Week #4 - Games of Interest

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

This week's polls continue to show lots of churn with six teams dropping out of Top 25 in both polls. No A-10 teams were ranked in the Top 25 in either poll. In the both polls, GW, Dayton and Davidson got votes. Among URI OOC opponents, Maryland remains # 2 in both polls and PC gets #22 ranking in the AP poll and #24 in the USA Today Poll.

Cumulative record of URI OOC opponents now stands at 41-33, a winning percentage of .554. American, Brown, Rider, and Cleveland State account for 18 of those loses.

So-so showing by the conference this past week and the A-10 cumulative record in OOC play now is at 58-20, .744 winning percentage. Davidson is the lone undefeated team.

No Monday action for A-10 teams

Only OOC action:

* UT- Rio Grande Valley at Houston. 8 PM. On ESPN3.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 8 years ago

Thx for the update, Obadiah. Looking forward to scouting Houston. Love the ESPN games because I can watch on my phone/computer whenever I want, live or on-demand.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 8 years ago

lunardi still has us just outside the tourney

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

On a strong second half surge, Houston put away Texas-Rio Grande Valley, formerly known as Texas-Pan American, 78-65. Forward Devonta Pollard was the Cougars' top player with 24 points and 12 rebounds. A home game against Murray State is the only obstacle to be cleared for Houston to bring an unbeaten record into the Ryan Center next week.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 8 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Thx for the update, Obadiah. Looking forward to scouting Houston. Love the ESPN games because I can watch on my phone/computer whenever I want, live or on-demand.

Have you considered doing ad's for ESPN? Just saying...
haha.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

The Dude wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:Thx for the update, Obadiah. Looking forward to scouting Houston. Love the ESPN games because I can watch on my phone/computer whenever I want, live or on-demand.
Have you considered doing ad's for ESPN? Just saying...
haha.

The brilliance is in the fact that you didn't realize that was an ad for ESPN! Haha

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

Obadiah wrote:On a strong second half surge, Houston put away Texas-Rio Grande Valley, formerly known as Texas-Pan American, 78-65. Forward Devonta Pollard was the Cougars' top player with 24 points and 12 rebounds. A home game against Murray State is the only obstacle to be cleared for Houston to bring an unbeaten record into the Ryan Center next week.

Only SMU and Cincinnati remain unbeaten along with Houston in the AAC.
Pollard was ranked #28 in ESPN top 100 in Class of 2012. Went to Alabama originally then later to Houston.
Will be a tough game following the PC game

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

Four games highlight Tuesday's A-10 schedule:

* Mississippi Valley State at Duquesne. 7 PM.

* In a Big Five match-up, # 8 Villanova visits Hagan to play Saint Joseph's. 7 PM. On CBS Sports
.
* Richmond takes on another P5 team in a game at Florida. 7 PM. On SECN.

* Davidson gets a road test as the Wildcats travel to play at 1-5 Charlotte. 7 PM.

In OOC action:

* Old Dominion at intrastate rival, William and Mary. 7 PM.

* In an early start to conference play, Metro Atlantic teams meet as Fairfield plays at Iona.

* American U. visits winless Mt. St. Mary's in that school's home opener. 7 PM.

Two games of interest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge:

#21 Miami takes on Nebraska in Lincoln. 9 PM. On ESPNU.

#2 Maryland visits #9 North Carolina. 9 PM. On ESPN.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 8 years ago

Go Terps

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

Sorry, after seeing how Turgeon and team and fans treated us in Cancun I'll not root for Maryland to win another game regardless of RPI implications.
Finish in top 3 in A10 and we go NCAA

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Nebraska is off to a decent start. Only losses are to top-25 teams, and they were fairly competitive with Cincinnati in that one. They have another couple of shots at good wins before we go there, hosting Miami tonight as Obie pointed out then traveling to Creighton (which pummeled UMass earlier).

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Richmond getting boat raced by Florida. We are going to run out of programs soon!

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

Jack Gibbs has 39 points for Davidson tonight with 8 minutes left in the game versus UNCC. 14-16 FG so far.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Good move by Charlotte to leave the A10.

Fade to nothingness.......

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

AJ English scored 46 points including 13 of 19 on 3-pointers as Iona opened MAAC conference play by routing Fairfield, 101-77.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 8 years ago

2nd half of Maryland vs. UNC game is starting to become a shootout with 15 minutes left.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 8 years ago

Crap, Maryland lost.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

The A-10 went 2-2 on the evening with Saint Joseph's losing to #8 Villanova, 86-72 and Florida routing Richmond, 76-56. The Spiders got into a hole early and trailed by 23 at the break!

