Life, and basketball, is about response. Nobody intentionally makes bad decisions, and mistakes will happen. Things sometimes don’t work out no matter how solid your planning. There are outliers, luck, and the unplanned circumstance. Sometimes people with malevolent intentions ruin it.

You will have to deal with misfortune and you will find yourself on the wrong end of a 14-2 run. Our advice is simple: misery is optional. Keep moving forward and working hard.

And as for response, a thank you goes out to Kris Sears, W&M hoops SID, who responded (and was very accommodating) to a certain hack who requested a pass and a seat three hours before the tipoff of The Pugs and Hofstra.

Boxscores

Mason 82, JMU 71

Towson 71, Delaware 68

Northeastern 79, UNCW 56

William & Mary 73, Hofstra 66

VCU 82, Georgia State 69

ODU 71, Drexel 48

Three Things We Learned

1. It’s The Little Things. Tony Shaver switched defenses in the latter stages of the second half, putting 6-8 Danny Sumner on Charles Jenkins for the first time all night. Facing a bigger, athletic defender for the first time and very tired from no rest, Jenkins went 0-7 from the field down the stretch.

2. The Road Reveals. UNCW never arrived in Boston and looked disinterested against NU. Keep an eye on this: Dom Lacy, a three-year mainstay, was DNP-CD. VCU (continuing a surge), Towson (not giving up), and Mason (reversing road woes) all nabbed important road wins. A depleted Hofstra looked very solid for 35 minutes in Pugland. Drexel just needs to burn the tape from Norfolk and move on. The Dragons revealed that sometimes the road punches you in the teeth and you take it and move forward.

3. Get Ready For Bertie: ODUs Kent Bazemore had eight points, six assists (1 TO), four steals, and four rebounds for ODU. And 4-4 from the line after a 2-12 debacle. Bazemore could be the answer Blaine Taylor desperately needs in his backcourt. All he’s done this season is improve. Darius James–not so much.

Three Things We Verified

1. Every Village Has Its Idiot. A JMU student fired a hot dog from the Convo rafters, drawing a technical foul against the home team and changing the momentum of the Mason/JMU game. The Dukes had sliced a 15-point deficit to four, and a suddenly interested Give ‘Em Hell was headed to the line to cut the margin to two. The Convo was rocking and it was shaping up to be one of those finishes people talk about for years. Then some idiot fired a dog onto the court and Cam Long did what he needed to do. Took over.

2. We verified the problem with Troy Franklin’s playing time, sort of. Franklin has taken a “leave of absence” from the Tigers. We’ll check with Pat Kennedy on it.

3. You Can Gameplan One Player: Mike Morrison, Ryan Pearson, and Johnny Williams took turns sandwiching Bowles. The result was Bowles taking just 12 shots, and more importantly ONE free throw. Also, the Pugs shut down Charles Jenkins, while four different Pugs scored in the final four minutes. Joe Dukes–two points against VCU.

Three Things We Don’t Know

1. If VCU is rolling (but we think so). With Larry Sanders nursing a sore foot, VCUs Jamie Skeen hit 8-10 FG and scored 16 points in 26 minutes. Also, Joey Rodriguez again played well. His 21 points and 7 assists against two turnovers was the VCU gas can. Chris Kowalczyk notes: in the Rams’ seven games since Christmas, the 5-10 point guard is averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio over that stretch is better than 3-to-1, and he’s shooting than 49 percent (35-of-73) from the field.

2. Separation Anxiety? We’re seeing it, to be sure. Four teams sit at 6-1 (NU, Mason, ODU, and Pugs). VCU and Drexel are at 4-3, and the rest of the league is either 2-5 or 1-6. Is it the right permutation? Will it continue?

3. The combustability at the beach. There’s a lot going on and their next four conference games are against the bottom group–a 7-21 record combined. A 2-2 or worse slate and it may get uglier.

My Favorite Things

1. This Game Cracks Me Up: After a 14-34 effort from the stripe and being mocked here for a 3-19 start, ODU was 19-23 from the line against Drexel.

2. Tony Shaver, entering Kaplan Arena, by himself, through the main entrance where fans walk in, as if he was there to pick up his dry cleaning.

3. VCU hoops SID Scott Day, whose Georgia State writeup referenced the New Orleans Saints and Olympic table tennis. Kid keeps it fun, and we salute him.

Boxscore Flunkies (Not What You Think Edition)

1. Gerald Lee, ODU. What? Look, he’s been quiet, for sure. But eight straight double figures scoring games will get your attention. Forget that. Eight rebounds in 21 minutes is what you need to file away.

2. Halil Kanecevic, Hofstra. His line is modest: 12 points, six rebounds, zero assists, and three turnovers. But Kanecevic hit a fadeaway turnaround, a tough reverse layup, and a comfy three. Kid has the tools as a freshman.

3. Kauri Black, NU. Three points and seven rebounds. But look at 16 minutes from the 6-7 swingman. Good thing Bill Coen called the Kansas City Royals–Black could be the best bud this team has seen in two years.

Ten Interesting Stats

1. Drexel is the eighth team ODU has held to less than 50 points.
2. Triple Double Double: Calvin Lee had a 21/10 dub-dub, and Robert Nwankwo had a 12/10 of his own. Isaiah Philmore scored a career-high 12 points and is doing nothing but improving.
3. NU spotted The Dub a hoop, then went on a 25-5 run in which UNCW made two shots and committed five turnovers. All 14 NU Huskies that played, scored.
4. Hofstra’s Miklos Szabo has six rebounds in seven first half minutes. Bagels for rebounds in eight second half minutes.
5. Welcome to basketball season, Cam Long. He tied a career high with 24 points and was the leader Jim Larranaga has needed him to be. Long and Andre Cornelius scored 43 points on just 18 shots.
6. Hofstra took a 57-51 lead with 8:20 to play on a Jenkins jumper, but the Tribe responded by holding the Pride without a field goal until Corny Vines hit a meaningless layup in the waning seconds.
7. With all the havoc promised by Shaka Smart, he showed remarkable maturity and abandoned it in favor of a zone against Georgia State. The Panthers shot just 37% in the second half.
8. Matt Janning, who despite Saturday rumors is not transferring to ODU, was 2-7 from the foul line.
9. You’re thinking Josh Brinkley is related to the news guy. His 8-9 FG and 17/9 for The Fightin’ Montays is impressive.
10. Nine of Chad Tomko’s 17 points were scored in the final 5:28 n a 30-point blowout loss. Beware the ppg stats.

Best Coach Quote

“It’s silly, it’s unexplainable, quite frankly,” Matt Brady told the Washington Post, regarding the hot dog throw. “I don’t know why anyone would have done it.”