By Paul Casey Gotham
“You know I stay in five, six sometimes seven days a week. But ever so often I get that empty urge.” Paul Westerberg
Plenty on tap this weekend. Here’s a glance at some highlight games in the Atlantic 10 and Metro-Atlantic Athletic with special notice for the brothers at Monroe Community College.
Friday, December 9th
Siena (3-5) at UMass (7-3) 7PM
Part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase – the Saints recently claimed bragging rights in the Capital Region with a comeback victory over Albany. The Minutemen beat Boston College earlier this season, but came up short, 83-75 at Miami last weekend. Chaz Williams leads a balanced UMass attack scoring 14 a game. Freshman Evan Hymes, O.D. Anosike and Kyle Downey all average double digits for Mitch Buonaguro’s crew. The Minutemen will pull away late for this victory.
Richmond (6-2) at VCU (5-3) 8PM
Kevin Anderson scored 21 points a year ago when the Spiders took this matchup 72-60. Of course these rivals made up an eighth of the 2011 Sweet Sixteen with the Rams going on a magical run to the Final Four. This year, Richmond point guard, Cedrick Lindsay, will need to maintain order in the attempted havoc. This will not be an easy proposition considering Richmond’s recent struggles against Wake Forest’s press. UR freshman Kendall Anthony has been impressing early. Darrius Garrett might be the best post defender in the country. The Spiders will take one in enemy territory.
Old Dominion (5-3) at Fairfield (5-4) 9PM
ODU’s zone created 21 Kentucky turnovers in a recent 62-52 loss – a game that was closer than the score indicates. The Monarchs trailed by three with the ball under seven to go. Fairfield got a pretty good warmup against a zone last weekend when the Canisius Golden Griffins played hands-up-Harry! for forty minutes. Derek Needham found his long-range stroke, and Rakim Sanders presents a difficult matchup. If Sanders gets going from the outside, it will be a long night for Old Dominion. The junior forward makes great decisions around the basket. It helps to have Maurice Barrow and Ryan Olander finishing in the paint. The Stags are gaining momentum. Fairfield wins a single-digit game.
Finger Lakes CC (4-5) at Monroe CC (6-4) 9PM
First round action of the 19th annual Pete Pavia Memorial Scholarship Basketball Tournament. The Tribs started the season 4-0, but are 2-4 since leaving the friendly confines of Monagan Court. Nothing like a little home cooking to help Monroe get back its swagger. Francis Obumneme will dominate in the paint. MCC pulls away for the win.
Saturday, December 10th
(19) Creighton (7-) at St. Joseph’s (6-3) Noon
Missouri Valley meets A-10. Props to Phil Martelli and his schedulers who reeled in the Blue Jays for a soiree in the shadows Boathouse Row. C.J. Aiken tops the nation in blocks, and this game will give the sophomore a chance to gauge his abilities. The young Hawks are gamers. Carl Jones and Langston Galloway will see this as an opportunity to etch a big win on the resume. Doug McDermott averages 23 points and nine rebounds for Creighton. Can the sophomore get those numbers with Aiken draped all over him? The Hawks win in overtime.
Cincinnati (5-2) at (8) Xavier (7-0) 12:30PM
The Blue Blob, Skyline Chili parachutes falling from the rafters and a Queen City feud. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 48-30. UC thumped the Musketeers 66-46 a year ago. Cincinnati has stumbled out of the gate in a manner akin to Barbershop 2. Not that anyone predicted the Bearcats to go to the Final Four, nor were Oscar nominations expected for Ice Cube’s sequel, but give us something to laugh about every time Rosa Parks is mentioned, or the apple juice goes missing. How did Cincy lose to Presbyterian AND Marshall at home? Yancy Gates is still wearing black and red, right? What are the chances one of those Sky-Line Parachutes with coupons will drop on Seat 23, Row L, Section 205? Not that I can use it or anything, but it would make a nice re-gift to the progeny. Holloway and Lyons will lead the way. Andre Walker and Dez Wells will make the difference as the Muskies run away with this one.
