It's been a pretty excellent 48 hours of AU basketball. Let's get that on the table right now. First, if you haven't seen this post, go there right now. RIGHT. NOW. In fact, don't read this post. Go ahead and just watch the video in the other post on repeat.
Anyway, if you decided to stick with me on this post, let's recap a few things.
First off, my heart rhythm is just starting to get back to normal after Saturday's double overtime 95-92 win over the Laugh-ayette Lolkittens. Let's discuss this briefly.
- Great to pull out this win when we had, honestly, nothing to play for and Lafayette had everything to play for. We matched them in intensity the entire way through, and that is commendable.
- 30 points for Vlad? I'll get to that in a minute. Hit some clutch FTs at the end of regulation to get us into OT. The past few games, Vlad has been impaling left and right.
- Vlad gets to go first because he had 30, but Troy was nothing to scoff at with 28 on 9-13 and 5-9 shooting. Troy hit back to back 3s in the second overtime and served up the dagger right into the LOLkitties chest area. See ya later home game, it was nice to think about you. Troy lately has been as smooth as he's been dangerous. His shot is as smooth and quick as Garrison's used to be, and he comes off of screens in ways that are absolutely insane. Let's hope he goes nuts in the PL tourney.
- Lump had a lot of trouble with first-team all-PL center Jared Mintz during the second half on Saturday, but he still finished with a respectable 16 points on 8-11 shooting. Only 4 boards for the big guy, but one of them was a save out of bounds for two points that was HUUUUUUGE. We'll get to Lump's more recent accomplishments in a minute.
- As one liveblog member put it so aptly, THERE IS A GOD AND HIS NAME IS NICK HENDRA. Hendra hit two FTs to tie the game at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. You cannot imagine a more stressful scenario. Two seconds left. Two shots. Need both to tie it up. Miss one and you lose. You're only a 65% FT shooter. AND WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU HIT THEM BOTH LIKE THE ICE-COLD HOOP ASSASSIN YOU ARE. Oh man, Nick Hendra. If those were the only points you had in the game, it would've been enough, but no, you also had 9 points and 6 assists. Love it.
Alright enough about that game. I could go on and on, but no need. When was the last time you saw AU score 90+? I don't know if I've ever seen it. Epic game. One of the best I watched all year. Thanks to the liveblog participants who helped turn the liveblog into one of the best we've had all year.
Alright let's get into some other achievements.
A whole bunch of great things happened today.
- Vlad tied a PL record with his 8th Player of the Week award and was named to the All Patriot League 1st Team for the second year in a row. He ties Garrison Carr for this record!
- Lumpkins was named to the All Patriot League Second Team.
- Hendra named to the All-Academic Patriot League team.
Pretty good day to be an Eagle?
VERY GOOD DAY TO BE AN EAGLE.
NOW GET YOURSELVES TO BENDER ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT SO YOU CAN BE LOUD. BE BLUE. AND BE AU!
PRO DEO ET PATRIA AND GO EAGLES!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Put This On Repeat Until We Go Dancing
We are sitting upon the threshold of sweet, sweet glory. With the Patriot League Tournament a mere two days away, momentum is key.
Sure, we just ended possibly the most important game of Lafayette's season with a thrilling double overtime come-from-behind nailbiter victory on the road.
Sure, Vlad just tied the single-season record for Patriot League Player of the Week awards with his eighth, and threw in an all-League First Team nod for some icing on the impalement-flavored cake.
Sure, The Unstumpable One joined Vlad with Second Team all-League honors for the first time.
Sure, Nick Hendra was named to the inaugural PL All-Academic Team for his domination both in the classroom and on the court.
All of these pale in comparison, however, to this:
Watch this until your eyeballs turn to Red, White, and Blue mush. Send it to anyone you know at Bucknell, and laugh as they quake in their little Bison Boots. Steve and Joe, see you on ESPN.
Now that's what I call momentum.
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Sure, we just ended possibly the most important game of Lafayette's season with a thrilling double overtime come-from-behind nailbiter victory on the road.
Sure, Vlad just tied the single-season record for Patriot League Player of the Week awards with his eighth, and threw in an all-League First Team nod for some icing on the impalement-flavored cake.
Sure, The Unstumpable One joined Vlad with Second Team all-League honors for the first time.
Sure, Nick Hendra was named to the inaugural PL All-Academic Team for his domination both in the classroom and on the court.
All of these pale in comparison, however, to this:
Watch this until your eyeballs turn to Red, White, and Blue mush. Send it to anyone you know at Bucknell, and laugh as they quake in their little Bison Boots. Steve and Joe, see you on ESPN.
Now that's what I call momentum.
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Saturday, February 26, 2011
I Can Has 20-win Season? The LOLCats Revisited.
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| Lafayette Superfan |
WHAT: Final regular season Patriot League contest for both teams
WHERE: Kirby Sports Center, Somewhere Hopelessly Remote, PA
WHEN: Saturday, February 26th, 4:00 PM
WHY: The only thing better than a 13-game win streak against the Leopards is a 14-game win streak against the Leopards
Ho hum. With the second seed locked up, Saturday's games have a lot of relevance for everyone not named American or Bucknell. Fortunately, that's not us! The key is to not let that make us complacent, which fortunately was not the case against Navy on Wednesday. We need to keep up the intensity, and if we can stay at 100%, we have a real chance of having a great March.
Key to this intensity is, obviously, the Vlad-Lump-Troy trifecta of power, with a little Hendra glue to hold it all together. While the Unstumpable One was, oddly, stumped against guard-heavy Navy, he has proven himself against Lafayette once already this season. Way back on January 29th, we came out roaring for Phil Bender 2011 in a 73-60 defeat of the Leopards. Lumpkins lead all scorers with 21 points, and threw in 9 boards, 4 blocks, and a steal to ensure that Laugh-ayette would be frowning on the bus ride home. I can only imagine that there will be a fire under his behind of unimaginable intensity to mere mortals (read: those under 6'9").
The greatest obstacles to victory will be the trifecta-of-significantly-less-power of Jared Mintz, Ryan Willen, and Jim Mower. While this trio put up 12, 11, and 10 points respectively a month ago in Bender, it was not nearly enough to stop us from steamrolling them in a fashion that the final score doesn't quite convey. I see no reason other than that dreaded complacency that that couldn't happen again.
