Jones Is One Closer To Being Senior Coach Of The Patriot League

Ex-Colgate Head Coach Emmett Davis

Sorry for the bit of downtime lately, folks. Hopefully everyone is too busy filling out their March Madness brackets to really notice. As I slowly recover from the shock of Lafayette's season-ending buzzer-beater, we'll be back shortly to bring you the best off-season you can imagine.

A bit of non-NCAA Tournament news cropped up today, as Colgate Athletic Director David Roach fired Coach Emmett Davis after 13 seasons at the helm of the Raiders with an overall record of 165-212. While it's been suggested a few times here that it's amazing he lasted that long, his trip to the 2008 Patriot League final (where, of course, he lost to us) likely played a hand in keeping him around for three additional seasons. Unfortunately for Davis, that was the best record (18 wins in 2007-08) he ever produced up in Hamilton, which has sat at the bottom of the Patriot League barrel in both wins and average attendance for quite some time. This year the Raiders were 7-23, including record-setting blowouts to national powers Syracuse and Duke, and 4-10 in the PL.

For the Patriot League school that produced NBA player Adonal Foyle, that's a sad state of affairs, and while I don't often root for our opponents, I do hope things improve basketball-wise at Colgate for the sake of the League. At the end of the day, it's a hockey school, but if they can land the right coach, anything can happen.

Other factoids:

• Davis becomes the second Patriot League coach in three years to end his career in Bender Arena. Holy Cross' Ralph Willard played his last game in Bender when the Crusaders lost in the 2009 Patriot League Championship, before moving on to serve as an assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville. Davis' last game was this year's PL Quarterfinal in Bender.
• Davis' 165 wins place him as the all-time winningest coach in Colgate annals, which is more a factor of time than season-by-season success
• Currently only Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon has served as a Patriot League longer than Coach Jones, with 16 seasons at the helm of the Leopards. Jones just finished his eleventh. 
• Jones' record with the Eagles at the conclusion of this season is currently 182-150
• Finally, to mix things up a little more in Hamilton, Colgate announced the resignation of Women's Basketball Coach Pamela Bass as well today. In four seasons her record stood at 23-95 overall, and 8-48 in the Patriot League, so she likely saw the axe coming as well. 

Surprised about Colgate's decision? Think they made a good/bad choice? Share it in the comments!

That's all for today, folks. Best of luck with your March Madness brackets, it is only a matter of time before AU is in it again. We'll be back soon with prospects for next season, recruiting updates, and some thoughts of mine on the conclusion of the women's season in the Patriot League Championship at Navy.

Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

Good Thing There's Toothpaste Jokes, Because I've Got No Puns for "Raiders"

Well, here we are again. You know, I'd like to say it gets boring hosting (at minimum) a quarterfinal Patriot League game every year, it doesn't. It really, really doesn't. Though the Blue Crew has been surprisingly lackluster at times this year, I really hope that they turn out en masse tonight to cheer on our Eagles as they go for their third win over the Colgate Raiders tonight.

We've beaten the Raiders by 9 both times we played them this year. In both of those games, Troy, Vlad, and Lump all scored in double digits. Vlad and Troy have been on a hot streak that hopefully they will ride into Patriot League play and Bender Arena tonight.

The game plan should be the same as it's been the past two games against Colgate: keep the defense spread out by feeding Vlad and Troy a steady diet of 3s and 18-footers off of screens and make them pay on the interior using Lumpkins. Colgate has no big man inside to pose a real challenge to Lumpkins, especially if we can hit our perimeter shots. Add in a little bit of roleplaying from guys like Luptak, Munoz, and McCormack, and a sprinkle of dribble penetration and lane-slashing from Nick Hendra and we've got a winning combination and a trifecta over the toothpaste merchants.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm, and we hope that you will BE THERE. BE BLUE. AND BE AU!

We'll be liveblogging per usual, so if you can't make it to Bender, be sure to log in and keep apprised of what's going on!

