When I Still Can't Believe We Lost this Game There's GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Wow. I'm stunned. I thought having a good night's sleep would bring me to acceptance of the fact that we dropped our first game of the season yesterday afternoon. It didn't. I'm still stunned. This was a game we had firmly in hand and then just kind of, dropped. It wasn't like there was a strong momentum shift or anything, we just let them back into the game, and then they beat us. Vlad did not play yesterday, he was in street clothes. He had a concussion, but I'm not sure where/how/when he picked that up. Hopefully he'll be back for the trip to Morgantown because the prospect of this team going down there without him when they just blew a double-digit lead to Columbia yesterday is terrifying. Anyway, the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY.

THE GOOD

Stephen Lumpkins - Lump had a rough first three or four minutes but then came on nicely and picked up another double double. He had 20 points (8-13) and 12 boards and also chipped in three blocks. He did a nice job on interior defense, and also caused a few turnovers with his quick hands. Lump has been on a roll the past few games, and this is the player we all knew had to show up for us to go far this season. Keep it up, big guy, you cannot be stumped!

Simon McCormack - Hell of a game yesterday from Simon, who played 27 minutes and was the team's third highest scorer with 13 (on 6-9 shooting). He also had six rebounds and was all over the court on defense per usual. Simon's minutes have been reduced this year, but it's good to see that he can still be a very productive player when JJ needs to call on him.

Troy Brewer - I don't know what kind of English/rotation/spin Troy puts on the ball. I do know that it makes the smoothest swishes on threes that I maybe have ever seen. The net doesn't even move when he makes these baskets. It's insane. Troy "InsertNicknameHere" Brewer fit into his recent pattern as a sniper again yesterday. He went 4-8 from 3, totaled 18 points, and also had two blocks. He also played 39 minutes and only picked up two fouls. He narrowly missed the chance to make it into the AU legendarium yesterday...with 1.7 seconds left, Hendra inbounded to Lump who kicked it to Troy in the corner. Troy's three was just a little too strong, and we dropped the game 64-62. So, so close. Good game from Troy though, his consistency is definitely improving.

Daniel Fisher - With Vlad out yesterday, Daniel Fisher got the nod over Riley Grafft to play some minutes inside. He ended up playing 13 minutes and got 4 boards and an assist. Some points would have been nice, but he did a good job setting screens on the offensive end and was pretty solid on defense as well. He ended up getting more minutes than Tony Wroblicky yesterday, which was a little surprising. Nice work from the Aussie yesterday.

THE BAD

Point Guard Play - I was at the game yesterday. I watched for the positive intangibles and non-stat sheet items that I was berated for not including in the last Good, Bad, and Ugly. I didn't see them. What I did see was a lot of sloppy ball handling from Hendra (who had an otherwise okay game, but wasn't good enough to make it into the GOOD column), Munoz, and Luptak. They combined for 9 of our 15 turnovers, and honestly there could have been a lot more. Sloppy ball handling. Passes that only just barely made it to who they were supposed to. Not good yesterday. Hence, bad.

Mike Bersch - Bersch made his first career start yesterday (Congrats!), but he didn't make much of it. He only earned 6 minutes and went 0-1 with a turnover. He still looks lost out there on defense, and on the offensive end he doesn't move well with the ball. For the moment it looks like for him to be a weapon we need to get him the ball when he's set behind the three point line. Not sure he'll get another start for a while, especially given how Simon played yesterday. Keep working, Bersch. You know you're a favorite over here. We're pulling for you, but we need to see more out of you than what you gave us yesterday.

Tony Wroblicky - Tony showed flashes of awesomeness yesterday. A nasty block, a nice hook shot fading away from the basket, but he also picked up three personal fouls in nine minutes of play. He was definitely outplayed by Daniel Fisher, who got his first significant playing time ever yesterday. We need Tony to step up to be the guy to back up Lump, ultimately he's got to be the long term option.

THE UGLY

I can't really put my finger on what caused the loss yesterday. I think it was complacency. Sitting in the stands yesterday, we had a double-digit lead, and as a fan, I never thought we'd give it up. Yeah they got close, but I just kept waiting for a Lump dunk or a Brewer three-point dagger to end their run. It didn't happen. All of a sudden it was like "Oh shit, we're down 2." And then, "Oh, SHIT. We're tied." And then, "OH SHIT!! WE'RE LOSING?" And then, finally and sadly, "Oh...shit...we lost that game. What the hell happened?" We had Columbia on the ropes and then just didn't knock them out. It seemed like we just were out there expecting to win, assuming that lead would hold. Well, we assumed wrong, and we dropped a game we definitely should have won. We looked great in stretches yesterday, even without Vlad. And then we looked completely flat. This team is still consistently inconsistent, and that's a bad thing to be with a tough road schedule coming up.

We were going to lose games this season; we knew that. But we shouldn't have lost to Columbia. I think games like this are the difference between a 14 and a 15 seed come tournament time. That assumes we win the PL Tournament, of course, but bear with me. The selection committee expects teams like AU to lose to teams like WVU, Pitt, Northwestern, and Florida. Losing to teams like that don't count too much against us. But the committee will look at the teams who are at our level and see if we beat everyone we should have. If we did that, we're more likely to get a 14, maybe even a high 14, and not a 15. Well, Columbia is a game we should've had. At home, with a double-digit lead, you win that game. I hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass come postseason time, assuming there is postseason time.


Thoughts from yesterday?

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Even A Heavy Dose of Courage Won't Help These Lions

"Forget flying monkeys, I'm most terrified of the Blue Crew."

After taking a short break from the Sweet, Sweet Revenge tour to remind Howard that we'll never be at the very bottom of the DC Division 1 heap, we're back in action later today to pay back the Lions of Columbia University for the narrow 56-51 loss they handed us last year in New York. It was our first loss to Columbia in four tries, and I am confident that our record against the Cowardly Lions will stand at 4-1 if we can play to our full potential this afternoon. However, this will not be the easy W that many might predict against a middle-of-the-pack Ivy League opponent, and here's why:

• Although the Lions are 2-3 on the young season, their blistering offense is averaging over 79 ppg, more than 13 above our average. However, we're holding opponents to 56 ppg, so there's a good chance we can ruin some of Columbia's statistical bragging rights.
• Junior guard Noruwa Agho is averaging 21 ppg, which is incidentally the same number of points he posted against us in our meeting last season (he still, however, averages less than Vlad)
• Columbia steamrolled our only common opponent, UMES, 108-74 two days before we struggled against them on our home court. Of course, every team has off games, and on paper we were totally capable of blowing them out as well. We must be wary not to be complacent against the Lions.
• Columbia just crushed fellow Patriot League member Colgate 76-63. The Lions are 4-1 versus the Patriot League dating back to the beginning of last season. It's time to put an end to this.
• Columbia was one of the few mid-major opponents to defeat us in the post-Vlad portion of our out-of-conference schedule last season. We know how much of an impact player Vlad was, so losing to the Lions after he became eligible (and blew away DePaul) was disappointing, and I am sure he is itching to turn the tides this year with even more support.

Our challenges are pretty clear, and if we treat Columbia as we treated UMES or Howard, it will not be an easy game for us. Coach Jones has without a doubt been lighting a fire under everyone's behinds this week, as he told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. Luckily, Columbia's lineup is relatively unchanged from last year, where it came down to the wire without the advantage of playing in Bender Arena. While most the Blue Crew will still be returning from Thanksgiving break, the home court atmosphere will definitely help. 

I'll also state again that we need to use our size against the Lions. Columbia, like many teams at our level, is small and guard-oriented. Their only real force in the post is 6'6" senior forward Asenso Ampim, who scored 18 points against us last season. As I've stated far too many times this season, we need to take our time and not blindly shoot threes when there are still 25 seconds left on the clock. If we can dish inside to Lumpkins, who currently sports the second highest field goal percentage in the Patriot League, we can likely play right over the heads of the smaller Lions. At the same time, we need to defend the perimeter, as Columbia is making 40% of its shots from downtown. If we can continue to run the top defense in the Patriot League and play a good transition game, we should be able to keep things at our pace and not let the Lions break away. If they do, I don't like our chances. 

Per usual, I also have my fingers crossed that we'll see some solid offensive output from the backcourt. Columbia's top players are their guards, and if Danny, Steve, and Simon can play solid D, then they are doing all they need to do. However, if they can hit some key shots (Danny especially has shown some flashes of brilliance from the 3), we can absolutely stay ahead. Of course, if Troy continues to find his groove (if you missed it, he posted his first double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds against Howard, with 21 of those points from beyond the arc), and Vlad and Lump are as unstoppable as ever, then that tried-and-true trifecta should truly show the Lions that they're not in Kansas any more. Fortunately, we've had four days off since our last outing at Howard, which is more than we've had between games so far this season, so with any luck we'll be rested enough to easily skip down the yellow brick road to a 6-0 record. 