For more on the Leopards, check out our preview, liveblog, and recap of Phil Bender 2011. Take your time, we'll wait. Ok, done? Let's go ahead and try to wrap our heads around the implications of this game for the bottom 6.
Actually, there are so many possible seeding permutations at this point, I'll go ahead and defer to the Patriot League website, which has already laid them out in excruciating detail. Click here for all possible seeding scenarios.
Phew, you came back? Excellent! Let's break down what's most important to us:
- We will face either Army or Colgate in the first round
- If Army beats Bucknell today, we play them in the first round, and Bucknell in theory becomes more vulnerable, and that is great for us
- If Army loses to Bucknell, they then immediately play Bucknell again in the first round, and although they are dead last in the League, they are the only team to have beaten Bucknell, and that is great for us
- Therefore, it is preferable that Army lose, then win
- Holy Cross and Lehigh will be battling for a #3 seed, which will be dependent both on their game and whether we beat Lafayette
- I'd rather play Holy Cross in the second round, as we've had too many close calls with CJ McCollum so far and I like the chance of Milan Brown dropping another heartbreaker to us than having to beat CJ again
- Therefore, it is preferable that Holy Cross beat Lehigh
- Everything else only affects us marginally
On that note, it's an appropriate time to reference this week's Poll of the Week, which looked a lot like this:
What, if improved upon, would help clinch the Patriot League Championship this season?
Some final notes:
- Vlad is painfully close to the 1,000 point plateau in only a season and a half, with 926 career points with the Eagles. If he can average 19 ppg between now and the Patriot League Championship, he will go down in the annals as a 1,000-point scorer
- Similarly, Stephen Lumpkins has notched 573 career rebounds, placing him at 21st in school history and solidly in the 500-rebound club. A single rebound at Lafayette will tie him for #20, and if he can make it to 1,000 points next season, they'll have to update that big banner near the entrance to Bender yet again
That's all for now, folks. You can catch the game at 4 PM on RCN cable, or check back here for our fabulous and always-lively liveblog. Wherever you are, just make sure to cheer our Eagles on to a well-deserved 21st victory this season.
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Some Quick Thoughts on the Navy Win
Goooooood evening AUHoops fans! Hope you're all enjoying your Thursday night and basking in the glow of last night's revenge win against the Navy Midshipmen. I wasn't able to make the game because I was running a beer tasting for some AU alums downtown, but I want to thank Bobby for filling in admirably as the conductor of the liveblog. He did such a good job that maybe he should do it all the time. I kid, I kid, Bobby, I won't saddle you with that.
I went through and read everything I could get my hands on, including the liveblog notes, and I have some thoughts about the Senior Night victory. Thought I'd share them with you, and I encourage you to share your own in the comments.
- After going a month without scoring 20+, Vlad has returned to his impaling form and scored 20+ in back-to-back games. Huge game for him last night as he just missed a double-double with 28 points and 9 rebounds. This bodes very well for the Eagles as Vlad seems to be coming out of the relative funk he was in and is scoring points in bunches. We'll need him to keep this up for the rest of the season for the Eagles' year to end on a bright note.
- Troy continues his hot shooting ways. Last night he was 4-8 from downtown and finished with 16 points. Good to see him get to the free throw line for 6 shots as he hasn't been getting to the line with any regularity. Fun fact: this was the first game all season where he had more than 4 FT attempts in one game. Shame that that's the case because he's a pretty good FT shooter (76%). Hopefully he'll get more comfortable at drawing contact. We've seen with Vlad recently that if you can draw some contact you can make an absolute killing at the line. Would love to see Troy take that page out of Vlad's book.
- Tough game for Lump last night. For whatever reason, he really did not do well against Navy this year. In the two games he averaged just 22.5 minutes and attempted 9 shots total. The two Navy games are the only ones in the past eight where he hasn't scored in double figures. He was in foul trouble last night, which gave Tony the chance to come in off the bench and snag some minutes. The freshman did well and scored 4 points and got 4 boards in just 15 minutes. Good that Tony can come in and effectively spell Lump.
- What does it say about how far Nick Hendra has come that he has 5 assists and 3 turnovers and it looks like a bad game? After recording 16 assists to just one turnover in the past two games, the very respectable 5:3 assist to turnover ratio looks pedestrian. However, Hendra chipped in 11 points, include three huge long range buckets and also pulled down two boards and recorded two steals. Huge senior night for Nick who has really had a remarkable fourth year as an Eagle.
- 21 turnovers for this team and we still won by 11? Bizarre. This was by far the highest turnover total of the year (they had 18 against UMES waaaaaay back when). Luptak was a culprit here as he had six turnovers (matched against six assists). Not often that you see a team have 21 turnovers and still dominate this game in the fashion that they ostensibly did.
- Seems like we came out with a chip on our shoulder last night. After opening 7-1 and then being behind 8-7, we went on a long run and never really let up. Navy made a bit of a run late in the second half, but they never got closer to 4. Good to see this team playing with that kind of fire and the desire to really take it to a team. Hope that keeps up.
What did I miss? Feel free to leave it in the comments!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
I went through and read everything I could get my hands on, including the liveblog notes, and I have some thoughts about the Senior Night victory. Thought I'd share them with you, and I encourage you to share your own in the comments.
- After going a month without scoring 20+, Vlad has returned to his impaling form and scored 20+ in back-to-back games. Huge game for him last night as he just missed a double-double with 28 points and 9 rebounds. This bodes very well for the Eagles as Vlad seems to be coming out of the relative funk he was in and is scoring points in bunches. We'll need him to keep this up for the rest of the season for the Eagles' year to end on a bright note.
- Troy continues his hot shooting ways. Last night he was 4-8 from downtown and finished with 16 points. Good to see him get to the free throw line for 6 shots as he hasn't been getting to the line with any regularity. Fun fact: this was the first game all season where he had more than 4 FT attempts in one game. Shame that that's the case because he's a pretty good FT shooter (76%). Hopefully he'll get more comfortable at drawing contact. We've seen with Vlad recently that if you can draw some contact you can make an absolute killing at the line. Would love to see Troy take that page out of Vlad's book.
