i'm hoping to get down for the games next weekend. elon friday night is a big one. last game i saw was up at penn state...the first game of the year. they got better just within the game.

god bless denise dillon. she has a system and style she likes to play. she brings in players who fit that system. they play good fundamental basketball with good passing and defense. it helps her compete with programs that are bigger and more athletic than what she's putting on the floor.

(01-20-2018 11:17 AM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  i'm hoping to get down for the games next weekend. elon friday night is a big one. last game i saw was up at penn state...the first game of the year. they got better just within the game.

god bless denise dillon. she has a system and style she likes to play. she brings in players who fit that system. they play good fundamental basketball with good passing and defense. it helps her compete with programs that are bigger and more athletic than what she's putting on the floor.

i'm convinced if it hadn't been for delaware getting edd...aka the blind squirrel finding an acorn...we would have at least 1 if not 2 more caa titles.

(01-20-2018 11:18 AM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  

(01-20-2018 11:17 AM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  i'm hoping to get down for the games next weekend. elon friday night is a big one. last game i saw was up at penn state...the first game of the year. they got better just within the game.

god bless denise dillon. she has a system and style she likes to play. she brings in players who fit that system. they play good fundamental basketball with good passing and defense. it helps her compete with programs that are bigger and more athletic than what she's putting on the floor.

i'm convinced if it hadn't been for delaware getting edd...aka the blind squirrel finding an acorn...we would have at least 1 if not 2 more caa titles.

I think that 2013 team was the best that Drexel ever had, even better than the 2009 team that won the CAA. That team lost to the Delle Donne's by 3 in the CAA Championship. But it's interesting how things work out. Drexel actually accomplished more by losing that game and winning the WNIT that year than if they had won the CAA. I don't think that team was good enough to win in the NCAA Tournament, but that WNIT championship really put a mark on the program.

Great weekend for Drexel’s winning basketball team, with 2 big road wins. Dragons are now in sole possession of 2nd place and a game out of 1st.

Today’s game was a bit crazy. Drexel dominated the first half and I think led 24-5 at one point. Hofstra went into the 2nd quarter media timeout with just 1 FG. But Hofstra eventually started playing tough defense and got the score down to 3 points. But Drexel managed to pull away for the big win.

Watching this team is watching basketball the way I think it should be played. They are a very unselfish team that focuses on playing solid defense. There’s no star on the team and they can put any combination of 10 players on the court and compete with their opponent’s starters.

Dragons RPI is up to 49 with their 2 road wins over the weekend. They are 2-5 against the top 100 and 12-0 against 100+ teams. Other Drexel teams would have a few bad losses sprinkled into their schedule. So far, their only losses are against power conference teams and JMU (who's as good as many power conference teams).

Nice article on Hannah Nihill
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/coll...ml?photo_3

(01-25-2018 02:42 PM)Water Boy Wrote:  Nice article on Hannah Nihill
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/coll...ml?photo_3

I gave the article it's own thread. Too important to be buried in this WBB thread.

HUGE game tonight. Elon faces us with a lot on the line. Elon is the preseason favorite and still a favorite to finish in the top 4. They are off to a rocky start at 4-3(with losses to JMU, W&M and Delaware). But this is a very talented team we will face. We already lost to JMU so we need to win this one to stay in contention at the top. A win here can really set us up towards a top 2 finish. This weekend with Elon and NU can really set the stage on where this team will finish. Both of them are contenders for a top 4 finish, winning both this weekend can just about lock us into a top 4 finish (minus some unforeseen collapse).

I'm looking forward to streaming tonight's game at home, and then I'll be at the DAC for Sunday's game.

Here's an interesting stat to show just how important tonight's game is. Drexel has lost 15 in a row to teams that finished ahead of them in the standings in that particular year (not including the JMU loss this year). Drexel teams of the past have dominated the middle and lower teams in the league but have really struggled against the best, which is mostly JMU, but also Elon last year, who swept them. Drexel needs to show Elon that the Dragons are the better team, and this game will have a major factor on who finishes higher in the standings. Drexel and Elon are both undefeated at home this year. Elon has not won a CAA game on the road thus far.

the nature of women's basketball seems to be there are a few teams that are a lot better than everyone else. the caa has traditionally been like that. jmu and in the past odu could always bring in the bigger/athletic players that you'd expect at some of the power 5 schools. i've never seen elon in person so i can't say what they do well. we nip at their heels by playing good basketball. we beat jmu for the title that year because we packed the lane against their size and they couldn't hit a jump shot to save their lives.