We'll also be holding the banner for the entire Patriot League this week, which went 0-5 on Saturday in what might just be the worst day for Patriot League basketball all season. Most important of all, if we win, we'll be 6-0 for the first time since the 1958-59 season, when we were still in Division II (then called the College Division). If you were an Eagles fan back in '58, then by all means today's win will be for you. 

There you go, folks. If you're in town (or just returning), then make a point of being in Bender Arena at 2 PM. Our Eagles will need all the support they can get from the greatest fans in the League (both Patriot and Ivy). Let's show them how we're the LOUDEST, PROUDEST, and BLUEST group they'll face all season, and send them back to New York quivering in their warmups. If you can't make it to the game, we'll be occasionally tweeting from Bender Arena, and with any luck running a liveblog as well. If that fails, then make sure to tune in to Federal News Radio 1500 AM for the play-by-play with Dan Laing. See you there!

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!

Josh

Now For Something A Little Different

It's not often that we post about something completely unrelated to AU basketball, but since Thanksgiving is most often associated with some other sport that I'm having trouble remembering at the moment, I thought we'd do something a little different today that touches on other aspects of the holiday. I'd like to wish all of our readers a very happy Thanksgiving, and possibly kindle a bit of nostalgia with this AU food-related video from deep within our vault. Here's Willard Scott (CAS '53) filming the Today Show in the Tavern in January 1988. Happy Thanksgiving to Eagles everywhere!



Pro Deo Et Patria and Happy Thanksgiving,
Josh

Quick Hit: Seven Three Pointers?

Well, that's one way to show everyone that you do deserve the reputation you have. Troy Brewer went off for 7 three pointers and finished with 24 points against Howard last night. In doing so, he also got his first double-double. My lips are zipped to any further criticism about his three point capabilities.

The nickname competition for Troy begins riiiiight now.

The Rainmaker? Three's Company? ThreeThreeMcThree? That's all I got.

Leave it in the comments.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Eagles Make Buffalo Wings of Howard 66-54

With the victory over Howard this evening, the Eagles move to 5-0 for the first time since the 1985-86 season (that's a quarter century ago). The Good, Bad, and Ugly from Howard is coming shortly, but until then, here's a refresher on the '85-86 season, courtesy of the 1986 Talon yearbook:





Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh

AU Eagles vs. Howard Buffalo Burgers LIVEBLOG!

If I Had A Nickel(berry) For Every Time AU Beat Howard, I'd Have Twelve Nickel(berry)s

I hope Coach Jones brings the celery, because Buffalo Wings are on the menu

First, if you haven't experienced one recently, check out Bill's great Reality Check from earlier this afternoon. Then, in case you've been living under a rock and just discovered we are 4-0 to begin the season for the first time in about a quarter century, keep reading - it only gets better.

Tomorrow evening at 7:00 we skip across town to take on cross-town rival Howard (1-3) at Burr Gymnasium. In short, we are 12-3 all time against the Bison, including victories in the last seven straight contests. In fact, this is the first game of the year that is not a stop on the Sweet, Sweet Revenge Tour 2010, as Howard provided us our first victory last year in eight tries.

Unfortunately for the Bison, they're squarely in the same position they were in last season, and we're going to be eating Buffalo Wings all night long. "Are you mad, Josh!?", you must be thinking, "only last week you predicted a blowout of UMES on our own court and it went right down to the wire! Stop right now before you jinx everything!" Fear not, concerned reader, for I remain confident in my prediction. Let's break down why:

• Injuries: The worst thing that can happen to a team is to have its key players taken out of commission by unfortunate injuries. First, 6'9" freshman center and top recruit Theodore Boyomo tore his ACL in an exhibition game and was out for the season. Next, junior guard Calvin Thompson, a pre-season all-MEAC second team selection (about as good as it gets for the Bison this year) tore his ACL at Purdue last Sunday in what would have been a very tough physical game for us as well. Thompson put up a team-high 14 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals against us last season. Finally, Howard's lone senior, guard Kyle Riley, injured his ankle at Purdue and may or may not play tomorrow. Without a doubt, injuries are bad luck, but this is bordering on disastrous for Howard. Ultimately, injuries can happen to any team at any time, and for mid-majors who lack a lot of depth, it can be crippling. No matter who it is, I feel bad for these players who aren't able to hit the court and do what they were recruited to do. Nevertheless, it does give us an advantage.

• Size: Like many of our opponents so far, the Bison are a smaller team. Similarly, they lack the powerful front court that allowed FAU to confidently put four guards on the floor at once. Last season, they relied on 6'9" senior Paul Kirkpatrick, whose line last year was 13 points, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 3 steals against the Eagles. Still, Lumpkins and Riley combined for 25 of our 59 points, and Lumpkins was 1 board away from a double-double. Without Boyomo, the Bison will be relying on 6'6" forward Dadrian Collins, who also had 13 points, 1 block, and 2 steals last year in Bender. With the addition of Vlad and Tony, our inside game has only gotten better, and I don't foresee the Bison finding a way to stop it, especially as they're not particularly strong with the dribble penetration that was our greatest defensive struggle in the last few games. Frankly, I also expect Danny and Steve to run circles around their guards, so I'm hoping for some good offensive output from the backcourt tomorrow as well.

• Records: In what I suspect is largely a function of its injuries, the Bison just dropped a huge game to St. Francis (NY), 70-52. Although identical in name and conference, this is not the same St. Francis we downed in our first game of the season. Still, such a tough loss certainly has the Bison fearing for the future of their season, which did begin on a bright note with a narrow 54-52 victory over Bowling Green at home. Although I can't really hold their next loss to Purdue against them, since we'd likely drop that game as well, their 66-34 drubbing versus Delaware wasn't a great vital sign either (again, post-injuries). Need I remind anyone that we are 4-0?

That's pretty much it. The Bison are suffering, and it's our predicted 5-0 record that's to benefit. Without a prize recruit, a top player, or size and athleticism to match ours, the Bison's home court advantage won't do much for them this season. I do want to take a moment to give Howard credit for something, however: they remain the only local team in a city that breathes college basketball that has deigned to play us this season. I love local rivalries as much as the next guy (especially because it means I'm actually able to attend an away game prior to League play), and I'll take them where I can get them. Thanks Howard.

Oh, and if you're wondering what the title of the post is referring to, it's first-year Howard Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry and his online portfolio...erm, website. I can't help but think its purpose is to help him find another job, which is why I'm confused as to why Howard features the link so prominently on their athletics page. I know we've said in the past that we'd enjoy Coach Jones having a presence on the web, but for the love of Clawed and all that is holy, I hope that if he ever does it looks nothing whatsoever like that (and let's not mention the soundtrack). 

That's all for today. Hopefully we'll have a liveblog running, but many of our contributors will be traveling for the holidays and I'll be at the game in person, likely without an internet connection or phone intelligent enough to do so much as tweet. So, it's tentative, but our fingers remain crossed! Tomorrow night, 7 PM, Burr Gymnasium at Howard University! 

WHAT DO WE EAT? BISON MEAT!

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!

Josh

Reality Check

So I was going to write a Patriot League Check-In tonight. I still may, though it's doubtful. The Patriot League isn't doing much right now. Overall the PL is 13-21. Hardly overpowering. Only AU (4-0) and, surprisingly, Army (3-1) have records about .500. Oof. They're out there playing some good teams I guess. Holy Cross, for example, has losses to Boston College, the College of Charleston, Harvard, and perennial powerhouse UNH (wait, what?). Ah well. Anyway, that's your check-in. If you want something more in-depth, that'll follow after an important reality check. Brace yourselves.

WE'RE 4-0. Seriously. Undefeated.

Good, Bad, and Ugly (which I increasingly dislike writing because I think it's unproductive and overly critical and not supportive, none of which are things I want this blog to be) aside, the team is playing well. How do I know this? Because we're 4-0. We're playing well enough to win. We're averaging wins by double figures. We're allowing a league best 56.5 points a game. We've got three guys averaging double figures. We have Vlad Moldoveanu, who has won back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Week awards (congrats on that, by the way, Impaler). We've got a senior threesome that is playing well, showing great leadership, and playing with a lot of guts and heart. You always want players who are playing with their internal organs, folks. Pro-tip from me to you.

So let's put it in perspective and make it clear: we're incredibly happy about the team's success. The team is playing well so far. Could it play better? Sure. But this team has a hell of a lot of promise. And they deserve to be praised and congratulated for giving this fan base hope and firing us up so early in the season.