- Tough game for Lump last night. For whatever reason, he really did not do well against Navy this year. In the two games he averaged just 22.5 minutes and attempted 9 shots total. The two Navy games are the only ones in the past eight where he hasn't scored in double figures. He was in foul trouble last night, which gave Tony the chance to come in off the bench and snag some minutes. The freshman did well and scored 4 points and got 4 boards in just 15 minutes. Good that Tony can come in and effectively spell Lump.
- What does it say about how far Nick Hendra has come that he has 5 assists and 3 turnovers and it looks like a bad game? After recording 16 assists to just one turnover in the past two games, the very respectable 5:3 assist to turnover ratio looks pedestrian. However, Hendra chipped in 11 points, include three huge long range buckets and also pulled down two boards and recorded two steals. Huge senior night for Nick who has really had a remarkable fourth year as an Eagle.
- 21 turnovers for this team and we still won by 11? Bizarre. This was by far the highest turnover total of the year (they had 18 against UMES waaaaaay back when). Luptak was a culprit here as he had six turnovers (matched against six assists). Not often that you see a team have 21 turnovers and still dominate this game in the fashion that they ostensibly did.
- Seems like we came out with a chip on our shoulder last night. After opening 7-1 and then being behind 8-7, we went on a long run and never really let up. Navy made a bit of a run late in the second half, but they never got closer to 4. Good to see this team playing with that kind of fire and the desire to really take it to a team. Hope that keeps up.
What did I miss? Feel free to leave it in the comments!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
EAGLES vs Middle-of-the-pack-shipmen Round II Liveblog
See you folks at 7:15. It's senior night, so we'll start early in honor of the class of 2011: Vlad Moldoveanu, Nick Hendra, and Steve Luptak.
The Last Stop on the Sweet Sweet Revenge Tour
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| Navy's new mascot, perhaps? |
WHO: AU Eagles (19-8, 9-3) vs. Navy Midshipmen (10-18, 5-7)
WHAT: The last stop on the Sweet Sweet Revenge Tour
WHEN: February 23rd (TODAY), 7:30 PM
WHERE: Bender Arena,
WHY: Avenge a 19-point embarrassment in Annapolis
HOW: A balanced scoring attack with a healthy dose of NO MERCY
Many of you might remember January 26th, 2011 - an innocent, albeit ridiculously snowy night in Annapolis. That evening the AU Eagles waltzed into Alumni Hall, expecting an easy victory worth the blizzardy bus ride. Then the unthinkable happened: every Eagle left his A-game back in the locker room in DC, and Navy pasted us 72-53, the Midshipmen's largest margin of victory over us since 1987. Simply put, we overlooked our opponent, and thoughts of larger victories ahead let the game at hand completely, entirely, and utterly slip away from us.
How will round two with the Mids go down? Here's our preview from January 26th. Take everything from that, and add a HUGE chip on our shoulder. This is why I consider this a final addition to our Sweet Sweet Revenge Tour, which had previously concluded with the end of our non-conference schedule. Now, it's on again.
Sure, we've secured a 2-seed in the Patriot League tournament. Win or lose this game, that doesn't change. However, Navy is fighting through a 3-way tie with Holy Cross and Lafayette for 4th place in the conference, and a precious home game in the quarterfinal round is on the line. Will our penchant for merciless revenge trump Navy's burning desire to host a tournament game? Well, you should never underestimate an Eagle with something to prove. Never.
Other stats of note:
- A victory in this game will give us our third 20-win season in four years. This may seem par for the course now, but almost unimaginable only a decade ago.
- AU currently ranks 13th nationally in turnovers, with only just over 10 a game. For a team whose fanbase complains about poor production from the point, this indicates that the ball handling is superb. Moreover, this was unimaginable just last season!
- Vlad is currently 32nd nationally in scoring with just over 19 ppg, and earned a spot at #21 in Bleacher Report's list of the top 25 best pure scorers in the NCAA. Sure, it's Bleacher Report, but Vlad sure as hell deserves the recognition regardless. Although BR notes that he has not scored over 20 points in a month, Vlad broke the slump by pouring in 23 against Holy Cross on Sunday, and hopefully the impaling rage will remain high this evening.
For those who can't make it to Bender this evening, we'll see you back here for the liveblog. For the Blue Crew faithful who will be joining us live, remember: BE LOUD, BE BLUE, BE AU!
Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Eagles Must Stay Grounded Despite Clinching Second Seed
With two games left against lesser teams in the Patriot League, it would be easy for the Eagles (19-8, 9-3) to pack it in and take the next few games off. They've clinched second place in the tournament - their best finish since 2008-09, when they finished first - and can't move up or down.
The Eagles have senior night against Navy (10-18, 5-7) on Wednesday and a road game at Lafayette (10-17, 5-7) on Saturday.
"I wouldn't call either of those games tune-up games," senior guard Nick Hendra said. "Earlier in the season we got our butts kicked up at Navy. So we're looking to come out for senior night at home ready to play."
"I'd be shocked and disappointed if these guys needed me to say much of anything to get them ready against [Navy] on Wednesday night," Head Coach Jeff Jones said.
The Eagles have senior night against Navy (10-18, 5-7) on Wednesday and a road game at Lafayette (10-17, 5-7) on Saturday.
"I wouldn't call either of those games tune-up games," senior guard Nick Hendra said. "Earlier in the season we got our butts kicked up at Navy. So we're looking to come out for senior night at home ready to play."
"I'd be shocked and disappointed if these guys needed me to say much of anything to get them ready against [Navy] on Wednesday night," Head Coach Jeff Jones said.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Eagles Will Re-Phil Bender Before Taking On Crusaders
Gooooooood evening AUHoops fans! Hope you're all getting your beauty sleep tonight so that you'll be ready to shout yourselves hoarse in Bender tomorrow afternoon. What your personal aesthetics have to do with your ability to belt out AU-related chants is beyond me, but just come rested and ready. Matchups between Holy Cross and our beloved Eagles have been notoriously fierce over the years, but the Eagles have found a way to beat the Crusaders in the last four meetings between the two in Bender Arena.
