MBB: USA South Conference

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

My Picks for USASouth games tomorrow

CNU over Fisk by around the 7 point range

GC over Oswego close game.  gc wins.

Guilford over Methodist around 8 points

HSU over SU by around 11 point range

Since USASouth doesn't have pick'em contest.  I would be in first place after tomorrow 

[notamensa]

[I believe the kids would refer to this forum as "lame".
Too cool for school...or something like that.

maybe most kids, not all.

your e-mail address gave it away, of course. i wonder if cnufella1 is also a captain dad, since he made it to greensboro to see the tournament there.

[notamensa]

How did you put this together nota?  By reading posting history?

no, but its interesting reading now that we know who you are.

[wilburt]

My Picks for USASouth games tomorrow

CNU over Fisk by around the 7 point range

GC over Oswego close game.  gc wins.

Guilford over Methodist around 8 points

HSU over SU by around 11 point range

Since USASouth doesn't have pick'em contest.  I would be in first place after tomorrow 

I think CNU over Fisk by double digits...

[scottiedoug]

Here is the link to the fourth and final article in my local newspaper about Division III athletics.  There is a hotlink to a companion article near the beginning of the article.

It is good to see DIII get this much press and too bad it is buried in a small town local paper.

http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061229/SPORTS/612290323

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

I think CNU over Fisk by double digits...

I was thinking that too, but I don't have anything on Fisk's season stats. I don't know how many rebounds, TO's, FT%, etc, nothing.  There is/was nothing on the Fisk website to clue me in. What is it I think 4 of Fisk's losses are non d3 teams.  Yeah then they beat #25 CNU and a not so good Fontbonne.  I have to base it on Fisk already beating CNU. (A game CNU should have won.)

nova-
as you know I am a young compared to most of the posters here.  I played the ESPN Scene It game last night and the highlight of Duke-Kentucky 1992 came up.  If I hadn't read what you posted about Grant Hill throwing the pass.  I never would have remebered it.  I have watched the game a couple of times on ESPN classic. I did win that Scene It game 4 out of 5 times last night.

[narch]

scottiedoug - thanks for the links...that has been an enjoyable read - you've gotta love the p.r. it generates for m'ville...makes them sound like duke

i'm really looking forward to the guilford game...it will be my first chance to see ben strong and caleb kimbrough in person, and i know those 2 are both guys the monarch coaching staff really coveted a few years ago - it will also be my first chance to see jordan snipes in person since he left mu...he's really developed into a heck of a player at guilford - i knew he had a lot of ability when he was a monarch, but he was a frosh playing behind seth thomas and didn't get a lot of burn - he sure seems to be lighting it up at guilford and seems to fit their system very well

i think the monarchs have guards that are big enough and athletic enough to neutralize the quacker perimeter players, especially if lee is fully healthy and can play significant minutes - i'm very concerned about guilford's big guy...he's going to present very real matchup problems for the monarchs - radmanovic isn't a great defender in the post or a strong rebounder, so i'm not sure if he can match up with strong...mcbryde has the ability to be a solid defender/rebounder, but that ability hasn't translated on the court fully at this point (and he's giving up about 5 to 6 inches)...williams and moore are in the 6'4" range and would probably have some difficulty guarding strong, as well...the best post defender for the monarchs is shuford...he's every bit as strong as big ben and more athletic, but at 6'2" that would be an almost impossible matchup - it will be interesting to see how the monarchs play him

should be a great game and a true test for this young monarch squad - i think a win would be a huge dose of confidence for this team, but in my eyes it would also be somewhat unexpected - the thing i'm most excited about is that this game is actually happening...i've followed monarch hoops for 8 or 9 years now, and i've always thought this was a game that should happen every year...maybe this will be the start of a good series/out-of-conference rivalry!  

hope to see you at the game 'nova!

[hasanova]

hope to see you at the game 'nova!

narch, I'm looking forward to the game also.  Thanks for your analysis.  I'll see you there.  sludge and muckraker (former moniker is Ms. sludge lol) says they'll be there, too.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

went 2-1 today.  I will say this though, although I didn't expect it to happen it was bound to happen.  SU's Floor % was 50% and HS was at 48%. They had the potential to pull off the upset. I will use the floor % more heavily when I make my picks. A little more then I have been.

[sludge]

I guess the traditional approach when you have a matchup problem in the paint is to crowd the big guy and dare the open man (not Snipes!)  to beat you.  Guilford's approach this year has been "We can work with an open man.  And while we're at it, how deep is your bench?"

I know the outcome of every game is hugely based on effort, though.

[notamensa]

rtt, cnufella, schemer, cnu85

how about posting your thoughts about the game last night. i read what was on the cnu website, but id like to read your impressions of the game.