On the win side, Davidson with a high octane offense was most impressive in its road win at Charlotte, 109-74. The unbeaten Wildcats will soon be tested when they travel Friday to Chapel Hill to take on # 9 UNC. Further OOC tests are on tap in games against Pitt in NYC and a trip to Berkeley to take on California.

Duquesne moved its record to 6-1, the best start for the Dukes since 2008, as they beat winless Mississippi Valley State, 91-77. The Dukes have played a relatively weak OOC schedule, though wins over Penn State and W. Kentucky are notable, but will face in their next game a challenge in Pitt. Later a trip to Georgia Tech will show how strong this year's Duquesne team really is.

Among URI OOC opponents:

As mentioned earlier, # 2 Maryland fell to # 9 UNC, 89-81.

Also # 21 Miami needed OT to beat back Nebraska, 77-72. Shavon Shields put in 28 points for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska had trouble with Miami's size sending the Hurricanes to the FT line often where they were 23-28 versus Nebraska's 9-12. Coach Tim Miles did not appear happy with the officiating.

In a nip and tuck battle, William & Mary in home win over rival, Old Dominion, 55-48.

Mt. St. Mary's gets its first win of season by beating American U. 81-56. MSM was helped by a big second half surge.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Was not a super night for URI opponents last night. Would have really like to have seen Nebraska get the win.

rhodysurf · Unread post by **rhodysurf** » 8 years ago

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

In Wednesday night action in the A-10 besides URI versus Holy Cross:

* George Mason at Towson. 7 PM.

* Seton Hall at George Washington. 7 PM.

* Hofstra at La Salle. 7 PM.

* St. John's at Fordham. 7 PM.

* Boston U. at UMass. 7 PM.

* St. Bonaventure at Buffalo. 7 PM. On ESPN3.

* Morehead State at Saint Louis. 8 PM.

* VCU at Middle Tennessee. 9 PM.

In OOC action:

* Central Connecticut at Brown. 7 PM.

* Hartford at PC. 7 PM.

* Cleveland State at Toledo. 7 PM. On ESPN3.

* Murray State at Houston. 8 PM. On ESPN3.

* Unbeaten SMU at TCU. 8 PM.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?

It's easy if you try.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 8 years ago

sf2010 wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?
It's easy if you try.

And the basketball world can live as one.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?

What's to imagine? Fordham is favored by 6 1/2 points tonight. Sold out arena, albeit small.

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2015/1 ... t-the-rams

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

ramster wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?
What's to imagine? Fordham is favored by 6 1/2 points

I know, but who could ever have imagined that was ever possible?

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

sf2010 wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?
It's easy if you try.

I just got the Lennon reference. Sometimes it takes a while.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:
ramster wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Imagine if Fordham beats St. John's?
What's to imagine? Fordham is favored by 6 1/2 points
I know, but who could ever have imagined that was ever possible?

Jeff Newbeur is an excellent coach from Eastern Kentucky and has made positive inroads already there. Joseph Chartouny got A10 Rookie of the week last week for Fordham.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 8 years ago

Yeah Fordhams been blowing teams out. Cupcakes, but cupcakes they generally don't beat down so badly.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

PeterRamTime wrote:Yeah Fordhams been blowing teams out. Cupcakes, but cupcakes they generally don't beat down so badly.

Fordham beat Queens by 19, FDU by 23, Colgate by 26 and Manhattan by 23.
Only loss was at UT Arlington by 5 points first game of year but consider UTA beat Ohio State and Memphis and lost last game to Texas in OT.

There is really nobody in the A10 this year that I think we are a lock to beat. Even St. Louis and Duquesne are off to better than expected starts.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

A10 games are different animals.

We know them, and they know us.

Fordham will not be an easy win for us at all, of course even last year we struggled big time to beat them.

I think my prediction of 11-7 will be about right......I think before EC went down I had us at 14-4, which may have been on the optimistic side even then........

BleedBlue87 · Unread post by **BleedBlue87** » 8 years ago

Fordham looking good in this St. Johns game. 41-25 at the half. Mandell hit three 3s in a row.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

Ryan Rhoomes is like a different player.

26 pts. 12 rebounds.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Nice win for GW. Dunn had a triple double for PC in their win over Hartford. TCU hanging tough with SMU in the second half.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

On the other side, St. Louis, what? Down 38-15 at half, at home. Barf!

LaSalle blows one to Hofsfra.