Last month's game between these two teams was unbelievably close and ended with AU squeezing out a win in Worcester, 60-57. When I tell you this match-up was close, consider:
- 36 to 35 rebounding advantage to AU
- 13 to 14 foul advantage to AU
- Both teams with 11 assists
- AU with a 6 to 8 turnover advantage
- AU with a 2 to 1 advantage in blocks
- Holy Cross with a 6 to 5 advantage in steals
- Each team with only two players in double digits
- AU 5-18 from 3, Holy Cross 4-17.
Ultimately that game came down to free throws. Both teams shot under 60% from the line, and had AU missed a few more, or Holy Cross made a few more, we would've had a reversal of fortunes.
AU is coming off of a yeoman effort against the Army Black Knights. Led by Lumpkins' 13 and 15, this was just a solid team game where they went in and did what they had to do to get out with a win. Hopefully a Bender crowd that is sure to be fired up will put some energy into the team and get them pumped up to play.
Things to look out for tomorrow:
- Will Vlad have a big game? The Impaler hasn't been very uh, impaleful, recently. He hasn't scored 20+ points in a month. Troy has been picking up some of his slack, but if AU is going to make a sustained run into the PL tournament, we're going to need him to revert back to his high octane ways.
- Which Andrew Beinert shows up? Holy Cross's senior point guard runs hot and cold. In the past 5 games, he has just one double-digit performance. Which is fine, they don't necessarily need him to be the main scorer with Devin Brown and Andrew Keister out there, but the problem is that he's been scoring few points while taking a lot of shots. If he's having to take a lot of shots, it means they're having trouble getting the ball to their playmakers. It'll be a long day for Coach Milan Brown if AU can hold leading scorer Devin Brown under 20 points again.
- The matchup between Andrew Keister and Stephen Lumpkins is always epic. In Worcester last month, Lump got the better of Keister and put up a double-double (20 and 10). Have to hope the crowd revs up the Unstumpable One and he lays down the slammajamma all over the Gallivanting Gallowayan.
AU is running out of real estate to get into high gear here. With three games left, they need to come together and focus on doing all the little things right in preparation for the Patriot League tourney. We need to see Troy and Lump continue their great efforts and we need to see Vlad move it into the higher level we know he's capable of achieving at. Offensive consistency and excellence from those three, paired with the tenacious team defense this team has shown all year, and we'll be in a good place. Next step: Holy Cross, TOMORROW.
BE THERE. BE BLUE. BE AU.
Oh, and as if the prospect of playing Holy Cross wasn't enough, the first 1,000 fans in the door tomorrow will receive a CLAWED THE EAGLE bobblehead courtesy of GEICO.
I know I want one. Or six.
See you there!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Last month's game between these two teams was unbelievably close and ended with AU squeezing out a win in Worcester, 60-57. When I tell you this match-up was close, consider:
- 36 to 35 rebounding advantage to AU
- 13 to 14 foul advantage to AU
- Both teams with 11 assists
- AU with a 6 to 8 turnover advantage
- AU with a 2 to 1 advantage in blocks
- Holy Cross with a 6 to 5 advantage in steals
- Each team with only two players in double digits
- AU 5-18 from 3, Holy Cross 4-17.
Ultimately that game came down to free throws. Both teams shot under 60% from the line, and had AU missed a few more, or Holy Cross made a few more, we would've had a reversal of fortunes.
AU is coming off of a yeoman effort against the Army Black Knights. Led by Lumpkins' 13 and 15, this was just a solid team game where they went in and did what they had to do to get out with a win. Hopefully a Bender crowd that is sure to be fired up will put some energy into the team and get them pumped up to play.
Things to look out for tomorrow:
- Will Vlad have a big game? The Impaler hasn't been very uh, impaleful, recently. He hasn't scored 20+ points in a month. Troy has been picking up some of his slack, but if AU is going to make a sustained run into the PL tournament, we're going to need him to revert back to his high octane ways.
- Which Andrew Beinert shows up? Holy Cross's senior point guard runs hot and cold. In the past 5 games, he has just one double-digit performance. Which is fine, they don't necessarily need him to be the main scorer with Devin Brown and Andrew Keister out there, but the problem is that he's been scoring few points while taking a lot of shots. If he's having to take a lot of shots, it means they're having trouble getting the ball to their playmakers. It'll be a long day for Coach Milan Brown if AU can hold leading scorer Devin Brown under 20 points again.
- The matchup between Andrew Keister and Stephen Lumpkins is always epic. In Worcester last month, Lump got the better of Keister and put up a double-double (20 and 10). Have to hope the crowd revs up the Unstumpable One and he lays down the slammajamma all over the Gallivanting Gallowayan.
AU is running out of real estate to get into high gear here. With three games left, they need to come together and focus on doing all the little things right in preparation for the Patriot League tourney. We need to see Troy and Lump continue their great efforts and we need to see Vlad move it into the higher level we know he's capable of achieving at. Offensive consistency and excellence from those three, paired with the tenacious team defense this team has shown all year, and we'll be in a good place. Next step: Holy Cross, TOMORROW.
BE THERE. BE BLUE. BE AU.
Oh, and as if the prospect of playing Holy Cross wasn't enough, the first 1,000 fans in the door tomorrow will receive a CLAWED THE EAGLE bobblehead courtesy of GEICO.
I know I want one. Or six.
See you there!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Eagles Seek To Down the Giant-Killers in West Point
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| By "Choppa", he means about three feet beneath Troy Brewer's dunks |
WHAT: Patriot League Showdown
WHEN: TONIGHT @ 7 PM EST
WHERE: Christl Arena, West Point, NY
WHY: A top 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament is on the line.
I'll keep this brief as there's not a whole lot to say during the second trip through the League, but a lot to look forward to! Tonight's game versus army has a lot riding on it, as AU has a chance to sweep the team that in a flash of brilliance remains the only League squad to down the first-place Bucknell Bison in a very convincing fashion.
Moreover, a win tonight, coupled with a loss by either Lehigh or Navy will ensure that AU hosts a PL Quarterfinal game in Bender this season, so keep your fingers crossed that it's an off night for the military academies.
