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 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.