[cnufella1]

Nota......I really don't know what to say....this is a tough one to wrap arms around.  We were up by as much as 22 in the first half...fell all the way down to, I think 4 in second half.  Fisk is a scrappy team...but CJ talked about the defense on the radio after the game.....it was not very good....but looking at the box score they only shot 36%.   He could be referencing the 19 offensive rebounds Fisk grabbed.   It was nice to see Davon comeback and have a good game....and Donta was his usual tough self.  I was actually surprised to see he only shot 4-11...but the shots he did make were at critical junctures during the game.   Blasingame had a big night on the glass and Lewis continues to shoot well...Ed did not have a good night from the floor, but played solid the last 7 minutes of the game...it would be nice to see your inside guys step it up a bit defensively when Blasingame goes to the bench....Fisk was getting to the rim WAY to easy when he went out.  While we have solid backcourt players coming off the bench with Baker, Kraut, and Duke....it would be nice to have a Coleman and Claxton to come off the bench to beef up our inside toughness.  Spears I believe is injured....be nice to get him back in uniform.   Not sure if Santa delivered any post help for Christmas, guess we'll find out next week.  So from my humble perspective we're not playing with some of that swagger we displayed earlier in the season against VWC and RMC....let's hope we get it back beginning today against a tough Oswego team. 

LOL...see the Capt beat me to the punch...and to am surprised Justin is not on the floor more....while I know he can shoot, I think his mental toughness on defense would be much appreciated addition. 

[wilburt]

Here's a link on the Fisk-CNU game last night.

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-17500sy0dec30,0,3986972.story

[Rikki_Tikki_Tavi]

To me, they just as a team, arent playing as well as they should be defensively. This is not a typical CNU team in that they give up almost 80 points per game. They are relying way too much on their offensive ability to carry them when we all know there is a lot of talent on the defensive end. I dont think they will end up adding anyone either, just a weird feeling I guess. Im sure with the tough academic standards in place now, it might be even more difficult to add a body mid-season. I just wish they would play harder and smarter on the defensive end and the rest will and should fall in to place.

Fisk is definitely a scappy bunch. If the Pillow kid, who had a good game against CNU last week, hadn't fouled out with 1045 to go in the game, what would the outcome have been? I think it would have definitely ended up a lot closer than 12 points, that's for sure. To me, it looks as if they are coasting through the motions and they honestly look like the 4th or 5th best team in the conference. G'boro has some players and Coach G has gone out and done a great job recruiting some talent. I caught the last 10 mins or so of the G'boro/Oswego game last night and was told that Oswego was up 9 at the break and went back and read the box. Oswego is tough and will definitely pose a challenge to the CNU defense tonight.

[narch]

great game in the riddle center today - the quackers took the monarchs 108-102 in double ot - as i suspected, the monarchs had a difficult time matching up with strong, who had 41 and 17 rebounds...he's an outstanding player and i wouldn't be surprised to see him garner some serious individual accolades on a national level before his career is over - the monarchs did a great job smothering snipes and holding him to just 9 points in his riddle center return...jordan looked like he may have been pressing a little and threw up some crazy shots - kimbrough was very impressive...a tough, scrappy little pg who made some big shots when his team needed them - guilford is a very good team

i think the monarchs have a LOT of potential, though - they took everything guilford threw at them, and kept fighting and scrapping - guilford took a big lead in the 1st half leading 30-13 at one point, but the monarchs fought back - in the second half, guilford had as much as a 13 point lead, and kept between a 7-10 point cushion for most of the half, then the monarchs started pressing, fouling and raining 3's...lehmann hit a huge 3 as time expired in regulation to send it into ot

in the first ot, the monarchs controlled things at the outset, leading by 4 for most of the extra stanza, but snipes hit a big shot to tie it with around 30 seconds left and the monarchs played for a last shot...lehmann got a decent look at a 3 that rimmed out and the monarchs came up with the loose ball out of bounds with 1.9 seconds left...i really thought they would win it with a set play on the inbounds, but the inbound pass got away and we went to ot #2, which guilford thoroughly controlled, scoring the first 12 points (without a monarch time-out, i might add)

individually, the monarchs got an outstanding performance from dragan radmanovic (27 points on 11-18 shooting) - he really played very well offensively, but i was equally impressed by his defensive effort on strong...it may not look like he defended him well on paper, but the monarchs didn't double big ben as much as i thought they would, and dragan really kept good defensive position most of the game...ben just shot over him a lot - ab lehmann was impressive, as well, hitting the clutch 3 and a number of big ft's and scoring 19 points to go with 8 dimes (4 to's) - bascom looked solid, as well, especially from the ft line and played good defense (primarily guarding snipes) - frosh brian pittman came off the bench in the 2nd half and was very impressive, as well - he started the season on the jv, but i think he's on the varsity to stay - he hit a nice 3, was perfect from the field and line and had 10 points and 2 assists in 18 minutes - i was disappointed to see travis mcbryde in street clothes (not sure why...) and lee is obviously not fully healthy right now as he seemed to be limping a bit and didn't have his usual quickness (only played 8 minutes) - the reward for a solid game like this for the monarchs is...a date with the defending national champs and another one of the best post players in the region...

i did like what i saw in the monarchs today, despite a loss...there is a lot of athletic ability, there are a couple of really good shooters and they play hard...that should translate to some wins down the road

box score

'nova - it was good putting a face with a screen-name!