So, thanks AU Eagles, for giving us such a great start to the season. We hope you'll continue! Keep it up, and GO EAGLES!

Now, for the rest of you who wanted a PL Check-In. Here it is, some tidbits from the Patriot League press release today:


Flip-Flop on the Scoring Charts
American and Army finished seventh and eighth in scoring offense in the Patriot League last season, but the teams have turned those numbers all the way around during their fast start to the 2010-11 campaign. The Black Knights have gone from worst to first by improving from last year's 60.3 points per game to their current mark of 73.0. American has risen up from seventh to second, though it's average has only bumped up slightly from 62.6 to 66.5. The Eagles have made it up on the defensive end by allowing just 56.5 points per game, the top mark in the Patriot League. Going in the other direction are Navy and Lafayette, who sit seventh and eighth in the League in scoring after placing in the top three last season.


St. Francis (Pa.) was practically another member of the Patriot League during the first two weeks of the season, as the Red Flash played four games against League squads to open the year. American and Lafayette each won at home against St. Francis (Pa.), while Colgate and Bucknell dropped their contests on the road. Each game except for American was decided by four points or less, with Bucknell taking a heartbreaking 68-67 defeat over the weekend. There are other common opponents early in the 2010-11 season as well, as Colgate lost and Bucknell won at home agaisnt Binghamton, with Army hosting the Bearcats on Tuesday. Lafayette fell at Wagner to open the season, while Lehigh beat the Seahawks in Bethlehem. Wagner also visits Bucknell on Nov. 29. In addition to those teams, Columbia plays three Patriot League teams by Dec. 1, beginning with Colgate at home on Tuesday and also goes to Lafayette in January. No. 6 Villanova has defeated both Bucknell and Lafayette. Princeton, Stony Brook, Buffalo, New Hampshire, Penn and NJIT also play multiple Patriot League opponents early in the season.

Moldoveanu Leading the Way
American's early success would not be possible without senior forward Vlad Moldoveanu, who leads the Patriot League with 22.0 points per game and has been a key cog in each of American's victories. He scored 24 points to help American to a 62-52 win over St. Francis (Pa.) in the season opener on Nov. 12, a team-high 11 in a 57-44 win over Albany on Nov. 15 and shared team honors with 22 points in Saturday's 82-72 win at Florida Atlantic. But where he really had to put the team on his back was on Wednesday, when he scored 16 points in the final 4:10 as the Eagles held an 18-11 advantage down the stretch in a 65-58 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. Moldoveanu hit back-to-back three-pointers for a 53-47 edge with 3:25 to play that put the Eagles in front for good, and put the game away by making five free throws in the final 24 seconds after American's lead had been cut to two. He finished with a season-high 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting including 6-of-7 from three-point range, matching the high for a Patriot League player this season. Due in large part to that performance, Moldoveanu earned his second straight Patriot League Player of the Week award on Monday, joining Lehigh's Brett Eppehimer (1997-98) as the only two players to win the first two weekly honors of the season.

The Bison head to Harrisonburg, Virginia on the campus of James Madison University for their subregional in the event. Bucknell will play Presbyterian on Monday and Princeton on Tuesday in games that tip off at 4:30 p.m., and then face the host Dukes to complete the week at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Bucknell has a 1-3 mark for the season, and has lost all of its games played away from home after a 68-67 heartbreaker at St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday.

American is off to the fastest start for a Patriot League team, winning its opening four contests for the first time since the 1985-86 season. The Eagles continued their streak on Saturday with an 82-72 win over Florida Atlantic where Vlad Moldoveanu and Stephen Lumpkins each scored 22 points. Moldoveanu was also named Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week on Monday for the second straight time.

While American's success was expected, Army has been a surprise with a 3-1 start. The Black Knights won their second straight road contest with a 76-66 triumph at Bryant on Saturday, and will try to win their third game in a row when they host Binghamton on Tuesday.

Defending Patriot League champion Lehigh comes back to its home court on Monday to take on returning Ivy League champion and 2009-10 Sweet 16 participant Cornell. The Mountain Hawks dropped a 69-68 final at Monmouth on Friday.

Colgate and Holy Cross are each still in search of their first win of the season, as the Raiders fell at No. 1 Duke and the Crusaders lost a close 55-52 contest at New Hampshire over the weekend. The Raiders are at Columbia on Tuesday, while the Crusaders will go to Boston College on Monday.

Lafayette will look for its first-ever victory against Penn at The Palestra when it visits the Quakers on Tuesday. The Leopards are traveling to Philadelphia for the second straight game after losing at No. 6 Villanova on Saturday.

Navy comes off a west coast trip where it lost contests to host UC Irvine, Louisiana Tech and Seattle in a subregional of the 2K Sports Classic over the weekend. The Mids try to get into the win column when they visit Towson on Wednesday.


Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

When Your Team Gives Its Liveblog Palpitations, There's Bound to Be GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Sorry it took me so long to get this edition of the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY out. My heart only stopped skipping beats about 10 minutes ago. The year of Jekyll and Hyde continues, friends and fans. A Tale of Two Halves, if you will. Yesterday at half, AU enjoyed a 47-30 advantage over FAU in what was easily the best offensive half they'd had all season. The patrons of the liveblog, myself included, were overjoyed (and not a little shocked) at the great play on the road from the Eagles. And then everything came crashing down in the second half. After pushing the lead to 52-30, the Eagles went on to give up their huge lead (at one point the Owls got within 1 measly point). The important thing here is that the Eagles gutted out the win and now stand at 4-0 with a very winnable game at Howard up next. Let's talk about what made this game so GOOD, BAD, and UGLY.

THE GOOD

Stephen Lumpkins - Well, being benched certainly seems to have motivated Lumpkins. After not starting yesterday, Lump had his best game of the season and played 32 minutes. Along with Vlad and Hendra, he was one of the few Eagles who was effective in the second half. This was Lump's first double-double of the season (22 points, 15 rebounds). The shooting percentage was excellent as well (8-12, 6-9 from the line). Overall just a tremendous game for Lump, who had his hands full on defense with Kore White and Brett Royster, but still only earned three fouls. This is the Lump we've been waiting to see, and hopefully he's here to stay.


Vlad Moldoveanu - Vlad had a tremendous second half again (scoring 19 of his 22 post-halftime). His free throw shooting was clutch down the stretch and sealed what was a very tenuous victory for the Eagles. Vlad played in foul trouble most of the game but did a great job not fouling out. He didn't have his touch from long range (1-5 from 3) but his inside game was great as he did a great job penetrating and getting to the basket. He also did a good job limiting turnovers (read: eliminating them, since he had 0) and also kicked in 7 boards.

Nick Hendra - Hendra's stat line was again secondary to what he contributed with intangibles. From the call of the game you could hear that he was all over, pressuring FAU's hordes of guards on the perimeter, chasing loose balls, and still carrying his own weight on the offensive end. He finished with 11 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. Your efforts are not being overlooked, Hendra, you're critical to this team's flow right now, and we acknowledge it!

Troy Brewer's first half - This is the Troy Brewer that we heard about and expected. At the half, Troy was the game's leading scorer with 14. 5-5 from the field, including 4-4 from 3. He also chipped in 2 steals, 2 assists, and 3 boards. Just an absolute beast. Which is what makes his second half so disappointing. We'll get to it in a minute.

First half offense - Just awesome. 16-29 overall, 7-11 from 3, and 8-9 from the line. All of this with 9 assists and outrebounding the Owls.

First half defense - Similarly awesome, we held the Owls to 21% shooting (6-28), and 2-6 from behind the arc. The only bad thing about this in the first half was the number of fouls we committed (a whopping FOURTEEN) that resulted in the Owls going 16-19 from the line. Without those fouls we would have had them completely locked down.

THE BAD

Troy Brewer's second half - Well, first watch this video. Only replace the word "Yankees" with "Troy Brewer":



Troy was awesome in the first half. And not so awesome in the second half. In the second half he went 0-3, 0-2 from behind the arc, with just one point (a free throw). He did chip in 2 boards, 2 blocks, and a steal, but he also earned three fouls and just completely disappeared on offense. Like we've said here, is defense merits him being on the floor, but we've got to get some consistency. We needed someone else other than Lump, Nick, and Vlad to step up and play in the second half. That's where Troy is supposed to come in, and he did not.

The point guard position - While Danny and Steve played good defense on the FAU guards in the first half, their commitment of multiple fouls resulted in a much less efficient second half. Luckily, neither fouled out, but the defense in the second half was less than stellar. We're still not getting much in the way of offensive production out of either of them. They combined to go 1-5, 0-2, 2-4 with 4 points (all Munoz), 3 assists, and 4 turnovers. I don't think Luptak is long for his starting position. Munoz is at least kicking in something on the offensive end and brings the ability to slash to the basket.

