Every single day–well okay, twice each week–something happens in the CAA that forces you to shake your head. It can be an eye-opening win,an eye-popping win, or an eye-gouging loss.
The list-leader today hails from Philly. Drexel bussed up to Boston and knocked off Nor’easter in impressive fashion. In a few paragraphs, we’re going to write about Drexel’s toughness. That’s best typified by holding off the home team in a raucous atmosphere. Every time the Huskies made a run the Dragons had an answer. Importantly, Drexel has now swept NU–keep that in mind come late February and we’re all trying to figure out tiebreaker scenarios.
It also sets up a verrrrrrryyyyyyy interesting roadie Saturday–at The Pugs, who lost at JMU. W&M has dropped three straight and lost its sheen; now we find out about its edge.
Side note: Mason won a ho-hummer over Delaware. Ryan Pearson’s bum leg is the only story, except perhaps 29 minutes and 11 points from Lou Birdsong.
***
Nuggets from folks who were on the scene:
- According to commenter Metsox, Bruiser said he thought the important thing to beating NU was to beat Adako and NkemO (not Janning and Allen). That’s exactly how it played out. Drexel “out-toughed” NU, winning the boardwork 46-30. Leon Spencer (9 and 9) and Samme Givens (8 and 10) were not flashy, but supremely effective.
- More Metsox: Givens has hit double digit rebounds in 5 of the last 6 games, playing against four of the toughest rebounding teams in the conference (VCU, HU, ODU, NU). Not bad for a 6’5″ kid.
- From Jeremy Kniffen, HU PR maven: Charles Jenkins had a rare eight-point play, and you read that right. Jenkins drove to the rim on a fast break and converted a lay-up and The Dub’s Jeremy Basnight was whistled for an intentional foul. A technical foul was then called on Seahawks coach Benny Moss, and Jenkins hit all four foul shots, then scored inside off the ensuing inbounds pass. The run capped a personal Jenkins 10, UNCW 0 run and made the score 34-9.
- Per Brian Mull: In the last two seasons, UNCW is 14-39 (.264) overall and 6-22 (.214) in CAA play, including 2-13 in CAA road games. UNCW needs to close 8-1 to avoid a losing regular season record for the third time in four seasons.
- More Mull: Entering the game, 84 percent of the Seahawks’ scoring was coming from the junior and senior classes. Meanwhile 9-1 George Mason gets the bulk of its production from the freshman and sophomore classes.
- Per Jerry Beach: The past six UNCW/Hofstra games were decided by 34 points total. (Last night was a 39-point drubbing.)
- Per Scott Day, VCU SID: The Rams shot 60.6% from three (20-33). The 20 triples ties a conference record held by Navy in 1990. VCU outrebounded Towson 46-21 and had 30 assists (to Towson’s 10).
- Said Larry Sanders: “We’re sick of losing. This is a team that’s used to fighting for a conference title and that’s what we want to do again this year.”
***
This is a statement that many times gets me into trouble, but it has to be made: we’re going to assume Old Dominion take care of business tonight and beats Georgia State.
Look, ODU is at home, have the conference’s best defense, and the Panthers are the CAAs worst offensive club. Correction/edit: second worst. The Panthers lone win in its last seven games was a home victory over The Dub. As we saw last night, that’s not exactly difficult.
So I don’t think it’s much of a stretch. (For those counting, call it 64-51 Monarchs.)
That said, here’s a little high level thinking for you to carry through the week and into your weekend. We’re supposed to be socked with snow, which may derail Saturday plans to hit The Kap for Drexel/Pugs. We’ll see–weathermen and three-point shots carry roughly the same accuracy stats.
Side note, 2: I keep putting off the Bracketbusters discussion because there’s plenty of time. Selections aren’t going to occur (for real) until February 1. It was about 20 minutes ago when I realized February 1 is FIVE DAYS FROM NOW. Eesh. We’ll get on that before this weekend. Short version: it’s easy to say Mason/Wichita State was the most important Bracketbusters game and year ever, now that it’s in the rearview mirror. However before the matchups are slated, I’ll argue this season is even more important than 2006.
So I started down the path of assessing the chances of the top six teams finishing in any certain position. For instance, VCU, Drexel, and The Pugs aren’t going to win the regular season championship, but the battle for the fourth seed (or third if an 8-1 team falters) is open and ongoing. Likewise, a top three teams falling all the way to fifth is unlikely. That collapse isn’t worth analyzing.
It took about five minutes to realize this: it doesn’t matter. All six teams have challenges in front of them–home and road and fairly an even balance. The difference in the top three (and really six) teams is razor thin. And really, other than being in the same bracket as VCU and potentially facing 7500 fans on Sunday, there is little advantage/disadvantage to any particular seed.
See for yourself. Here’s your top six, with games left against the other members of the top six.
Mason (9-1): @Drex, VCU, @ODU, W&M, NU
ODU (9-1): @NU, WM, @VCU, Mason, VCU
NU (8-2): ODU, @WM, @Mason
Drexel (7-3): @W&M, Mason, @VCU
W&M (6-4): Drex, @ODU, NU, @Mason
VCU (6-4): ODU, @Mason, Drex, @ODU
You tear that apart.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Mike, I think your analysis of the top 6 is extremely sound. Other than the obvious advantage of finishing in the top 4 and not having to win 4 games to dance, I see no discernible edge in seeding for the conference tournament.
