Predictions are hilarious. I’ve tried to get rid of them for three years, but they continue to drive loads of traffic and conversation. Mike Holmes, the erstwhile SID at Georgia State, caught on quickly to how his school’s success rate is impacted: I pick Georgia State to lose, and they win. Therefore Holmes is pleased when I pick Georgia State to lose.

Such is life.

As I mentioned the other day, you need to take the scores with a grain of salt. If learned, informed, prepared men like Blaine Taylor or Bill Coen or Matt Brady aren’t sure, how can I be so certain? I can’t. 

But I have an approach, and it makes sense. We were all schooled when we catch the ball in the middle of the floor the first thing we should do is to look opposite. It’s the first thing I do when looking at games–of course Old Dominion is going to drill William & Mary tomorrow. But why might the Tribe win?

So the plan begins by trying to figure out why a certain team might win a game. Then, I think about esoteric concepts like momentum, emotion, and recency. What has happened in the past week that may stick in the noggins of everybody directly involved with the game? Then I head to Ken Pomeroy and eat up statistics. It’s a wonderful way to kill time when someone is talking too much in a meeting.

I try to be the setter on our volleyball team. It takes a detached rationality to help freeze the pond that allows your passion to dance, to think about the game and soak it in–not just sit and cheer. The approach, I believe, is the right combination of statistics and what you should look for. It’s about trends and what leads up to the under four media timeout in a two-possession CAA game. Then, it’s execution.

It’s today’s reason why we have it better. Yes the wins and losses are the most important part of the game, but you understand there’s far more going on than tallying baskets. You know there’s stories and strategy; triumph and tragedy. There’s a beauty to rock fighting that exists between stats and storylines and we keep going back to feel the refreshing wind of CAA basketball.

That’s what we try to set up for you–the experience. Enjoy your weekend.

***

This weekend’s theme is “the extra gear.” It hit me last night when a classic CAA rock fight–for 30 minutes there were nine ties and 12 lead changes in the Pugs/Dawgs matchup, and neither team led by more than four points at any juncture–turned into a 59-47 JMU walkaway.

It was ironic that JMU, who has suffered through devastating second half lulls in most every CAA game, stepped on the gas pedal midway through the second half. It turned when Ivan Drago Andrey Semenov became “entagled” with Matt Rum, threw one of his patented elbows–as stealth and lethal as a Sugar Ray Leonard jab–and earned a technical foul. Our Man JMLLL, in street clothes, came off the bench defending Rum and was assessed a technical.

Our friends at the JMU Sports Blog have the best recap:

JMU’s tattooed combo guard/forward had an outstanding game last night. He led all scorers with 15 points and pulled down 8 boards. It was classic Semenov, diving for loose balls, mixing it up with Beasthoven, and pissing off the opposition so much that a player in street clothes got a tech for calling him a punk. Just your typical Andrey Semenov performance. I think the guy might be the most hated player in the CAA, but I love him.

But the gist is that from that critical juncture, JMU found the extra gear. Humpty Hitchens hit back-to-back threes and a 37-34 barnburner was 47-35.

We’ve seen it on many occassions this year. VCU consistently buries opponents in the second half–probably due more to putting their opponents into first gear as opposed to shifting into sixth gear. As we hit this weekend, the finish line for the five-in-10 stretch, keep an eye on who can find that extra gear in the second half.

Remember, that applies globally. Players are dead tired–but we’re into the second half of the season, too. Championships and Friday byes are won with a burst of energy as we move into February.

***

Hofstra (1-9) at Northeastern (6-4): In eight non-VCU conference games, the Pride has been within one possession with less than three minutes to play in every single game. Mo Cassara has got to catch a break at some point, right?

This is a battle of old guards–Jon Lee and Joel Smith against Mike Moore and Nat Lester. So let’s say those guys cancel each other out. What’s left?

Northeastern has a very good freshman duo of Quincy Ford and Reggie Spencer–the latter seems to be recovering from hitting his freshman wall two weeks ago and the former is getting better as the season moves along. That duo matches David Imes and, well, we’re not sure. Dwan McMillan played well earlier in the season, and Steven Mejia had a five helper night against Mason.

But the Pride is a little unstable when you get to the second line of defense (and offense). It isn’t that the guy doesn’t exist; rather, it’s just hard to tell who it is going to be. A short bench wears that guy out. This doesn’t even discuss Alwayne Bigby or Kauri Black.

Too many guys playing too close to their apartment.

Northeastern 64, Hofstra 60

***

UNCW (4-6) at Towson (0-10): Buzz Peterson was the most reent coach to discuss his team’s need for rest, especially Keith Rendleman. The Hawks also avoided pain when Freddie Jackson’s knee was diagnosed as a sprain. There was fear of a tear. Jackson will almost certainly keep his sweats on, if he dresses at all.

I see similar construction to the Delaware game–the beachgoers are nervous for 30 minutes, but eventually pull away behind a tsunami of Adam Smith and Tanner Milson threes.

The Dubmen 71, Towson 55.

***

James Madison (3-7) at George Mason (9-1): Tough to know what to make of the Patriots. And before you people jump on my back, it isn’t a matter of good. Nine and one speaks for itself. It’s a matter how good, which is complicated by the sleepwalking factor. The problem is that I don’t know we wake up Sunday morning knowing anything more than we know right now.

Here’s what I mean: Mason has won its past three games by a grand total of 23 points. HU (55-50), UNCW (67-61), and Towson (72-60). Combined CAA record of those opponents: 5-25. Two of the three were at home, and they needed to score the last seven points of their roadie win. You’d expect an elite team to blastfire someone.

So is it sleepwalking? A good but not great team? You see flashes of greatness, but that’s the question–are they great-coast-great-coast kind of team?

Short of James Madison winning, we will likely type the same words on Monday.

Mason 76, James Madison 58.

***

Delaware (5-5) at Drexel (8-2): The Dragons are going to be loaded for bear Hen. Delaware blitzed Drexel 71-60 back in December, in a game that proved to the “enough is enough” moment for Bruiser Flint. The loss was Drexel’s fourth in five games and dropped the preseason favorites to 2-4 on the season. Clearly it was the lowpoint.

Drexel is 14-1 since that day and the steady ascent has them the best team in the CAA in our eyes. No CAA opponent has scored more than 58 points against Drexel since the new year, and Hofstra is the only CAA squad to hold them to less than 60 points. In the eight games since their only loss in the run (at Georgia State on January 2), Drexel is beating teams by an average of 65-49.

One other item: Frantz Massenat is not the player of the year, but he may be the most valuable player.

