Lafayette 9 (11:43 first)
Ted Detmer and Bilal Abdullah, both questionable, are playing for Lafayette.
Lee's second basket a layup off a steal and a nifty jump-stop move that had the less informed in the crowd howling for a travel call. Lee's 10-foot baseline jumper on the next possession makes it 11-7, Bucknell.
Rich Giallelle, Hoop Time's favorite ref, just hit Donald Brown with a personal and a T. Will withhold comment till we get a chance to find out from someone closer to the play if Brown dropped a magic word.
Foul trouble for Brown will mess with Flannery's defensive rotation. He had Brown matched on Capusanb.
After the fouls, Bucknell goes small, with Viaer-McClymont, Lee, Griffin, Vegotsky and Badmus.
Bucknell now shooting 77.8 percent from the field (7-9). Lee with 8 already.
Lafayette has gone over 5 minutes without a field goal. Leopards shooting 42.9 (and falling) from the field.
Bucknell 21, Lafayette 17 (6:42 first)
Turnovers hurting Bucknell early. Bison with 8 in the first 11 minutes.
McNaughton is playing with a pad on his left elbow. That is the same elbow he was icing after the American game last week.
Trouble for Lafayette. Everest Schmidt has three personals. That is not good for a team that is short on height to start.
Bucknell's cheerleaders are here, but in a move right out of a high school game, they are seated in the first two rows of the bleachers behind the Bucknell bench. Some parts of the program have not caught up to the Top 25 level.
Lafayette shooting now at 5-14, 35.7 percent. Leopards with 8 turnovers.
Bucknell 10 turnovers, negating its 9-14 (64.3 percent) shooting and the Bison's 10-5 advantage on the boards.
Bucknell 29, Lafayette 20 (3:12 first)
Rob Thomas, with his new shaved head look, getting significant first half minutes for Bucknell.
Bucknell turnovers up to 12 now. Lee hs 10 points on 5-6 shooting. Bettencourt 3-4 with two treys, 8 points.
Lafayette now shooting 33.3 percent (6-18). Capusan now 2-7, his only pioints since the first three minutes coming at the line.
McNaughton sitting with two personals for Bucknell.
By the way, the crowd still not close to full, though much better than it looked early.
Bucknell 33, Lafayette 20 (1:08 first)
After the game was tied at 17-17 with 6:42 to go in the half, Bucknell went on a 16-3 run.
Bucknell 35, Lafayette 20 (halftime)
Bison close the half with an 18-3 run.
Lafayette finishes the first half shooting 6-19 (31.6 percent) from the field. Believe it or not, that is a big improvement over the last time the two met, when the Leopards shot 26.1 percent in the first half, 20 percent in the second. Leopards also with 14 turnovers.
The Leopards are holding a $500 shootout at the half. Three shots -- foul line ($25), 3-pointer ($100) Halfcourt ($500) ... the shooter was 1-3 (made the free throw) which gives him a better shooting percentage than the Leopards in uniform.
A sloppy first half for Bucknell on offense. You can bet Pat Flannery is letting them have it right now about their 14 turnovers. Biuson are shooting 63.6 percent from the field, though (14-22) including 4-8 from the arc -- three of those by Bettencourt (11 points). Lee is 6-7, 13 points with 5 boards.
Bucknell with an 18-9 edge on the boards. The Bison have not allowed a single Lafayette offensive rebound.
Bucknell 44, Lafayette 31 (15:16 to play)
McNaughton heating up. Now has 6 of Bucknell's last 9. Badmus with the other 3, including a nice layup off a lob pass.
Bucknell with three more turnovers already in the second half.
Bucknell 50, Lafayette 32 (11:51 to play)
LC's Andrew Brown picks up his fourth personal with 13:57 to play.
BU's Donald Brown with 6 quick points, four on a pair of putbacks, one of his own miss, the other a slam following a Mastropaolo miss.
The Lafayette idiot fan who runs the Leopard flag onto the floor almost every timeout needs to lean the proper protocol. He does not belong on the court when Bucknell's cheerleaders are out. Of course since Patriot League cheerleaders rarely travel, he probably can be excused for not knowing any better.
Bucknell 58, Lafayette 40 (7:39 left)
Both NBA scouts sneaked out around the 11 minute mark. The knicks guy said he came because Bucknell is playing pretty good and he thought he would take a look since the game was nearby.
Asked the guy from the Bobcats as he was leaving if he saw anybody he liked. He shrugged and said, "Nah."
McNaughton with two nice buckets, one on a post-up jump hook, the other on a step away J, right after they left.
He also picked up his fourth personal at the 8:06 mark.