Assists-to-turnovers - We'd done with on assists-to-turnovers the past few games, but yesterday it was just 1:1. In the second half we only had two assists. That's a sign of an offense that's not functioning well and not working together. The evidence is there: Vlad and Lump had to put the scoring on their backs all second half.

THE UGLY

Number of fouls: We committed 29 fouls yesterday. TWENTY-NINE. Unreal. The game was called tightly on both sides (49 total fouls called), but that was not a disciplined showing yesterday from the Eagles.

The elephant in the room: THE FACT THAT WE ALMOST BLEW A 22 POINT LEAD - Yes, a win is a win. And I'd much rather be 4-0 than 3-1, but that second half was ugly yesterday. It felt like we were playing not to lose. We were very lucky to escape yesterday with the W. Like Mike Jarvis said after the game, 8 or 9 times out of 10, FAU is supposed to win that game. We made the 1 out of 10 as ugly as possible before getting the hell out of Boca Raton.

Other thoughts about the game yesterday?

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

AU Eagles vs. FAU Hooters LIVEBLOG

Here we are, Saturday afternoon. Yep.

Why Do So Many Schools Name Themselves After Birds - A Title Unrelated to the FAU Preview Inside

Tomorrow is going to be a hell of a game. Let's not beat around the bush, or nest, as it were, since once again we've got a battle of the birds between our Eagles and the Hooters of FAU. While we can all hope that our boys make buffalo wings and poorly-disguised innuendos out of our nocturnal Floridian neighbors, it's not going to be an easy feat. This FAU team is far and away the best that we've faced this year. They're currently 3-1 (the lone loss was at Portland). FAU is making a move this year for sure. They're a young team (only one senior) but tremendously talented. As much as I berate him, Mike Jarvis is one hell of a coach. Right now his team has 4 players averaging double figures and one is knocking on the door.

Unlike the Eagles, the Owls have a number of guys who can kick in points. They're led by talented sophomore guard Greg Gantt who's averaging almost 16 a game. The Owls also play pretty good defense. They're more up-tempo than AU, and opponents ARE scoring 71 points per game. The Owls are also forcing their opponents to turn it over almost 16 times a game.

So what can we do? Well, all four scorers who are averaging double digits are guards. If Nick Hendra, Troy Brewer, and our point guard platoon can hold the perimeter and keep pressure on the Owl backcourt, they'll be forced to go inside to their big men who are less prodigious. If Tony Wroblicky really does start tomorrow over Lumpkins, look for Lump to play with a fire, nay, raging inferno, in his belly to try to earn his starting gig back. A fired up Lump in the paint is something the Owls will not be well equipped to deal with.

Similarly, cover Vlad may or may not be a problem for the Owls. Vlad will have a height advantage on whoever Mike Jarvis throws at him, BUT Vlad also had some trouble in games where he was covered by smaller, quicker defenders last year. Let's see if he worked on that at all during the offseason.

What else can we do? Slow the game down to limit the number of possessions that the Owl offense gets. Take good care of the ball to limit turnovers. Actually MAKE some three pointers. That means you, Eagles other than Vlad.

I'm sure the guys will give it their all tomorrow, because I'm sure Jeff Jones has, hrm, exhorted them quite powerfully to prepare them for this matchup. As a fan base, however, we need to be prepared for the very real possibility that our winning streak thus far ends at 3. Going on the road is always difficult, and it's especially difficult against a well-coached team with a lot of weapons.

We'll be here to liveblog the game tomorrow, I think. I'll let you know if that changes. Check Twitter.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

When You Make It Harder Than It Should Be But Get the W Anyway, There's GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Hellooooooooo AUHoops fans! Welcome to the wonderful realm of being 3-0. First time this has been the case in the Jeff Jones era, and the first time this has happened to AU since 1989-90 when I was just learning how to eat my Cheerios without spilling all the milk out of the bowl. As predicted, we got the win against the U-MESS Chickenhawks last night, but boy it was a lot closer than me or Josh thought it would be. U-MESS was within 2 with 75 seconds to go last night; that was particularly surprising since before the game I thought they wouldn't have been within 20 with that much time left. Definitely some GOOD, BAD, and UGLY to take out of the game last night, but the overriding thought I have is, a win is a win, and now we'll take our 3-0 record on the road against what will be a very tough match-up against the FAU Hooters.

THE GOOD

VLAD THE IMPALER - No getting around it, folks, Vlad the Impaler was the crown jewel of last night's game. He scored 31 of our 65 points and, along with Nick Hendra who I'll get to in a minute, put this team on his back to get the victory. At half, Vlad had 13 of 23 points and was 3-4 from long range (the rest of the team? 0-8). In the second half, Vlad really turned it on. After getting into some foul trouble and riding the bench with Lumpkins for a long stretch in the middle of the second half, he came back in with the score tied at 45. He then proceeded to rattle off 13 straight AU points including three long range buckets from Garrison Carr range. The third was a contested shot in the corner where he shot around the defender who was in his face while off-balanced and on one leg. Unreal. He finished 9-5, 6-7, and 7-9 from the line with 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers. A classic impaling last night.

Nick Hendra - Hell of a game last night for Hendra, and the intangibles were more important than the score sheet. When UMES made their run in the second half to tie it up at 45, Hendra got real fired up and let the rest of the team know about it. He lead by example last night, fighting for loose balls, picking off passes, and at one point hurdling the courtside fans to try to save a ball. All of this isn't to say that Hendra did nothing tangible last night. At halftime he was our second leading scorer with 6, he finished with 9 pts, 5 boards, 6 assists (to only 2 turnovers), and 2 steals. Now that the pressure is off of him to be a primary scorer for the team, Hendra seems to be flourishing in his new role and is facilitating the offense in a tremendous way, including the awesome alley-oop to Troy Brewer late in the second half.

Stephen Lumpkins - Lump was stumped in the first half, going just 1-5 but grabbing four boards. We were having trouble getting it inside to him, and he was having some trouble finishing. Lump was also very predictable down low in the first half (catching the ball with back to defender, spin move left, finish with left hand). Luckily for us, the team came out ready to feed the hungry big man in the second half. He scored the first 10 AU points in the second half and showed all kinds of move in the post. After that the Chickenhawks locked him up for the rest of the game, but he finished with 12 points, 6 boards, and 3 steals. Also did play in foul trouble for most of the second half.

AU's ball handling/distribution - For the second straight game we had a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, last night it was 18 to 9. At half it was 7 to 2, so while we distributed the ball well in the 2nd half, we also gave it away a fair amount. Kudos to Danny Munoz who had 5 assists to 0 turnovers in 23 minutes of action last night.

Tony Wroblicky - Great game from the freshman big man last night who has quickly become a crowd favorite in Bender. 6 pts and 6 boards on 3-6 shooting, and he was able to step in for Lumpkins who had foul issues throughout the game. Nice moves inside, and it didn't look like the ankle sprain JJ talked about post-St. Francis was bothering him at all.

AU's first half defense - Lest I forget this two games in a row, AU's defense in the first half was awesome. Gave up on 18 points and held U-MESS to 31% shooting. Unfortunately, the defense in the second half was much more porous, which brings me to...

THE BAD

AU's second half defense - After playing great D in the first half, the Eagles let the U-MESS backcourt have too much slack in the second. Lots of drives inside by Kevin White and Tim Burns led to 20 points in the paint allowed in the second half versus just 6 in the first. U-MESS shot just under 50% in the second half as well.

Offensive production from the PG position - Danny and Steve combined to go 0-2 with 0 points last night. They did a great job limiting turnovers, and they combined for 6 assists, but they looked overmatched last night against the U-MESS backcourt.

Troy Brewer - It pains me to do this, but I've got to. Troy has a tremendous amount of athletic ability, but has definitely not his groove yet. For a guy who has the reputation as a 3 pt. sniper he's now 2-13 on the season and was 0-4 last night. He's 10-29 overall (2-10 last night) from the field this season. Troy is also very quick, but on two fast breaks last night he lost the handle and turned the ball over. I think Troy is going to be a tremendous asset to us, and he already is on defense. He's long and quick and a real pain for opposing players, but his shooting % has to improve.

Mike Bersch - Bersch is doing a fine job passing, and he looks better on defense, but the guy is a 3 pt specialist and so far he's 1-9 on the season. He drains them like crazy in practice apparently, but in a game situation it's been very different this year. 0-3 last night, until he starts shooting better he's going to see his minutes be even more limited.