I will say, some of Fordham's players have vastly improved since last season. I know they aren't playing any powerhouses, but still.....

Mandell's shooting the lights out, huge difference from last year.

Their 3 pt. shooting is like night and day. They were absolutely horrible before.

Their improved shooting is like what we hoped for with JT and JG.....

Fucking ESPN. On their website all the other A10 games have a boxscore from tonight's games except one: Guess who!

steveystuds06 · Unread post by **steveystuds06** » 8 years ago

Cmon TCU pull this out!

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

Brodziansky is a player. That is going to end up being a pretty good win for us that our fans are taking for granted.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

The A-10 went 6-3 last night with two wins over BE teams by GW and Fordham. UMass continues its high octane offense with Hines and Davis contributing 20 points each in a rout of Boston U, 99-69. Also nice road wins by the Bonnies and VCU. Saint Louis, La Salle and George Mason accounted for the three losses.

In OOC games:

#23 PC was an easy winner over Hartford.

TCU fell in the last minutes to #22 SMU, 75-70.

Brown in an easy win over Central CT, 82-64. Cedric Kuakumensah had 21 points and 16 rebounds and tied an Ivy League record for total blocked shots in the win. It will be interesting to see how Hass and Kuran handle Cedric in the Rams' Dec 30 game at Brown.

No games in the A-10 on Thursday evening.

Only OOC game is Belmont at Valparaiso. 8 PM. On ESPN3.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Don't know where to put this, but this was a game of interest to me. Ben Simmons', the top rated high school player from the '15 class' and Christion Thompson's teammate, line for LSU last night...
43 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Hope to see him in Green next year. Keep losing, Nets!!!

Shaolin Swat · Unread post by **Shaolin Swat** » 8 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote:Don't know where to put this, but this was a game of interest to me. Ben Simmons', the top rated high school player from the '15 class' and Christion Thompson's teammate, line for LSU last night...
43 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Hope to see him in Green next year. Keep losing, Nets!!!

Impressive line from Simmons, but I don't believe he was Christion's teammate. Brandon Sampson, one of Simmons' LSU teammates, played with Christion at Madison Prep.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 8 years ago

Shaolin Swat wrote:
Billyboy78 wrote:Don't know where to put this, but this was a game of interest to me. Ben Simmons', the top rated high school player from the '15 class' and Christion Thompson's teammate, line for LSU last night...
43 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Hope to see him in Green next year. Keep losing, Nets!!!
Impressive line from Simmons, but I don't believe he was Christion's teammate. Brandon Sampson, one of Simmons' LSU teammates, played with Christion at Madison Prep.

I think you're right. I got my BS's mixed up.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

Taking the A-10 preseason poll and awards and assessing how conference teams are doing so far versus those predictions I come up with this picture. Obviously the loss of EC has had big impact on URI and the status of all teams will change as the season goes on. Also, this is just my view and others will have a different take. Fire away.

YTD Performance versus Expectations

Code: Select all

Dayton 		       as expected
Davidson		      as expected
Duquesne		      above expectations
Fordham		       above expectatiopns
George Mason	     as expected
George Washington	above expectations
La Salle 		     as expected
Massachusetts	    above expectations
Rhode Island		  below expectations
Richmond		      as expected
St. Bonaventure	  above expectations
Saint Joseph's		as expected
Saint Louis		   as expected
VCU			        as expected

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 8 years ago

I think it is a little unfair (or at least premature) to say URI is performing below expectations. I thought that through the PC game they'd have two losses (before we lost EC), and that is still in play. I think it's a little hard to expect them to beat PC based in what we know now, even though coming into the season I 100% expected them to, but to be fair I would say if we lose that game we would be slightly below expectations at that point. Which I think is maybe understandable considering we lost our most dynamic offensive player.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 8 years ago

If we had EC I would have expected URI to be 6-1 coming into the PC game, one game better than where they are now.

Also would expect to beat PC with EC.

Looking at the OOC portion of the schedule overall, I had them at 10-3 in the prediction contest prior the season.

Maybe it should have been 11-2, actually.

Anyway, I now expect 2 more losses to end the OOC at 9-4.

That's splitting the next 4 games [all tough], and winning the 2 after that. Right now, I'd take 2 wins out of PC, Houston, Nebraska, and ODU.