Now if you could figure out a way to make sure Mason doesn’t get seeded to face VCU if both teams reach the semifinals, that would be super. I had my fill of boisterous VCU fans rubbing my nose in crap during last year’s final, thank you very much
January 28th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Wow…”ho-hummer”, eh? You really, really, really don’t want to give a 9-1 team credit for winning games. Your reference to 7500 VCU fans was intriguing, too…and just another reason why this tourney needs to be moved outta Richmond or at least rotated to other CAA cities or a neutral site. It’s not fair and never has been. Plus, it’s a crappy arena that needs a wrecking ball and not basketball.
Sure…things could go very sour for Mason quickly. We still have tough games coming up vs. JMU, ODU, NE, Drexel, VCU, etc. Heck, every game in the conference is a tough one. But, remember, this was a 4-5 team at one time…now 14-7. A little credit would be nice for the league’s leading team. But, it’ll have to come from other sources – like my own blog and Ryan Kish’s.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Shawn, in the big picture it really doesn’t matter who (on blogs or in the mainstream media) takes notice of Mason as long as the team keeps on winning. If Coach L takes one of the youngest teams in the nation to a regular-season CAA title, people will start noticing — but until then, it’s a team with a lot left to prove.
Just like in 06, we’d better reserve a buncha spaces on the Mason bandwagon just in case the kids defy conventional logic and keep playing winning basketball into late February/March … God knows the media people who have ignored/downplayed them most of the season will be rushing to jump on.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
No really, Shawn is right. I mean, an 8-1 team playing at home who amasses a double-digit lead in less than 10 minutes (and a 20-point lead less than four minutes after that) against a 2-7 team is gripping basketball.
I was on the edge of my seat when Delaware cut the lead to 16 in the second half. I stopped watching the Drexel/NU snoozer, as it was a ho-hum four point game.
You are right. You’ll need Kish to analyze the thrilling conclusion of Samer Madarani battling Luke Hancock in the closing minutes of a 15-point game.
My mistake.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
You right, Mason shouldn’t get the big headlines after a home win vs Delaware, but you were also the one who said it was going to be close until late when Mason pulled away… not quite correct. No biggie.
I will disagree with the seeding not being a big deal. The 1 and 2 seeds will be seeing a much easier opponent on Saturday than the 3 and 4 seeds will. I think there is an advantage. If you get the 3 or 4 (or 5 and 6), you gonna have to beat 3 very solid teams to win, where as the 1 and 2 might get someone a little more manageable.
Unfortunately for my guys (Mason), I just don’t see us holding on for a 1 or 2 seed with the schedule we have yet to play.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Dr. G…great point. It will be very difficult for us to hold onto a 1 or 2 seed based on teams remaining on our schedule. They’re more experienced and SHOULD take advantage of our youth. We’ll see.
Jim…great point. Again. (I like what you write.) This team does have a ton to prove, and probably won’t get noticed locally or nationally again unless we’re playing quality ball in Feb. or March. After all, that’s when it really matters. You have a good insight in college hoops & Mason…keep posting.
As for you, Litos…no one said the Drexel/Northeastern game wasn’t exciting or didn’t need attention. NE was coming in with the 2nd best current winning streak in the country, and Drexel’s a darn good team every year who deserves respect. However, you don’t have to a sarcastic a-hole. I’ve been reading your stuff since the beginning, and one thing has been clear – you don’t like Mason, Larranaga, or anything related to the team’s success. So be it. I can live with your bias, but I have no own.
I attended last night’s game with my 81 year old father, who knows how much I love college hoops and especially my alma mater’s (three degrees from Mason and one certificate) men’s basketball team. So, maybe I’ll a little sensitive since a ho-hummer in late January has more value and meaning to me than somebody like you. I take my five-year old daughter and one-year son to games because I want them to be passionate as well about something I care about…even though I know it’s very probable that it may not happen. But, for one night, I had a good night with my dad watching a ball game. Ho-hummer? Yeah, sure…probably compared to a more competitive game in Beantown. But, it wasn’t meaningless.
I’ll keep reading, because I do think you know what you’re talking about most of the time. However, you can be a real jerk, man. (Did you really have to take a dig at Ryan Kish, too? Classy.)
January 28th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
No swipe taken at Kish. His work is very good and I mean that. My entire point is that if you require Mason-specific information on what was really a ho-hum game, that is where you go. Charles Jenkins scored as many points in five seconds as Delaware scored in six minutes. That’s going to get the ink.
Gunnie–good point. I was thinking of Sunday only. Saturday for the 3/4 is way more difficult. See, I can admit when I’m wrong. It’s just infrequent.
PS–they hate NE in Boston. It’s NU. I was beaten up for that, too.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Got it, Mike. No worries. And thanks for the clarification on NE vs. NU.
January 28th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
“See, I can admit when I’m wrong. It’s just infrequent.”
If infrequent means every time you pick a Mason game, than yes, it is infrequent! ; ) Whatever you do, just don’t pick us to win convincingly anytime soon. You just might be the key to our mojo!