Mastropaolo picks up his fifth at the 7:39 mark.
Bucknell 58, Lafayette 40 (5:52 to play)
This one is starting to get ugly -- not from a blowout point of view, but in a sloppy, choppy, no flow way. Much of that because of the whistles -- Bucknell with 9 team fouls, Lafayette with 8.
If Lafayette shot better at the stripe, it might be a game. The 'Pards are now 10-19, including a bunch of front end misses on 1-and-1s.
Bucknell 63, Lafayette 42 (3:31 to play)
McNaughton reenters ith 5:03 to go.
Bucknell in the double bouns at the 4:01 mark. Lee at the line hits one of two, his first point of the second half.
Bettencourt 3 puts the lead to 21, biggest of the game.
On the plus side for Lafayette, the 'Pards just two tunrovers so far in the second half. Doesn't help much, though, since they are shooting 13-46 (28.3 percent) from the field.
Bucknell 69, Lafayette 49(Final)
A. Brown's three at the buzzer cuts the final margin to 20.
Four Bison in double figures -- Lee (14), Bettencourt (14) Brown and McNaughton (12 each). When Bison emptied bench with 1:03 to play, they were shooting 59.1 percent from the floor (26-44).
Capusan and Abdullah with 12 each for Lafayette.
End of the game chant by what is left of the Zoo Crew "Let's play football."
Announced attendance 3,184 ... Lafayette's second biggest crowd of the season (3,192 vs. Lehigh)
Full game story to follow
With about 6 minutes till tip off, Kirby is nowhere close to full. Could be a late arriving crowd, though, thanks to CSTV's ridiculous 6 p.m. start time.
Anybody coming from further than abouyt a half-hour away almost had to hook out of work early if they planned to make the early tip.
Let's hope that the leverage of having a media darling like Bucknell can translate into more favorable start times next year, not only for the CSTV games, but also from the WWLIS when it schedules the tournament finale. I don't know about anyone else, but I would rather go watch somebody else on the tube during Friday afternoon happy hour and see the league final played at a reasonable time.
LCLC'sBy the way, this is the first time in three attempts that we have been able to connect to the wireless network in Kirby. Lafayette's Scott Morse, the Director of Athletic Communications and Promotions, pointed that out and suggested maybe that means a change of luck for the Leopards, who lost the other two games we have been here for.
We hereby disavow any responsibility for the outcome, so spare us the nasty e-mail either way.
Two pro scouts on hand tonight. One from the Charlotte Bobcats, the other representing the Knicks. We will try to get their impressions later in the evening.
Bucknell 7, Lafayette 7 (15:49 first)
Andrei Capusan scores the first bucket of the game and the dozen or so remnants of teh once-proud zoo crew start the "overrated" chant. It ends seconds later when McNaughton lays in a bucket to tie it at 2-2.
How much respect does Charles Lee get? On a breakaway after a steal, Lafayette's Andrew Brown sense Lee catching up and pulls the ball out instead of going strong to the hole.
Capusan with 4 of Lafayette's points. Bucknell's spread between Lee, McNaughton and Bettencourt (1-2, both threes)
Bucknell 15, Lafayette 9 (11:43 first)
Ted Detmer and Bilal Abdullah, both questionable, are playing for Lafayette.
Lee's second basket a layup off a steal and a nifty jump-stop move that had the less informed in the crowd howling for a travel call. Lee's 10-foot baseline jumper on the next possession makes it 11-7, Bucknell.
Rich Giallelle, Hoop Time's favorite ref, just hit Donald Brown with a personal and a T. Will withhold comment till we get a chance to find out from someone closer to the play if Brown dropped a magic word.
Foul trouble for Brown will mess with Flannery's defensive rotation. He had Brown matched on Capusanb.
After the fouls, Bucknell goes small, with Viaer-McClymont, Lee, Griffin, Vegotsky and Badmus.
Bucknell now shooting 77.8 percent from the field (7-9). Lee with 8 already.
Lafayette has gone over 5 minutes without a field goal. Leopards shooting 42.9 (and falling) from the field.
Bucknell 21, Lafayette 17 (6:42 first)
Turnovers hurting Bucknell early. Bison with 8 in the first 11 minutes.
McNaughton is playing with a pad on his left elbow. That is the same elbow he was icing after the American game last week.
Trouble for Lafayette. Everest Schmidt has three personals. That is not good for a team that is short on height to start.
Bucknell's cheerleaders are here, but in a move right out of a high school game, they are seated in the first two rows of the bleachers behind the Bucknell bench. Some parts of the program have not caught up to the Top 25 level.
Lafayette shooting now at 5-14, 35.7 percent. Leopards with 8 turnovers.
