Men’s Hoops Continues JMU Dominance over the Spiders!

How about that? Men’s hoops completed the football, women’s hoops, men’s hoops trifecta of Spatter Stomping today with a tight, offense-free victory at the Convo 51-46. This was the first “good win” of the season and at 6-2, with the losses coming to UVA and OSU I think we can safely crank up the bandwagon. After beating an A-10 team, the Dukes will have a shot at another perceived “better” conference opponent when they travel to take on ECU later out of the AAC.

Today’s game was an offensive morass, and that’s being kind. But it speaks volumes that Brady’s squad this year can beat a team like RU when they have only FIVE points outside of the paint or the free throw line. This team defends well, works hard on the glass, appears to listen to the coach, and has a decent amount of depth we haven’t seen in a while. That’s a formula for success anywhere, and if they ever do get their shots straightened out, this team looks highly capable of competing throughout the CAA schedule. It will also help if Andre Nation plays his way into shape as you gotta think his lack of conditioning, which Brady’s been quick to point out, is effecting his legs on jumpers and foul shots. The good thing is, for the second game in a row, he found a way to make the play the Dukes absolutely had to have, this time rising and sticking a top-of-the-key jumper to put the Dukes up four late and atone for his two missed FT’s on the previous trip.

Jackson Kent, Winston Grays, and Hari Hall are really giving the Dukes better offensive depth even on rough days like today too behind Curry and Nation. RU has already beaten one of the CAA favorites in W&M and while the transitive property doesn’t hold here, it does bode well for the Dukes in our opinion.

We’re not completely sold, but again, at 6-2 it’s probably time to start investing in this group, at least on a small level. Five games they were favored they won. Two games they were huge dogs they lost, and today, for the first time, they won a truly challenging game. With Kenny Brooks’ team up to their usual badassed ways, if this team can keep rolling too it sure will help give us an on-court distraction from what looks sure to be another winter of realignment craziness in the wake of the UAB slot opening and the Big12 looking like they may need to poach teams in order to get a Conference Championship Game, and the playoff slot such a game would’ve been likely to have earned them.

Lastly, congrats to former Duke TE Mike Caussin on his weekend engagement to up and coming country star Jana Kramer!

Dating Up! (Kramer Dating up with a Duke that is)