OK folks, I’m going to come clean and just let everyone know that the game is technically still going on as I write this. The Dukes trail Davidson 83-57 with under 4:00 minutes to go though, so I think we can call it. Plus, since I’m struggling to find anything at all worth saying about this one, the final buzzer will probably sound before I post this anyway. So, yay blogging ethics or something. And boo JMU Dukes effort.
I honestly didn’t really know much about the College Basketball Invitation Presented by Zebra Pen before the Dukes got a bid. It’s obviously not the most prestigious tournment, falling below the 68 team NCAA Tournament and 32 team NIT, and just nudging out the College Insider Tournament. I guess you could say that if the NCAA tourney is the Big Dance, this tournament is probably more like an ice cream social. That doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time though. It could have been a nice chance for the Dukes to put the William & Mary loss behind them, notch a few more wins, and build some momentum for next season. It’s been done before. Five teams in the real March Madness played in the CBI last year. Unfortunately, JMU just didn’t show up tonight and got absolutely destroyed by a team they should have beaten.
The game was broadcast on HDnet, a channel I don’t get, so I was forced to listen to the broadcast on Madizone. It’s alwasy tough to provide any real analysis without seeing the game, but this game got so ugly I probably wouldn’t have much to offer even if I had watched from courtside seats. It was too frustrating to pay close attention to. Here’s what you need to know though, everything the Dukes did to drive fans crazy this year, was on display tonight. Apparent lack of effort? Check. Careless turnovers? Check. Poor shot selection? Check. Terrible perimeter defense? Check. I could go on and on, but you get the point. It really just seemed like the Dukes didn’t want to be there. Either that, or Davidson and William & Mary are both some sort of goofy white guy kryponite for the Dukes.
It would be easy to dwell on the negative and slam Brady, Denzel, and the rest of the Dukes tonight. I’m going to refrain from that for now. I’ll give it a few days and try to enjoy March Madness before attempting to analyze this season. It definitely had some bright spots, but this was a terrible way for it to end.
Update: JMU Men’s Hoops will play in the CBI Tournament. First game Tuesday, 7 p.m. @ Davidson, coverage rumored to be on HDNet.
We stayed away from the keyboard for a few days for three reasons: First, I’ve turned into a full-on Cooler when it comes to teams I support recently and we agreed it was best to let the women’s team defend it’s CAA title w/out me hexing the whole thing. Second, we wanted to let Rob’s great trip down memory lane to the ‘Burg circa 1994 breathe a little. And third, I got a little carried away with my bitchin’ and moanin’ about the CAA last week and needed a little self-imposed probation. (And I was doing well until I got inappropriately bent out of shape with the PurpleWave on Twitter today – sorry ’bout that. Oh yeah, you can follow us @jmusportsblog though no guarantee it’ll be solely Dukes related).
Front of Official jmusports.com today! Congrats ladies!
But thankfully, we had nothing to worry about with the Lady Dukes! The women, led by the Coach Kenny Brooks and superstar Dawn Evans(tourney MOP), managed to hold off a spirited tourney run from Elena Della-Donne and Delaware to defend their CAA title in style. The bid is now clinched and now hopes for a relatively high seed are up in anticipation of Monday’s bracket announcements. Huge congrats to the women. This only adds to the legend of this group. We’ve been saying for a few weeks this group of players is going to leave JMU as one of the most influential groups in any sport and now they’ve got back-to-back CAA titles and NCAA trips to show for it. Hopefully they can add a victory or six to the resume in the Big Dance! If the Dukes can avoid last year’s fate of the 8/9 game, they should have a real shot to make the Sweet Sixteen or beyond.