During Army's last visit to Bender on January 19th, we gutted out a narrow 65-62 victory. That may seem unusually close, but this year's Army team (11-14, 3-7 PL) is the best they've been in a while under still-new coach Zach Spiker. Army's guard-heavy rotation relies heavily on the three, and if they are hot, we could be in for another close game. Jeremy Hence, Julian Simmons, and Ella Ellis lead the Knights with 15.6 ppg, 14.6 ppg, and 14.5 ppg respectively.
Fortunately, this is also prime territory for our big men to run wild. Last time out, Vlad had 21 points and 11 rebounds for a solid double-double, a feat he can hopefully repeat tonight to get out his recent slump. Similarly, Lumpkins is on a hot streak, bringing down what I like to call "furious unstumpable pain" on Colgate on Saturday to the tune of 27 points and about five monstrous dunks that whipped Bender into a frenzy.
For more information, check out our preview, AUEagles' recap, and our liveblog from the 19th.
Also make sure to check back here shortly before seven as we be hottest place in the AU-niverse with our usual liveblog. We'll have more info there on how best to follow tonight's game (since we're still figuring it out ourselves).
That's AU vs. Army, tonight at 7 PM in West Point. BEAT ARMY!
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Troy Brewer Starts the Break...and Then Ends It!
Still pumped from Saturday's scrappy White Out victory over Colgate? Let's start bringing that energy to West Point tomorrow by putting this video of Troy Brewer's insane back-to-back block/jam sequence on repeat:
TROOOY BREEEWEEEEEEEEER!
See you later this evening for a preview of tomorrow's critical Patriot League matchup with the Bison-killers.
Pro Deo Et Patria and BEAT ARMY!
Josh
TROOOY BREEEWEEEEEEEEER!
See you later this evening for a preview of tomorrow's critical Patriot League matchup with the Bison-killers.
Pro Deo Et Patria and BEAT ARMY!
Josh
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Eagles Brush With Crest Again As Colgate Falls In Bender
It's not often I'd say that a game against Colgate is exciting, exactly, or at least more exciting than any other game. However, today's game was downright exciting. Our Eagles definitely came prepared to this afternoon's first Bender White Out, teeth brushed with Crest and ready to topple the Raiders 69-60. That's right, I said topple. You might wonder, how does one exactly topple an opponent that is 6-19? Well, Colgate showed up at Bender today ready to upset, and for a brief period it looked like they might have found it in them. In a game so scrappy it was reminiscent of the 2008 Patriot League Championship game that was about as close to a wrestling match as you can get with ten guys and a basketball, AU showed it has what it takes to truly compete for the conference title this season.
After that kind of buildup, let's go through a list of what wowed me today. If I miss anything, don't be shy about letting me know in the comments. Let's go!
- STEPHEN "YOU CAN'T STUMP THE LUMP" LUMPKINS. As of today, that is now a grammatically correct sentence in itself. To multiple chants of "you can't stop him", the unstumpable one brought down a season-high 27 points, 6 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and an assist for good measure, with only a single personal foul to show for it. Oh, and 82% shooting from the charity stripe (against a season average of 64%) wasn't shabby either. Lumpkins slammed down something like four monster dunks, including the first one-handed jam I've seen from him early in the first half off a fast break. After having to contend with Bucknell's Mike Muscala, Lumpkins took advantage of a team without a quality big, and by "took advantage" I really mean "eviscerated mercilessly until even dental records were useless."
- Speaking of monster plays and one-handed dunks, Troy Brewer played the role of the human highlight reel to the fullest this game. For quick proof, see all three glorious camera angles at the bottom of the AUEagles.com recap. With a little over four minutes remaining in the first half, Colgate started to get the better of us, shooting lights out from downtown (57% for the game, they were nuts), complemented by some impressive dribble penetration from guard Mitch Rolls. After a drive and layup by Rolls, he decided to be even more ambitious, picking the ball right from Vlad's fingers a few possessions later. Troy was going to have none of it. As Danny Munoz valiently tried to chase Rolls down on the fast break, it seemed as if he was in the clear for an easy layup to go up 28-24. In comes Troy, streaking in like he competing in the 100 meter dash. As Rolls goes in for the layup, Troy launches himself over Rolls and slams the ball into the backboard, effectively rebounding it to Vlad. Danny brings it down the court, passes back to Troy, who doesn't see a shot, and passes back to Danny. Danny dishes it to an open Hendra who takes a DEEP three, clanging off the rim. Then WHAM! All of a sudden Troy is staring eye-to-eye with the rim again and slams the rock home to bring the score to a much preferable 26-24. I swear to you, his legs are actually giant springs. Although this was countered with a Colgate trey, we held the Raiders scoreless for the last four minutes of the half and ended the first period 29-28. Troy ended the game with 10 points and the faint hope of seeing himself on ESPN's highlight reel this evening. While Charles Hinkle wears the number 23 with pride, tonight that number should have been on Troy's back.
- The Danny/Steve Combo Platter: 8 points (including a deep three from Luptak to start the game), a 6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 4 rebounds earns us a solid 40 minutes from the one spot. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely solid.
- The Vlad Virus: This piece of unfortunate alliteration here hints to the fact that I suspect poor Vlad of having a cold or some other mild ailment which is throwing off his game a little. He scored what I could best call the quietest 17 points I've seen from the Impaler, mostly from a 10-11 showing from the free throw line. Vlad looked a bit off tonight, and I really hope he feels better before we head off to West Point on Wednesday. If not, it's always good to see those around him step up, and I commend his ability to take on a huge supporting role even when he's not in the spotlight. Sure, being the second-highest scorer in the game, 3 steals, 4 rebounds, and an assist are great numbers, but not quite normal Vlad-level numbers either. The three fouls he racked up were a bit telling too, as lately his play has been tight enough to avoid a lot of the ticky tack calls that plagued him last season.
- Stop, thief! Both AU and Colgate each recorded 7 steals for the game, which is impressive. Although we definitely looked better (through these red, white, and blue goggles, anyway) on this end, neither team was holding on to the ball terribly well. It was clear who made the most of their extra possessions, however.
