WHO: AU (14-6, 4-1) vs. Navy (6-15, 1-4)
WHAT: Patriot League Showdown
WHEN: TONIGHT, 7:00 PM EST
WHERE: Alumni Hall, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
WHY: So the Eagles can win!
If that was a little too much summary for you, let me elaborate a bit. Tonight our Eagles will be making Midshipmeat (I still think that's clever) out of the Navy Midshipmen on the road in nearby Annapolis. Tipoff is at 7:00 PM (not 7:30 as previously reported), and although it looks like AU holds the statistical advantage in just about every way, it's always a close game up in Alumni Hall. Let's see who will make the difference this evening.
This matchup is going to be eerily similar to Army. Navy plays what basically amounts to a 5-guard rotation, and we're going to tower over them. Needless to say, we absolutely need to dominate the post and outscore Navy in the paint (which has been a challenge for PL teams, so far). Lumpkins, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, is going to have to continue the streak that won him this award in the first place. During last year's Patriot League Quarterfinal game, Lumpkins went off for 29 points, still a career-high. Navy made the mistake of over-guarding Vlad, completely opening up the blocks for Lumpkins to stump them senseless.
Undoubtedly, Vlad is going to be double and triple-teamed by a myriad of small, quick defenders, which may give him trouble. Fortunately, this has not stopped us before, as we swept the Mids not twice, but three times last season by an average of 5 ppg, including a double overtime thriller on the road. In that game Navy's leading scorer, Chris Harris, went off for 30 points, and without him this year Navy is struggling to fill in the gap (for reference, Vlad had 19 points in 43 minutes that game).
That being said, Navy is at no loss for sharpshooting guards, and relies quite heavily on the three. It's absolutely critical that we protect the perimeter, and our guards really need to step up and keep Navy from going off from beyond the arc. Many are likely wondering if Wayne will see significant minutes (~6-8) at the point, and the most I can predict is that this will likely be a function of how much Danny's stepped up in practice recently.
For the Mids, we'll have to watch O.J. Avworo, Jordan Sugars, Romeo Garcia, Greg Brown, Mark Veazey, and potential PL Rookie of the Year J.J. Avila. If that sounds like a handful, it is. One interesting statistic is that Navy has thrown up 549 threes so far this season...but only made 159 of them, a .290 percentage. A season low was undoubtedly their home game versus Holy Cross, where they went a moribund 1-23 from beyond the arc, sinking the Mids (the bad puns continue) and probably throwing off that statistic a little.
Despite an 0-4 start to League play, the Mids are coming off an impressive win against what can only be described as a "respectfully hostile" crowd at Army, 85-81. It was the Mids' best offensive effort of the season at their toughest road contest, and may put a little more wind under their sails (these never get old) than we'd expect. Fortunately, we're coming off of a huge road win as well against Holy Cross.
That's all I have time for today, folks, but I'll see you back here at 7 PM for our liveblog. It's going to be a tough matchup no matter how you slice it, as Alumni Hall is an intimidating place when packed chock full of uniformed Midshipmen, as it undoubtedly will be despite the predicted snow this evening. On that note, while the weather is keeping me here in the District, if you are attempting to travel to Annapolis please drive safely.
Finally, I want to congratulate one of my co-bloggers for his acceptance into graduate school! While I'll let him announce which one if he wishes, I will say they they are known for fielding a formidable mid-major basketball squad (that may have a certain offense named after them), that we may conceivably play in upcoming seasons. Here's to hoping he remains as loyal an Eagle as any of us.
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
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