THE UGLY

Non-Vlad 3-point shooting - Vlad: 6-7, rest of the team: 1-12. Terrible. That's really, really bad. We're going to the 3 too early in possession, and our sets, thankfully, are giving us open shots, but we are just missing the shots like crazy. We should be feeding the ball inside more to Lump to give him a shot at the opportunities we're squandering from the outside.

All of the easy missed shots - This isn't a statistic that we keep track of, I guess, but it just seemed like we had a lot of trouble finishing lay-ins and point blank shots last night. If we had made these shots, the game would've been a blowout, but we kept missing freebie easy buckets. It wasn't anyone in particular either, it was a team-wide problem last night. As a senior AU official said to me last night, sometimes the shots go in, and sometimes they don't. Let's hope we don't have too many nights where they don't going forward.

How close this game was - This is part of the problem above, but U-MESS is a team that just gave up 100 points to Columbia. We should not have had as big a problem with the Chickenhawks as we did. We let them back into the game and gave that team a lot of hope. A team with hope is dangerous. YOU HAVE TO CRUSH IT LIKE A TOTALITARIAN REGIME WOULD.

Anyway, that's that. Big game coming up against FAU's Hooters. What were everyone else's thoughts about the game last night?

AUHoops Liveblog: AU Eagles vs. U-MESS Chickenhawks

Join us for the liveblog. I'm courtside and ready to take your questions!

The Crown Jewel of the Heartbreaker Revenge Tour 2010

(Mo)hawk: About as close as UMES can come to a majestic bird of prey

Every now and then, you lose to a team you just flat-out don't expect. Sometimes it happens to the biggest fish in the pond, like Kansas or Wake Forest, upset on the biggest of stages like the NCAA Tournament. Other times, it happens to even the most middling mid-major, caught in the tumultuous throes of a rebuilding season. Say, for example, last year's clash of the winless titans when we took on the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore Hawks, finally expecting that first win of the so far 0-7 season. In the end, we walked away from a 65-58 defeat in Princess Anne, MD, scratching our heads and wondering when the pain would finally end. While most casual observers probably wouldn't get too excited about this particular "underdog", well, let's just cut to the chase here - when UMES beats AU, I consider it a serious upset.

And They Would've Won, Too, If It Weren't for You Meddlesome Eagles! The GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Two games for our Eagles, and two wins! According to AUEagles.com, this is only the second time under Jeff Jones that the Eagles have started 2-0. Pretty surprising given the level of success we've enjoyed overall during the JJ era. In any event, we played an Albany team that was more or less overmatched the entire game. We jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back. Were there areas we definitely could've improved upon? Yes. In some ways, the margin almost could've been higher. This is an Albany team that was missing its best player and was in foul trouble all game. When you read the rest of this, it might actually read like a GOOD, BAD, and UGLY from a loss. There weren't a lot of standout individual performances. This is a night where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Still, a win is a win. Let's get into it.

THE GOOD

The point guard position - Danny and Steve combined tonight to go 4-8 overall and 2-5 from behind the arc for 10 points. They also had 6 assists and no turnovers. For a position that was supposed to be the weakest part of AU's game, these two have done a pretty good job platooning at the point. Danny's improvement from behind the arc is noticeable and could be a big factor that allows us to spread out the defense even further as the season goes on.

Mike Bersch - Only 11 minutes, but 5 points and a rebound on 2-4 shooting, including his first of what I suspect will be many this season from behind the arc. Welcome back to the good column, Mike.

Stephen Lumpkins - It seemed like Lump has having some trouble finishing his shots during the game, but the 5-10 shooting line wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Add to that his 8 boards and 2 blocks and the fact that he shut down Albany's John Puk (no shots, one rebound, five fouls) all night and he definitely deserves to be here.

Assist to turnover ratio - Any time AU has a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio it deserves to be in the good column. All due praise to the ball handling tonight.

THE BAD

Shot selection - Like I said above, this was a game where we were in the driver's seat the entire way. So let's look at the shot selection: 21-48 overall, but 7-23 from long range. Just under half of our shots were three point attempts. That's unbelievable and inexcusable against an opponent like Albany. Why shoot like you're down 15 when you were up 15 for most of the game? There's no reason to take that many shots from long range. I think it's an indictment of our ability to get the ball inside for us to take that many shots from outside. Not only was the number of 3's we took too high, but the number we made was way too low. Vlad: 1-7, Troy: 2-6. Come on, guys. There will be games you're going to need to rely on the 3. This wasn't one of them.

Free throws - 8-15 tonight. Better improve on that quickly because it will really hurt us later in the season if we're shooting ~50% from the line. Credit to Simon McCormack who hit all 6 of his tonight.

Second half slump - Yes we didn't play with a ton of urgency because we had a big lead, but we only outscored Albany 23-21 in the second half. We also shot 14% worse. Against a team that had 12 fouls in the first half, we only forced one guy to foul out. Felt like we were going through the motions a little bit because of our lead.

Rebounding - Outrebounded 38-31.

THE UGLY

The announcing for this game - The two guys who announced this game for the radio feed should stick with the play-by-play at the duck pond. Couldn't pronounce names for their lives (Vlad Moldano, Mike Hendra, anyone?) With 3 minutes left, and Albany down 14, they were still talking about how they could come back and win it. Just a very poor broadcasting crew. Was tough to listen to. Not like our very own Dan Laing.

Maryland Eastern Shore's loss to Columbia - Columbia hung ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT points on UMES tonight and had 6 players score in double digits. As ugly as that is, I sure hope Wednesday's matchup against UMES will get even uglier for the Hawks. The sweet, sweet revenge tour of '10-'11 continues. We've avenged our losses to Randolph-Macon, St. Francis (PA), and Albany. UMES is next.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

AU vs. Albany Liveblog!

ZOINKS Shaggy! The Eagles Are Coming!

Helloooooo Eagles fans! Time for a preview of tonight's matchup against the Scooby-Doos of UAlbany. The Just Okay, Not Great, Danes are fresh off a loss to the defending Ivy League Champ Cornell Big Red. The Danes led at halftime and lost by only 4, 65-61. Pretty surprising to go toe to toe with Cornell that way.

Last year, we lost 51-50 to Albany at home. This year, we'll have to hope to take it to them on their home court. Before their game against Cornell, I would've told you it would be easy to do so. Now, I'm not so sure.

I think that Stephen Lumpkins is the key to the game tonight. He'll be matched up against 6'10 240lb red shirt freshman John Puk. Lump is giving up height and size to Puk, but Lump is quicker and has more experience. If we can get an established inside game tonight, I think we can just hammer at them with Tony and Lump and bring a win home.

One thing that should be worrisome for us tonight is the talented guard play that Albany brings. It'll be up to Troy and Nick to really play some strong defense on the perimeter to keep their shots offbalanced and to hopefully force some turnovers. On our side, we need to make sure Danny/Steve have outlets bringing the ball up. With the guards Albany has, we could face some pressure getting it up the floor. Best to make sure Lump or Vlad is near the top of the key until we can get it over midcourt.

The most important thing tonight is the first two minutes of the game. We cannot afford to come out flat and not ready to play the way we did against St. Francis. We need to have our heads screwed on straight from the opening tip. It's one thing to come back against a team in front of your home crowd when you've got a great home court advantage. It's an entirely different thing to try to do the same in a hostile environment.

We'll be liveblogging tonight, per usual. Check in with us around 6:45! See you then!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

When Your Team Plays Like a Robert Louis Stevenson Novel, There's GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

1-0 folks. As long as we're being honest, that's the only number in this entire post that matters. One in the win column. Revenge earned after last year's second half collapse at St. Francis. Actually, come to think of it, this year was kind of the reverse of last year's. We went into halftime trailing by 9 and then outscored St. Francis 35-16 in the second half to get the 10 point victory. It wasn't often pretty, and at times, it was downright ugly. Here are the resources you'll want: box score and recap. Let's get into it...with the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY

THE GOOD

Vlad "the Impaler" Moldoveanu - 24 points to lead all scorers, including draining the three (off a sweet Nick Hendra pass) that finally tied the game up with 12:07 left in the second half. Not the prettiest line Vlad will ever put up, and Jeff Jones noted that "this was not his best game," but he still got it done. 7-15, 2-5, and 8-10 with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist, unfortunately he also had 4 turnovers.