Delaware, on the other hand, is in a bad spot. The way they lost to Northeastern is galling, for sure. It was a game they felt they could win and probably should’ve won. At the end of the five-in-ten, that’s a blow.

However I noticed that their shot distribution against the Huskies was more like you’d expect. Devon Saddler took 19 shots, and Jamelle Hagins 17. They need that kind of activity from their two best players–especially in this heated rivalry. Kyle Anderson or Jarvis Threatt firing from deep is a quick way to a 20-point loss.

Drexel 66, Delaware 56

***

VCU (8-2) at Georgia State (6-4): Oh baby, do I want to see Shaka Smart motivate his troops for this one. I can absolutely see Smart running video with VCUs cacophony of bricks in the first matchup between these two teams. VCU executed and missed. And missed. And missed.

Be yourself will be the message. The shots will fall. The Rams also need to keep playing the inspired defense that has led them to six straight wins–four of the six teams have not reached 50 points. Rob Brandenberg’s confidence booster against Towson looms as well.

The Panthers have gone 5/5 at home: five nonconference wins, five conference wins, and zero losses. What’s more, Ron Hunter sent his team home on Thursday and forbade them to come near the gym until Friday evening practice–the coach admitted the players were tired and could use the time away.

VCU 61, Georgia State 55.

***

William & Mary (2-8) at Old Dominion (8-2): I fear for the Tribe here. We mentioned their scattershot offense yesterday, and here’s the problem: playing your fourth game in eight days, you shot 29% against James Madison–including a 3-18 from your two leading scorers. You have one day off and then get Old Dominion’s defense?

The Monarchs aren’t exactly the 1980s Showtime Lakers, but it may not matter. ODU has held three of its last four opponents to less than 50 points. What does that mean? Either William & Mary swishes their way over the ODU zone to the biggest upset of the season, or a rock fight.

ODU 62, William & Mary 52

I’ve decided that weathermen aren’t as wrong as we’d like to think they are. The problem is that the forecast is never what we want it to be, and somebody has to bear the brunt of our frustration. Jim Duncan is high on my list right now.

You see, I’ve been waiting for a midweek home game for James Madison. My plan is perfect–ski all day at Massanutten, grab some food and catch the Dukes at night. The only possible flaw is Duncan telling me it’s going to be a beautiful winter day with temperatures soaring towards 60 degrees.

Now, I’m a warm weather, chase as many pars as possible kind of guy. But when I want to ski, I want to ski. Not happening, so I will take in the Dukes/William & Mary game from home. (Gheorghe–I care. Eight points is a big number.)

As for the game, even though our friends at G: TB are picking on their squad’s offensive ineptitude, their Ken Pomeroy numbers in conference are better than JMU. And Devon Moore is still at least in pain with that sprained wrist.

The Tribe has won 19 of the last 28 games in the series, including a 68-61 decision earlier this year. (Thanks, Bill.) William & Mary also shoots free throws at a first place 75% clip, while JMU allows its opponents to get to teh foul line more than any other CAA team (46.4% free throw rate). Keep an eye there.

The Dukes have a fire-at-will mentality from beyond the arc, and anytime a walk-on is in your rotation because of attrition, that isn’t a good sign–especially playing your third game in five days. JMU is probably running on fumes, short-handed, trying to hoist threes.

It’s a “feel” thing, and William & Mary’s is better. Finally, I’ve been waiting for three months to write this: #Beasthoven should dominate under the basket.

Tribe 65, Dukes 62.

Random scraps of paper are very important in how we follow CAA basketball. We watch a lot of games and what we see shapes thoughts and trends of what the next day’s points of emphasis will become.

Generally I can keep those organized in my rapidly-aging mind. However sometimes these thoughts need specific numbers behind them. I want to be accurate. But honestly sometimes I don’t trust myself to remember certain things, so I write them down.

Last night, the margin of the latest LLBean catalog sufficed as a notebook. It became very apparent, and quickly, that the toll of the past week was in full force. In short: it was ugly. Very ugly.

• Mason missed 17 of its first 20 shots and trailed Hofstra 17-9 with three minutes left in the first half. Both teams put on a offensive show to finish the half in a 21-20 thriller.
• Northeastern and YouDee had combined to go 9-42 from the field (21.4%) and were locked in a 22-22 tie at the half.
• ODU and UNCW blitzed the rims to the tune of a combined 5-29 from the field (17.2%), 0-9 from three, and 1-4 from the line. The Monarchs led a robust game 11-10 with seven minutes to play in the  first half, which would end 18-17.

It says something for the evening when Drexel, typically known for its ofFENsive output, was the most OFFensive squad in the CAA. But I digress…

***

Drexel was indeed the most impressive CAA squad last night. The Dragons used a mid-game run and Bruiser-mandated re-dedication to defense in the second half to drub Georgia State 68-46. The Panthers shot 43% in the first half but held to 7-28 (25%) in the second half.

The Dragons trailed Georgia State 19-14 with about seven minutes to play in the first half but went on a 37-10 run over the next 16 minutes. The end result was a 51-29 lead with 11 minutes to play in the game. The Panthers scored one point in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Dartaye Ruffin (9pts/8rebs) played his second consecutive good game, and Samme Givens posted a 12/10 double-double. Chris Fouch shot 4-15 from the field and led the Dragons with 15 points. More on that in a smidge.

Let’s get to the big guys first. Ruffin has scored 27 points and hauled in 16 rebounds in his past two games. We mentioned last week the job Darryl McCoy has been doing of late–about seven points and nine rebounds in the four games prior to Ruffin’s breakout. Flint still loves to work inside-out and it’s paying off. Teams that didn’t worry about overplaying the post now have to, which in turn opens up the perimeter.

Add Samme Givens beginning to dominate–three double-figures games in his last five–plus Chris Fouch hoisting 10 threes last night, and you have a very nice blend of yesterday’s necessities and newfangled weaponry.

Stat notes: Givens is 27-34 since the start of the year from the foul line–huge. Also, Fouch’s 15 shot attempts ties a season high (ironically with the first Georgia State game) and his four three-point makes last night was the same amount he has made COMBINED since the first Georgia State game–a span of seven games.

***

Ed Miller right here and Brian Mull right here have all the angles covered in ODUs 53-48 win over UNCW.

Takeaways: ODUs experience and muscle were the difference. The Monarchs are now 5-1 in the CAA on the road. UNCW freshman Freddie Jackson, who has been playing extremely well of late, injured his knee late in the game and will be evaluated today.

