The Tribe starts the season series with James Madison University on Wednesday night, as the Dukes come to the Hall. JMU is 6-18 on the season and 3-8 in conference play, the banner win being a victory at home versus ODU. They have had some tough losses, the worst being a 20-point defeat against Youngstown State and an L against Texas Pan-American.

JMU is 299 in the RPI, the worst in the CAA. They are 271 in the Pomeroy Rating, which only gives them a 14% chance of winning. Mike Greenfield is putting the spread at W&M -8, and gives the Dukes a 20% chance of winning. He has them at #295 in the country.

JMU isn’t high up in many Pomeroy stats, but Pierre Curtis is 43rd in the nation at free throw rate and they have a 70th in the nation steal percentage.

JMU’s best returning player is Juwann James, last year’s CAA Rookie of the Year. James is averaging 13.1 points per game, a team-high, and is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds. He definitely doesn’t help from the foul stripe, shooting 54%, and isn’t really a threat from 3. While he is undersized, he makes up for it with the little things and should be our main focus to stop.

Their next leading scorer could be this year’s Rookie of the Year, and that is Pierre Curtis. Curtis is averaging an even 12 points a game, is leading the team in free throw shooting percentage - 76 - and also made free throws. He isn’t much of a threat from 3, but is more of a slasher that will get you to the foul line. In the last few minutes of their game against GMU, even though it was out of hand, he scored 10 of his 11 points and was very impressive.

Finally, Joe Posey is scoring 11.3 points per game for the Dukes. Posey has a 2-3 assist-turnover ratio and is averaging 3.2 rebounds per game. He is the team’s main 3-point shooter, with 55 3’s on the year, almost half the team’s total. He is shooting 41% from long distance and 40% from the floor.

The Dukes played very well a few weeks ago, putting together 2 wins, but with back-to-back losses to Towson and NU, and the fact that the have had trouble against W&M over the last couple years, I really don’t see JMU pulling it out. The vegas spread has W&M -10, and I have it at…

W&M-60
JMU-52

And we get Fairfield. Just for fun, let’s see how the number match up, and if our RPI will really be boosted.

Numbers—–W&M——-Fairfield
RPI———–189———-256
Pomeroy—–170———–215
Record——-11-10——–8-15

How is this game going to help us one bit?

Oh well. To Connecticut we go on the 17th.

Go Tribe!

1)VCU
(A little space)….
2)Hofstra
3)ODU
4)Drexel
5)Mason
6)Towson
7)W&M
8)NU
9)JMU
10)UNCW
11)UD
12)GSU

Just got back from the game, and only have time for a quick recap.

VCU is definitely the best team we’ve played this year. They couldn’t miss, especially Shuler, and after the 15 minute mark in the first half we never had a chance.

Schneider had one of his worst games, in my opinion. 3 turnovers, 5 points, and 2-7 shooting. Tough night for him against the press.

Laimis had a very nice game, scoring 22. He was the only consistent scorer all game.

VCU from 3-50%
From the field-55%

There it is.

Completely unrelated note-big-time recruit Terrence Schmand, QB from Buffalo commits to W&M.

Don’t quite have the bracketbuster yet, but I’m working on it.

Go Tribe!

The regular preview, done a couple weeks ago, can be found here. I’ll focus on how they’ve done since that game.

VCU is 5-0 since our meeting at Kaplan, including wins against ODU, and @ GMU and Drexel. Only twice - one by Maynor, one by Pellot-Rosa - has a member of the guard combo, consisting of BA Walker, Jesse Pellot-Rosa, and Eric Maynor, not been in double-figures in that 5-game span. One of them has led the team in each of those games, with at least 22 points.

BA Walker is the only player to put up double-figures in each of the last 5 games. Walker scored 12 against Towson, 20 against UNCW, 19 against ODU, 24 against GMU, and 24 against Drexel. He is seriously contending for CAA Player of the year, and his 16 ppg doesn’t hurt one bit.

VCU, a potential top 25 team, is all over the top stats. Not only do they play a frantic pace, but the fact that they are #5 in the nation at keeping down turnovers really put them over the hump. They are 12th in the nation at steal percentage, a stat comparing number of steals per possesion, and they get a steal every 7. Also, Eric Maynor and his incredible assist-turnover rate of 124-43, earned him the 33 spot in nation at assist rate.