And in stunning news today from the men’s game, our buddy over at GheorghetheBlog‘s yearlong promotion of the hashtag #3Bids4CAA’s dream came true as VCU joined ODU and GMU in the tournament for the CAA’s first ever three-bid year (w/ lots of support from DefiantlyDutchwho accurately captures my feelings on all the gnashing of teeth from the heads at the four-letter over the fact a few teams from conferences their network covers were left out in favor of the Rams). Obviously this wouldn’t even have happened w/out the expanded field, but we will take it! Hard to believe that five teams from the Commonwealth (VCU, ODU, GMU, Hampton, Richmond) will be in the tourney but UVa and VT are not among them. Sad to believe JMU is not.
Lastly, a final comment for those of you joining said heads in sadness over VT. I also agree it sucks for a very solid senior class in Blacksburg to have been relatively “screwed” for their whole tenure, but a) I don’t think VCU is the appropriate place to direct your anger (see UAB, USC, PSU, Georgia) and b) I ABSOLUTELY cannot understand the utter refusal among some alleged JMU supporters and alums to not give up their fascinations with the so-called big boys in our backyard (VT chief among them, but UVa, Md, UNC, and PSU all have their wagoneers still hanging on as well). Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with the fact you grew up a fan of a certain team or that you continue to support them today. More power to you. I’ve stated my own hypocrisy on this subject in that the Mrs. is a Villanova grad and I follow them in hoops when the Dukes are not involved (like I said, I am literally turning into William H. Macy). But the respect that VCU’s bid demostrates for the ball being played in the CAA is great news for the Dukes and if you don’t believe that, you’re not really paying attention. In the old days, it was harder to “root” for JMU. Games weren’t televised and Bridgeforth was the place we played b-league intramural softball. But the times they are a changin’ and to steal a phrase I usually hate but am willing to appropriate in this case as someone has to take the UNCOMPROMISING positions in the JMU diaspora, “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” Get on board or just keep truckin’ to Blacksburg with your high school friends and don’t bother to stop halfway.
ODU and VCU did all CAA fans proud the other night. They played a hell of a game and proved to a national tv audience that the CAA is a league to be taken seriously. And while all of this #3Bids4CAA excitement has been fun, I’m ready for JMU to return to the NCAA tournament. It has been a long time since the Dukes went dancing. A really, really long time.
JMU last played in the NCAA Tournament 17 years ago. They lost 64-62 in the first round to Florida and haven’t been back since. The game took place on March 17, 1994. It was a different world back then. The top story in the papers that morning was that Tonya Harding plead guilty to avoid jail time for her role in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. Bryant Gumbel was the host of the Today show and didn’t even know what the internet was. I didn’t either, but I was a freshman at JMU and my roommate had a computer with a modem so we could dial-in to the VAX. I can’t remember being able to do anything other than try to register for classes once we logged in though. And that always took so long, that I bailed and just used the phone. It was a landline. You see, I was one of of only 10,825 undergraduates at JMU and I’m fairly certain not a single one of us had a cell phone. I think a couple rich kids had car phones though.
I must admit that I don’t remember exactly what I did that day. Campus was seriously buzzing for the game, especially after the way Kent Culuko got the Dukes into the tournament. It was a heck of a shot he made. It probably helped that he was wearing Reebok Pumps. Maybe I went and played ball or worked out. In Godwin Hall of course, because UREC didn’t exist. Before the game, I’m sure I ate at D-Hall or Dukes for dinner though, because there were no other options. Unless you count the steakhouse, but that was for special occasions. And I know I didn’t check my email, but I almost definitely ducked into the post office in Warren Hall to see if I had any letters in my mailbox. Maybe while I was in the building, I picked up a blue-book from the bookstore for an upcoming exam.
I wasn’t yet 21, but I know that a lot of people who were probably pregamed by drinking dime drafts at JM’s. Others probably went to Gus’s (not Dave’s) for $1.85 pitchers. And I’m sure a lot of folks partied after the game on Greek Row and got their fill of beer from kegs that cost $27 at Mike’s Chevron. Maybe some people didn’t watch the game and instead tuned into Seinfeld, the number one show on television. Others might have watched In Living Color instead. Being a college campus there was music playing everywhere. Unfortunately it might have been The Sign by Ace of Base because it was the #1 song in the country that week. And there is a good chance it was being played on tape. But for those not interested in the game, or tv, or music, the movies were an option. And quite an option it was with smash hits like Naked Gun 331/3 opening in theaters that week.