For a lot of reasons I love this quote from Kent Bazemore, as told to Mull:

“They’re hard to guard. The freshman guard, Adam Smith, he’s a player. Got a bright future ahead of him. Guy shoots it from everywhere, knows the game real well, knows how to read screens. He was really one of our focal points for the night, to find him in our zone and our man coverages. They’ve got a really bright future with Morales and the kid that got hurt tonight (Jackson). I wish the best of luck for him. He’s a great player too and Rendleman’s always a monster. They’ve got a pretty good foundation. They’re going to beat a lot of teams.”

***

The CAAHoops Challenge–otherwise known as “pointing out a blatantly obvious statistic and using it in a game preview”–continues to pay dividends for varying schools. Last night it was Joel Smith shutting me up.

Smith, one day after being told by CAAHoops he is “in the middle of a terrible funk,” scored 20 points and hit the game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining, as Northeastern rallied from five down with 30 seconds to play to beat Delaware, 62-61.

The game was a back-and-forth affair and the ultimate example of today’s cliche: end game execution matters. In those last 30 seconds, NU made all four of its free throws and ran its stuff with a crispness.

Delaware, however, self-destructed, choosing often from the buffet of mistakes. The Hens committed a turnover, allowed an offensive rebound, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and then were unable to fight through a screen. Smith’s winner was a wide open look. A desperation heave with 1.1 seconds to play hit the scoreboard.

***

VCU dropped Towson in the expected manner. The Rams forced 14 steals and 24 turnovers and rolled to victory. No starter played more than 21 minutes, Darius Theus had 10 assists and zero turnovers, and it was the third straight game VCU has held an opponent to less than 50 points.

Most important for VCU was that Rob Brandenberg showed signs of life after what has become a most-of-the-season slump. Brandenberg was the star offensively with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while also adding four steals and three rebounds.

“I really give all the credit to my teammates and coaches for always encouraging me to keep shooting and keep being aggressive,” Brandenberg said. “I’ve never been in a slump like that in my life and it was great to have them always in my ear to encouraging me all the time.”

***

Mason displayed an impressive bench in its 55-50 victory over Hofstra out on The Island. The subs scored 36 points (two-thirds of their total), hit all 17 free throws, and turned the ball over just four times.

Here’s what makes Mason especially dangerous. Bryon Allen, two days after an impressive overall performance and a career-high 17 points, missed all six field goals and didn’t scratch. Ryan Pearson–he of the dominating 24/12 double-double–scored seven points and committed five turnovers. Sharpshooter Vertail Vaughans only took one shot and it was a two and he missed.

No worries. Jon Arledge had a nice 10/7 game, Sherrod Wright scored 15 points and was fairly unstoppable, and Corey Edwards picked up Allen at the point. I’ve always believed when the going gets tough, having to scout to stop multiple players is far more difficult than scouting and beating a team with one star and a supporting cast. Thats what I see here.

Hofstra led 9-0, but trailed by eight points late in the second half. A David Imes jumper gave the Dutchmen a 50-48 lead, but that was quickly erased by Wright’s three-point play with 1:46 left. The Patriots scored the game’s final seven points.

Nat Lester scored in double figures for the CAA-leading 14th straight game.

Here’s Jerry Beach.

***

STANDINGS, AFTER WEDNESDAY

Mason:  9-1

VCU:  8-2

Drexel:  8-2

ODU:   8-2

Georgia State:  6-4

Northeastern:  6-4

Delaware: 5-5

UNCW:   4-6

William & Mary:  2-7

JMU:    2-7

Hofstra:  1-9

Towson:  0-10

I didn’t see the SportsCenter bit on Saturday that poked fun at Towson for its 40th straight loss. I can say with total honesty that the time duration it has been since I watched 15 straight minutes of SportsCenter can be measured in years, not weeks or months. It’s unwatchable.

But the fact that they would spend time there–in that manner–has stuck in my crawlspace since I heard about it. It’s far too easy and far too childish to take pot shots at Towson right now. Yeah, grand journalism to poke fun at kids working their asses off in a historically disadvantaged situation. And no, I didn’t see the segment, but I don’t need to see my dog’s poop in the back yard to smell it.

I know it isn’t a ratings bonanza, but ESPN could’ve–within a one-email communication–learned some of the good that’s going on with this team. Things like:

• Robert Nwankwo walked on to the team but earned a scholarship, took last year to focus on academics, and came back to play his senior year when he didn’t have to. Both his parents are doctors, by the way. He isn’t taking the easy way out. Oh, and Nwankwo has seven double-doubles on the year and ranks in the top 20 nationally with 2.6 blocks per game.
• Pat Skerry added two additional members to the academic staff. One travels with the team full-time. The team’s GPA this year is the highest it has been since 2004.
• Will Adams was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease as a senior in high school and he’s spent the last two years in treatment. He was cleared to resume his education and basketball career this past summer. As if that wasn’t enough, Adams missed four games this season with a kidney stone. He returned last weekend at Mason.
• Seven months after playing his final high school basketball game, Kris Walden scored 11 points in his first ever collegiate game in Phog at Kansas.
• Deyon Cook is one of three walk-ons. Cook has been trying for four years to earn a spot on the squad and was finally successful this season. Cook has made four three-pointers, including completing a four-point play against La Salle. Kid’s got a story for his grandchildren now.
• The Tigers may be winless, but have corralled 37.0 percent of their offensive misses, a mark that is second in the CAA. Towson has outrebounded three straight opponents, a stretch that includes games against Old Dominion and George Mason, both of which rank in the top five of the CAA in rebounding margin. How many coaches would kill to have that kind of heart on their squad?

Look, I’m not blind. The fact of the matter is that Towson may not win a single game this year. I believe they are going to get killed tonight against VCU and the streak reaches 42.

This is just one of those times where the decline of standards, journalism, taste, and respect intersect. It’s a time when you decide how you want to view the world: through an ignorant level of cynicism disguised as humor, or through seeing what possibilities exist.

It’s why I’ve missed nothing on ESPN, and why we have it better.

And now it’s on to why you’re here–the games played on the court.

***

Mason (8-1) at Hofstra (1-8): It’s homecoming for Ryan Pearson, who hails from Far Rockaway, NY. (And sometimes Very Far Away Rockaway.) We must also point out this absolutely outstanding and funny piece from Defiantly Dutch. As you may know, Jerry Beach and the Mason Nation have never exchanged Christmas cards. But Beach found a handful he likes.

Here’s why I like Mason in this one, and it has nothing to do with the mirror image records. (I still say HU is going to beat one of the top four teams, but this isn’t the night.) I see a pattern developing.

It has to do with focus. The Patriots carry as much line item talent as anyone in the conference; however their tendency to drift through games and play individually as opposed to collectively is what holds them back. Earlier in January Mason lost to Drexel, played sketchy against JMU, but then–presumably after a self-wake up call–blasted Delaware.