GOOD LUCK EAGLES! THREE MORE WINS TIL THE DANCE!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

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

If Today' Game Were An 80's Saturday Morning Cartoon, The Hero Would Be Eagleman And The Villain Would Be CRESTOR

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

Can the Red Raiders Redact Our Ruinous Run?

OK, the title doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I love alliteration. Unfortunately, I have to keep it pretty short today, but fortunately this isn't a game that needs a whole lot of introduction. At 2 PM our Eagles fly into Colgate's Cotterell Court in Hamilton, NY, where they seek to rebound after our moribund evisceration at the hands of some slow moving land mammals. Hopefully we'll be able to bring you a liveblog, but we'll have to give the final word on that as we get closer to game time (the real world is being quite unkind to your hapless bloggers, if you can't tell).

To get back on track, the Raiders have undoubtedly the worst record in the Patriot League. At 1-14 overall, and 0-2 in the League, it's a bit of an understatement to say that Colgate's had a challenging season. Likely most painful for the Raiders are the near record-setting blowout losses to Duke, Syracuse, and Maryland on the road, with the average margin of defeat just shy of 55 ppg. In conference play, Colgate opened by falling to Army and Lafayette, which is not an encouraging sign for them when AU is about to come calling.

That's because we are 18-4 all-time against the Raiders, although we split the series last year. I would still argue that our loss, which came at Colgate in double overtime 75-74, was due to the lack of cameras and replays and the inability of anyone to verify a last-second shot by Vlad, which I maintain was good. However, the most noteworthy play on our end was the shot that even got us into overtime, a buzzer-beating three from Joe "The Mountain" Hill that left our liveblog, well, speechless.

Last season's heroes for the Raiders, Ben Jonson and Kyle Roemer, were lost to graduation. Months ago, I would have speculated that Virginia transfer John Brandenburg, hailed as one of the best transfers in League history primarily due to a ridiculously high ranking coming out of high school, would have given us Muscala-esque fits in the post. However, Brandenburg has largely flamed out this season, averaging 3.6 ppg and 2.7 rpg - poor numbers for a big man listed as 7'0" at Virginia (downgraded to a still-imposing 6'11" by Coach Emmett Davis' staff), and weighing in at 263 lbs. Assuming Vlad plays (more on this in a bit), and even if Lumpkins has to shoulder a lot of the load, we should have no problems in the post, or having our way with inside-outside sets.

That isn't to say that Colgate doesn't have its share of quality players this year. Yaw Gyawu is as fierce as ever, averaging 12.5 ppg, with senior guard Joe Hoban contributing a solid 9.3 ppg as well. Even with the production from Gyawu and Hoban, the Raiders are giving up an average of 75.8 ppg while scoring only 59.5 ppg of their own. Of course, these numbers are skewed a bit from the huge road blowouts, the other 80% of their games haven't been particularly close either.

Needless to say, this should be an opportunity for us to rebuild our spirits after Bucknell. We are still a top team in the League, and have the opportunity to upset the Bison in Lewisburg later on and bring the Patriot League Tournament home to Bender.

One thing we will be watching out for, however, is whether or not Vlad plays. He took a pretty terrible face plant while trying to avoid diving into a camera during the Bucknell game, and while he stood up after a few moments and seemed to be annoyed most by a bloody arm, we don't know if there was any hidden damage. He already sat out one game this season (Columbia) with a mild concussion, and at the very least I can imagine he missed at least one practice just to be safe. While I am hoping he's able to get out there today, I also hope he isn't overextending himself, as while he's an important cog on the team his long-term health is far more important. Regardless, even if Vlad does sit out, we should be able to defeat Colgate, which may be an even better confidence booster.

We'll let you know if we can get a liveblog up prior to the 2:00 PM EST tip. If not, you can follow live stats of the game here.