I didn’t do any of those things though. I just watched the game. In Hillside Hall. On a 19 inch color tv. I remember paying attention to half-time so that I could find out who won the day’s earlier games. There wasn’t any other way to find out, since ESPNet.SportsZone.com wouldn’t launch for another year. I don’t recall many details about the game other than Clayton Ritter played like a beast and Andrew DeClercq got away with a kicked ball near the end. Even though JMU lost, it was still a great tournament. And how could it not be, guys like Dean Smith, Denny Crum, Bob Knight, John Thompson, and JMU’s Lefty Driessel coaching. And in addition to great coaches, there were some outstanding players like Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, and Glen Robinson playing in their final college games (ed. note – I’m sorry if this puts to rest the urban legend than Robinson ever played in the convo. He didn’t. JMU defeated Purdue at home the next season though after he left.) I wonder if Denzel Bowles remembers that game. Probably not. He was only 5 years old.
Here’s the game story from the Richmond Times-Dispatch. But here’s the JMUSB angles on the CAA tourney.
The Good – The game was incredible! You’ll be hard-pressed to find a game this whole championship week that comes close to this one for atmosphere, level of play, and sheer intensity. Unfortunately, VCU may be doomed to bookend their season with NIT berths (pre and post seasons) and sending GheorghetheBlog’s season-long dream of #3bids4CAA down in flames, but it wasn’t without an incredible effort to comeback from 18 down early in the 2nd half to close within a single point before the Monarchs pulled it out. Was it possibly even enough to keep the dream alive though? Could be, CAA Commish (Senior Doofus) Tom Yeager said before the game the NCAA told him VCU was in consideration win or lose. But the crowd was fabulous and for all the yakking from Hempstead to Wilmington (with most of the loudest whining coming from Fairfax) about moving the tourney out of Richmond, tonight was awesome.
The Bad – as in badass, did you see the elbow the VCU kid Henry took from ODU’s manchild Frank Hassell?! And then returned to the game with stitches INSIDE his mouth and glassy eyes. Great toughness that defined this game. That said, are you friggin’ kidding me VCU training/medical staff. I’m sitting on my couch and when they first showed the replay, I did a full Chris Tucker as Smokey in Friday “You Got knocked the -uck out!” to my unamused wife. Then when they showed him on the bench before he returned, it looked like the poor kid had no earthly idea where he was. You’ll never convince me he did not have a concussion and had no business even back on the court, much less IN THE GAME.
The Ugly – The CAA. I’ve been bitchin’ for a while now about the shoddy, provincial, bush-league, low-rent, d-list nature of the poor little old Colonial and tonight they nearly screwed up
CAA Production Truck
their one big shot on a national stage with that absolute debacle of a smokeshow or whatever the hell ruined the floor, nearly ruined a VCU player’s ankle, and clearly caused the Rams to play very nervous on that end of the floor in the first five minutes or so. Look, the CAA is a proud conference, especially here in the Commonwealth. It has served Virginia’s collection of acronymn schools well over the last few decades and has at least made an effort (football) to upgrade it’s status the last couple of seasons. But this is pure alpaca shit. It actually makes the ACC’s Jefferson Pilot/Raycom Sports, league-killing, Food Lion, redneck production look downright classy.
Tonight’s HUGE upgrade in announcers only served to drive home the point. ESPN’s national team doesn’t even know the CAA as well as our regulars, but they clearly did their homework, actually love and watch a ton of college hoops, and added to the excitement in the building throughout. I’m going to leave the details of my feelings on the Conference’s LARGE questions and issues for the silly season approaching, but suffices to say it’s time for the Dukes and Monarchs to make the calls to Boone, Atlanta, and Newark, ditch the old rivalries and cute pep bands, and set out for “greener” pastures.
