One CAA game at a time.

Bottom line: Nate needs to simply be the POY. Nate AND Andy need to put the team on their back and exert their will to win. Our two bigs have to trump Hofstra's guard strength. The rest is all about defense.

Will be a good road trip, if we can come away with a split.

A back yard game for Thornton, who will be 15 miles from home, so, hopefully his game reflects it.

Go Tribe! Make a statement.

I'm feeling (and hoping) we may exceed expectations in this one, opposed to the last three games.

This has become one our and the CAAs better rivalries. Keep it boiling.

I don't feel good about this game. A win would be pivotal, a huge confidence boost, and a shot in the arm for our fanbase so I hope we pull it off.

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As a Hofstra fan I'm wondering if last night means you aren't good or if it will serve as a wake-up call that you can be better. Your points, rebounds, assists, and three shooting percentages are all better than your opponents, and being 9-5 with 4 home and 9 away games is good. Your away losses are all at teams in good conferences.

Knight (20.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.3 BPG) and Van Vliet (14.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.1 BPG) have a chance to do something that hasn't been done in a long time, and maybe not ever. According to the College Basketball at Sports-Reference Play Index, in the last 27 complete seasons, there have never been teammates with at least 20 games, 15 PPG, 9 RPG, and 1 BPG. Lowering it to 14 PPG makes one pair of teammates who did that, who were Marist's Alan Tomidy and Kareem Hill in 1995-1996. Hill averaged 14.2 PPG, so if the standard doesn't have to be a whole number so it can be 14.9 PPG, Knight and Van Vliet are on pace to do something very rare, and I'm going to make a note to check on that after the season.

(12-31-2019 11:45 AM)EvanJ Wrote:  As a Hofstra fan I'm wondering if last night means you aren't good or if it will serve as a wake-up call that you can be better.

I honestly think the answer is both. We've seen both sides of the coin this season. We've had disjointed offensive games where we've struggled to do anything right. We've had scrappy defensive games and games a matador would be proud of. We've had games where we get little scoring support outside the the twin towers, and games where Loewe/Scott/Barnes puts up 20. With how this season has gone, it wouldn't surprise me if we won or lost by 15 against any CAA team.

Perhaps that wide sweeping inconsistency makes this not a good team.

I think the Elon game was important in that Thornton Scott knocked off some rust, but he will need to hit mid-season form quickly, as they desperately need another consistent scorer on the floor (besides Nate, Andy, and Luke). I respect Tyler's defense, but I'm sure our opponents have figured out he's not a threat to shoot and they adjust accordingly. They won't be able to do that with Thornton on the floor.

Luke is consistent, but maybe, too hesitant to look for his shot. He is barely taking 7 shots per game. We probably need him closer to 10 a game.

Really curious how Dane will balance needing to score with needing to guard Hofstra's dangerous backcourt.

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Your preview says you start conference play with three road games for the first time since you were in the Southern Conference in 1972-1973.

Yeah, then we get 4 home games in a row in a few weeks. Really don't love the conference schedule, and no home game for charter day is a bummer.

We are 7.5 dogs in this one.

Probably our hardest two matchups in the CAA this year are Hofstra and Towson, for totally opposite reasons. There is a tendency to get into an Indy 500 car race with Hofstra and I really do not think that is desirable for this year's Tribe team. Hofstra showed last year that they are willing to let Nate score 40 if we are willing to get into a track meet with their guards, but I think that we will be best served this year if we step on the brake a bit. With Towson, on the other hand, it is always a rock fight, and I do not think that anyone likes a rock fight.

Evan, any idea on how Joe is planning to matchup defensively? I didn't realize how small your lineup was until my buddy pointed it out today. Seems like there will be a mismatch with one of our bigs (and obviously a reciprocal mismatch on the other end of the floor) unless Joe gets creative.

(01-02-2020 01:59 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  Evan, any idea on how Joe is planning to matchup defensively? I didn't realize how small your lineup was until my buddy pointed it out today. Seems like there will be a mismatch with one of our bigs (and obviously a reciprocal mismatch on the other end of the floor) unless Joe gets creative.

They were out-sized everywhere against JMU too. They will just want to run and gun and ignore the mismatch. Have their guards get their hands in passing lanes trying to force turnovers, then get out and run. Playing a half court game is to any team's benefit against them, since the mismatches will then show themselves.

(01-02-2020 02:47 PM)dan10 Wrote:  They were out-sized everywhere against JMU too. They will just want to run and gun and ignore the mismatch. Have their guards get their hands in passing lanes trying to force turnovers, then get out and run. Playing a half court game is to any team's benefit against them, since the mismatches will then show themselves.

Definitely. I was saying early today that if I was Hofstra, I'd be doing whatever I could to limit half court possessions and speed the game up. In some ways, going for a steal and whiffing to allow an easy layup may be more helpful to their game long term than playing defense in a traditional set. No idea if Hofstra has a press in their arsenal.

(01-02-2020 12:03 PM)billymac Wrote:  We are 7.5 dogs in this one.

Seems about fair. If we're being honest I could see anything from a small Tribe win to Hofstra by 20.

(01-02-2020 02:57 PM)TDenverFan Wrote:  

(01-02-2020 12:03 PM)billymac Wrote:  We are 7.5 dogs in this one.

Seems about fair. If we're being honest I could see anything from a small Tribe win to Hofstra by 20.

Agree with this. I hope we're both wrong and our Tribe wins going away.

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Does the Color Man's mother know he isn't home tonight??

Have we faced a zone defense this year?

I'm interested to see what our offense against it will be. Hope we get hot from 3.

Great start!


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