- DE-FENSE! Honestly, the final score doesn't indicate exactly how hopeless this game became for Colgate in the second half. Although they were up a point at the break, AU came out in the second half with all engines blazing and never looked back. Colgate's highest scorer for the game was Sterling Melville, who only had 10, indicating that the Raiders had a balanced attack despite having only a single double-digit scorer. To our benefit, we held Yaw Gyawu, Nick Pascale, and Joe Hoban to 9, 8, and 8 points respectively. We showed a lot of hustle and with the exception of about five minutes in the first half, never let the Raiders find a rhythm. If it wasn't for their untimely accuracy from beyond the arc, it would have been a blowout.
- The Pep Band Bagpiper: Whichever intrepid pep band member decided that bringing his bagpipe was a good idea, we wholeheartedly agree. While I sincerely wish more of your songs could get the entire Blue Crew to turn around, clap their hands, and dance, it was great to see the Screamin' Eagles getting some of the recognition they deserve. Plus, bagpipes are just freakin' cool.
- Congratulations to the Eagle-in-Chief: President Kerwin reclaimed his Presidential Shootout title at halftime, defeating Student Government President Nathan Bronstein 7-4 and avenging last year's loss.
- Finally, props to athletics on producing some very nice White Out shirts. I hope this great event becomes an annual tradition.
Well that's that. Share your reactions to today's game in the comments, and we'll see you later this week as we travel to Army to thank them for beating Bucknell the only way Eagles know how - by winning.
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Saturday, February 12, 2011
If Today' Game Were An 80's Saturday Morning Cartoon, The Hero Would Be Eagleman And The Villain Would Be CRESTOR
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| CRESTOR |
WHO: The AU Eagles vs. The Colgate Dental Dams
WHAT: BENDER WHITE OUT
WHERE: Bender Arena
WHEN: 3 PM EST - TODAY
WHY: ORAL HYGIENE!
One day, the human race will become so advanced that toothpaste jokes and Colgate University will never be synonymous. Fortunately, today is not that day. What DOES happen today, however, is that our Eagles (16-8, 6-3 PL) take on the Colgate Raiders (6-18, 3-6 PL) in a showdown only slightly less epic than most of the other ones we play this season. Will we win? Probably. Should you be there? Definitely.
Our Last Matchup - Hamilton, NY: Our trip to the frozen tundra of Hamilton on January 15th resulted in a 66-57 win for the Eagles. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. Honestly, this was a letdown for me, as I fully expected to blow the Raiders out of the (frozen) water. Hopefully, that happens today, but so far this season hasn't been kind to my expectations so I suppose just getting the win is important today.
Fortunately, this is a great matchup for our big guys. Vlad threw up 26 points and pulled down 9 boards the last time out. I don't see the Raiders having much of an answer for either him or Lump today, although we will have to watch the hot shooting of Yaw Gyawu and Nick Pascale, who scored 19 and 17 points respectively against the Red, White, and Blue so far this season.
For further reference, here's our preview of the January 15th game, and a recap from AUEagles.com as we seem to have misplaced ours.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that today is also the beginning of a new tradition:
It is precisely what it sounds like - athletics went and printed up about 1,700 white Blue Crew shirts in what I believe is a great complement to Phil Bender. Similar events (including our volleyball "Blue Out") have had great success both at AU and elsewhere, as I'm sure many readers are familiar with Penn State's football event of the same name. Although calling this the "first annual" White Out is a bit off (annual implies more than one), I'm looking forward to a new tradition, because Clawed only knows we could use a few more.
Speaking of traditions, today another recent addition (and one of my favorites) will be taking place: the Presidential Shootout! At halftime Student Government President Nate Bronstein will attempt to outshoot AU President Dr. Neil Kerwin. For the first time, Kerwin is not the reigning champion, as he was defeated by SG President Andy MacCracken last year. Can Kerwin climb back on top? We'll find out at halftime!
Watch SG President Bronstein's video challenge to President Kerwin:
So come on out to Bender at 3 this afternoon (yes, the game is at three today), put on your white paint, grab your first-ever white Blue Crew shirt, and cheer our Eagles on to victory! Be there, Be BLUE (and white), Be AU!
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Eagles Fall to the Buffalo Herd in Sojka
First of all, thanks to everyone who joined us in the liveblog last night. It was a very lively discussion and great to "see" so many of you in there to talk about the pretty crazy game that we were able to listen to. Here's the recap, and here's the box score. I have some thoughts from this game, so please join me as I tip-toe through the tulips below.
- You've probably noticed I don't do the GOOD, BAD, and UGLY anymore, but in this case, I think it's warranted to give Vlad a BAD for last night. In your biggest games, you need your biggest players to step up. In two games against Bucknell this year, Vlad shot 5-20 and 1-4 from the 3 point line. He's averaging 8 points a game (12 points below his average). He is averaging 6.5 rebounds in these games, but it's not enough. You need Vlad to step up. Haywood points out that it looks like Vlad was sick last night, or at least something was off. If that's the case, sorry to put the BAD on you, Vlad. We'll hope to see you bounce back against Colgate.
- Troy has really stepped it up the past few games. In his past 3, he's averaging 14 points on 48% from the field. He was the only one who kept the Eagles afloat in the dismal first 10 minutes of yesterday's first half. The one gripe I had about him last night was that he doesn't ever pull up for jumpers in the lane. He has some trouble finishing at the hoop, so why not shake off the defender with a sudden stop and pull-up? Keep up the good work, Troy.
- Every once in a while Danny Munoz has one of these tremendous outputs that you wish, hope, and pray would be what we'd see on a consistent basis. Munoz exploded for 11 points and 4 assists last night. The 11 points came on 3-4 from long range (a season high) and his point total tied a season high too. Great performance, Danny really stepped up when a lot of the other roleplayers didn't.
- Mike Muscala is a force. That is all.
- Lump had a decent, but not great, game last night against the best big man in the Patriot League. 11 points (1 pt below average) and 5 rebounds (almost a season low), weren't a tremendous output. There were times when Lump got the better of Muscala, with a little up and under trickery that completely faked out the big buffalo. We needed Lump to have the game of his life last night, and we didn't get it, but we certainly can't lay this loss at his feet given the other subpar performances we got.