Mason then sleepwalked (or is that sleptwalk?) through Towson and never seemed very interested in UNCW. They are hitting the road, where it’s actually easier to focus.

Mason 75, Hofstra 65.

***

Old Dominion (7-2) at UNCW (4-5): This is another game of road focus, and nobody is better in a devastating to your opponent way when focused than ODU. It may also expose a trend as a problem. For UNCW it’s about turnovers.

The Dubmen are eighth in the CAA, turning the ball over on 21.1% of its possessions. And ODU forces turnovers on 25% of its defensive possessions. While UNCW trails just Northeastern in terms of shooting (49.6 effective FG percentage), they need to first take shots to make shots.

Here’s how it sums. The only game in the last five that UNCW has scored more than 61 points was its only win–68 vs. William & Mary last Saturday. I don’t care if you’re at home–a struggling offense playing against ODU is a cruel way to learn a lesson. The lesson: while everyone has been concerned with defense, the offense has been slipping.

Side note–I know the ODU jerseys were found, but if it’s me I’m holding out for the new ones. They were taken Lord Knows Where and found in a parking lot. There’s not enough laundry detergent in the world to make me shake the thought of what may have happened to them.

ODU 65, UNCW 58.

***

Delaware (5-4) at Northeastern (5-4): This game, barring an unthinkable huge February run, is essentially an elimination game for one of the top four seeds. Both teams are 5-4 and five losses with February looming is a scary proposition.

The Hens are not a bad defensive team–pretty much in the middle of all statistical categories except two-point field goal percentage (42.1% is third) and turnover rate (13% is last). And after the last three games with Georgia State, Drexel, and ODU (56 PPG average) Bill Coen is happy to see just an average defensive team.

Barring outliers the game sets up well for NU. The Huskies have been protecting the ball as of late. When combined with YoUDee’s risk-averse defensive principles, I can see single digit turnovers. Plus, I’d wager a big part of Delaware’s FG% defense is Jamelle Hagins swatting shots like a convict on the run swats mosquitos on a sticky Florida evening. NU isn’t known for block scoring.

Northeastern 67, Delaware 63

***

Georgia State (6-3) at Drexel (7-2): Revenge week begins for Drexel. The Dragons have lost to tonight’s opponent and Saturday’s opponent (Delaware) this year. Bruiser Flint said yesterday that his team didn’t lose to Georgia State. Rather, the Panthers beat them, and they beat them badly.

Ron Hunter’s team officially put itself on the CAA map when his Panthers bludgeoned Drexel 58-44 back on January 2. The Dragons will have a sold out, hot DAC awaiting the rematch. In fact, the DAC will be in all its steamy glory tonight–DAC Pack falling all over the aisles and court.

One line from Doug Roberson set the challenge for me: But you can’t be considered the best team until you can beat a hot team on their floor. It should be a classic rock fight, as Georgia State allows 0.80 points per possession, and Drexel just 0.88.

Drexel 55, Georgia State 49.

***

VCU (7-2) at Towson (0-9): The team that creates the most problems for an offense against the team that is already at the bottom of nearly every offensive category is what a talking head would refer to as a “decided advantage.” Of all the tough matchups for Pat Skerry, this is probably the worst.

VCU 71, Towson 45.

Every now and then we stumble into fans that are our kind of folks. A good friend emailed me yesterday about someone on the Drexel part of the CAAZone message board. This guy clearly enjoys the CAA in the same manner in which we enjoy it. Yesterday, prior to Drexel’s game in Williamsburg, he wrote:

I find the fact that our first game in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be the same day as the official start of the Year of the Dragon to not be coincidental, but a sign. This is the start of a Water Dragon and water is associated with the North. Water’s color is blue while the dragon’s is gold. The dragon’s flower is the Rose (Malik Rose back in the area anyone?). Tonight begins Bru’s glorious March to the RC, begin the Battle of Virginia! Exorcise the demons, tonight is the first step!

That’s awesome.

And indeed, a five-year curse was lifted last night as Drexel dominated William & Mary, 64-48. Dartaye Ruffin played, by far, his best game of the season. Ruffin led the Dragons in scoring with 18 points and hit all eight of his free throws.

The win is Drexel’s seventh straight, and they’ve had six different leading scorers. A smart person I know–who has seen every team in the league in person–told me last night that Drexel is, hands down, the best team in the CAA.

The battle of impressive freshman met expectations. Drexel’s Damion Lee poured in 17 points on 7-12 shooting, and William & Mary’s Marcus Thornton scored 18 points. Word from courtside is that Thornton played harder defensively than he has all season, and again took a step forward in understanding smart basketball.

***

Georgia State held James Madison to one field goal over a 13-minute stretch in the second half and coasted to a 74-58 victory. It was a matter of getting back to the aggressive defense that keyed its strong early season for Ron Hunter’s team. Here’s Doug Roberson’s good and bad.

The Panthers forced 21 James Madison turnovers, had 14 steals, blocked 11 shots, and limited the Dukes to 34.5 percent shooting from the field. GSU also outrebounded JMU, 42-36. Josh Micheaux had a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, along with six assists. Eric Buckner had 13 points, eight rebounds and six blocks for the Panthers.

As expected, JMU was without Devon Moore, who had injured his wrist late in JMUs previous game against Hofstra.

And welcome to interesting scheduling. Georgia State is at Drexel on Wednesday and then flies home to play VCU on Saturday. When the geography was flopped in early January, the Panthers won both games.

***

Shaka Smart spoke of his team “sticking to its principles” defensively in the second half of last night’s win over Hofstra. There is no better way to sum up the victory. If you don’t believe that, here’s what Mo Cassara had to say:

“In the first half, we were right there. We just ran out of gas a little bit and their pressure wore us down.”

I’ll defer to both actual basketball coaches for the correct perspective on this game. VCU held Hofstra to 17 second half points and 4-20 shooting.

Offensively the Rams put four players in double figures–forget the names, the totals were 14, 12, 10, 10. Like Drexel, the Rams have multiple offensive weapons that they can go to on any given night. But it’s that defense that is the difference-maker. VCU has held six of its nine CAA opponents to less than 60 points and the past two to less than 50 points.

***

Towson hung with Delaware for 31 minutes, trailing by just five with nine minutes to play, but ultimately ran out of gas in Delaware’s 62-43 win. A 20-6 Hens ground-scratch to close the game was the difference.