Bucknell 10 turnovers, negating its 9-14 (64.3 percent) shooting and the Bison's 10-5 advantage on the boards.
Bucknell 29, Lafayette 20 (3:12 first)
Rob Thomas, with his new shaved head look, getting significant first half minutes for Bucknell.
Bucknell turnovers up to 12 now. Lee hs 10 points on 5-6 shooting. Bettencourt 3-4 with two treys, 8 points.
Lafayette now shooting 33.3 percent (6-18). Capusan now 2-7, his only pioints since the first three minutes coming at the line.
McNaughton sitting with two personals for Bucknell.
By the way, the crowd still not close to full, though much better than it looked early.
Bucknell 33, Lafayette 20 (1:08 first)
After the game was tied at 17-17 with 6:42 to go in the half, Bucknell went on a 16-3 run.
Bucknell 35, Lafayette 20 (halftime)
Bison close the half with an 18-3 run.
Lafayette finishes the first half shooting 6-19 (31.6 percent) from the field. Believe it or not, that is a big improvement over the last time the two met, when the Leopards shot 26.1 percent in the first half, 20 percent in the second. Leopards also with 14 turnovers.
The Leopards are holding a $500 shootout at the half. Three shots -- foul line ($25), 3-pointer ($100) Halfcourt ($500) ... the shooter was 1-3 (made the free throw) which gives him a better shooting percentage than the Leopards in uniform.
A sloppy first half for Bucknell on offense. You can bet Pat Flannery is letting them have it right now about their 14 turnovers. Biuson are shooting 63.6 percent from the field, though (14-22) including 4-8 from the arc -- three of those by Bettencourt (11 points). Lee is 6-7, 13 points with 5 boards.
Bucknell with an 18-9 edge on the boards. The Bison have not allowed a single Lafayette offensive rebound.
Bucknell 44, Lafayette 31 (15:16 to play)
McNaughton heating up. Now has 6 of Bucknell's last 9. Badmus with the other 3, including a nice layup off a lob pass.
Bucknell with three more turnovers already in the second half.
Bucknell 50, Lafayette 32 (11:51 to play)
LC's Andrew Brown picks up his fourth personal with 13:57 to play.
BU's Donald Brown with 6 quick points, four on a pair of putbacks, one of his own miss, the other a slam following a Mastropaolo miss.
The Lafayette idiot fan who runs the Leopard flag onto the floor almost every timeout needs to lean the proper protocol. He does not belong on the court when Bucknell's cheerleaders are out. Of course since Patriot League cheerleaders rarely travel, he probably can be excused for not knowing any better.
Bucknell 58, Lafayette 40 (7:39 left)
Both NBA scouts sneaked out around the 11 minute mark. The knicks guy said he came because Bucknell is playing pretty good and he thought he would take a look since the game was nearby.
Asked the guy from the Bobcats as he was leaving if he saw anybody he liked. He shrugged and said, "Nah."
McNaughton with two nice buckets, one on a post-up jump hook, the other on a step away J, right after they left.
He also picked up his fourth personal at the 8:06 mark.
Mastropaolo picks up his fifth at the 7:39 mark.
Bucknell 58, Lafayette 40 (5:52 to play)
This one is starting to get ugly -- not from a blowout point of view, but in a sloppy, choppy, no flow way. Much of that because of the whistles -- Bucknell with 9 team fouls, Lafayette with 8.
If Lafayette shot better at the stripe, it might be a game. The 'Pards are now 10-19, including a bunch of front end misses on 1-and-1s.
Bucknell 63, Lafayette 42 (3:31 to play)
McNaughton reenters ith 5:03 to go.
Bucknell in the double bouns at the 4:01 mark. Lee at the line hits one of two, his first point of the second half.
Bettencourt 3 puts the lead to 21, biggest of the game.
On the plus side for Lafayette, the 'Pards just two tunrovers so far in the second half. Doesn't help much, though, since they are shooting 13-46 (28.3 percent) from the field.
Bucknell 69, Lafayette 49(Final)
A. Brown's three at the buzzer cuts the final margin to 20.
Four Bison in double figures -- Lee (14), Bettencourt (14) Brown and McNaughton (12 each). When Bison emptied bench with 1:03 to play, they were shooting 59.1 percent from the floor (26-44).
Capusan and Abdullah with 12 each for Lafayette.
End of the game chant by what is left of the Zoo Crew "Let's play football."
Announced attendance 3,184 ... Lafayette's second biggest crowd of the season (3,192 vs. Lehigh)
Full game story to follow
Bison fever
Get ranked in the Top 25 and folks come out of the woodwork to pay attention.