VCU is 52 in the RPI and 60 in Pomeroy rating, which gives them a 95% chance of winning. Ken Pomeroy predicts them to win, 78-61. Mike Greenfield, who has them at 31 in the nation, gives them a 93% chance of winning and puts the spread at W&M +15.

We can beat this team, and coming off Drexel with Hofstra next, adding a top 25 possiblity to the mix, they easily could over-look us. However, first-year coach Anthony Grant seems to really have them under control, and they should win. Closer than the experts think.

VCU-75
W&M-65

1)VCU
2)Hofstra
3)Drexel
4)GMU
5)ODU
6)W&M
7)Towson
8)NU
9)JMU
10)GSU
11)UNCW
12)UD

What an incredible game, from the great play on the court to the energy of the fans. You could have made each player a highlight reel from this game, so that’s exactly what I’ll do…

AP-Payton didn’t make any flashy plays tonight, but quietly dropped another 17 points. He was 5-6 from the field, 2-2 from 3, and 5-6 from the stripe. He is quickly becoming one of the CAA’s better players.

Laimis Kisielius-A very solid overall game for him. 17 points and 5 assists. He was 7-11 from the field, and 1-2 from the stripe. Also had another 2 boards.

Peter Stein-Pete was the biggest suprise of the game, dominating the post. He was 2-2 from 3, and if you sleep on him he is legitimately becoming a threat. 4 boards, 12 points, and 4-5 from the field.

David Schneider-David had a very solid game that may not show up on the stat sheet. He scored 9 points and was 3-10 from the field, but also had 4 boards and 5 assists. He really rocked the gym with some great moves, and passing.

Adam Trumbower-Trum got his first career start tonight, and made the most of it. For the second straight game he made 2 3’s, 2-2 tonight, and finished with 8 points. He didn’t miss a shot, and had a team-high 3 steals.

Nathan Mann-Definitely not his best game, but he had a reverse lay-up that was the most athletic play I have seen out of him. He had 5 points and was 2-5 from the field in 21 minutes.

Chris Darnell-A VERY good game from CD. He was also perfect on the night, going 3-3 from the field, 1-1 from 3 and the stripe. Not only did he make a big 3, but he had a high-flying dunk, plus a foul shot. He finished with 8 points and 2 assists.

Chris Stratton-Stratt made the most of his 2 minutes tonight. Off a great pass from Steve Hess, Chris threw down what I’m assuming was his first in-game dunk.

Let’s upset VCU monday night.

Check back tomorrow night for our Bracket Buster opponent!

Go Tribe!

is in the pages section….

So a guy named Rich Radford at the Virginian pilot writes an ODU blog, and did a little investigation….

Here’s the truth: The north end basket at the Constant Center is exactly 10 feet high … and the south end basket isn’t. Now, you may be asking, so how far off is it? Does it matter how far off? The mere fact that it’s off should force the Constant Center to acquire a 10-foot pole with a hook on the end that can accurately measure the basket before games. And it should be done right before the national anthem.

Anyway, here’s the straight poop: The south end basket is 10 feet and 3/4 inches high. It’s a small thing, but it isn’t 10 feet, like it’s supposed to be.

Are you kidding me? No wonder the offense was so bad on one end of the court, ODU can’t get the rims at the standard height. I really wonder what would have happened had the Tribe, a team that really relies on the 3, could have had a fair, mistake-free game. Hopefully we have something in store for them next month in Williamsburg.

The first is here, and the stats should be the same for the most part.

Since our match, GSU has gone 2-3. Both of the wins were on the road, the first being @ UNCW and the second @ Delaware. 2 of the losses were expected, playing at Northeastern and hosting Hofstra, but their loss to JMU at home is puzzling. Definitely a game they should have won.

GSU is probably the only team in the CAA better than us at defending the 3. They are 4th in the nation at 27.8 percent. They are also one of the nations better free throw shooting team, and are ranked 41st.

The player, not suprisingly, who has really lit it up since the our meeting in Atlanta, is Lance Perique. He has led the team in scoring in 3 of those games. He scored 23 vs. Northeastern, 11 against Hofstra, 19 against UD, 16 against JMU, but only 8 @ UNCW.

I really can’t see the Tribe losing this game. Mad about the losing streak, students back in town, finally another home game, and a team we crushed on their floor. Tribe wins by 15.

W&M-65
GSU-50