Anything less than that, and this season is going to be a struggle.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

Alec Peters led the way as Valparaiso held off Belmont, a team forecasted to win the Ohio Valley title, to win on their home court, 61-57.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

In Friday action in the A-10:

* In what is dubbed the City Game, Duquesne meets Pitt at the Consol Energy Center in their first real test of the season. Dukes coach, Jim Ferry, in his fourth season, has his team playing a fun up-tempo, 3 point shooting offense, but is facing a Pitt team that has won 14 in a row against the Dukes. The Dukes with three senior games will use their speed, transition game, and 3 point shooting to outrun and outgun Pitt. It will be interesting to see how Duquesne fares in this one. 7 PM. CBS Sports.

* An improved Saint Joseph's team over last year pays a first ever visit to Columbia's Levien Gym. 7PM.

In games involving URI OOC opponents:

* St. Francis (PA) at Maryland. 7 PM. On BTN.

* Winless Delaware State at Old Dominion. 7 PM.

* Rider who opened their MAAC schedule with a home loss to St. Peter's, 73-61 continues conference play with a game at Fairfield. 7 PM.

* Iona at Marist. All eyes will be on AJ English after his insane 46 point and 13 trey performance against Fairfield.

* American at Youngstown State. 7 PM. On ESPN3.

Also of some interest:

* Upstart Monmouth, winner over UCLA who just beat Kentucky, heads with its entertainting bench to play Jim Baron's Canisius team. 7 PM. On ESPN3.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

In Friday action in the A-10:

* Well the City Game turned out to be a real dud for Duquesne as they were routed from beginning to end by Pitt, 96-75. It just shows how too much hubris can boomerang as all week the Dukes talked up how much faster they were than Pitt. It just didn't show up in the final result.

* Saint Joseph's was stretched to the limit by a Columbia team that kept it close game all the way with the Hawks finally winning, 80-78.

In games involving URI OOC opponents:

* St. Francis (PA) was totally outclassed by Maryland, 96-55.

* Delaware State continues winless as they were embarrassed at Old Dominion, 82-38

* Rider fell behind early and then made a comeback only to falter to a so-so Fairfield team, 74-70.

* Iona routed Marist, 101-66. Iona's high energy offense showed it has other contributors besides AJ English as the top scorer was forward Jordan Washington with 21 points. English was actually fourth in scoring among the five starters. The Gaels put in 12 treys, 48% hit percenatge.

* American made a great effort in coming from behind to beat Youngstown State, 60-56.

Also

* Monmouth was surprised by a tenacious Canisius team that led the all way. The final score was 96-86.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 8 years ago

TruePoint wrote:I think it is a little unfair (or at least premature) to say URI is performing below expectations. I thought that through the PC game they'd have two losses (before we lost EC), and that is still in play. I think it's a little hard to expect them to beat PC based in what we know now, even though coming into the season I 100% expected them to, but to be fair I would say if we lose that game we would be slightly below expectations at that point. Which I think is maybe understandable considering we lost our most dynamic offensive player.

I agree with Obadiah's analysis.
Another way to look at our performance is just as Obadiah did by game but review by player:
Iverson - above expectations
McGlynn - above expectations
Watson - meets expectations
Terrell - below expectations
Garrett - below expectations
Martin - below expectations
Akele - incomplete
Thompson - incomplete

Looking at the roster individual performance bottom line it is slightly below to below expectations to date, regardless of whether the record is 6-0 or 5-1 or 4-2.
Fact is if performance does not improve, finishing in the top 4 in conference will be doubtful.

Hopefully all this changes starting tomorrow night and next Tuesday!!

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 8 years ago

Thanks ramster for the interesting twist. Despite my stated disclaimer that this was only an early assessment, it was called premature. LOL.

Back to the action.

In addition to the Ocean State Battle between URI and PC, on ESPNU, Saturday action in the A-10 includes:

* North Florida at Dayton. 2 PM.

* Drexel at La Salle. 2 PM.

* Ole Miss versus UMass in The Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at Springfield, MA. 4 PM. On NBC Sports.

* Central Connecticut at Fordham. 4 PM. On ESPN3.

* Ohio at St. Bonaventure. 4 PM.

* Penn at George Mason. 6 PM.

* Northern Iowa at Richmond. 6 PM.

* Wichita State at Saint Louis. 9 PM. On ESPNU.

In games involving URI OOC opponents:

* Abilene Christian at Nebraska. 2 PM.

* Albany at Holy Cross. 2:05 PM.

* Kent State at Cleveland State. 3 PM. On ESPN3.

* Brown at Bryant. 4 PM.

* Colgate at TCU. 8 PM.

Also of some interest:

* Harvard at Kansas. 3:15 PM. On ESPN2.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 8 years ago

Boston College lost to UMass... Lowell.

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