- What an unbelievable comeback by the Eagles for this game to even be a bitter loss. Down 14 points early, this looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Bender Blowout earlier this season. But the Eagles bite and clawed their way back to get a lead late in the second half. Clutch three point shooting really helped; without those buckets from Munoz and Charles (help comes from unexpected places!) we'd be tearing our eyeballs out at a double-digit loss today. Down the stretch we just couldn't hit a clutch basket. We missed a few chances to re-take the lead. Muscala came up huge at the end for Bucknell and we didn't have anyone step up in the last few minutes. We came together enough to get it close, but just couldn't get over the hump.
I fully, FULLY expect us to bounce back (again) against Colgate this Saturday. One game at a time from here on out, it's completely improbable that we will get the #1 seed now, but we can work on keeping the #2 seed firmly in our grasp.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
- You've probably noticed I don't do the GOOD, BAD, and UGLY anymore, but in this case, I think it's warranted to give Vlad a BAD for last night. In your biggest games, you need your biggest players to step up. In two games against Bucknell this year, Vlad shot 5-20 and 1-4 from the 3 point line. He's averaging 8 points a game (12 points below his average). He is averaging 6.5 rebounds in these games, but it's not enough. You need Vlad to step up. Haywood points out that it looks like Vlad was sick last night, or at least something was off. If that's the case, sorry to put the BAD on you, Vlad. We'll hope to see you bounce back against Colgate.
- Troy has really stepped it up the past few games. In his past 3, he's averaging 14 points on 48% from the field. He was the only one who kept the Eagles afloat in the dismal first 10 minutes of yesterday's first half. The one gripe I had about him last night was that he doesn't ever pull up for jumpers in the lane. He has some trouble finishing at the hoop, so why not shake off the defender with a sudden stop and pull-up? Keep up the good work, Troy.
- Every once in a while Danny Munoz has one of these tremendous outputs that you wish, hope, and pray would be what we'd see on a consistent basis. Munoz exploded for 11 points and 4 assists last night. The 11 points came on 3-4 from long range (a season high) and his point total tied a season high too. Great performance, Danny really stepped up when a lot of the other roleplayers didn't.
- Mike Muscala is a force. That is all.
- Lump had a decent, but not great, game last night against the best big man in the Patriot League. 11 points (1 pt below average) and 5 rebounds (almost a season low), weren't a tremendous output. There were times when Lump got the better of Muscala, with a little up and under trickery that completely faked out the big buffalo. We needed Lump to have the game of his life last night, and we didn't get it, but we certainly can't lay this loss at his feet given the other subpar performances we got.
- What an unbelievable comeback by the Eagles for this game to even be a bitter loss. Down 14 points early, this looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Bender Blowout earlier this season. But the Eagles bite and clawed their way back to get a lead late in the second half. Clutch three point shooting really helped; without those buckets from Munoz and Charles (help comes from unexpected places!) we'd be tearing our eyeballs out at a double-digit loss today. Down the stretch we just couldn't hit a clutch basket. We missed a few chances to re-take the lead. Muscala came up huge at the end for Bucknell and we didn't have anyone step up in the last few minutes. We came together enough to get it close, but just couldn't get over the hump.
I fully, FULLY expect us to bounce back (again) against Colgate this Saturday. One game at a time from here on out, it's completely improbable that we will get the #1 seed now, but we can work on keeping the #2 seed firmly in our grasp.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
There WILL Be a Bucknell Liveblog Tonight
For a quasi-preview of the Bucknell game tonight, check out the recap of the last game. We won't be able to get a full preview up, but you can leave your thoughts in the comments here.
This game boils down basically to Lumpkins to Muscala. That's the bottom line.
We'll have a liveblog tonight and hope to see you there!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
This game boils down basically to Lumpkins to Muscala. That's the bottom line.
We'll have a liveblog tonight and hope to see you there!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Eagles Make Hill Pigeons Less Than Stable in Stabler
Big win yesterday for our Eagles up in Stabler Arena against the Lehigh Hill Pigeons. No wins in the Patriot League are easy, and wins on the road are even harder. Yadda yadda yadda. By beating Lehigh, AU stays within one game of the Bucknell Buffalo Buffalo and sets up an epic match-up at Sojka on Wednesday night. Be sure to check out AUEagles.com's box score and recap. As for the AUHoops recap, well, awaaaaaaaaaay we go!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Hill Pigeons Attack, Take Two (Alfred Hitchcock Ducks For Cover)
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| The Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris). This never gets old. |
First on the "Take Two" schedule is a trip to Bethlehem, PA to enjoy sweet victory over the Lehigh Hill Pigeons at 2 PM this afternoon. Our last visit to Stabler Arena ended our season, and a loss there today won't bode well for avoiding that same fate in a few short weeks. When Lehigh last came calling to Bender on January 8th, it resulted in an all-out slugfest between two Patriot League stars, CJ McCollum and Vlad Moldoveanu, who put their respective teams on their backs and scored 72 points between the two of them (39 of them being a career-high for Vlad).
In the end, Vlad and AU came out the victor, 82-75 after a game that was essentially a 40-minute long Vlad vs. CJ highlight reel. Will that happen again? Simply put, I don't know. Without a doubt, they're the two best players on the court, but both also have off days. Additionally, both teams will have reworked defenses to try to shut them down, although that may be wholly ineffective if either really gets going.
This isn't helped by the fact that Stabler is a tough place to play, especially if the Lehigh students, clad in Hill Pigeon brown, come out in force. Fortunately, they should all theoretically be getting ready to watch the Superbowl (especially as a Pennsylvanian team is playing), and hopefully will not have this game on their radar. Luckily for us Eagles who won't be able to make it to Bethlehem and aren't too distracted by that other sport, the game will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports. We'll also be liveblogging right here beginning shortly before 2, so join us to help get in that competitive spirit before you tune in to the gridiron!
Last weekend's 73-60 PHIL BENDER victory over Lafayette will hopefully give us some momentum, although on the other hand the long bye week may leave us rustier than we like. Fortunately, Lehigh's spirits can't be too high as their 3-4 League record (good for a five-way, yes that is five-way tie for third in the PL) falls a bit below what they had likely hoped. With any luck, we won't be the rebound they're undoubtedly looking for.
As for breaking the game down further, there's not much to know that I didn't already write before the our last meeting with the Hill Pigeons. Here's the links to the preview, liveblog, and recap of the January 8th game in Bender Arena.