For the next 24 hours, JMUSB is fully on board the VCU bandwagon. Sure everyone with a soul was pulling for them to beat George Mason, because well, it was George Mason and we hate them. But tomorrow night is different. Virtually every bracketologist, talking head, and college hoops writer in the country has George Mason as a lock for an at large bid. And I’m pretty sure that they all have ODU in as well. Therefore if VCU wins tomorrow night and secures the conference’s automatic bid, the CAA will be looking at 3 bids to the big dance. That’s right, the Twitter hashtag #3Bids4CAA created by our friend Georghe: The Blog, could actually be legitimate.
Three bids would be unprecedented for the CAA. The league has been in existence since 1983 and has only received multiple bids in 3 seasons, in 1996 when Richmond and Navy were selected, in 2006 when Mason and UNCW were selected, and in 2007 when ODU and VCU were selected. It seems blatantly obvious, but fans of all CAA teams except for ODU should be jumping on the VCU bandwagon with us. You’re not a bad fan or betraying your team by doing it. I’d actually argue that you’re betraying your team if you don’t.
Let me spell it out for you, more bids for the league is better for the league. Getting more teams into the dance validates the CAA and ups its profile. Each school could recruit better players because coaches could legitimately tell kids that a CAA Championship wasn’t the only way to go dancing. The schools would have greater success going head to head recruiting against A10 and MVC schools, and maybe in a few years start to snag more recruits away from power conferences. The league’s television profile, which is probably a subject for a post of its own, goes up. Instead of scrambling to watch the first few rounds of the tournament online or on regional cable, maybe ESPN would broadcast them. Instead of having the quality of tournament officiating called into question, maybe the league would actually get some refs that didn’t suck. It’s really a no brainer.
I’m as disappointed as anyone that JMU bombed out of the tournament Friday night. And while I certainly share some of Todd’s frustrations with Coach Brady and don’t dispute that he got outcoached by Shaver, I definitely think he’s got the program pointed in the right direction. A VCU win tomorrow could help accelerate JMU’s forward progress. VCU loses and they’re NIT bound. If VCU wins, it’s probably a lot more likely that the Dukes get an NIT bid. The NIT isn’t where anyone wants to be, but it’s better than playing in the CBI or CIT and it would give Brady a chance to prepare his team for sqauds from bigger and better conferences. It’s the basketball version of spring football, but it could be an important step for the JMU program. So, this might be the only time you ever read this words on the blog, but GO RAMS!
Received a text from a friend (the good Doctor Nelson) on this gloomy morning after the Dukes big chokejob in the tourney against the Caucasian Tribe. Simply said: “If Lefty was runnin’ things, this team could’ve spent all night at Club Velvet and still beat William & Mary by 20.”
While that does put quite a hipster-chic sepia tone on the up and down reign of the Dukes supposed glory days, the sentiment is correct. Coaching is to blame for this group disappointing and there is no way to sugarcoat it. After a restless night trying to put this behind me, I’ve managed to forget the missed front ends and defensive lapses by the players and , gasp, even the hideous officiating is fading in my memory, but the coaching issues are what remain front and center in my mind.
If the Dukes had won, I’d launch into a tirade about the 37-16 free throws attempted discrepancy or the fact a Technical Foul could surely have been called earlier in the game if you were annoyed with Brady as opposed to waiting until 3 minutes were left in a tight game and then throwing that dagger. But they lost, so it sounds crappy to blame the refs alone. That said, last night was the ultimate proof that I am on the right side of the argument in wishing for FBS in that I may have cute, provinicial love for the CAA, but it’s a darnright low-rent, bush league operation. It’s downright sad that while the play and talent in the conference have shot through the roof, but officiating, production value, and administration still look like an NAIA steaming pile of shit.
But this is my list of things I can’t forget:
1) Not pressing earlier. The Dukes have much better athletes than WM, WM was shooting free throws horribly last night, and JMU had no rythm on offense since Denzel spent so much time on the bench last night. Might’ve made sense to crank it up a little earlier after WM’s mid-2nd spurt.