Before I leave you this morning, I'd like to share something I saw yesterday during AU's incredible counter-protest sparked by the Westboro Baptist Church's unfortunate visit yesterday afternoon:

Nothing breaks the awkwardness of the Westboro Baptist Church like exerting dominance on the basketball court*

For those students and alumni who weren't there, it was a truly inspiring showing by somewhere between 500-1,000 people (and possible more, I'm not great at estimating these things) that made everyone in attendance proud to be an Eagle. As for that fellow up there, he's clearly referencing what will happens next time Georgetown faces us on the hardwood.

*For those unfamiliar with the Westboro Baptist Church, that sign is mocking the infamous ones they produce that say such terrible things as "Thank God For (insert natural disaster or national tragedy here)", and it's not trying to be offensive in its own right.

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh

Patriot League Preview: Colgate Raiders

Colgate: Playing Basketball Feebly Since 1819

Well AUHoops fans, it's about time that we gave you some opposition research for the other teams in the Patriot League for the upcoming season. This is the first in a series where we will do a brief analysis of each team, its returning players, its new players, its non-conference schedule, and how we think AU will fare against them during the upcoming season.

School: Colgate University

Last year's record: 10-19 (6-8 Patriot League) - Lost in the quarterfinals to Lafayette in the Patriot League tournament

Last year's record against AU: 1-1 - In the matchup between these two teams in Bender Arena last year, Steve Luptak played absolutely out of his mind and went off for 22 points against the Raiders. The Eagles ended up picking up a 73-63 victory against the Toothpaste Eaters from New York. In the matchup up in Hamilton, the Eagles lost 75-74 after missing myriad chances to put the game away. Vlad the Impaler put up 30 points but it just wasn't good enough as the Raiders prevailed on their home court.

Key losses - The Raiders lost the injury-plagued but incredibly talented Kyle Roemer and big man Ben Jonson to graduation. These were their #1 and #3 scorers respectively. Roemer, a 2010 First Team All-PL selection, was a prolific scorer and a clutch player for the Raiders. He'll be incredibly difficult to replace. They also lose Jonson, who was good for 10 points and 5 rebounds a game. He'll be less difficult to replace as we'll get to in a minute.

Key additions - The Raiders will look to replace their center with one of two sophomores, either Lazar Bogdanovic (6'9") or John Brandenburg (6'11"). Sophomore Yaw Gyawu will have to step up to try and replace Roemer. Gyawu is certainly talented and put up 33 points over two games against the Eagles last year.

Non-conference - For some bizarre reason, Colgate has a home and home with Dartmouth this season. I think it may be an error on their schedule, but it looks like they're scheduled to play Dartmouth in Hanover early in the season and then Dartmouth again in Hamilton after their PL opener. They will also have tough match-ups against Syracuse, Maryland, and Duke. Aside from those three powerhouses, they have a pretty soft non-conference schedule. Feast or famine for Emmett Davis's club.

Outlook against the Eagles - Gyawu, along with guard Mitch Rolls and forward Nick Pascale, will try to lead the Raiders against the Eagles. Unfortunately for them, Nick Pascale isn't going to be enough to counter the Lump, Vlad, and Riley in the paint. With Charles Hinkle shadowing (and locking down) Gyawu, the Eagles should have more than enough to take two from the Raiders this year.

Keep checking back for other Patriot League previews!

An Apple A Day Keeps The Raiders Away

Will the toothpaste jokes ever end? Doubtful.

Wow...just wow. That was my reaction after watching the Bucknell Bison stampede all over us on Thursday. This is just not the same team I watched notch consecutive triumphs over Holy Cross, Navy, and Lafayette not too long ago. Worst of all is what Bucknell did to our beloved Impaler. After not being held to less than 14 points since he began playing in December (including against the likes of Penn State, Florida, and DePaul), Bucknell only allowed Vlad to score a single layup. While many other things went wrong in this game (and oh there were so very many), I'm willing to look past it all. No, I'm not crazy. Today at 2 PM we have an excellent chance to redeem ourselves when we take on the Colgate Raiders in Hamilton, NY. Find out why I'm not fearing for our feathers after the jump!