All of a suddent the of your games. Ditto for folks like the , who even go so far as to offer their prediction for the outcome of the game.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com has with players whose teams will be in the BracketBusters. Leading off the lineup of 10 players will be Bucknell's Charles Lee, who will be on at noon. Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson also on the schedule at 2:30 p.m.
You can submit your questions in advance .
All of a suddent the of your games. Ditto for folks like the , who even go so far as to offer their prediction for the outcome of the game.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com has with players whose teams will be in the BracketBusters. Leading off the lineup of 10 players will be Bucknell's Charles Lee, who will be on at noon. Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson also on the schedule at 2:30 p.m.
You can submit your questions in advance .
At the top of the stretch
Everybody is jockeying for postseason position heading into the final two weeks of conference play. Tonight's schedule probably won't do much to sort things out. The big three-- Bucknell, Lehigh and Holy Cross -- are each prohibitive favorites in their matchups tonight. The only game likely to make a difference is American at Army, which could give the Eagles a leg up in the race for fourth for now.
Patriot League scoreboards
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Bucknell at Lafayette, 6 p.m.: A trap game? Certainly this one has all the makings. A nationally ranked team, riding high, coming off a huge road win, with a national TV date against highly regarded foe just ahead, on the road against a team it has handled with ease in recent meetings, including a 30-point win a month ago in Lewisburg.
On paper, Lafayette is no match for the No. 24 Bison, who have won 11 in a row. But the Leopards are a much better team at home than on the road. In Kirby, Lafayette is 6-4, 2-2 in league games. Those two league losses at home were both by double-figure margins. But in each of those games, against Lehigh and Holy Cross, the Leopards were right in the game until the final 10 minutes.
Bucknell, on the other hand, has won six straight on the road. But the Bison had to rally from double-digit deficits in the last three of those road contests. That is a habit that will eventually bite you if you don't break it.
For Lafayette, at least two of three things must happen for them to have a chance. They have to hold their own on the boards, shoot the lights out and take care of the ball. The last time they played Bucknell, the Leopards actually held a 39-38 edge on the boards. But they turned the ball over 27 times and shot just 22.9 percent. Predictably the final score was 62-32 in Bucknell's favor.
This one should be closer, but trap game or not, it is hard to imagine the Leopards pulling the upset. Especially since Lafayette will be without Jamaal Hilliard (broken finger). Two other Leopards are questionable. Ted Detmer is nursing a bad ankle and Bilal Abdullah a bad wrist.
Reports from Easton indicate tickets are selling at a brisk pace for the Bison's visit. What is not known is how much of the pumped up advance sale is due to Bucknell fans planning to make the trip to Easton. The Bison have traveled well all season and their new Top 25 ranking is bound to bring even more alums on board the bandwagon.
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Navy at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.: Holy Cross has won the last 13 meetings between the two, including six straight in Worcester. And they have won convincingly, by an average of more than 16 points per game. Included in that is an 81-67 final in Annapolis two weeks ago in a game that was actually over at the half.
The Crusaders' loss Saturday to Bucknell leaves them no margin for error if they hope to grab one of the homecourt spots in the first two rounds of the league tournament. Holy Cross will gain the No. 2 seed if it wins out.
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American at Army, 7 p.m.: When these two last met, Army took the Eagles into overtime. Coming on the heels of a tight loss at Lehigh, and followed by a win at Navy, it looked as though the Cadets were on the verge of turning a corner. Since the win over Navy, though, Army has dropped six in a row, all, except for an OT loss to Navy in the rematch, by double figures.
Don't count on any homecourt advantage to make the difference for the Cadets. They have not beaten a Division I opponent in Christl Arena since beating Navy there in January 2005. That was Army's only D-I home win last season. In Jim Crews' three-plus seasons as Army's coach, the Cadets have picked up 5 home wins against D-I foes.
On the other hand, AU has not exactly been road warriors. The Eagles' win Saturday at Colgate is its only league win outside of Bender. Overall, AU is 2-11 on the road.
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Colgate at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: It has taken a while for the preseason expectations for Colgate to wear off. But after waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the Raiders to live up to the potential that seems to be on its roster, it has become apparent that the 'Gate probably really is as bad as its 2-8 conference record would indicate. The Raiders have not beaten anybody but Army since last year and aside from two wins over the Cadets, have only one other Division I win in their last 16 games.
Lehigh has only one loss -- to Bucknell -- in 9 games since Joe Knight returned to the lineup The Mountain Hawks have won four straight since that loss to the Bison. The Hawks only won by 8 at Colgate in January. But Colgate is horrible on the road; 1-10 overall, the lone win coming at Army. Lehigh is pretty good at home, 9-3 overall, 4-1 in league games.
