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.

I've spent a lot of time talking about "sweet, sweet revenge" so far this season. How could I not, after our 3-12 out of conference debacle last season against a majority of teams with which we have multiple-year home-and-home agreements? Sure, Randolph-Macon was a battle to reclaim the honor of Division 1, and obviously defeating Albany on the road made that 1-point home loss last season sting a little less. Let's put all of this behind us for the time being. Without a doubt, being UMES' first solid punching bag in eight tries last season really rubbed this Eagle's feathers the wrong way. That's why I am calling this game the crown jewel of what I have dubbed the "Heartbreaker Revenge Tour 2010."

So what can we expect tomorrow when the hapless Hawks flutter into Bender Arena, looking to correct another winless record (0-2) against the Eagles? Easy - an absolute beatdown. Very few times this season am I going to be cocky enough to predict huge margins of victory, especially early in the season. This is one of them. Without a doubt, the Hawks are little better than they were last season, and in fact they may be even worse. I need not remind everyone that it is not the same case for us.

So how bad is bad? UMES was picked to finish seventh in the perennially weak 11-member MEAC. The Hawk's first two games of the season were dropped by an average margin of just over 31 points. Sure, the first was to Tulane, from the relatively powerful Conference USA, but Monday's 108-74 loss to Columbia just says that they fare no better against average Patriot League-level competition either. Frankly, if Columbia can put up 108 points on UMES, I see no reason we can't either.

Despite having 5 seniors and 3 juniors on their 14-man roster, UMES' experience just doesn't seem to be the advantage it often is for many teams at the low mid-major level. Their best chances lie with the backcourt duo of senior guard Kevin White and redshirt senior guard Tim Burns, who dropped 13 and 16 points on us last year, respectively. Junior Dishawn Bradshaw is also off to a blistering start this season, averaging 11 ppg in UMES's last two contests. Neal Pitt, who tied Burns with a game-high 16 points last season, as well as 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals, has fortunately graduated. If our talented wingmen like Nick Hendra, Simon McCormack, and Troy Brewer can shut these guys down, they have no chance.

What about the the big men? It should be noted that UMES sports 7'0"senior RJ Tucker, as well as 6'9" freshman Mike Spence and 6'11" junior Diyaaldin Kelley. Frankly, I know very little about these guys, but from what I can tell, that's because none of them are particularly good. If Stephen Lumpkins (who led the team last year with 15 points against UMES) doesn't have a field day under the basket, then he's either being triple-teamed or something is terribly wrong. In the former case, that makes it an easy shooting game for Vlad, Troy, Danny, and maybe even Mike Bersch, who might be able to redeem Monday's uninspiring showing from downtown.

Look, it's entirely possible that UMES brings their absolute A-game to Bender Arena tomorrow, and gives us all we can handle for 40 minutes. If we play like we did in the first half of the St. Francis game, it might even be close. However, if we play like the team we should be, then it will be no contest. Heck, even our own press release points out that UMES has managed to turn the ball over 35 times in its last two games, and allowed Columbia and Tulane to shoot an average of 57.1% from the field. Rarely do I see Athletics taking such a cheap shots (had to get a bad pun in somewhere).

For those who like trivia, if we win tomorrow it will be the first time under Coach Jones that we begin a season 3-0, and the first time an AU team has done so since 1982. Of course, this is primarily because often our seasons will begin with a buy game, as we did two seasons ago against Oklahoma. If this is how Jones wants to make up for last season's 0-7 start, though, that's just fine with me.

So there you have it. I'll see you in Bender tomorrow at 7:30 PM, as we tip off in what will hopefully be our easiest win all season. We'll be live tweeting at @AUHoops, and possibly liveblogging as well for those who can't be there in person. If you'll be joining me in Section 114, remember - BE THERE, BE LOUD, BE BLUE! Oh, and one last thing. Make sure to thank a member of the Pep Band before you leave. I cannot write enough times how incredible of a job they do keeping energy up during games, and far too often their hard work and dedication goes unnoticed (although their great music never does). Thank you, Screaming Eagles Pep Band!