Troy Brewer - We need to get some kind of nickname for Troy, and I'm going to recommend Peter Parker or Spiderman. Seriously, the guy's vertical leap is out of control. I think he could hurdle Lumpkins if he wanted to. Last night he went up for a block, and I swear his head was even with the rim when he did so. Unbelievably athletic, and I think he's going to give AU the ability to open up some fast breaks. He's got a good instinct for it and is already halfway down the court looking for an outlet pass when there's even a hint of the Eagles forcing a turnover. Troy put in 36 minutes, and 12 points on 5-11 shooting. He was 0-3 from behind the arc, unfortunately. AU could've used some long range shots in the first half. He also chipped in 5 boards.

Nick Hendra - In the post-game conference, Jeff Jones said that Nick has already played with more sustained intensity and focus this season than he has at any point in his career with AU. That's a hell of a statement, and it's good that we're seeing Hendra take up this intensity on the court. He's got a ton of experience as a senior, and he has a ton of talent as well. Last night, though, you could see the unbelievable intensity he was playing with. He seems like some kind of field general out there now. Pointing to his guys and making sure they're in the right places, distributing the ball, hustling for loose balls. He had 5 points last night, but they were huge. He scored the first five non-free throw points of the second half, which, with Lumps' two free throws, sparked the 7-0 run that brought the Eagles back into the game.

Danny Munoz - Hell of a game last night from Danny. Coach Jones said this might have been his best game as an Eagle thus far and that he was looking for his shot more than in any game last year. 10 points, including two 3's. Danny seems to have made the long ball a more regular part of his game than last year. He seems to be more comfortable shooting from behind the arc, or at least has been these first two games. Danny also has done a good job driving into the lane and getting some good dribble penetration. No assists in 24 minutes though isn't such a good stat from our point guard though; hopefully that will improve.

The Blue Crew - An attendance of over 2,800 last night, on a Friday night? Awesome. The atmosphere in Bender was nothing short of electric, and the crowd did its best to keep St. Francis unsettled. KEEP IT UP, folks. The guys need us to provide the PL's best home court advantage. What a great start to the season for the AU fans.

The second half - Any time you outscore your opponent 35-16 in a half, that's a quality half for sure. We came out of the locker room ready to play and really locked down St. Francis with an intensity that was completely lacking in the first half. The shooting in the second half also improved: 12-25, 4-8, and 7-11.

THE BAD

Stephen Lumpkins - Lump was stumped last night. St. Francis's big man, Mislav Jukic, was a real beast last night, and he made Lump look bad most of the night. Coach Jones said Lumpkins was "overmatched" going one-on-one with Jukic, who finished 9-12 with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Lump's line? 3-6 for 9 points and 6 rebounds. Not a bad line, but we've come to expect more out of the big guy. There's a lot of other talented big men Lump will have to face this year. Hell, just in the PL he's got Gate's John Brandenburg, Mike Muscala from Bucknell, and Jared Mintz at Lafeyette. Hopefully he learned some lessons from facing Jukic that he can apply later this year.

 I'd add more to the Bad here, but there's really more Ugly than Bad. So let's move onto that.

THE UGLY

The first half for the Eagles - Jeff Jones said in the press conference that St. Francis just came out and punched us right in the mouth. Yep, that's pretty much how it went. They got out to a 9-0 lead before it seemed we even had our shoes laced up. Completely not ready to play. In the first half, we were 10-26 overall and 1-11 from behind the line. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

3 point shooting overall - 5-19 for the game isn't going to get it done. Surprisingly, only Danny Munoz had any kind of consistent touch from behind the arc. While the 3's we had were big, 14 missed shots from behind the arc is something we're definitely going to have to improve on.

I think that'll do it for me. Anything I missed, folks? A good start for the season for the Eagles, now we get to venture up to Albany and face the Scooby-Doos!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

AUHoops Liveblog: AU Eagles vs. St. Francis Red Flash

Well, we're here on press row for the first time. Join us for the liveblog folks!

Can the Red Flash Fly With the Eagles?

I always thought Red Flashes looked like this

Without question, this week has been nothing less than a delicious whirlwind of AU Basketball. Fortunately, it's not over yet, as we have the first real game of the season coming up this evening at 7:30 PM when we take on the Red Flash of St. Francis (PA) in the friendly confines of Bender Arena. I am, of course, here to provide you with everything you need to know in order to cheer the Eagles on to victory. It's only a few hours to tipoff, so without further adieu, let's get to it after the jump!

The Jeff Jones Radio Show - Better Than FDR's Fireside Chats

There's a source of AU basketball knowledge that I'll admit I don't take advantage of: the Jeff Jones Radio Show. Jeff gets on with host Dan Laing and Athletic Director Keith Gill and recaps the previous week while previewing the coming one. JJ actually is pretty candid on this show, and you can get some great nuggets of knowledge from listening. We'll be doing a better job of recapping the show this season.

Anyway, the show is kicking off this weekend and will be taped live at Potomac Pizza in Friendship Heights this Saturday from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Fans are invited to attend!

Potomac Pizza is located at 19 Wisconsin Circle in Chevy Chase, just off of Wisconsin Avenue and one block from the Friendship Heights Red Line Metro station. Coach Jones will share his perspective on the upcoming year and discuss Friday night’s season opener against St. Francis (Pa.). The conversation will then air on Federal News Radio 1500/820 AM beginning at 12:30 p.m.


Head on over to Potomac Pizza and get your AUHoops knowledge satisfied!


Here's the schedule for the year:

Friday, Nov. 12	AU vs. St. Francis (Pa.)	7:15 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Nov. 13	Jeff Jones Radio Show	12:30 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Nov. 20	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Nov. 27	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Sunday, Nov. 28	AU vs. Columbia	1:30 p.m.	1050 AM
Saturday, Dec. 4	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Sunday, Dec. 5	AU vs. Florida	2:15 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Dec. 11	Jeff Jones Radio Show	12:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Dec. 18	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Monday, Jan. 3	AU vs. Brown	7:15 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Jan. 8	AU vs. Lehigh	1:30 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Jan. 15	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Wednesday, Jan. 19	AU vs. Army	7:30 p.m.	1050 AM
Saturday, Jan. 22	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Jan. 29	AU vs. Lafayette	3:30 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Feb. 5	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM
Saturday, Feb. 12	AU vs. Colgate	1:30 p.m.	1050 AM
Saturday, Feb. 19	Jeff Jones Radio Show	TBD	TBD
Sunday, Feb. 20	AU vs. Holy Cross	1:30 p.m.	1050 AM
Wednesday, Feb. 23	AU vs. Navy	7:15 p.m.	1050 AM
Saturday, Feb. 26	Jeff Jones Radio Show	1:00 p.m.	1500 AM

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Eagles Non-Conference Schedule Preview! Part the First!

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for us to give you our quasi-semi-professional and barely cogent analysis into the teams that our AU Eagles will face off against before starting their Patriot League campaign. Jeff Jones and Co. have a pretty challenging schedule laid out for the Eagles, including two invitationals, which is great because we have a team that should be able to live up to the challenge. Some perennial opponents make it onto this list, and there are a number of teams that we played last year that we'll get to measure up against once more this year. Without any further waffling, let's get to it!

November 4 - 7:30pm - Bender Arena - Randolph-Macon
The Eagles will go with only one exhibition game this year, but it's going to be a doozy. Randolph-Macon stunned the Eagles in their opener last season 49-47 on a last second coast-to-coast layup. Not a great way to start the season. While we're all eager to take the sting out of the Yellow Jackets in payback, it won't be a cakewalk. Randolph-Macon is an excellent DIII school, and it returns everyone of consequence from a team that went to the DIII Final Four last year. The Yellow Jackets return their top 12 scorers and minute-takers from last year's team that notched 26 wins, third most in the program's history. Randolph-Macon is led by 6'9" senior Brandon Baxter, pre-season All-American Honorable Mention; we'll have plenty of opportunity to see how Lumpkins is coming into the off-season when he matches up against Baxter. They'll also already have had a tune-up exhibition game. The Eagles had better come into this game ready to work. They'll be facing a veteran group with a ton of consequence and a game already under their belt. While I'd like to see an Eagles win (when wouldn't I?) this one certainly is not a gimme. Ed. Note: Uh, we won. So, go me.

November 12 - 7:30pm - Bender Arena - St. Francis (PA)
Riley Grafft had a breakout game last year against the Red Flash that let us know he had put the work in during the offseason that was going to make him a serious component of the team. Riley put up 14 in the first half and the Eagles took an 11 point lead into halftime. The second half was another story and the Eagles ran out of gas and dropped the game, 65-61. The Red Flash return four starters this year but will be without Devin Sweetney, who was by far the team's leading scorer. This year I think we can expect to give St. Francis a quiet bus ride home. Remember, we had no Vlad last season and still came within 4 points of beating them on their home court. With home court advantage and a slough of players we didn't have last year, the Eagles should pull out the win.