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Bucknell at Lafayette, 6 p.m.: A trap game? Certainly this one has all the makings. A nationally ranked team, riding high, coming off a huge road win, with a national TV date against highly regarded foe just ahead, on the road against a team it has handled with ease in recent meetings, including a 30-point win a month ago in Lewisburg.
On paper, Lafayette is no match for the No. 24 Bison, who have won 11 in a row. But the Leopards are a much better team at home than on the road. In Kirby, Lafayette is 6-4, 2-2 in league games. Those two league losses at home were both by double-figure margins. But in each of those games, against Lehigh and Holy Cross, the Leopards were right in the game until the final 10 minutes.
Bucknell, on the other hand, has won six straight on the road. But the Bison had to rally from double-digit deficits in the last three of those road contests. That is a habit that will eventually bite you if you don't break it.
For Lafayette, at least two of three things must happen for them to have a chance. They have to hold their own on the boards, shoot the lights out and take care of the ball. The last time they played Bucknell, the Leopards actually held a 39-38 edge on the boards. But they turned the ball over 27 times and shot just 22.9 percent. Predictably the final score was 62-32 in Bucknell's favor.
This one should be closer, but trap game or not, it is hard to imagine the Leopards pulling the upset. Especially since Lafayette will be without Jamaal Hilliard (broken finger). Two other Leopards are questionable. Ted Detmer is nursing a bad ankle and Bilal Abdullah a bad wrist.
Reports from Easton indicate tickets are selling at a brisk pace for the Bison's visit. What is not known is how much of the pumped up advance sale is due to Bucknell fans planning to make the trip to Easton. The Bison have traveled well all season and their new Top 25 ranking is bound to bring even more alums on board the bandwagon.
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Navy at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.: Holy Cross has won the last 13 meetings between the two, including six straight in Worcester. And they have won convincingly, by an average of more than 16 points per game. Included in that is an 81-67 final in Annapolis two weeks ago in a game that was actually over at the half.
The Crusaders' loss Saturday to Bucknell leaves them no margin for error if they hope to grab one of the homecourt spots in the first two rounds of the league tournament. Holy Cross will gain the No. 2 seed if it wins out.
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American at Army, 7 p.m.: When these two last met, Army took the Eagles into overtime. Coming on the heels of a tight loss at Lehigh, and followed by a win at Navy, it looked as though the Cadets were on the verge of turning a corner. Since the win over Navy, though, Army has dropped six in a row, all, except for an OT loss to Navy in the rematch, by double figures.
Don't count on any homecourt advantage to make the difference for the Cadets. They have not beaten a Division I opponent in Christl Arena since beating Navy there in January 2005. That was Army's only D-I home win last season. In Jim Crews' three-plus seasons as Army's coach, the Cadets have picked up 5 home wins against D-I foes.
On the other hand, AU has not exactly been road warriors. The Eagles' win Saturday at Colgate is its only league win outside of Bender. Overall, AU is 2-11 on the road.
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Colgate at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: It has taken a while for the preseason expectations for Colgate to wear off. But after waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the Raiders to live up to the potential that seems to be on its roster, it has become apparent that the 'Gate probably really is as bad as its 2-8 conference record would indicate. The Raiders have not beaten anybody but Army since last year and aside from two wins over the Cadets, have only one other Division I win in their last 16 games.
Lehigh has only one loss -- to Bucknell -- in 9 games since Joe Knight returned to the lineup The Mountain Hawks have won four straight since that loss to the Bison. The Hawks only won by 8 at Colgate in January. But Colgate is horrible on the road; 1-10 overall, the lone win coming at Army. Lehigh is pretty good at home, 9-3 overall, 4-1 in league games.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Tuesdays with Hoop Time
Folks at the Air Force Academy are none too happy with Navy and Mids coach Billy Lange. According to a Dan Wolken story in today's , Lange and the Midshipmen have reneged on a commitment to play in a four-team military schools tournament at Air Force next season. Virginia Military Academy and The Citadel would be the other two teams in the tournament.
Lange tells the Gazette it is due to scheduling conflicts, but Air Force doesn't seem to be buying that story. Apparently there was some sort of a dustup between Lange and some Air Force players when the two teams met in November.
Wolken also hints that Navy might just want to avoid Air Force next season, when it will be returning four starters plus center Nick Welch, who has missed the entire season due to knee surgery. Lange denies that he is trying to duck a good team.
LET THE HYPE BEGIN: Corky Blake in today's Express-Times. Says Corky:
But hey, it is national television, right? Don't get us started. The only good news is that at least this time the Patriot League game is not starting at a weird time to accomodate women's college ice hockey. No, this time, the Patriot League and the nation's No. 24 team are playing at supper time so CSTV can show 5-15 East Carolina at 8-12 Rice in prime time.
