Listen, reader. We haven’t had content since the LaSalle game. Get over it. You should be thankful that one of us bothered to write a preview for that game. Seriously, who cares about LaSalle? As NLP often points out, fans have no excuse for forgetting there’s a game. But there has to be an exception for LaSalle. In this paragraph, LaSalle has been mentioned more times than it has by basketball fans for the past six years.

But why did you forget previews for the other games after that? You didn’t even post something for Homecoming against Rhode Island!

You’re right. That’s inexcuseable. But we did decide to enjoy tailgating with the Normbulance on Saturday morning rather than sit in front of a computer screen.

Now that we’re riding a two game winning streak, however, GreenTintedGlasses.net is interested. We promise to bring back the the coverage you have missed so dearly. Of course we’re still lazy, so this presents us with a problem. Lucky for the us, The Blackburn Review exists. To take away the burden of doing actual research and coming up with our own jokes, we reached out to Tom Blackburn to get some insight on our game on the road against the Dayton Flyers. You can find their equally lazy preview here.

GreenTintedGlasses.net: First off, how’ve you been? It’s a new season with a new coach. Are you glad Mooney didn’t take the Georgia Tech job, opening the door for Gregory to skip town? Have you noticed any major changes with the new regime?

Blackburn: Chris Mooney holds a deserved place in the heart of every Flyer fan. In an alternate universe, Mooney is coaching the Yellow Jackets and Brian Gregory is in Dayton, in the middle of a 9-15 season, coming off a ten point loss at Fordham.

Instead, BG is pacing the Georgia Tech sideline, turning that program back to the stone age. The silver lining of this season, beside the pleasant beginning to the Flyer’s A10 schedule, has been the fact that Gregory can’t hurt us anymore. UD and BG were in an circular abusive relationship and Archie Miller came in and swept us off our collective feet. He looks like he’s 16 but he fucks like a 40 year-old trucker on dust and always has a wad of cash in his pocket. The best part is that Archie fits into all of Gregory’s old suits, win-win.

GTG: You’ve lost four of your last five (and let’s face it, using overtime to beat Fordham is practically a loss as well) since beating Xavier. Is this the classic Dayton Flyers Tailspin, or is there a logical explanation?

B: It’s just a case of a team playing above its heads for a short period of time before reality set in. Dayton came into this season with a lack of depth, yet managed to string together a fairly decent OOC record. The Flyers won the Old Spice Classic and, outside of a pink-socking against Buffalo, took care of business.

Then Josh Benson, in the midst of a solid season, went down with a season-ending ACL injury during UD’s win against Ole Miss to close out 2011. At that point, it looked like the season was all but over. Instead, the Flyers rolled off victories against Saint Louis, Temple and Xavier — good enough for first place in the league at the time. Then, like the ceiling of an Ethiopian church, it collapsed quickly and almost without warning.  And here we stand, 5-5 in the conference with nary a glimmer of hope.

GTG: Overall Dayton seems to be scoring by committee; there are currently six players averaging between eight and thirteen points. What is Archie’s offensive strategy and, be honest, do you enjoy watching it?

B: Archie likes to play at a much different pace than his predecessor. Kevin Dillard has the abilitiy to penetrate and find open looks. No one has parlayed Dillard’s play into success as much as Boof Kavanaugh.Although Dayton still bombs away from the three-point line with audacity, there are enough wrinkles to keep everyone involved on the offensive end. That’s in stark contrast to last season.

Defensively, the Flyers struggle to keep anyone from scoring. That’s not fun. However, the positive indicators far outweigh the negative. I get a rod just thinking about next season’s team.

GTG: Who should Charlotte fans watch out for tomorrow (other than the Redheaded Cheerleader)?

B: The other redheaded cheerleader? Seriously, UD doubled-down on redheaded cheerleaders. Two gingers this season. Outside of Kevin Dillard, this has been the highlight of the season. I really, really, wish I was kidding.

GTG: Prediction?

B: I think UD wins a tight one, something like 74-70. Dayton’s indifference to defense means convincing wins are hard to come by. Charlotte is good enough to hang with the Flyers, but I have a feeling Chris Johnson is about to get back on track as the season draws to an end. CJ scores 22, grabs 11 boards to lead UD to victory.

GTG: Finally, as a token of our appreciation, we present to you GingerDuster. How does she stack up to your own red celebrity?

B: She’s seem a lot more edgy and possibly dirtier than our redhead celeb. This pains me to say, more than you’ll ever know, but I think the Niners have the ginger edge. I never thought I’d say that. Cherish her, Charlotte. Cherish her.

The GingerDuster photo was blatantly grabbed from the Observer’s kind of creepy (how did they get past Judy with all those pictures of cheerleaders and dusters?) slideshow linked here. Photo taken by Todd Sumlin.