Delaware brutalized its own rims, going 6-27 from the field in the first half. Of particular concern may be Devon Saddler’s continued struggles from the field. Saddler made 4-15 last night and missed all five three-point attempts. In his last five games, Saddler is 25-77 from the field (32.5%) and 7-31 from three (22.6%). This includes a 6-9 and 2-3 from three in their blowout loss to Mason.

***

Mason could never really shake the Dubmen until a late 9-2 run made a 51-47 gritter a comfy 60-49 stroll home in the game’s final three minutes.

Ryan Pearson was as active as I’ve seen all season. The numbers say 20/12, but Pearson was everywhere, including on the floor for loose balls. He was able to overcome a 1-16 performance from Mason from beyond the arc. Mike Morrison’s ability to limit Keith Rendleman’s touches cannot go without mention. Rendleman never seemed to get the ball in his comfort zone–credit to Morrison there.

The other big number is a 22-2 advantage for Mason on fast break points. When you aren’t shooting well you have to get easy baskets–that’s exactly what they did.

Side note, apropos of nothing: I’m old, so I’m not a fan of these 9pm starts. I must admit I fell asleep late in the second half. Luckily I didn’t miss anything.

***

Down in Norfolk, Ed Miller tells us all about Old Dominion’s 69-57 victory over Northeastern. The key sequence came with about seven minutes to play and ODU holding on to a 49-47 lead. From there it was six minutes of playmaking for ODU.

The Monarchs went on a 15-3 run to lead 64-50 with less than a minute to play. The run featured a three from the much-maligned Marquel Delancey, Kent Bazemore grabbing his own miss and scoring, and Chris Cooper (of all people) hitting Donte Hill for a backdoor layup.

***

STANDINGS, HEADED TO WEDNESDAY

Mason:  8-1

VCU:  7-2

Drexel:  7-2

ODU:   7-2

Georgia State:  6-3

Northeastern:  5-4

Delaware: 5-4

UNCW:   4-5

William & Mary:  2-7

JMU:    2-7

Hofstra:  1-8

Towson:  0-9

When the final buzzer sounds in Fairfax tonight, we’ll be halfway through the regular season. Hard to believe.

In my mind tonight’s games are also the biggest challenge in the five-in-11 grind. Everyone will be fatigued by Wednesday, the fourth game in the stretch. Every coach will have the same message: fight through being tired. And they are correct. But that’s Wednesday. There’s 40 minutes (or more) of basketball yet to play–the third game, the dreaded middle child where “we’re playing a game” excitement begins to be replaced by fatigue.

Tonight represents a conquering of rubbery legs. Players have a varying degree of fatigue and are likely flashing back to some of those October drills that reduced them to a walk that looked more like the Funky Chicken dance.

That can make for some weird games and surprising outcomes. So tonight’s games are a challenge for the favored, our theme of the day. It’s about aggression and pushing through the one-day freshman wall, even if you are a senior.

Drexel (6-2) at William & Mary (2-6): The challenge for Drexel is to shoot a reasonable percentage from the field–Bruiser Flint always quotes 42% as the number–and defend without fouling. Both coaches admitted this morning how the officials call this game is critical to how it plays out.

Drexel plays physical, and William & Mary has killed the Dragons in past years with its Foul Line Parade. The Tribe has won five straight over Drexel in Williamsburg and shot 99-130 from the line in those games. That’s 20-26 per game. Whistles matter. “No time for a pity party,” says Tony Shaver.

Drexel 67, William & Mary 60.

Hofstra (1-7) at VCU (6-2): The challenge here for VCU is not about avoiding a let down. Rather, it’s avoiding a let up. There is a difference, and it surrounds stoking the fire. The Rams will punch Hofstra early, but the Dutchmen are not a glass jaw group.

VCU will have to keep the engine running hot, and it may have to do with Juvonte Reddic. Shaka Smart is practically begging Reddic to play hard every time out. The coach believes the player can be a double-double player every night. This is that kind of night for Reddic, who has size advantage over Hofstra’s front line.

VCU 71, Hofstra 56.

UNCW (4-4) at Mason (7-1): The challenge for Mason is similar to VCU, but very different. The Patriots have to step on the gas pedal early, and keep flooring it. UNCW is playing pretty confident basketball right now and can be a very efficient offensive team. This is the old school “letting them hang around” type of game that can bite you.

Keith Rendleman is going to need clean looks against the Mason aggressive and big front line. In order to get those looks he needs space. Also, Mason has to get UNCW out of sorts on defense–the Seahawks are not a good defensive team, so the less they get to set up the better. That becomes about pace. The faster the better for Mason.

Mason 82, UNCW 69.

JMU (2-6) at Georgia State (5-3): The challenge for Georgia State is tapping their ruby shoes together. The fun run to 5-1 was brought back to Earth with two roadie losses this past week, the last in double overtime. That can drill a team used to losing. This is a game winners win, be it by two points or 20 points. It’s probably a good thing that they have no time to dwell on last week.

Of note, Devon Moore badly sprained his wrist in Saturday’s loss to Hofstra. That may make JMU too one-dimensional against the aggressive matchup zone of the Panthers. Enoch Hood may struggle, and JMU will need double-digit threes.

Georgia State 65, JMU 56.

Towson (0-8) at Delaware (4-4): The challenge for Delaware is to avoid taking a bevy of bad shots, especially threes. Jarvis Threatt is feeling good about himself; however confidence can betray the best of players. And Kyle Anderson is staring full-on at the freshman wall. With Devon Saddler scuffling a little with his shooting percentage, a night of bricks is possible.

It’s really a “run your stuff” evening for the Hens. This oughta’ look old school inside-out: Bob Nwankwo is a beast, but he has to choose between Jamelle Hagins or Josh Brinkley. By starting on the blocks, Delaware should effectively open up good threes. But if Monte Ross’s freshies start acting like freshies, you never know.

Delaware 74, Towson 54.

Northeastern (5-3) at Old Dominion (6-2): This is our game of the night. The challenge for the Monarchs is to set aside everything but what occurs in their huddle. Yes they were blasted by their rivals, and yes they have to wear road uniforms, and yes the turnaround is fast. I’d even wager they start slow and everyone in The Ted gets uncomfortable.

But they cannot let that distract them, or Northeastern will beat them. ODU relies on patterns and execution–you saw what happens when they step out of that comfort zone. What’s more, on defense you can bet they have their hands full with Bill Coen–the league’s best pure tactician. The final challenge is not allowing offense to impact defense–that’s how they weather storms in Norfolk.

ODU 58, NU 55.

Back in October, at the CAAs annual media day gabfest and social brunch, Blaine Taylor made waves–or not, depending on your read of the following quote–when he declared:

“You can’t value yourself based on the tournament…the tournament can make rock stars out of average people … the tournament is not really the litmus test on whether your team is strong.”