Tom Housenick of The Daily Item also today.
Lange tells the Gazette it is due to scheduling conflicts, but Air Force doesn't seem to be buying that story. Apparently there was some sort of a dustup between Lange and some Air Force players when the two teams met in November.
Wolken also hints that Navy might just want to avoid Air Force next season, when it will be returning four starters plus center Nick Welch, who has missed the entire season due to knee surgery. Lange denies that he is trying to duck a good team.
LET THE HYPE BEGIN: Corky Blake in today's Express-Times. Says Corky:
That roar you heard Monday afternoon on College Hill came from the Lafayette College athletics ticket office. Inside the small room, chief ticket peddler Scott Stewart was doing cartwheels.Of course that early start time might mute the excitement a little. It is pretty tough for 9-to-5 folks to get home from work and back out the door in time to get to a game that is scheduled to compete with the local news on TV.
On Monday, Bucknell University became the first Patriot League men's basketball team to crack the Top 25. The 24th-ranked Bison's first game since reaching their lofty status will be Wednesday in Easton against the Leopards. Tipoff is 6 p.m.
But hey, it is national television, right? Don't get us started. The only good news is that at least this time the Patriot League game is not starting at a weird time to accomodate women's college ice hockey. No, this time, the Patriot League and the nation's No. 24 team are playing at supper time so CSTV can show 5-15 East Carolina at 8-12 Rice in prime time.
Tom Housenick of The Daily Item also today.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Why Bucknell?
AP voter Jerry Brewer, of the Louisville Courier-Journal, why he placed Bucknell at No. 23 on his AP poll ballot this week. Among his comments:
Bucknell is as worthy as others. It has a solid RPI (39). It played a top 50 non-conference schedule. It's 2-2 versus teams in the RPI top 50. You may not respect the Patriot League, but the Bison are 11-0 in league play and dominating.
So I decided to reward Bucknell for being consistent. And I think come NCAA Tournament time, you'll see how competitive the Bison can be.
Bison crack Top 25
Bucknell enters the Top 25 for the first time in school history, earning the No. 24 spot in .
Pat Flannery told the :
Meanwhile, no change in the top two sports in the . It's still Gonzaga at No. 1 with 30 of the 31 first place votes, followed by No. 2 Bucknell, which received the other No. 1 vote. George Mason moves up to No. 3, jumping from last week's No. 6 spot, past Northern Iowa (dropped from 3 to 4), Wichita State (down from 4 to 5) and Creighton, which dropped from No. 5 last week to 8. Lehigh 24th among others receiving votes with 4, down from 6 votes last week.
Pat Flannery told the :
“This is so neat for the school and everything like that. I won’t play it down because it’s wonderful for people to have that kind of respect for our program. At the same time, we have the kind of kids who can take it in stride to be ranked among that company.”This is the first time in Patriot League history that a conference team has earned a spot in either poll.
Meanwhile, no change in the top two sports in the . It's still Gonzaga at No. 1 with 30 of the 31 first place votes, followed by No. 2 Bucknell, which received the other No. 1 vote. George Mason moves up to No. 3, jumping from last week's No. 6 spot, past Northern Iowa (dropped from 3 to 4), Wichita State (down from 4 to 5) and Creighton, which dropped from No. 5 last week to 8. Lehigh 24th among others receiving votes with 4, down from 6 votes last week.
Wild and crazy guys
There are days when we wish we'd pursued a career in stand-up comedy. Usually those days coincide with the days when we read stuff like the , AU's student paper, accusing the AU men's hoops program of being sexist after recruiting fliers were discovered that tout American as a great place to meet chicks.
According to the story:
We will resist the urge to have fun at Brusoe's expense, instead just sharing this quote from the story:
If we were not playing this one straight, we'd probably write something that would conjure up images of Paulius Joneliunas and Lina Lekavicius as Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin in plaid slacks and shirts unbuttoned to the navel, two wild and crazy guys from Lithuania, cruising for American foxes.
But this is the sort of thing that folks in academia love to get righteously indignant about, and we sure don't want AU's feminist community to start boycotting the site, or to picket us when we show up at Bender on Saturday to cover the Holy Cross-American doubleheader.
Let them save those protests for when we publish a Girls of the Patriot League calendar.
According to the story:
Organizations around campus were outraged last week after discovering a recruiting flier from the AU men's basketball team that referred to Washington, D.C., as "the number one place to find babes," and reminded prospective recruits that "AU has twice as many female students as male students."Apparently the whistleblower was not some feminist group, but a dude by the name of Peter Brusoe, chairman of the Graduate Leadership Council, who complained that the university was using women to recruit players.