Preview
Recap
Liveblog
So that's that, see you at 2 PM for the liveblog! Make sure to tune in on CBS College Sports as well if you get it!
PRO DEO ET PATRIA AND GO EAGLES!
Josh
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Bender's Little Tea Pot
Watch the video below of Utah State fanatic "Wild Bill" Sproat taking heckling to a glorious new level, then think about this question: if a nursery rhyme/Disney song was sung in Bender, which would it be?
Video from Mocksession
Source
Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh
Video from Mocksession
Source
Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh
Friday, February 4, 2011
Women's Basketball Hosts Phil Bender Tomorrow vs. Lehigh
Though the men's game is on Sunday, the women will be playing at Bender tomorrow against two-time defending PL champion the Lehigh Hill Pigeons. The women's team is having a great season. They're 15-6 and 5-2 in the PL. Be sure to show up tomorrow for free food, a great atmosphere, and the faculty and staff appreciation BBQ on the mezzanine! The game is at 2pm. Be there! Be blue! Be AU!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Patr...Err...Parity League Season Reaches Its Halfway Point
I was chatting on the phone with my dad last weekend about AU basketball. We talk about the Patriot League a lot, and he tries to stay abreast of what's going on in the standings. He saw the standings on Saturday and said to me, "Isn't it kind of odd that 6 of 8 teams are below .500 in the Patriot League?" I replied, "Not really. There's a lot of parity in the Patriot League. Everyone's bad."
I know, I know, I'm being cheeky and a touch melodramatic. (Easy on the keyboards, Bison fans (and bison137), I'm well aware that Bucknell has a top 100 RPI right now). But the fact remains (as it has all season) that outside of Bucknell (I'll tell you why I do include them despite their recent loss and don't include AU in a minute), the Patriot League has a ton of parity in this unelite 8.
For reference, let's take a look at the standings at the halfway mark.
Bucknell 6-1
American 5-2
Lehigh 3-4
Army 3-4
Lafayette 3-4
Navy 3-4
Holy Cross 3-4
Colgate 2-5
Now, why did I include Bucknell above despite their recent 20-point loss to Army? Well, it was their only loss, and everyone gets one freebie. But Darryl Shazier was also sick, and he's a big part of their offense. And Army got double-digit production out of five different players. We'll let it slide.
Now, why didn't I include AU at the top of the PL? While we are second, and a pretty respectable 5-2, I still don't think we're in the same class as Bucknell right now. Before their loss to Army, Bucknell was beating up on their PL opponents. Four of six PL wins by Bucknell were double digit victories. AU's biggest margin of victory in its 5 wins? 9 points. Over lowly Colgate. AU's two losses? Double digit blowouts, one of them against Bucknell in Bender.
Back to the Patriot League as a whole though, right now the League is ranked 25th of 33 by RealTimeRPI. KenPom is a little more forgiving, handing the PL the 23rd spot, but both of those would be substantially lower were it not for Bucknell (and to a lesser extent here, AU, leading the way). If something surprising should happen and AU or Bucknell not represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Tourney, don't be surprised to see the PL get handed a 16 seed. I think we can probably avoid a play-in game, but Bucknell is basically the only team with quality tournament level wins in the whole PL right now.
So what does the rest of the PL season hold for AU in particular? Well, KenPom expects us to lose three more times this season: at Lehigh and Bucknell and home against Army. RealTimeRPI expects us to lose all three of those games and also our final regular season game against Lafayette. Meanwhile, both of these sources expect Bucknell to win out.
There will be no easy games for AU from here on out and with how easily AU could be another of the 3-4 teams right now, we'll all have to cross our fingers that the Parity League doesn't draw AU down into its lose-on-any-given-night ways.
How do you think AU will finish out? Leave it in the comments. I think how we come out against Lehigh on Sunday will really be important to set the stage for the rest of the season.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
I know, I know, I'm being cheeky and a touch melodramatic. (Easy on the keyboards, Bison fans (and bison137), I'm well aware that Bucknell has a top 100 RPI right now). But the fact remains (as it has all season) that outside of Bucknell (I'll tell you why I do include them despite their recent loss and don't include AU in a minute), the Patriot League has a ton of parity in this unelite 8.
For reference, let's take a look at the standings at the halfway mark.
Bucknell 6-1
American 5-2
Lehigh 3-4
Army 3-4
Lafayette 3-4
Navy 3-4
Holy Cross 3-4
Colgate 2-5
Now, why did I include Bucknell above despite their recent 20-point loss to Army? Well, it was their only loss, and everyone gets one freebie. But Darryl Shazier was also sick, and he's a big part of their offense. And Army got double-digit production out of five different players. We'll let it slide.
Now, why didn't I include AU at the top of the PL? While we are second, and a pretty respectable 5-2, I still don't think we're in the same class as Bucknell right now. Before their loss to Army, Bucknell was beating up on their PL opponents. Four of six PL wins by Bucknell were double digit victories. AU's biggest margin of victory in its 5 wins? 9 points. Over lowly Colgate. AU's two losses? Double digit blowouts, one of them against Bucknell in Bender.
Back to the Patriot League as a whole though, right now the League is ranked 25th of 33 by RealTimeRPI. KenPom is a little more forgiving, handing the PL the 23rd spot, but both of those would be substantially lower were it not for Bucknell (and to a lesser extent here, AU, leading the way). If something surprising should happen and AU or Bucknell not represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Tourney, don't be surprised to see the PL get handed a 16 seed. I think we can probably avoid a play-in game, but Bucknell is basically the only team with quality tournament level wins in the whole PL right now.
So what does the rest of the PL season hold for AU in particular? Well, KenPom expects us to lose three more times this season: at Lehigh and Bucknell and home against Army. RealTimeRPI expects us to lose all three of those games and also our final regular season game against Lafayette. Meanwhile, both of these sources expect Bucknell to win out.
There will be no easy games for AU from here on out and with how easily AU could be another of the 3-4 teams right now, we'll all have to cross our fingers that the Parity League doesn't draw AU down into its lose-on-any-given-night ways.
How do you think AU will finish out? Leave it in the comments. I think how we come out against Lehigh on Sunday will really be important to set the stage for the rest of the season.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
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