November 15 - 7:00pm - AWAY - University at Albany
Last season the Great Danes edged the Eagles 51-50 in the Eagles' home opener. In what was a sloppy game (both teams shot under 40%), only two Eagles scored in double figures. Danny Munoz's runner in the lane fell just short and the SUNY Dirty Dogs walked away with the W. This was one of only 7 wins on the entire season for the Danes, which made it an embarrassing one for AU, even in an off year. I have to make mention that Albany had a very impressive fan section for that game, one of the stronger ones we saw all year, in fact. Albany returns 3 starters for this year's campaign. Road games are always tough, and this will be AU's first of the year. You have to imagine we have a good shot against Albany, even on the road. Same logic as I used against St. Francis, if we kept it close without Vlad, I have to believe that with the additions of Vlad and Troy we're going to drive out of the Empire State with a victory.

November 17 - 7:30pm - Bender Arena - University of Maryland - Eastern Shore
Losing to the Hawks last year was downright embarrassing for the Eagles. At the time it was a battle of defeateds and it seemed like the Eagles would finally earn their first victory at their fellow birds of prey's expense. Alas, it wasn't to be. AU played an ugly disjointed game and just could not get anything going. The Hawks return a lot of experience this year, but to me it's inconceivable that we would drop two games in a row to this team, especially this year on our home court.


November 20 - TBA - AWAY - Florida Atlantic University
The saddest part about this year's non-conference schedule is that the FAU away game means I won't be able to remind Mike Jarvis about how far he's fallen. That aside, the Owls stole our lunch in Bender last year and then handed it back to us, half-eaten, to the tune of an 81-69 defeat.  Despite 23 points from Lump and 13 and 10 respectively from freshmen Blake Jolivette and Mike Bersch, AU couldn't overcome five different Owls scoring in double figures.  The Owls, jokes aside, have a tremendous coach in Jarvis, and they've been picked to finish 2nd in the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt. They also return their top 3 scorers from last year. AU will have to bring their best to beat this team away from Bender.

November 23 - 7:00pm - AWAY - Howard University
We owe the Bison for finally delivering our first regular season win last year. Just when we were wondering when the despair would finally dissipate, the Bison came in and dropped a 59-53 decision to the Eagles. Now we'll have to travel across town to face them on their court. The Bison have a new head coach in Kevin Nickelberry who will try to turn things around for a program that has really struggled recently (7-25 last year). They return their top scorer from last year, but I think this team will need another year to adjust to their new coach's system. Even on an away court, the Eagles should get the victory.

November 28 - 2:00pm - Bender Arena - Columbia
Speaking of teams with new head coaches...Columbia returns three of its top five scorers from last year, a year where it finished fifth in the Ivy League and went 11-17. This was a terribly frustrating game last year as AU went 6-20 from behind the arc and didn't even bother trying to use the entire possession to get an open look. Vlad shot 6-16 and 2-8 and the rest of the Eagles didn't get anything going either. This was a game that we thought was definitely winnable on paper and throughout the game and we just didn't get it done. Revenge will be sweet for the Eagles this year when the Lions come into Bender.

December 1 - 2:00pm - AWAY - West Virginia
Well, let's get right down to it. The Mountaineers were the Big East champions last year and went to the Final Four. Coach Bob Huggins is arguably one of the best coaches in the country in terms of getting the most out of his players. Even though WVU has some disciplinary issues, I can't imagine a scenario in which we go into their home court and shock the world. True, WVU does have to replace the scoring and rebounding of Da'Sean Butler and the defense of Devin Ebanks, but this is a tremendously experienced team. We'll see how it goes, maybe they'll all get a bout of pertussis or something before we step on the court. AU isn't going to go undefeated this season, and the Mountaineers will be one reason why.

Projected schedule after this stretch of the season: 5-2

What are your thoughts? Let us known in the comments!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

The MADNESS Underwhelms, But AU's Faculty and Staff Shine

Sorry it's taking a while to get a recap of last night's American Madness and Faculty/Staff Classic up, the real world is under the impression that there are things more important than college basketball and just keeps throwing me curve balls that delay the article. Check back shortly, and this very post will be updated with all you ever wanted to know about what went down in Bender Arena last night.

To tide you over, here's a video highlight from American Madness, the freshmen dance:




Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

AU Tip Off Week Continues TONIGHT at 5:30: Celebrate Traditions New and Old(ish)

I hope to see everyone in Bender TONIGHT at 5:30 for the inaugural faculty/staff classic! Coach Jones and women's Coach Matt Corkery are serving as honorary coaches, with Provost Scott Bass, SIS Dean Louis Goodman, and VP of Campus Life Gail Hanson serving as the actual coaches. It will be a full 40 minute game.

Following this is the long-awaited AMERICAN MADNESS pep rally at 7!

Check back later this evening for recaps of both events. Can you feel the MADNESS!?

Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

Open Practice and Coach Jones' First "Chalk Talk": A Musical* of Epic Proportions

*This is not actually a musical

Our Eagles tipped off this week with a veritable smorgasbord of new events, which helped to feed my insatiable hunger for AU basketball. First on the docket was the first open practice I've ever been to in my time as an Eagle, followed by Coach Jones' first official "Chalk Talk." As you can tell by the title, it was not actually a musical, but it was not your average song and dance either. See what I did there? I know you come here for the great puns. No, you come here for the basketball? Well fine, let's get to that right after the jump.

Reminder: Open Practice and Chalk Talk with Coach TONIGHT

Just a reminder for those of you out there in AUHoops land, at 5:30 tonight the Eagles will hold an open practice followed by Chalk Talk with Coach Jones. What will be discussed? Almost certainly the benefits of dustless chalk vs. non-dustless chalk when drawing up plays that will BRING YOUR TEAM TO ITS THIRD PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOUR YEARS.

See you there.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

When You Get Sweet, Sweet Revenge, You Gotta Talk About the GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Welcome back AUHoops fans! Hope you're all out of hibernation and ready for some AU basketball coverage! As Josh alluded to in his post, Sweet, Sweet Revenge Day has yielded, well, sweet revenge. AU beats the Honeybees of Randolph-Macon 61-55. It was a back and forth game, but AU more or less had control throughout. I'll point you to the AUEagles.com recap when it comes up, but for now, I know you're here for the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY!

Eagles Point Guard Battle Continues

Going into Thursday’s exhibition against Randolph-Macon, Eagles coach Jeff Jones said that his point guard race was a toss-up between Steve Luptak, Danny Munoz, Blake Jolivette, and dark horse contender Wayne Simon II. If Friday night was any indication, be prepared to see a lot of Luptak and Munoz.

“We wanted to approach it like it was a game, and we knew it was a quality opponent,” Coach Jones. “As you can see, we wanted to win the game. We weren’t just trying to get everybody minutes. We were trying to play as if the game counted.”

If that’s the case, then Jolivette and Simon could be in for a long year. Neither one of them cracked the rotation Thursday, as Munoz played 22 minutes while Luptak started the game and played 18 minutes.

Neither one had a flashy line, but the two combined for sufficient point guard play. Luptak scored four points (all free throws) with four rebounds and two assists with one turnover. Munoz put up seven points, two boards, two assists and a blocked shot, but he also committed three turnovers.

“I think different guys have different strengths,” Jones said. “I think Luptak is our best defender at that spot for sure. Danny’s the guy that if we were putting him in the first half to try to get some dribble penetration because I think he’s more comfortable doing that than Steve is.”

The depth at point guard might be a logjam, but it’s one that Jones prefers. He says this team’s total depth is among the best American has ever had. Both Luptak and Munoz could see starts this season.

“To be honest with you, I know they probably do, and maybe their girlfriends and parents care, but I don’t care who starts,” Jones said. “It’s been a very competitive battle – much more competitive than it was a year ago. We want both of them to continue playing well.”

Jones said that Jolivette was in the thick of the battle, but he never left the bench. He and other scratches will have their chance to impress coaches soon.

“The scrimmage on Saturday is a closed scrimmage,” Jones said. “So there really won’t be any public observation of it and we’ll have an opportunity to play more people.”

The scrimmage against Youngstown State won’t be a game, but it’ll be three second-halves in order to “build in” the late game pressure.

If Jolivette and Simon want playing time at the one, there’s the chance to earn it.

Until then, the Luptak/Munoz battle will power the team. There’s nothing quite like a coach giving totally equal playing time to two players fighting for one spot. Everything’s equal, and it’s up to each of them to make the most of each minute.

“We’re all just working,” Jones said. “But they’ve been competing to try to make that a strong position for us.”