We will resist the urge to have fun at Brusoe's expense, instead just sharing this quote from the story:
"I was offended as a male that someone would try to recruit people for AU in such a sexist manner," Brusoe said. "Women's issues are all of our issues. We think it is important that we be proactive and be a voice for everyone."Brusoe's response was to pull his organization's funding from an event called "Phil Bender", which we are guessing is some promotion aimed at getting a crowd bigger than the reported 1,550 that showed up for the win over Colgate. Brusoe instead donated those funds to the AU Women's Initiative.
If we were not playing this one straight, we'd probably write something that would conjure up images of Paulius Joneliunas and Lina Lekavicius as Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin in plaid slacks and shirts unbuttoned to the navel, two wild and crazy guys from Lithuania, cruising for American foxes.
But this is the sort of thing that folks in academia love to get righteously indignant about, and we sure don't want AU's feminist community to start boycotting the site, or to picket us when we show up at Bender on Saturday to cover the Holy Cross-American doubleheader.
Let them save those protests for when we publish a Girls of the Patriot League calendar.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
American 72, Colgate 64
American led for all but 1:01 of the game, sweeping the season series from the visiting Raiders and moving into a tie with Lafayette for the No. 4 seed spot in the conference standings.
Andre Ingram led AU with 19 points. Derrick Mercer added 14. Paulius Joneliunas with a game-high 8 rebounds. Joneliunas also had 8 points. AU outrebounded Colgate 38-27.
Alvin Reed, coming off the bench these days, had 14 to lead the 'Gate, which has not beaten anybody not named Army in its past 11 games. The Raiders are 2-9 in that stretch, and have lost four straight since beating Army for the second time.
Kendall Chones, also no longer starting, had 12, as did Kyle Roemer. Jon Simon added 11.
Andre Ingram led AU with 19 points. Derrick Mercer added 14. Paulius Joneliunas with a game-high 8 rebounds. Joneliunas also had 8 points. AU outrebounded Colgate 38-27.
Alvin Reed, coming off the bench these days, had 14 to lead the 'Gate, which has not beaten anybody not named Army in its past 11 games. The Raiders are 2-9 in that stretch, and have lost four straight since beating Army for the second time.
Kendall Chones, also no longer starting, had 12, as did Kyle Roemer. Jon Simon added 11.
More important than it looks
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Colgate at American, 2:30 p.m.: Two teams with a total of five conference wins between them meet in what is a surprisingly big game. If you are not Bucknell, Lehigh or Holy Cross, your chances of winning a first round game in the tournament pretty much seem to depend on being able to finish fourth or fifth in the standings. Those two will meet in the first round. Everybody else will meet one of the top three, two of them will do so on one of the powers' home floors.
With Lafayette's loss Saturday to Navy, three teams -- Lafayette, American and Navy -- are within one-game of each other in the battle for those two spots. Colgate, which has yet to beat anybody not named Army in conference play, still has a shot, a game and a half back of fourth-place Lafayette. With a home-and-home against Navy counting for two of the Raiders four games that will remain after today, they still have a shot at one of those spots if they win at AU. A loss, with games at Lehigh and at home against Holy Cross, also left, and Colgate can pencil in a first round game at the second seed.
American, with a win, would be even with Lafayette, with a favorable remaining schedule -- Navy and Holy Cross at home, road games at Army and Lafayette. A loss would leave AU tied with Navy and Colgate in the standings, all three at 3-7, a game behind Lafayette (4-6).
Lafayette still has a home date with Bucknell and a visit to Lehigh, before finishing the regular season with Army and AU, both in Easton. Navy has three of four on the road down the stretch, at Holy Cross, Colgate and American, before hosting Colgate in its final regular season game.
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Bucknell 57, Holy Cross 52
(Originally posted Sat. at 7:29 p.m., links added 9:05 a.m.)
Down 15, with 16 minutes to go, Bucknell rallied behind smothering second half defense to reach 11-0 in the league, equaling the 1990-91 Fordham team's best start in league history.
The Bison clinched a home court edge in the first two rounds of the league tournament, winning its 11th game in a row.
Bucknell held HC to seven second half field goals (7-22, 31.8 percent) while battling back after falling behind 40-25 after allowing HC to score 7 unanswered points to open the second half.
Holy Cross scored first, 12 seconds into the game, and led all but 33 seconds of the game until Kevin Bettencourt hit a three-pointer with 2:02 to play to put the Bison on top 53-51.
