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!
Hendra vs Army: 7 assists, 0 turnovers. I never thought I would say this, but I think Hendra needs more time, or even the majority of the time at the point. He has proven that he sees the court well, and there is not much pressure this year in the PL on the ball handler. He has also developed a nice spin move that can break down defenses. Moreover, his outside shot seems to have deserted him - mostly- so that he is more effective as a floor leader and penetrator than as a stand still shooter. AU's play has been pretty much lackluster since our 4 game win streak in the middle of the season, and I think it's time for a change. All the PL teams seem to be able to shut down or stifle Vlad as is. C'mon JJ, make the change.
ReplyDeleteNever thought I'd see you say that either, Steve. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks we've been lackluster. Winning games, sure, but not playing with a ton of fire. Hopefully that changes tomorrow.
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