The Great Battles of the Jones? What? Have I finally lost it? Well...yes and no. Yes, because I am crazy enough to predict our first winning streak of the season. No, because this is actually a battle between two coaches named Jones. How will our Eagles down the Lions? How will the announcers tell the coaches apart? Will one actually spank the other? Find out the answer to these questions, and oh so many more, after the jump! AU Coach Jeff Jones and Columbia Coach Joe Jones - by golly, they even have the same initials! This is the third straight year that this epic showdown will happen, and the Eagles have walked away victorious each time. It is the humble opinion of this blogger that a similar outcome will happen tonight at 7 PM in New York City. Maybe I've had a little too much optimism juice this morning, but since we keep it fresh on tap here at the AU Hoops Blog, I just couldn't help myself. Here's the scoop on the hapless Lions:
- The 5-6 Lions look surprisingly similar to Brown in most statistical categories, and also sit right near the middle of the Ivy League pack
- We share one common opponent so far in DePaul, and we all know how that went for us. It went as expected for Columbia, with a loss
- Columbia has downed two Patriot League opponents so far this season (Bucknell and Lehigh), and both were very close games in New York
- Columbia is currently on a 2-game losing skid, having dropped contests to both Quinnipiac on the road and Maine at home
- Like us, Columbia's been doing well in the first half this season but gets repeatedly pounded in the second. We've done a good job the past two games of coming strong out of the gate at the half. If we can do it again, we'll have a huge advantage
- La Salle transfer Brian Grimes is making an impact for the Lions after missing a year due to transfer regulations and then another due to injury. He's not quite Vlad, but we will need to guard him from beyond the arc
- Senior Guard Kevin Bulger is a great defensive player, and I see him guarding The Impaler the entire game. Vlad will absolutely need to watch the fouls against this guy
- I want to talk about Joe Hill. I really like Joe Hill. He doesn't see much play compared to the other sophomores, but he is an insanely productive player for how much he does play, and his production is almost exclusively from beyond the three point arc. I am really getting excited that he is seeing more play time, although unfortunately it seems to be at the expense of Mike Bersch. I have my fingers crossed that Joe will see at least 10 minutes this game (and of course I'm rooting for Mike too)
- Vlad. Fouls. These two things need to stop being in the same sentence.
- Lumpkins looks like he's lost the starting spot, at least for now. Riley's still starting however, although it has been pointed out by our loyal readers that he is now averaging less rebounds than Hendra. Is he being pushed out by Vlad? I don't know, but I have confidence Riley can step it up
- However no one has stepped it up more than Nick Hendra. For the love of Brian Gilmore, he did a complete 180 from the first seven games of this season to the past seven. He's leading the team now right, and he's comfortable doing it. Can he top his new career-high 18 point performance? I think so
- It's definitely worth pointing out that every single one of our bench players that saw time scored against Brown. There were many games this season where certain players just wouldn't see enough opportunities to score in the few minutes they were on the court. It's nice to see that change
- This is our last non-conference game before we open the Patriot League against Lehigh. If we can take a two-game winning streak into conference play it will be a huge boost to our confidence, as the Ivy League is about the closest basketball-wise to the Patriot League, so it's a good measure of how we will do in conference play
- Game 4 of the six game road streak. It's always tough to win on the road, but right now we have double the amount of road wins than home wins (2-1)
- Speaking of doubling, we have now doubled the amount of double-doubles that we had last season, if you can believe that. That's a lot of doubles!
- Projected Starters: Vlad, Hendra, Grafft, McCormack, Jolivette
- Final Verdict: We can win if we don't just maintain, but improve upon, the quality play we saw at Brown. Like Brown, Columbia is a slower team, which allows us to control the pace of the game, which has been to our advantage. The Lions are no pushovers, however, and we have dropped close games to lesser teams more times this season than I care to remember. If we're not on our game, this won't be our game. We need to step up and spank that lion!
Spank that Lion,
Josh
great analysis, though the photo looks dirty
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