27
Nov

Three games today, and I’m calling sweep:

Vermont at Drexel: this is a 4:30 start as part of the Legends Classic. Vermont is a top tier America East team and always play, well, exactly like Drexel. Tough. The Mounts also have Marques Blakely, a stud’s stud. He has a good chance to win AEast POY honors.

The Dragons are without Leon Spencer for eight weeks, and I say that could be a good thing. Bruiser Flint gets to give Derrick Thomas lots more time; Samme Givens gets to go rebound a bunch, and the kick in the pants Evan Neisler has needed may be given in the “we’ve got nobody else” variety.

Dragons 61, Catamounts 55

***

Nevada at VCU: I’ll be honest. I had to look up what conference Nevada calls its own. It would be the WAC. I didn’t have to look up Nevada’s best player, sophomore Luke Babbitt. He’s a big guy that can shoot from everywhere, a lefty if I remember correctly.

This game will be about pace. Nevada has a big and talented front court, just the kind of front court that gets Larry Sanders into foul trouble. It’s important that VCU gets the possessions high and the tongues dragging. This is a Bracketbusters return game and the kind of game that is changing my perception of BB.

VCU literally runs Nevada out of the gym. Rams 79, Pack 68.

***

ODU vs. Missouri: Did anyone stay up late with me last night and watch Portland bludgeon UCLA? Well, it isn’t going to be that bad, but the Monarchs are going to put a beat down on Mizzou. The old line is that size and defense travel, and this game is being played in Texas.

Honestly, I believe we’re going to see why ODU was chosen first this season in this game. Blaine Taylor’s entire preseason and early schedule has brought his team to this point. Sadly the rest of the country, fat on stuffing and sotted by wine, won’t feel the true impact of this game. Doesn’t matter though, because it all comes down to W and L.

I will be fattened by stuffing and sotted by wine while ODU rolls 68-61.

***

Last year, I wrote a piece for Kyle over on his BB State site. The point of the piece, titled How Good Are we, was to give fans a sense of their own expectations for Their Team against everyone else in the conference.

Nonconference schedules are very different, thus it is very difficult to gauge Drexel’s 1-3 versus Delaware’s 1-3. So I outlined a simple method of doing so that isn’t the answer, but it helps.

The gist is this: divide a piece of paper into three columns. Go through your schedule and evaluate games in terms of: (1) should win; (2) toss ups; and (3) should lose. The thought was that good teams win 60% of the toss up games.

So I figured, why not do it for the entire CAA? Here are the results. We’ll analyze and track in coming days and weeks. I have to eat something and finish off some housework before the Drexel tip, and get comfy for the ODU tip on Fox (love Fios here…):

SHOULD WIN TOSS UP SHOULD LOSE
VCU/Beth-Cook (W) Towson/Miami OH (W) JMU/Ohio State (L)
Mason/Liberty (W) App State/UNCW (L) GSU/NC State (L)
ODU/Beth-Cook (W) St. Joe/Drex (L) Uconn/W&M (L)
Harv/W&M (L) UNCW/GW (L) Kansas/HOF (L)
Mason/Dart (W) Niagara/Drex (L) Del/Temp (L)
HOF/Yale (W) Siena/NU (L) Uconn/HOF (L)
GSU/Carver (W) Del/Buckn (L) Mason/Villanova (L)
ODU/Longwood (W) Ga State/Drake (L) UNCW/Penn State (W)
VCU/West Mich (L) JMU/Murray (L) W&M/Richmond (W)
ODU/Liberty (W) NU/Utah State (W) Mason/GT (L)
HOF/Farmingdale (W) Tow/Buff (L) UNCW/Miami (L)
GSU/Hopward (W) Manh/W&M (W) Rutgers/Drex (L)
ODU/Marshall (W) Del/Penn (W) VCU/Oklahoma (W)
JMU/Fla Intl (W) Mason/Indiana (W) GSU/IUPUI (L)
JMU/NCCentral (W) HOF/Charlotte (L) UNCW/SoFla (L)
HOF/Elon (W) Navy/Towson (L) Del/Siena (L)
VCU/Hampton (W) Penn/Drexel (W)
UNCW/VMI (W) GSU/South Al (L)
NU/BostonU (L)
GSU/Utah Valley (W)
W&M/Hampton (W)
18 wins, 3 losses 6 wins, 12 losses 3 wins, 13 losses

One Response to “How Good Are We?”

  1. Tonight’s Action and Midweek Chewables… Says:

    [...] over the break even mark in noncon action. And while the record isn’t glossy, the wins are. We’ll revisit this chart and detail it perhaps [...]

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