By Paul Casey Gotham
Bill Murray, the A-10, MAAC and Patriot. Plenty on tap for the weekend.
Friday, January 6
Fairfield (3-0/8-6) at Siena (0-3/5-8) 2pm Time Warner Cable
Siena will need to prove they are not like Murray’s character in Charlie’s Angels, John Bosley, who was cruising on his reputation. Not too long ago, the Saints were the toast of the MAAC (“Where have you gone Kenny Hasbrouck, Loudonville turns its lonely eyes to you woo, woo, woo”). Now, Fairfield wants to grab their piece. Rakim Sanders, Derek Needham, Ryan Olander and Maurice Barrow lead a Stags club with NCAA tournament visions.
Fairfield by six.
Niagara (1-2/6-9) at Iona (3-0/11-3) 9pm ESPNU
Niagara’s Juan’ya Green, Ameen Tanksley, Josh Turner and Antoine Mason are young and brash like Peter Venkman – the best paranormal exterminator in the business. The Purple Eagles went into Reitz Arena and took a conference, road win from Loyola. Playing at the Hynes will challenge that confidence. This will be the first home game for the Gaels since November 28th. Expect a warm from the denizens of New Rochelle for Michael Glover, Scott Machado, Momo Jones and company.
Iona by four.
Saturday January 7
Xavier (0-1/9-5) at Fordham (0-1/7-7) noon
Xavier is in need of as much image repair as Murray’s character, Phil, in Groundhog Day. A month removed from an ugly incident that needs no introduction, the Musketeers looked aimless at times in a road loss Wednesday to La Salle. Fordham celebrated a home victory over Georgia Tech by trumping nationally-ranked Harvard. The Rams fell on Thursday at UMass. Will the loss snap the Rams back into shape? Who are the Rams? Are they searching for an identity like Bob Wiley? Fordham’s Chris Gaston has 11 double-doubles this season and 47 in his career. Will the flavor of Rose Hill intoxicate the Muskies?
X by2.
Canisius (0-4/3-11) at Loyola (3-1/10-4) noon
“Cinderella story here at ‘The Reitz.'” Jimmy Patsos and his Loyola Greyhounds got it going. The Greyhounds might not have enough to take the MAAC this year, but…
Canisius will slow down the game and force Loyola to execute against a zone. As long as Harold Washington is on the floor for Canisius, the Griffs can make it interesting. Loyola is coming off a last-second win over Manhattan. This will be the second road game in three days for Canisius.
Loyola by 7.
Charlotte (1-0/8-5) at Saint Joseph’s (1-0/11-4) 2pm
St. Joseph’s (and the city of Philadelphia for that matter) will need to avoid any hangover from Wednesday night – oh, what a night. While the country focused on Temple’s upset of Duke, the Hawks came back from 16 down to trim Duquesne in overtime. Charlotte took care of Richmond, 75-70. Langston Galloway is on pace to break Jameer Nelson’s school scoring mark. The Hawks are at home.
SJU by 5.
Lehigh (12-4) at Holy Cross (6-8) 3:30
Patriot League opener. Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum is only a junior, but he has scored over 1,600 points and is 14th all-time in the Patriot. He might make this game as unwatchable as Osmosis Jones.
Lehigh by…you fill in the blank.
Saint Bonaventure (1-0/8-5) at Duquesne (0-1/9-6) 4pm
St. Bonaventure beat a pesky George Washington club on Wednesday. Duquesne, as stated above, lost a heartbreaker to St. Joseph’s. The Dukes will be playing without B.J. Monteiro. The Bonnies point guards have been as coach Mark Schmidt describes: “a work in progress.” Duquesne presses, traps and plays up tempo. T.J. McConnell affects more plays than anyone in college basketball. SBU’s Andrew Nicholson has struggled of late with foul troubles. Demitrius Conger has been filling the void. Statement win on the road for the Brown and White.
SBU by four.
Dayton (1-0/11-4) at Temple (11-3) 4pm
Both teams dealing with season-ending injuries to starters. UD recently lost Josh Benson. Their bench was already thin and the Flyers resemble Lost in Translation because they can not afford to lose any characters from the cast. The Owls continue to play without Michael Eric. Scootie Randall might be lost for the season. Temple comes in riding high like Ernie McKracken of Kingpin hitting 56.4 percent (31-55) from the field against Duke. Can the Owls find a Bloody Mary for their hangover? Chris Johnson and Paul Williams give the Flyers plenty of perimeter defense. Dayton’s Kevin Dillard and Josh Parker can get into the paint and create. The Flyers will catch Temple off guard.
UD by four.
Bucknell (10-6) at Army (8-8) 4pm
Bucknell’s Mike Muscala and Army’s Ella Ellis – “That’s the fact, Jack!” Two of the Patriot’s best. Bucknell’s Bison will flex their muscles in this road win.
Bucknell by nine.
Sunday January 8
UMass (1-0/12-3) at La Salle (1-0/11-4) 2pm
Both teams come in with gaudy records, but questions exist. Are these teams as good as their ledgers suggest? Or did they load up on inferior competition? Recent wins by UMass (Fordham) and La Salle (Xavier) suggest relevancy. The Minutemen have more work to do lest they reap the fate of failing to deliver like Raleigh St. Claire and the Royal Tennenbaums. The Explorers, on the hand, might, like Rushmore, need multiple viewings to be appreciated. Sam Mills. Ramon Galloway. La Salle might have surprises in store.
La Salle by seven.
Fairfield (3-0/8-6) at Manhattan (2-2/9-7) 2pm
The second game of the weekend in MAAC play usually favors the home team. Being away from the friendly confines tends to create weary legs, but this Fairfield team has plenty of veteran leadership. Olander and Sanders are both seniors. Needham is a junior. Frank Cross has nothing on Steve Masiello when it comes to changing the culture. Once cellar dwellers of the MAAC, Masiello has changed the attitude of the Jaspers. George Beamon leads the way. Seven Jaspers score seven or more points. It’s all about team in Riverdale. Fairfield proved earlier this season it can handle a weekend on the road when it swept Niagara and Canisius. The trend will continue.
Fairfield by four.
Niagara (1-2/6-9) at Siena (0-3/5-8) 1pm
You could title this MAAC future vs. MAAC past. On a neutral court, first game of the weekend, Niagara probably wins hands down. But the Purple Eagles are young, and this poses quite the test. Siena’s Kyle Downey will have to step up on both ends of the floor. O.D. Anosike (12.1 rpg) presents problems in the for the Purple Eagles.
Siena by two.
Your take? What will you be watching?
Props to Ian Levy at Hickory-High for the Bill Murray references.
You can follow Ian on Twitter @HickoryHigh.
Casey says
A warm welcome to the Siena contingent who would like to tell me that I am off my rocker. 🙂
Apparently, I sprinkled hyperbole on tales of the Saints’ dissolution. In other words, I greatly exaggerated rumors of their demise.
Siena’s zone exposed Fairfield’s inability to score on the perimeter.