No matter your belief of intent, it was an arrow with a clear target–VCU and Shaka Smart.

That’s why the first five seconds of Smart’s postgame presser in VCUs 61-48 buggy-whipping of Old Dominion are must-watch. Here it is, and it’s awesome.

That folks, is why this rivalry is the best in the conference, and better nationally than given credit. As for the game, VCU harried Old Dominion into 25 turnovers. The Monarchs committed 14 turnovers and took just 16 shots in the second half.

The game’s key sequence came fairly early in the second half. ODU pulled to 38-35 around the 14 minute mark. From there, the Monarchs next seven possessions produced six turnovers and a missed free throw (front-end). VCU didn’t just rest on its defense, though. Troy Daniels changed the course of the game by hitting three threes.

The sequence: ODU turnover, Daniels three. ODU turnover, Daniels three. ODU missed FT, Briante Weber lane jumper. ODU turnover, VCU miss FG. ODU turnover. VCU miss FG, ODU turnover. Daniels three. ODU turnover.

A 38-35 game became 49-35 and VCU momentum–and a fevered crowd–were set to 11. VCU had scored 14 points on six possessions and ODU zippo on seven possessions.

ODU played poorly, for sure. The Monarchs threw passes off the backboard and missed dunks. However VCU influenced most of the turnovers.

Two stand out to me. First Donte Hill attempted a baseline spin move, and in his rush to make the move before a double team arrived flipped the basketball to the VCU cheerleaders. And Trian Illiadis, after dribbling past the first line of VCUs press, continued to the basket where he got himself into no man’s land, up in the air, and gave the ball to a VCU defender.

There’s one other aspect to Smart’s havoc that became clear to me last night and is actually probably the best single play to describe last night. I’ll call it loose ball havoc. On one play an inbounds pass sailed over the head of Kent Bazemore. Before Bazemore could react, Darius Theus scooped up the loose ball and sprinted for the hoop. Theus laid in the ball and drew a silly foul on Bazemore.

It seems many of VCUs steals are generated when they force a ball out of possession and beat the opponent to the loose ball. Effort plays, in the parlance of a coach. However part of the mental toll is taking advantage of an opponent who is trying to make up for a bad play.

It’s worth noting that Illiadis, who scored 19 points and was the reason ODU beat Hofstra last weekend, only managed to take two shots. He committed four turnovers.

Can’t wait for the rematch–Saturday, February 11.

***

Game one of the CAAHoops twi-night doubleheader saw UNCW parry William & Mary 68-66.

It was one of those games where one team (UNCW) stakes itself to a high single digit lead in the first half, and every time the home team got it back to about four points (W&M), the leaders stretched the lead back out.

However one critical second half sequence doomed the Tribe. They had trimmed their deficit to that four point margin, but missed layups–not short jumpers, but actual layups–on three straight possessions kept them from slicing further.

William & Mary would eventually put a late move and take a slim, short lead, but the Dubmen made plays late and pulled away. Freddie Jackson was particularly impressive in how he managed the floor, frequently slicing into the lane and finding open men.

A key to this game: Tony Shaver ran a second defender at Keith Rendleman every time he touched the ball on the baseline. UNCW passed well out of the double-team–Tanner Milson hit four threes, three in the first half, on a slow to rotate Tribe defense. Milson had made four threes in the previous five games combined.

UNCW shot 56% for the game and made 8-18 threes, scoring 1.11 points per possession. It’s worth noting that the Dubmen played much better defense than in its previous two games–both losses.

***

Mason labored past Towson 72-60 and Drexel bombed NU 71-53. Sherrod Wright led the Patriots with 22 points and nobody else managed to hit double figures. It was sloppy, unfocused 40 minutes for Mason, and they were outrebounded 43-30 and allowing 22 offensive rebounds.

The encouraging thing for Mason fans: everybody knows it. Coaches cannot stand to coach effort, but in this case the players can see the error of their ways.

The best part? Bill Murray was in attendance. Murray’s son Luke is a coach on the Towson staff.

The Dragons knocked down 9-14 from three–including six-for-six from Derrick Thomas in its blowout win. Chris Fouch continues to struggle–he played a season-low 12 minutes and missed both his three-pointers. Fouch is now 6-24 from three in the seven CAA games since the start of the New Year.

Notable: Frantz Massenat had a stat-sheet filling 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

***

Hofstra debageled itself at JMU, 71-69. Steven Mejia converted a three-point play with 6.1 seconds remaining to lift the Pride. The play came after Enoch Hood slammed home his fourth dunk of the game and converted the free throw–he was fouled by Mejia–to give JMU the lead.

On the winning possession, JMU switched to a 1-3-1 zone to slow down Hofstra’s attack but the Pride went into the teeth of the defense and was rewarded. Nat Lester scored 17 of his team-high 23 points in the second half. The Pride made 52% of its shots and has not lost in Harrisonburg since 2003.

***

YouDee dropped Georgia State in double overtime, 77-74. The Hens misfired on its first 14 shots and was trailing 14-0 after about eight minutes, but chipped away behind freshman Jarvis Threatt, who scored 30 points.

Threatt hit four straight threes to close out the first half and made 6-9 overall from beyond the arc and 10-15 total field goals in the game. His outburst allowed Delaware to trail by just two at the break after such an awful start.

“To get down the way we did today and fight back really shows the quality we have in that locker room,” said Monte Ross. “When you’re struggling and in a little bit of a rough patch like we were in the last three ballgames and then you get down in your fourth ballgame, if you don’t have strong leadership in your locker room it could have very easily gone south.”

Georgia State violated two late game staples: make plays, and make free throws. Eric Buckner had a chance to give the Panthers the victory in regulation, but made just one of two free throws with 1.6 seconds to play. Buckner also had a point blank stickback at the buzzer of overtime rim out.

The Panthers will likely be shooting free throws today–they were 7-15 from the line for the game.

With two overtimes there will obviously be some gaudy offensive numbers. Three players carded double/doubles: Eric Buckner (19/15, with four blocks); Brandon McGee (12/10), and Jamelle Hagins (12/11 with seven blocks) had his 11th of the season.

However it was also the ironman game, worth keeping an eye on as we move to Monday and the rest of the week. Four Panthers played 44 or more minutes (Buckner, McGee, Jhad Ali, and Devonta White). Three Blue Hens played 41 or more minutes: Josh Brinkley (41); Kyle Anderson (47); and Devon Saddler played all 50 minutes.