2) Never getting the bench ready. The Dukes never varied their starting lineup till very late in the season and when more hands were needed, those players had not played significant enough minutes to be prepared. Chad Jackson on defense and Andrey Semenov on offense were nearly enough to save the Dukes last night, but as the season wound down, they were the only players Brady trusted enough to use off the bench. This isn’t the players fault, this is the coach’s not using them earlier. So what if it costs you against Presbyterian, we needed minutes from Trevon Flores last night in Bowles’ absence, but the season-long pissing contest had cost the squad that ability.
3) Down three, under :10 to go, Coach Brady didn’t even have a plan in place to funnel the ball to Kitts or another of WM’s weak free throw shooters. Actually appeared the Dukes just threw in the towel at this point but that’s even worse. Instead, I’ll assume they wanted to win, but just had not prepared and let WM’s point guard catch the ball uncontested.
4) Down 3, JMU ball, :25 to go, WM shooting free throws poorly. Classic case of let Devon Moore drive, at least get the 2, extend the game, see what happens and maybe get lucky w/ an old-fashioned 3-point play. But no, the Dukes run a confused screening action clearly going for the three. Just garbage and of course WM was ready and defended it so well that JMU ended up with Humpty, not Julius, taking a double-clutch three that essentially ended the game.
5) The waiting too long for a timeout. 2nd half, around 10 minutes to go, WM spurts. Brady, as he has all season waits two or three possessions too long for a timeout. Yes, he was trying to wait for the under 8:00 media timeout, but by the time he finally called it he a) couldn’t even wait for the media time even though it was now under 8, and b) the damage was already done. Probably the fifth or sixth time this season the coaching staff (and I do think assistants get some blame on timeout management) has completely botched it.
In conclusion, this whole blog project sometimes messes with our perception. You watch so much so intently that you begin to excuse coaches because you like them, but in this case you gotta call it what it is, piss poor.
March Madness officially begins for CAA hoops fans this weekend. Four games are on the docket for tomorrow, starting with a 12:00 noon match-up between UNC Wilminton and Georgia State. This has been a particularly strong season for the CAA and barring something extraordinary happening, it appears as if ODU and GMU already have their tickets punched for the big dance. The Dukes and every other team in the league are hoping to win it all and do their part to make the CAA a 3 bid league. Before the games start, we thought we’d give you our little breakdown of how we think each team in the league stacks up. Without further ado, here are the Official JMUSB CAA Hoops Power Rankings. Team are listed in order of how likely we think they are to win the tourney from least likely to most likely.
12. Towson (4-25, 0-18) – Some things in life just defy explanation. Like how every single 30-something white guy in America knows all the words to the Beastie Boy’s “Paul Revere”. Nobody knows why, we just do. And we’ve known them for as long as we can remember and probably always will. Well, that’s kind of like Towson basketball. They’ve always sucked and they probably always will. They just do. They aint winning this tournament. Nothing more to say about that.
11. Northeastern (11-19, 6-12) – OK, confession time. I forgot these guys were still in the league. Because of that, I had to do a little bit of research so that I could have something to write about here. Well, I had to wade through many, many links about their big performance in the Beanpot before I could find anything about their hoops team. And they didn’t even win the Beanpot. Nobody has these guys winning it all this weekend either. Chaisson Allen is a real player though and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put on a show in his final CAA tournament.
10. Georgia State (11-18, 6-12) – The Panthers will be playing under an interim coach, after firing head coach Rod Barnes last week. The timing was odd, considering it came just a day after his team gave Mason a pretty good game before falling by 7 points. Barnes just couldn’t get the program to compete with the top teams in the CAA though. The Panthers’ main problem is that they can’t score the basketball. They rank 306th in the country in scoring. I used to live in Atlanta and I can tell you that the Panthers’ other big problem is that nobody in Atlanta cares about them. They averaged a league worst 915 fans per home game this year. General William Tecumsah Sherman has more fans than that in Atlanta.