Villanova (5-3) at Temple (5-2) 5PM
One month ago this looked like as sure a thing as one could get for a Philly 5 game. Then Michael Eric suffered an injury, and the Owls lost their interior presence. Villanova struggled earlier this week with Missouri’s zone. The young Cats shot 11-29 behind the arc and failed to penetrate the paint. Interesting that the Tigers used a four-guard lineup throughout much of the night. The Owls should follow suit. On the flip side, the Tigers exposed Villanova’s perimeter defense hitting 40 percent (10-25) from long range – Hello! Kahliff Wyatt. Expect the Owls to play a soft zone in the half-court switching the guard-to-guard screens and not give Villanova any room. The Owls take a one-possession game. Keep up with Aaron Bracy at PhillaHoops for updates and analysis of this one.
Canisius (1-6) at St. Bonaventure (3-4) 7PM
The Griffs will be without starting point Gaby Belardo. The Bonnies are coming off a loss. Check that. The Bonnies are coming off a close loss on the road. Wait. The Brown and White are coming off a close loss AT Illinois in a game where they led with less than five minutes to go. This doesn’t look good for Canisius. The Griffs did hold Iona (averaging more than 90ppg) to 69 last week, and Belardo was not in the lineup for that game. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance…” Probably not. The Bonnies shot almost 60 percent on UB’s zone in the second half of last week’s victory. The Griffs’ Harold Washington will keep it close and make it entertaining. If you haven’t had a chance to see Washington play, make a point to do it. We need to come up with a nickname for the Canisius guard. “Tiny tot of the kilowatt” has been taken, but something along those lines. Smitty will bring the analysis from the baseline of the Reilly Center. I will be checking Twitter for updates while I enjoy the fare at Dana Gardens. The Bonnies win the game. The Griffs keep the score in the 60s.
Sunday, December 11th
Iona (7-1)at Marshall (5-2) 2:30PM
Tim Cluess needs to get a little Johnny Cash music on the bus because his team been “everywhere man.” Iona is in the midst of an eight-game road swing. This weekend the Gaels blow in for what looks like a trap game. After earning a come-from-behind victory in the Rocky Mountains, the Maroon and Gold come east for a throw-down with Conference-USA contender, Marshall. As mentioned above, the Thundering Herd (part of a great trivia question: can you name all the D1 schools that lack an S as the ending letter of their nickname?) won at UC. They also hung with Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. At the same time, they fell to Ohio. Go figure. Could be a trap game, but the Gaels are too deep. If Michael Glover, Scott Machado or Momo Jones don’t get you, Taaj Ridley, Jermel Jenkins or Randy Dezouvre will. The Gaels win by eight.
Other game of note:
Detroit (5-6) at Alabama (7-2)6:00PM
You want to watch this game if for no other reason than to see Ray McCallum (who has Steph Curry-like IQ) play. The Titans are dealing with injuries and suspensions which could make a win at Alabama difficult. But if they can withstand the Crimson Tide’s first punch, anything is possible. Alabama has lost two in a row which might be a sign that teams are starting to figure out their pressing defenses. Does Detroit have the depth to continue the trend? Probably not. But Detroit and McCallum will make it interesting. Alabama by five.
Give us your take. What games will you watch once around weekend?
Xavier looking like a legit power this year, what with a win over Butler already. Hope you get a parachute, but don’t let the lack of one keep you away from Skyline!
Pete – great to hear from you. Skyline is a regular stop when visiting Cincinnati. I foresee dinner there tomorrow. Or should I say later today.
Pete – I should have been clearer. It’s not the coupon. It’s the catching of the parachute. It is something akin to catching a foul ball at a baseball game.
Temple recently dropped one to Bowling Green. Luckily Villanova does not seem to be the ‘Nova of recent years, so this should be a cmpetitive Big 5 game. Temple does have a pretty big winning streak in the Liacourous Center (23 straight). I see Aaron Brown has stepped up the past few games and that’s exactly the remedy when a big injury happens to a team. Hopefully North Philly is rocking.
https://www.owlsports.com/news/2011/12/8/MBB_1208113624.aspx
Temple’s loss to Bowling Green is a tricky one. A loss is a loss, but I think Michael Eric was hurt in practice the day before the game, and they had no time to put in a game plan without him.
Pete – about Xavier and it is interesting when using the word “power”. Since 2004 they have been to the Elite Eight twice and Sweet Sixteen four times. I think they also have 11 tournaments wins in the 7 year period. So they have been a powerhouse program for awhile, albeit a sneaky powerhouse.