A double-dipper is doable tomorrow. Lunch and a little shopping in Williamsburg in advance of the 2pm WM/UNCW game, then back to Richmond for the night’s festivities of ODU and VCU.

Any chance the CAA will go to a 28-game regular season?

***

UNCW (3-4) at William & Mary (2-5): The Pugs slog back to their friendly confines having dropped three straight non-Towson games. Here’s the thing that is working itself out: Brandon Britt and Marcus Thornton are both at their best with the basketball in their hands, driving to the rim. They are Tony Shaver’s two most talented players.

That creates a problem with them on the floor together since even the Globetrotters play with one basketball at a time. That’s a tough nut to crack when you’re two best players are struggling to play together–not  for lack of trying, but for similar weaponry.

Last night we saw a take-charge Thornton, and a team with resolve. Despite the loss to VCU the Tribe took a gargantuan step forward. At no point did they back down, and they proved successful even with Quinn McDowell fouling out. The bottom line is that you have to win basketball games, but this is a team finding itself.

The Dubmen could be the ideal tonic. The only CAA squad in seven they’ve held to less that 1.08 points per possession was the win at NU on January 4. Still, it’s a known issue and being dealt with inside, literally.

Trevor Deloach, after Wednesday’s loss to JMU, told Brian Mull:

“We don’t defend. Our guards, we don’t defend as guards. That’s really hurtin’ us. It just comes to effort and focus. It ain’t really what coach is doing, it ain’t what our teammates are doing. It’s just as an individual you’ve got to look inside and be a man and want to stop the man in front of you.”

This game just smells like a Rendleman 24/12 double-double, but the Tribe finally hits its stride shooting in its comfy home. Overanalysis point: The Dubmen fall back to protect the lane, and the W&M shooters play bombs away, making double-digit threes.

Tribe 73, UNCW 70.

***

Georgia State (5-2) at Delaware (3-4): This is Saturday’s game of intrigue. The Hens are monumentally a better team at home, and I believe Wednesday night was more about George Mason than it was about Delaware.

Ron Hunter’s team is dealing with its first bit of true adversity. A tight loss at Mason is certainly okey-dokey on the psyche, but the Panthers walked into Matthews believing they would win and were literally bombed out of the building. I want to see how they respond.

The funny thing about Georgia State is that they have a lunatic coach–more words per minute than anybody I’ve ever seen with a mic in front of him, and a task-master quality to his on court demeanor that reduces Bruiser to silver medalist. But the basketball team is remarkably even-keeled. It’s quite an interesting paradigm.

So I like the Panthers to bounce back because they haven’t fallen far emotionally. It doesn’t hurt that Mason had its way with Delaware in the midrange–an area critical to GSU success. When you factor that Delaware shoots 27.4% from three in conference games, and was wholly unmotivated on defense, this becomes academic.

Panthers 64, Hens 57.

***

Towson (0-7) at Mason (6-1): Two fan bases are going to throw stones at me for this next statement: Mason has do everything it can to mimic what Old Dominion did on Wednesday.

What I mean is that they need to play focused, disciplined, and consistent basketball. The goal is to allow the talent gap to do its job, avoiding sloppiness. A distribution of minutes is vital as we get into the heart of the five-game flurry.

Here’s Patrick Stevens, a CAAHoops favorite, with additional detail.

Mason 81, Towson 46.

***

Northeastern (5-2) at Drexel (5-2): I’ll say it–the Dragons are doing the kinds of things championship teams do during this part of the season. Drexel is beating contenders at home (Mason, VCU) and not letting down on the road (UNCW, Hofstra).

Here’s something you may not have noticed: over their past five games, all wins since their loss to Georgia State, the Dragons have had five different players lead them in scoring. And I cannot underestimate this fact: Chris Fouch still has not played well.

Plus, Daryl McCoy is averaging 6.5ppg and 9.3rpg in their last four games, and very importantly is staying on the floor–he’s fouled out just four times all season. Finally, we’re far enough into the season to make this statement–Frantz Massenat is one of, if not the, most improved players in the conference.

And Bill Coen scoffs. (Not really. Coen is way too respectful to actually scoff. But he knows his team’s capabilities.)

The Huskies have won six of seven games, and here’s a stat you don’t know: NU is the CAAs leading shooting team in conference games–48.9% from two and 37.1% from three are both second. Combine those to get Northeastern’s effective field goal percentage of 51.2%, tops in the league.

Plus, Jon Lee is becoming awfully comfy in the hybrid point guard role and you need to pay attention to Quincy Ford, who may be your freshman of the year by late February.

For all the analysis and numbers, this one is going to come down to an oldie but goodie: shooting. Drexel is huge and Samme Givens will get plenty of looks. NU is confident and can certainly make it rain.

I like the guys closer to the basket.

Drexel 55, Northeastern 50.

***

Old Dominion (6-1) at VCU (5-2): Here’s a short feature I wrote last year to shine a light to those unfamiliar with this incredible rivalry. Last season only added to the legend. VCU got ODU in Norfolk, and ODU returned the favor in Richmond.

And of course the CAA final was even better–ODU hit 5-7 threes in the first half and took an 18-point second half lead before VCU sliced the margin to one. ODU held on for the 70-65 win and automatic bid, but many believe VCUs resolve proved some things to some people who gathered in a room 10 days later. Cruel rivalry irony there.

It was also the national coming out party for Blaine Taylor’s “All Hat, No Horse” rally cry.

As for this game and this year, VCU is not the sheepish rebounding team its been for the past two seasons. As Hofstra proved last week, ODU can be battled close on the glass. That aspect has always been ODUs differentiating factor against VCU.

In fact, the Rams are the second best offensive rebounding team in the CAA (38.2 offensive rebounding percentage in conference games) and the fifth best defensive rebounding team, grabbing 68% of defensive boards. Finally, I find it hard to believe VCU will shoot 2-22 from three, as they did last night against W&M.

ODUs has won four straight, but there’s this: three of their past four wins have been over Towson (2x) and Hofstra–that’s 0-21. VCU hasn’t exactly lined up against the ’27 Yankees, but they’ve thrashed middle-tier CAA teams.

We’re loving the way Trian Illiadis is playing right now. He’s a breath of fresh air to the sometimes stagnant ODU offense. The key is going to be side-to-side passing from VCU to mitigate Kent Bazemore picking passes.

VCU 64, ODU 56.

***

Hofstra (0-7) at James Madison (2-5): This game is the Peanuts comic strip game of the week. The only way Mo Cassara has not seen his team lose a game is by Tom Yeager pulling the football away when he tries to kick it. And Matt Brady feels like he keeps getting a rock put in his Halloween bag. 