9. William & Mary (9-21, 4-14) – Yeah, I know they finished second to last in the CAA, but I think they’ve actually been playing some good ball. As we found out when they upset the Dukes last month, the Tribe can shoot. Junior Quinn McDowell is everything you’d expect a W&M ball player to be. And by that I mean he’s a white dude who knocks down open jumpers and is as good as you’ll find from the line. Freshman Julian Boatner looks like he’s following in McDowell’s footsteps. He can be deadly from long range and recently nailed 6 treys against ODU. They’re going to be a tough out.
8. Delaware (13-16, 8-10) – The Blue Hens really struggle shooting the basketball. Jawan Carter leads the team in scoring and averages 15 points a game, but shoots only 37% from the field. As a team, Delaware shoots a league worst 41%. I think they’ll get by Northeastern, but don’t see them beating ODU in round 2. They could be a team to watch in the next few season though. Freshman Devon Saddler was one the best young players I saw in the CAA and Josh Brinkley not only can bang down low, but he was coached in high school by JMUSB commenter Tedward. And yes, that’s the best we could do making any connection between this blog and a CAA player. We’re big time.
7. UNC Wilmington (13-17, 7-11) – I easily could have flip-flopped the Seahawks with Delaware. However, of all the players on both rosters, I think Chad Tomko is the one most likely to put a team on his back and take them on a run. He’s no Brett Blizzard from the UNCW glory days, but he produced all season on a roster with its share of holes.
read more…
There is an avalanche of exciting news all over the JMU sports landscape right now. Bridgeforth Stadium is looking incredible, the baseball team is on fire to start the season and receiving votes in the national polls, softball poleaxed Georgetown today, of course it’s tournament week for Men’s hoops, and national #9 Women’s Lacrosse took out Virginia Tech today, but really tonight was all about one team and four impressive young women.
Bravo!
Senior night for Women’s Basketball marked the last game in the ‘Burg for the storied quartet of Dawn Evans, Jalissa Taylor, Lauren Jimenez, and Courtney Hamner. You can read about the eyepopping stats for this group over at JMU Sports, but it’s no stretch at all to say this senior class rivals almost any group in JMU Athletics history of any gender in any sport for what they meant to the program, not to mention sheer brilliance on the court. This group finally took down ODU last year and brough the CAA title back to the Convo for the first time in decades, not to mention putting in an appearance in the Big Dance and looking that direction again! And it’s not like any one of this group is an afterthought or just a crowd favorite like you often see on Senior Night. Taylor has turned into the most consistent rebounder and all-around player on the squad, the Dukes are at their best when Jimenez is healthy and getting consistent touches, Hamner is a sharpshooter of the highest order, and Ms. Evans is, simply, a legend.
Oh yeah, they also played a game tonight. And not just any game, but a “sort of” important one in which they were battling fellow CAA powerhouse UNCW for the regular season title. And these four did not disappoint! The Dukes locked up the #1 seed in next week’s tournament in Upper Marlboro (Show Place Arena for you DC area Dukes) by coming from behind in thrilling fashion to beat the Seahawks 79-77. And guess which Dukes shone brightest this evening? Yes that’s rhetorical. Jimenez set her new career high with a game-high 31 points and Dawn Evans broke the all-time CAA scoring mark with 2583 points, surpassing Drexel’s Gabriela Marginean’s 2581. Needless to say, the Dukes need every one of those points tonight. Not a bad way to wrap up a career in Harrisonburg. Now let’s hope they’ve got two more runs in each of the impending tournaments in ’em. Take a bow ladies and please accept thanks from a couple guys who didn’t know a thing about WBB when this project started and now are sincerely going to miss all four of you!
