Postgame carnage.
Name two teams in the A14 currently in a free fall from high expectations and peak optimism…(hint Charlotte is one of them).
The answer: Charlotte and Rhode Island.
Rhode Island went from “likely at large” to “you must be dreaming” over the past couple weeks, losing 4 of the past 5 (sound familiar?). Where did they go wrong? I don’t know. Maybe they forgot how to play basketball. And while it would have been nice for this game to have been a “Battle of the A14 Leaders!”, it still is an important game. If we can win this game, and Saint Louis drops one, then we are still alive for a first round bye in the A14 tourney. And yes, I will continue to call it the A14 until it goes down to just TEN TEAMS.
This game reminds me a lot of the 07-08 season. We were an okay team then, and with half the conference schedule remaining, Rhose Island was still contending for an at large. Then they fell apart and it all culminated with a loss on their Senior Day to… you guessed it… Charlotte. And then they went and blew a solid lead in the first round of the A14 tourney to… yep, those bastards… Charlotte. It’s amazing we don’t have a rivalry with these guys after those two games, but when you spend your athletic budget trying to look like Chapel Hill, well, you deserve it.
I want Charlotte to win this game. I truly do. But URI is full of athletic guys that are going to make our offense stutter and turn the ball over. The only thing going for us tonight is that URI is the only team in as hard of a tailspin as us. Maybe we pull this out, I sure hope we do, but I am worried that I left my green tinted glasses somewhere, probably near NLP’s swagger.
But hell, since this blog is all about blind optimism, I say we win. Predictions are below, leave yours in the comments.
Not mine, but hilarious anyway.
If you’re interested in becoming a full-time predictor, let me know!
J Felt – Charlotte 74, URI 67. Senior Day curse strikes again, as Derrio relaxes and drops in a calm, but cool, 20 points.
HP – Hate to think that a “rhode” game is a must win for the 49ers. Somehow… Niners 80, Rams 77.
letsgoNINERS11 – I don’t like our chances as we are playing for seeding in the Not Important Tournament. Charlotte 68 – URI 77
JRitchie – Charlotte proves it is unraveling at a slower pace that Rhody by ramming out a close one 71-69