Another road game, another loss. Hampton was a team we should have beaten, but MEAC refs and more sloppy play did the Tribe in.

You can’t really blame the team at this point. They should have won, no doubt, but with 2 top big men out(Stratt and Alex Smith) it will be hard to win games against comparable opponents. We’ll need Stratt to beat Fairfield.

David Schneider had his first off night of the year, going 3/10 from the field with 6 turnovers to 4 assists. The refs didn’t help, and one play comes to mind where he tried to split 2 defenders, was pushed down to the ground and slid about 10 feet, which is when the official called traveling. He should be back to his normal self tomorrow, though.

Sumner had another outstanding game as a starter, and Laimis came off the bench with bounce in his step scoring 14 points with 6 boards. That is the kind of play we need from those two consistently.

I am not sure what is going on with Nathan Mann. 0/7 from the floor, 0 points, 2 turnovers in 22 minutes. He is not playing like a senior captain.

The Tribe will be looking for revenge tomorrow, facing a Fairfield team that upset them towards the end of last season. The Stags have gotten off to a rough start so far with a 3-8 record, with their top win being over American.

Their only player averaging double figues on the year is Jonathon Han. Han is sitting at 12.5 points per contest, and is also lethal from long range. He will be the #1 priority for the Tribes defense.

Frankly, this is a must win. If you lose to a 3-8 team in the MAAC, there is no way you get more than 2 wins in the CAA. Tribe needs to win, and win by double digits.

W&M - 67
Fairfield - 51

The Tribe looks to get back on the right track with a challenging game at Hampton on Saturday night. The Pirates started off the season very strong, with wins over UDel, VCU, and Tulsa, but is coming off losses in 3 of their last 4 games, including an 18-point beat-down from UMBC. This game is huge for the Tribe’s confidence, and the season will be virtually over with a loss.

Hampton’s number reflect the fact that they are very beatable. They have 181 turnovers on the year compared to 115 assists, they are shooting below 60% from the stripe, and are shooting 27% from 3. It is somewhat shocking that they have had to much success this year when the numbers are so skewed against them. They have a small rebounding advantage, at 397-390.

Rashad West is Hampton’s leading scorer, and he is averaging 17.6 points per game. He is also the top passer with 2.7 assists per game, and he is pulling down an average of 3.5 boards a contest. He is shooting 75% from the foul line which is one of the top numbers on the team.

Hampton’s only other player in double figures is Vincent Simpson. Simpson is averaging 11 points per game and has the team’s top three point percentage at 35%. He is also the best foul shooter on the team, shooting about 75% this year. Keeping him under control will be key.

As long as the Tribe doesn’t make stupid mistakes and can play their game, this shouldn’t be too hard. I think the team is still upset about losing to VMI and will come out strong. Expect a big win.

Tribe: 75
HU: 58

This team is terrible.

Too slow, not enough offensive threats, crack under pressure.

32 turnovers. And Alex Smith is now out for a while, maybe the season. Schneider is the only guy on the team playing like he cares(well, Stratt is too…). Kisielius needs to step up along with Stein, both of which have been major disappointments.

I don’t understand why the freshmen are not playing more. You can’t tell me some of the players we put out there are better than Sexton or Kitts are, and their redshirts are burned so it doesn’t make any sense. I’d like to see both of them get significant PT.

This looks like it will be an 8-10 win season, but hope is on the horizon. McCurdy will be the best player on the team the second he is finished sitting out, and if Smith gets redshirted we will still have 2 years of him. But a big recruiting class is absolutely pivotal to prevent this team from digressing further.

Hopefully Shaver can turn it around. Go tribe.

(Oh, by the way, the Montreat game will be a 20+ point win. No preview due to the holiday season and all).

The Tribe comes back from exam break with what should be a sleeper, facing 5-5 VMI. The Keydets have lost their last 2 games, vs. Dartmouth and Northern Colorado. Their best win of the season was a  7-point upset win of JMU earlier this month. They play an extremely fast paced style, and have scored as many as 156 points in a game.

Reggie Williams in the top player on VMI, and was one of the top scorers in the nation last year. He is averaging 26.4 points per game so far this season, along with 8.7 rebounds a game. He is shooting over 50% from the field, but only 22% from 3.

Their second leading scorer is Chavis Holmes, who is averaging 17.4 points per game. He is one of the best 3 point shooters on the team, at 38%, and is shooting 45% from the field. He is also one of 5 players on the team with over 20 steals.

The key to this game is to not turn the ball over. VMI doesn’t shoot for a great percentage, but they have forced 278 turnovers this year compared to the 173 they have commited. If they can control the ball this game should not be close.

Tribe 105
VMI 92

First complete game of the year, and a 23 point win on the road. A very nice 18-9 assist-turnover ratio, as compared to 6-16 on their side. Defense was also exceptional, holding the Osprey’s to 27% from the field.

Danny Sumner was the star again, and he has finally become the player we expected. 12 points and 6 boards in 22 minutes. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he starts against VMI.

Pete Stein also got started in this game, with 8 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists. This was easily his best game of the year, and he took advantage of a small UNF team.

Foul shooting was at 47% this game, a problem that has killed us the last 3 games. Schneider and Kisielius are the only ones hitting consistently, and that needs to get better.

Still no Alex Smith. I’ll try to find out what is going on, but we’ll need him against VMI. He has had quite the snakebitten career.

2 weeks off until the next home game, VMI on the 20th. GO TRIBE!

A football note, rumor is DeBrian Holmes was arrested last week for a fight at a party. Hopefully that works out for the better.

GO TRIBE

The young Tribe basketball season is already on life support, and it could get much worse. The Tribe travels to Richmond for the second time in a week to face VCU, the preseason #2 team in the CAA. The Rams return all-CAA guard Eric Maynor, famous for knocking Duke out of the NCAA tournament last year on a last second jumper.

VCU has had an up and down season so far. After going 3-2 in their first 5 games, with wins against teams they should beat and vice versa, the Rams lost to Hampton and then went and beat Maryland. This game will be very dependent on which VCU team shows up.

The Ram’s two-headed monster this season has been headed by Jamal Shuler, a sharp-shooting 2 guard from Arizona. He is averaging 16.6 points per game so far, with 4 rebounds per. He is near 50% from 3 on the season, and if his shot is on it will be a very long night for Tribe fans.

Eric Maynor was the best player on the team last year as a freshman, and appears to be better. He is averaging 16.3 points per game, and has 38 assists compared to 22 turnovers. His shot is not his strength, but he is known to knock down the big ones.

The Tribe will be a huge underdog in this game, and will need to take the crowd out of it early. When the fans get pumped there, the team gets on a roll with their pressing style and fast paced offense. Mann and Kisielius need to be on, and we need to pray Shuler is not.

VCU: 85
W&M: 60