March is here and it’s finally tournament time. Our 6th seeded JMU Dukes will play the 11th seed William & Mary Tribe in the late game Friday night. It’s a game that JMU should win, but it’s definitely not an easy match-up. William & Mary already proved they can defeat the Dukes when they upset JMU in the ‘Burg last month. And while the Tribe has never won the tournament or been to the Big Dance, they’ve had a couple decent runs in recent CAA tournaments, reaching the finals in 2 of the last 3 years. The Dukes on the other hand, last went dancing all the way back in 1994 and haven’t made a CAA tournament final since 1997.
Fun With Stats
The Dukes own an edge on the glass, grabbing 31.8% of all available rebounds on the offensive end, compared with only 25.2% for the Tribe. They also are better at getting to the free throw line, with a 3.1% advantage in free throw rate. The fact that JMU grabs more offensive boards than W&M means that they get more second chances and easy buckets. The higher free throw rate means that JMU get more chances to score from the line. The end result is that the numbers show us that JMU is a more efficient offensive basketball team, scoring 1.07 points per possession compared to only 1.01 for William & Mary. Translation, JMU has an easier time scoring than William & Mary. We knew this, but it’s nice that the numbers prove it.
What William & Mary Wants to Do
Shoot threes and hit the glass hard. That was the formula the Tribe used to beat the Dukes last month. They outrebounded JMU and then took advantage of some shaky perimeter defense to shoot lights out from long range. It’s not magic. It’s pretty much the book on beating JMU. It’s exactly what I expect Tony Shaver to have his team do.
What JMU Wants to Do
Extend the defense and pound it in the paint offensively. Poor perimeter defense has been the Dukes’ achilles heel all season. It absolutely killed them in the loss to William & Mary. JMU couldn’t cover the guys beyond the three point line which resulted in the Tribe hitting 50% from long range. When the Tribe wasn’t bombing away from 3 point land, they were taking advantage of bad help D and late slides to create back door layups and easy buckets. JMU needs to extend the defensive pressure to prevent the Tribe shooters from spotting up for open jumpers. Then on offensive they’ll need to get shots in the paint. Denzel only got 10 shots the last time these teams faced off. We’ve said the same thing all season. Feed the big man. Assuming they can rebound better than they did last time against the Tribe, getting shots in the paint should lead to some easy put backs and at the same time open it up for Julius and Humpty to hit jumpers.
Prediction
If not for a furious rally in the end of the first game between these two teams, the Tribe would have swept the season series with JMU. I think Coach Brady uses that to his advantage this week and gets the team to focus. Coming off the big win at VCU last week, the Dukes should also be riding a wave of confidence. JMU is a better team than William & Mary and I think they finally play like it on Friday. JMU 77 – W&M 69.
By now we assume you know that JMU finally got the breakthrough win against a top CAA team it needed yesterday. The Dukes closed out the regular seasson with a 72-69 win on the road at VCU. Now while Todd and I have worked really hard this year to make sure that at least of of us could attend, watch, or listen to every JMU game, we dropped the ball on this one. Todd was busy taking in a game at his better half’s alma matter, and I spent the entire weekend handing out with family and friends at a friend’s lake house. While we’re both thrilled the Dukes won, it’s giving us a bit of a complex. We hung on this team’s every possession all year and never got that big win we were waiting for. Then we take a game off and the Dukes pull off the upset. Maybe the Dukes don’t actually have a problem with televised games at all. Maybe they’ve just got a problem with JMUSB tuning in.
Because Drexel also defeated Towson, the Dukes still ended up as the 6th seed in the CAA tournament. As a result, they’ll open things up Friday night with a game against William & Mary. Hopefully, the Dukes can carry some momentum from yesterday’s big win into the tournament and stay hot. After the Tribe, in all likelihood the road the championship game for JMU is going to go through Hofstra and ODU. It is a tough road, but not an impossible one. We’ll break the entir bracket down JMUSB style later this week. And no, I don’t know what JMUSB style is either. In the meantime, now that we’ve determined that JMUSB might be a jinx, you all can think of creative ways to keep us from attending or tuning in for the tournament. Solutions involving free beer have the greatest chance of succeeding.