I feel like we have a better mix of size/skill. it's still young but really has potential. we have 2-3 mershon types instead of just one.

(01-26-2018 12:18 PM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  the nature of women's basketball seems to be there are a few teams that are a lot better than everyone else. the caa has traditionally been like that. jmu and in the past odu could always bring in the bigger/athletic players that you'd expect at some of the power 5 schools. i've never seen elon in person so i can't say what they do well. we nip at their heels by playing good basketball. we beat jmu for the title that year because we packed the lane against their size and they couldn't hit a jump shot to save their lives.

I feel like we have a better mix of size/skill. it's still young but really has potential. we have 2-3 mershon types instead of just one.

Very True. And the lack of parody in college basketball extends far beyond the CAA. When you watch the WBB selection show, it seems like all of the teams, even the mid-majors have 25-27 wins. That means that there are probably a lot of 25-27 loss teams as well. You don't see as much of that with the men. It seems as if everyone (except maybe Drexel) tries to put a winning men's program on the court. But there are so many teams that don't seem to be trying for the women and act like they're kind of forced to field a team. Meanwhile the schools that do care about putting a strong women's team on the court have a real opportunity to dominate.

The problem with women's basketball is the talent gap. There have been 7 different title winners in the last 17 years and just 15 different teams who have played for a national championship. If you like exciting upsets, they dont happen very often there. Some of the games are good, but if someone wanted to sit down and watch the predicted final four teams, they are largely going to watch a season filled with mostly blowouts.

Big win for Drexel 58-56, coming from behind by 10 in the fourth quarter. Hannah Nihill with a big three and steal coming down the stretch. Lidge led the Dragons with 17.

WOW! WOW! WOW!

What and incredible win for Drexel tonight. All looked lost early in the 4th quarter. Elon nailed 2 straight 3 pointers to take a 10 point lead. Something clicked midway through the 4th quarter and Drexel dominated on the boards and fought off a tough Elon team for a crazy 58-56 win.

Great game tonight. Lidge was the truth. She hit big shots when we had to have them. Their size gave us trouble. #5 was like a wrecking ball. Bad free throw shooting almost cost us. Great officiating too. They let them play.

A very nice win indeed. This is still a tough matchup due to size, but great to get this victory and have a 3 game lead over them. It looks like it will be a battle between us and JMU for top spot.

(01-26-2018 01:28 PM)J.B. Wrote:  

(01-26-2018 12:18 PM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  the nature of women's basketball seems to be there are a few teams that are a lot better than everyone else. the caa has traditionally been like that. jmu and in the past odu could always bring in the bigger/athletic players that you'd expect at some of the power 5 schools. i've never seen elon in person so i can't say what they do well. we nip at their heels by playing good basketball. we beat jmu for the title that year because we packed the lane against their size and they couldn't hit a jump shot to save their lives.

I feel like we have a better mix of size/skill. it's still young but really has potential. we have 2-3 mershon types instead of just one.

Very True. And the lack of parody in college basketball extends far beyond the CAA. When you watch the WBB selection show, it seems like all of the teams, even the mid-majors have 25-27 wins. That means that there are probably a lot of 25-27 loss teams as well. You don't see as much of that with the men. It seems as if everyone (except maybe Drexel) tries to put a winning men's program on the court. But there are so many teams that don't seem to be trying for the women and act like they're kind of forced to field a team. Meanwhile the schools that do care about putting a strong women's team on the court have a real opportunity to dominate.

Last season 67 Men's and 80 Women's teams had a winning percentage of .750 or higher or .250 or lower. That includes the postseason.

(01-27-2018 04:06 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  Last season 67 Men's and 80 Women's teams had a winning percentage of .750 or higher or .250 or lower. That includes the postseason.

How many women's basketball programs are there? I would think there might be less...

There are only 2 fewer D1 women's programs than men's. 349 women and 351 men. Either way, I think Evan proved both of our points a bit that there is less parity in women's hoops.

So far this season, 8 Women's teams have a better point differential per game than any Men's team. The 20 best Men's differentials average 15.3 and the 20 best Women's differentials average 20.9. That only includes games against Division I teams. In general, sports that more teams and fans care about have more parity. The Round of 16 at a FIFA World Cup will have more competitive games than equivalent tournaments for sports that are popular in a limited amount of countries like a FIFA Women's World Cup, baseball, basketball, and hockey. In many sports there is a giant gap between the best and tenth best national teams. The word is "parity," not "parody."