As promised, here are the rest of my thoughts on the non-conference schedule. Tomorrow I'm going to try to contact Bryce Simon and see if I can get to the bottom of this Mike Technow situation; it turns out he's not on the roster anymore, and I want to know what happened. As always, comment away!
Dec. 1 (Tue) - 7:30p - Howard (@AU) - Howard graduated leading scorer Eugene Myatt, but kept their next two highest scorers. The Bison then added a talented freshman class, including Tyreake Johnson, a 3-star recruit out of New York City, and Dadrian Collins from Rockville, MD. Given that the Eagles only beat the Bison by two last year (65-63, at Bender), we can expect that this will be a challenging match-up for our young team. Hopefully by this point in the season a firm starting five will have materialized; I don't think the lineup by committee approach is going to work for a team that's going to be as deep and experienced as Howard will be this year, no matter what their record last year (an unimpressive 8-23 (6-10) and 8th place finish in the Mid-Eastern Conference).
Dec. 5 (Sat) - TBA - Georgetown (AWAY) - The good news for the Eagles is that the Hoyas lost DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp to graduation last year; the two of them lit up the Eagles for 14 points a piece in a 73-49 rout at the Verizon Center. The (very) bad news for the Eagles is that 6'11 250 lb. animal (not in the cute cuddly sense of the drummer from the Muppets) Greg Monroe is returning, along with two of the Hoyas' other top four scorers. As if that weren't enough, the Hoyas have also reloaded with two four-star prospects. After the Hoyas played AU last year, their season quickly spiraled downward in a brutal Big East conference (finishing 7-11 in conference play); the legions of annoying "Hoya Saxa" fans didn't even see their team get to the NCAA Tourney. You can be sure when we meet up with them they'll be wanting to lay the hurt on us for our trip to the Big Dance.
Dec. 16 (Wed) - TBA - DePaul (AWAY) - If only this match-up could have come last season. The Blue Demons were completely outmatched in the Big East last year, as evidenced by their 0-18 conference record (9-24 overall). Still, DePaul wasn't talentless; they pulled off a shock upset of Cincinatti that kept the Bearcats out of the postseason. Would last year's Eagles have given DePaul a run for their money? I like to think so. The odds had to at least be even (according to commenter Elliot). The Blue Demons will be led by senior guard Will Walker and junior big man Mac Koshwal, both of whom averaged double-digits last year. I've got to imagine Koshwal giving the Eagles the same kind of fits that Georgetown's Greg Monroe does; at 6'10 255lb, Koshwal could have his way in the paint. Sophomore Riley Grafft, while 6'10, gives up 65 pounds to Koshwal, and Lumpkins is giving up both two inches and forty pounds. Brutal. (On a sidenote, I just realized that sophomore Mike Technow is no longer on the 2009-10 roster, someone remind me to check out what happened to that guy, as he had both height and a more muscular build than either Grafft or Lumpkins.)
Dec. 19 - 2:00p - UMBC - (@AU) - The Eagles had no problem knocking off the Retrievers last year on their home floor 74-61, and the chances are pretty good that the same could happen this year when the Retrievers wag their way into Bender Arena. After losing top scorers Darryl Proctor and Jay Greene (who accounted for roughly 32 ppg last year), UMBC will be looking for some new leaders to step up. Sophomore guard Chauncey Gilliam at 6'5 230 may be just that scorer. Tall enough to give any of our guards fits, the Eagles will have to find some kind of answer to him to pull out the W.
Dec. 21 (Mon) - 5:00p - Penn State (AWAY) - Any team that pulls out ten wins in the Big Ten most years has legitimate talent. Penn State is no different, finishing 27-11 (10-8) and 4th in the Big East. After beating Illinois twice, Purdue once, and Michigan State once, Penn State marched through the postseason and won the NIT. Especially given that we're headed up to State College, I think our Eagles are going to get their feathers plucked. There's not much else to say about this game, sadly, except that it will be a good experience for our guys to see the well-oiled Nittany Lion machine in action.
Dec. 28 (Mon) - TBA - Florida (AWAY) - Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Billy Donovan's gators won back to back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Even after losing 17.2 ppg guard Nick Calathes, Florida will return its other four starters. Again, this will be a good experience for our young Eagles, but Jeff Jones had better make sure he finds some way to keep their morale up after what seems like an inevitable blowout.
Jan. 2 (Sat) - 1:00p - Brown (AWAY) - The Eagles might've conquered Brown (in a boring ho-hum game during winter break) last year, but the Bears might be able to exact their revenge this year. Returning their three top scorers and a team with a lot of experience, the Bears should be able to improve on their 9-19 (3-11) record. The Eagles' only salvation at this point in the season would be the emergence of a previously unexpected dominant player or a team playing fundamental teamwork-oriented ball.
Jan. 4 (Mon) - 7:00p - Columbia (AWAY) - Hopefully the Eagles will be able to end their non-conference schedule on a high note. Though Columbia had a surprisingly good season last year, they still finished below .500 overall. They lost number two scorer Jason Miller. If nothing else, this should be a competitive battle. Too bad we'll all be watching it on Eagle Vision, if at all.
Annnd I'm out for the night. Hopefully I'll have some news to report for you tomorrow.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
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