The Dukes are getting killed from behind the arc in conference play. They shoot it at 24.8% (11th) and allow teams to swish 41.4% of their threes (last). That bodes well for gunnery seargent Mike Moore.

On the other side, Hofstra is allowing CAA teams to make 51.2% of their two-point shots (11th). That bodes well for the JMU radio guy:  ”Devon Moore into the lane, dish to Enoch Hood, his layup is good.”

Ultimately, that’s where I find the difference in this game–very similar to Wednesday in that Dwan McMillan and Steven Mejia will struggle to keep Moore out of the paint. Plus, Humpty Hitchens can shoot with Moore.

James Madison 68, Hofstra 64.

Four minutes into last night’s summa cum rock fight between VCU and W&M–won by VCU in overtime–the score was Juvonte Reddic 11, William & Mary 2.  Reddic hit foul line jumpers, jump hooks, and took a steal the length of the floor for a dunk. It was an awesome display–94 feet of basketball skill. It looked for all the world that it was going to be a long night.

We were exactly right, and 100% wrong.

The Tribe never let VCU get too far away from them, whittling the VCU lead to two with about 10 minutes play, and traded punches with VCU for the next 15 minutes. It made the contest best game I’ve seen all season.

In the end, Darius Theus hit a late three to keep VCU tied in regulation, and then made a spinning layup with 9.8 seconds to play to provide the margin of victory. (Reddic scored 19 first half points and finished with 28 points and six steals.)

Marcus Thornton played 41 minutes and scored 22 points lead the Tribe, and #Beasthoven chipped in a 10/12 double-double. VCUs Treveon Graham did not make a field goal, but hit 10 free throws. VCU played the last minute of regulation and all of overtime without a DQd Bradford Burgess–and W&M played four minutes of overtime without The Mighty Quinn for his rule-breaking five fouls.

And those are sticking points to this game.

I texted a smart person I know late in the contest “how many times has Jerry Heater blown his whistle–472?” My point was that we were watching an outstanding basketball game, a true rock fight, and I mean that in a positive way, that had absolutely no flow to it. A whistle seemed to blow every 12 seconds. This was around the under 4 media timeout.

Now, I’m not saying the officials we good, bad, or ugly. Just awfully prevalent in the game–including a tremendously questionable offensive foul call on Brandon Britt with 1:29 to play and William & Mary holding a 66-65 lead in overtime. It was in the open floor, 40 feet from the basket.

Tony Shaver, however, did have a comment.

“Quinn’s fourth and fifth fouls were phantom calls…I thought Brandon Britt’s offensive foul was incredible. I could go right down the list, but it does no good, that’s for sure. We both got to the foul line a lot.”

But the real story is William & Mary’s resolve, Thornton’s maturation, Reddic’s unreal half and Theus’s heroics. An overtime rock fight on national teevee in front of a raucous sellout crowd.

We have it better.

Weekend action preview coming shortly.

We have to start with the standings:

Mason: 6-1

Old Dominion: 6-1

Georgia State: 5-2

Drexel: 5-2

Northeastern: 5-2

VCU: 4-2

Delaware: 3-4

UNCW: 3-4

William & Mary: 2-4

James Madison: 2-5

Hofstra: 0-7

Towson: 0-7

The separation implication of tonight’s game is obvious: if VCU can beat W&M at home, we have four 5-2 teams and two 6-1 teams. We’re staring at six teams vying for four spots.

**

Last night, Northeastern rode a flurry of first half threes–8-10 in all, including a Joel Smith 4-4 perfection–past Georgia State. The game looked suspiciously like the stat lines, with the difference being the 11-21 overall performance for NU from three.

Georgia State got the game to 58-57 with 15 seconds left, but Jon Lee hit two free throws before a Jihad Ali miss from three with five seconds to go.

“We talked about it in our game preparation,” said Bill Coen. “Swing, swing, attack and really look for each other and be aggressive. The guys know we want them to shoot it and the guys took it to heart.”

Ron Hunter was proud of his team’s effort.

“Road games in the CAA are tough. After getting down by 10, our team fought back and showed great effort. They never quit and I am proud of them for that. They showed me tonight that they really wanted to win and they left everything out on the court.”

However the takeaway is ironic, in that we’re using Georgia State as the comparison: NU is now 1-0 during a brutal stretch of their schedule. They have far more confidence in themselves than you do.

Pointless stat from last night: NU nine total first half rebounds, and NU/GSU had a combined 19 total rebounds. In teh first half of its game at Hofstra, Drexel had 21 rebounds itself and Frantz Massenat nine rebounds on his own.

***

There were two lopsided victories last night. Here’s Ed Miller with the detail, if you’re concerned, of ODUs thumping of Towson. We like Miller’s word choice–workmanlike–and ODUs 29-5 run to open the second half.

And here’s Steven Goff on Mason’s blowout win over Delaware. Again, to us it’s the eight turnovers that stand out. And Paul Hewitt’s quote:

Asked what the difference was against visiting Delaware, Hewitt paused, smiled and said: “I’ve got no idea. It’s the same plays; we were cleaner, more efficient tonight. We make some plays sometimes [where] I just scratch my head. We watch them on film, I ask [the players] and they say, ‘I have no idea, Coach.’

We joked yesterday that Mason was inching up the hill all season, getting a tiny bit better every game. Last night was leap.

***

Mo Cassara has seen an opponent drill a contested three in the game’s final seconds to beat his Dutchmen. He’s watched his 84% free throw shooter miss twice with 23 seconds to play, critical in another loss.

And last night one of his players accidentally tipped in a Drexel free throw, and then suffered the ultimate tough luck. With 17 seconds to play, trailing by two points, Mike Moore drove the lane. Drexel’s Frantz Massenat slid over to draw a charge. I didn’t see it so I cannot comment, but Massenat was either in, or darn near, the charge/block arc.

Whistle. Charge. Offensive foul. Drexel wins.

Granted, allowing a 6-0 lead to become a 14-7 deficit in the first half due to a 10-minute dry spell doesn’t help, but for crap sake can Cassara catch a break?

***

Humpty Hitchens scored 17 first half points and a career-high 27 points for the game and James Madison beat its every-game dry spell to also defeat UNCW in Trask. Enoch Hood dropped 14 points, the beneficiary of a pile of two-footers when JMU guards got into the lane and dished when teh defense reacted.

 Brian Mull’s report gives you everything you need to know. This includes this gem: There was a lot of talk about manhood in the postgame press conference.

The Dukes went more than five minutes without scoring and found its 11-point lead gone. But they got off the deck, started attacking the rim at will, and pummeled the Seahawks with a late 9-0 run.