Eagles Defend the Honor of Division 1: Defeat the D3 Giant Killers 61-55

Recap coming soon, check back shortly and GO EAGLES!

Vlad's Revenge: A Tale of an Unfortunate Yellow Jacket

This is it, folks. Our Eagles are about to take the court again for a lone exhibition game this year. In less than 48 hours, we will tip off against the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College, a powerful D3 squad that narrowly stole the first collegiate game of approximately half our team last year 49-47.

Oh, victory will be sweet. Yes, I'm calling it already, but we'll get to that in good time. Let's first put some backstory on this exhibition matchup of championship proportions. This time a year ago, only two of our (eligible) players had seen any time on the court in a college game, let alone experience starting. Coach Jones scheduled not one, but two exhibition games to help ready the team for what was destined to be a difficult season. Being the no-holds-barred coach that he is, Jones made sure that even the exhibition games wouldn't be total cakewalks for his fresh squad. No, he chose the R-MC Yellow Jackets of the powerful ODAC, perennially one of the toughest Division 3 opponents in the country.

How tough is tough? Only a year before, they had knocked off another Division 1 team not too far from Tenleytown. In November of 2008, the George Mason Patriots, another young team with big aspirations of repeating the Final Four miracle of recent years, fell 73-72 to the Yellow Jackets on their home court. Sophomore Vlad Moldoveanu played three minutes in this game, contributing two successful free throws to his team's sordid effort. For the other 37 minutes of regulation, he looked on hopelessly from the bench as the Yellow Jackets humiliated a team that was only two years removed from being the greatest mid-major team of all time.

Flash back to Bender Arena this time last year. Determined to not fall into the same youthful trap the Patriots had a year earlier, our beloved Eagles fought hard against a similarly young Yellow Jackets cohort. Despite their top Division 3 rankings, R-MC had a team just as young as ours, playing in a Division 1 arena they had never seen before. Yet our youthful indiscretion proved greater than theirs - despite a game-high 18 points from relative veteran Stephen Lumpkins and 12 from junior Nick Hendra, Hendra's last-second attempt from downtown was grabbed by R-MC's Eric Pugh and taken from coast to coast to steal the victory at the buzzer. This time, recent transfer Vlad Moldoveanu had to spend all 40 minutes staring from the sidelines as the Division 3 upstarts took yet another victory from his team. Surely, if he had been on the court, the outcome would have been different this time.

Now it's November 2010, and the Yellow Jackets are making the journey to Washington yet again to test their mettle against the Eagles. This time, neither team is loaded with new blood, both returning a full roster of hardened veterans with a chip on their shoulder. That's right, both the Yellow Jackets and Eagles return all five starters. Clearly, with their reputation as a veritable giant killer, the Yellow Jackets have enough reason to trek to the nation's capital, but what's our motivation for this epic rematch? Simple: Revenge. Revenge for last year's narrow loss, revenge for our honor, even revenge for the Patriots. Most of all, however, this is Vlad's Revenge. For the first time in three years, Vlad will see victory over Randolph-Macon, and the legion of fans filling Sections 114 and 115, clad in blue, will celebrate this momentous occasion with him.

I warn everyone, it will not be easy. Sporting News has awarded the Yellow Jackets with a third place pre-season ranking in all of Division 3, while D3Hoops.com has them pegged at second. Clearly, we will be playing the cream of the D3 crop (or, in other words, beating up the biggest kid on the playground). Like us, they return all five starters, including senior Guard Eric Pugh, whose last-second layup from across the court doomed our inaugural effort last year. 6'8", 240 lb. senior Center Billy Campion will try to lock down our frontcourt in the post, while Danny Jones, Brandon Baxton, Jordan Brown, and Pugh all bring a scoring attack that averaged more than 10 ppg apiece last year. All these players enjoyed a trip to the Division 3 Final Four last year which capped off a 26-7 record. This won't be the Yellow Jackets' first outing this season either - last night they posted a commanding 101-25 victory over the Hawksbury Jets from Australia.

Of course, we're not the team we were a year ago either. Through a season that can only be described as brutal (if you can think of any other way to describe an 0-7 start capped off by a win over a Big East team, let me know), everyone who saw play time last year against the Yellow Jackets is much more comfortable on the hardwood now. Lumpkins put up 18 points over R-MC last year, without the help of Vlad to give him more space under the basket. Nick contributed another 12 from the wing, without the addition of versatile and athletic Troy Brewer to draw away defenders. Moreover, we'll have a number of options at the point that have had at least seven starts each in the past year. My prediction is that Jones gives the starting nod to Steve Luptak, as from what I've heard he's made great strides to improve for his senior year.

Therefore here's my predicted starting five: Steve Luptak, Nick Hendra, Troy Brewer, Vlad Moldoveanu, Stephen Lumpkins.

I'd like to see the "mighty" Yellow Jackets conquer that. I've been referring to this game for weeks as "Sweet, Sweet Revenge Day" for a reason. Sure, its an exhibition, and the final outcome doesn't matter one bit toward our final record this season. This is bigger than statistics, though. This is about honor. This is about pride. This is about IMPALEMENT!

I hope you will be able to join me in Bender Arena this Thursday at 7:30 PM. Cover yourself in Blue, never sit down, and help make sure that the Yellow Jackets don't three-peat against Division 1. If you can't make it to Bender, I'll be live-tweeting the game, so make sure to follow us at @AUHoops. In the days to come, we'll also have a smorgasboard of content here on the blog as we finish our Patriot League Preview series, recap everything that happened this summer, and gear up for American Madness, Coach Jones' Chalk Talk, the inaugural faculty-staff classic, and finally the regular season in only 10 days. Phew, that's what I call a heady start to our second season!

BE THERE, BE LOUD, BE BLUE...but most of all BEAT RANDOLPH-MACON!

PRO DEO ET PATRIA AND GO EAGLES!
Josh

Patriot League Preview: Navy Midshipmen

School: United States Naval Academy

Last year's record: 13-17 (7-7) - Lost to the AU EAGLES in the quarterfinals of the PL tournament

Last year's record against AU: 0-3. Thrice the Midshipmen tried to match up against the mighty AU Eagles and thrice the Midshipmen went back to their berths with their anchors just a little bit heavier. In the first meeting, Vlad Moldoveanu went crazy with the impaling and went off for 37 points. AU pulled off the win, 69-59 in front of a stunned Bender crowd. In the second meeting in Annapolis, AU won a stunner in double overtime 80-77. Joe "the Mountain" Hill hit a basket at the end of the first OT to send it into another OT period where the Eagles pulled out the W. In the third meeting, in Bender Arena, the Eagles squeaked by 62-60 on the back of Lump's career-high 29 points and, at the time, third straight double-double.

Key losses - Losing a first team all-PL guy is always a tough loss, but when that guy is your team's backbone and heart and soul, the way Chris Harris was for Navy, it makes the loss even tougher. Chris Harris, as much as I derided him during the game, is someone worthy of tremendous respect. He was a gamer for sure. Absolutely clutch at times, always professional, played through pain, couldn't be shaken psychologically. The guy is and was special. He's a big loss for Navy. They also lost two other support players in T.J. Topercer and Scott Brooks, who I think they'll be alright without (cue sarcasm).

Key additions - Navy brings in six, COUNT 'EM, six freshmen. A pair of 6'7" forwards will probably see the court a bit to spell sophomore Alex Newsome and senior Mark Veazey, but I don't see the guards getting a ton of play. The Midshipmen are guard heavy with senior Greg Brown, the talented Jordan Sugars, O.J. Avworo, and Romeo Garcia. Unless there's a C.J. McCollum in their midst, I don't think we'll be learning the names of any of the freshmen guards, at least for a year or two.

Non-conference - Navy has arguably the easiest out of conference schedule in the Patriot League. They open up against Texas, but after that they shouldn't be challenged again until they play George Washington at the BB&T Classic (okay, arguably Mt. St. Mary's could give them a challenge too). Aside from that, with the level of experience Navy has, they should emerge from their non-conference games relatively unscathed.

Outlook against the Eagles - I think the Eagles should expect to take a split with Navy this season. Chris Harris is a big loss, but Jordan Sugars follows in a long tradition of talented Navy guards (Kaleo Kina, before Harris, was also AU's bane). In addition to Sugars, Romeo Garcia has the ability to go Garrison Carr-unconscious and just shoot lights out. O.J. Avworo is no slouch either. Additionally, any time you have a senior big man, like the Midshipmen do in Mark Veazey, it means you can't assume the battle in the paint is going to be easy. Navy is a talented bunch. If they can fix the defensive woes that constantly seem to plague them (ironically they're the polar opposite of Army, who is all defense and no offense), they could compete for the PL title.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!