Charles Lee was the star for the Bison. From the sound of things, Lee was the best player on the floor Saturday afternoon, leading all scorers with 24 points, including 14 in the final 16 minutes. Lee also had 4 of his 7 rebounds and 2 of his game-high 4 steals in that same stretch. Lee also hit the 1,000 career points mark, becoming the 32nd BU player to reach that milestone.
Lee was awarded Martin J. O'Malley Award as the Most Valuable Player of Holy Cross' Winter Homecoming game. He becomes the second Bison and just the fourth visiting player to win that honor in its 19-year history. Bison point guard Bill Courtney won it in 1991.
No other Bison reached double figures. Donald Brown came up a board and a bucket shy of a double-double with 9 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
Foul trouble hurt the Crusaders. So did foul shooting. Kevin Hamilton was on the bench with four personals when Bucknell got things going in the second half. Tim Clifford also spent a good chunk of the second half with four fouls. And while Bucknell was hitting 16 of 21 free throws, Holy Cross hit only 11 of 20 at the line. Those math majors reading this already noticed that 5-point differential was the same as the final margin.
Keith Simmons led HC with 13 points. Hamilton added 12 and Clifford finished with 10. The Crusaders hit only 3 three-pointers (on 14 attempts, 21.4 percent). Four of those misses (0 for 4) came from Torey Thomas, who dished off 7 assists, but shot a horrible 1 for 11 from the field.
Down 15, with 16 minutes to go, Bucknell rallied behind smothering second half defense to reach 11-0 in the league, equaling the 1990-91 Fordham team's best start in league history.
The Bison clinched a home court edge in the first two rounds of the league tournament, winning its 11th game in a row.
Bucknell held HC to seven second half field goals (7-22, 31.8 percent) while battling back after falling behind 40-25 after allowing HC to score 7 unanswered points to open the second half.
Holy Cross scored first, 12 seconds into the game, and led all but 33 seconds of the game until Kevin Bettencourt hit a three-pointer with 2:02 to play to put the Bison on top 53-51.
Charles Lee was the star for the Bison. From the sound of things, Lee was the best player on the floor Saturday afternoon, leading all scorers with 24 points, including 14 in the final 16 minutes. Lee also had 4 of his 7 rebounds and 2 of his game-high 4 steals in that same stretch. Lee also hit the 1,000 career points mark, becoming the 32nd BU player to reach that milestone.
Lee was awarded Martin J. O'Malley Award as the Most Valuable Player of Holy Cross' Winter Homecoming game. He becomes the second Bison and just the fourth visiting player to win that honor in its 19-year history. Bison point guard Bill Courtney won it in 1991.
No other Bison reached double figures. Donald Brown came up a board and a bucket shy of a double-double with 9 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
Foul trouble hurt the Crusaders. So did foul shooting. Kevin Hamilton was on the bench with four personals when Bucknell got things going in the second half. Tim Clifford also spent a good chunk of the second half with four fouls. And while Bucknell was hitting 16 of 21 free throws, Holy Cross hit only 11 of 20 at the line. Those math majors reading this already noticed that 5-point differential was the same as the final margin.
Keith Simmons led HC with 13 points. Hamilton added 12 and Clifford finished with 10. The Crusaders hit only 3 three-pointers (on 14 attempts, 21.4 percent). Four of those misses (0 for 4) came from Torey Thomas, who dished off 7 assists, but shot a horrible 1 for 11 from the field.
Navy 89, Lafayette 69
(Originally posted Sat. at 7:46 p.m., links added at 9:03 a.m.)
The Midshipmen wrapped a 17-0 run around the intermission, scoring the last 9 points of the first half to take a 38-29 lead, then posting 8 unanswered to start the second half.
Lafayette cut it to 8 on back-to-back treys by Paul Cummins midway through the second half, but the Mids responed by putting the game away with a 21-4 spurt.
The backcourt duo of Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson with 19 each to lead Navy. Kina also had 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Greg Sprink (15) and Matt Fannin (12) also in doubles for Navy.
Andrei Capusan's 11 led Lafayette (10-13, 4-6). Freshman guard Andrew Brown added 10.
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The Midshipmen wrapped a 17-0 run around the intermission, scoring the last 9 points of the first half to take a 38-29 lead, then posting 8 unanswered to start the second half.
Lafayette cut it to 8 on back-to-back treys by Paul Cummins midway through the second half, but the Mids responed by putting the game away with a 21-4 spurt.
The backcourt duo of Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson with 19 each to lead Navy. Kina also had 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Greg Sprink (15) and Matt Fannin (12) also in doubles for Navy.
Andrei Capusan's 11 led Lafayette (10-13, 4-6). Freshman guard Andrew Brown added 10.