That was definitely easier, and arguably more entertaining, than the usual GTG preview. Predictions from the crew are below. Add yours in the comments.

J Felt: Charlotte 76, Dayton 69. This is bizarro world, Niners win in Dayton to avenge losing in Halton last year
Geep: Dayton takes flight over Charlotte. Flyers 75, Niners 71
McFly: They want our ginger (not Cpip, the other one), they can’t have her, but they’ll win. Dayton 74, Charlotte 64
NLP: Much like the Spruce Goose, the Flyers never really take flight. Niners 75 – Flyers 70
2k: Dayton Flyers, nah, Dayton Failers. Niners keep it going with a 72-67 W on the road.  Archie Miller for COY.

Tonight, the Charlotte Forty-Niners (10-10 overall, 2-5 A-10) try to get on the right track by traveling to Philadelphia for a game versus the La Salle Explorers (16-6 overall, 5-2 A-10).  Some Niner fans may remember the Explorers from two years ago, when the now departed An’Juan Wilderness hit a crazy runner to win the game.  Then some of the fans may remember La Salle from when Shamari Spears attempted to go all “Incredible Hulk” against their coaching staff, players, and fans (good thing there were only 37 in attendance) during the same game.  Then the Niner fans who are historical buffs will likely be confused by the fact that the university is named for a Catholic Saint dedicated to education, where as their nickname comes from a French explorer who never did anything for the city of Philadelphia.  However, that French explorer, during an expedition had a small fort built called Fort Prudhomme (waits for the readers to Google, I’ll wait).  Niner fans should loathe this French fort as it is now known as present day Memphis, Tennessee.  With such little rivalry in the Atlantic Ten for Charlotte fans this is what we are left to in order to extrapolate hate towards a program we have no qualms with.  Therefore, La Salle created the Memphis Tigers.

Back to basketball…

The Explorers have been an enigma the past few seasons.  When they are picked to fair well, they seem to hit just low of expectations, and when picked to not be much of a contender, they fair much better.  This season the Explorers were picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic Ten, and of course in atypical La Salle fashion, they are tied for first in the conference.  How do they do it?  They shoot lights out.  Six players have shot three pointers for La Salle, with the worst one of the bunch shooting 33% from the three-point line.  To put that in to the context of Norm (one “M”), that would make La Salle’s Earl Pettis the fourth best shooter on Charlotte, and considering two of those players (Pierria’ Henry and Chris Braswell) have combined for 61 attempts, that would make Pettis the second greatest threat for Charlotte.  Four explorers shoot higher then 40%, with Ramon Galloway stroking an absurd 48% of his deep balls, all while averaging a team high 15.5 PPG.  So if you have not caught on, La Salle is going to spread out the perimeter and look for open shots.  In turn, good shooters open up multiple driving lanes, which could lead to easy buckets for the Explorers.

As for Charlotte, they will need a stellar defensive plan, and it would not hurt to get Pierria’ Henry back into the fold for this game.  The perimeter players will need to hound La Salle’s shooters off the three-point line, force them into contested jumpers, or into help situations to create turnovers.  If the Niners just expect to chase La Salle’s shooters around screens it is going to be a long night.

Offensively, Charlotte needs more balance (I know, we specialize in rocket science here at GTG).  La Salle is not known for their big men this season, so Chris Braswell should touch the ball on the block nearly every time down the court.  If and when help comes, other players need to step up and hit jump shots.  Javarris Barnett is not going off for 20+ points every night, so others need to help create balance so defenses cannot key in on these two.

Keys To The Game:

• Pressure La Salle’s shooters.  Percentages do not lie, and these guys will make you pay for leaving them open.  A tight man-to-man is likely the best medicine defensively against this team, because a zone would be like Dr. Kevorkian, or Dr. Conrad Murray, whichever pop-culture reference works for you.
• Rebound the ball.  If the Niners can pressure their shooters, there will be rebounds to get, and La Salle is not an overly good rebounding team (Charlotte 36.4 RPG, La Salle 34.0 RPG).  Charlotte needs to win this battle.
• Take the ball to the hole strong and convert lay-ups.  La Salle does not have an intimidating post presence like St. Joseph’s.  Chris Braswell will have the highest blocks per game average on the court tonight and he might have a 7” vertical.

Predictions:

McFly:  Niners continue their slide, despite a competitive performance.  La Salle 73, Charlotte 68.

J-Felt: JB breaks the thirty point barrier and the Explorers get lost. Niners 73, LaSalle 67.

C-Pip: Charlotte explores how it feels to win, Niners 66-La Salle 64

The Geep:  We’ll probably lose.

2k: Niners falter in a close game on the road. Explorers 74, Niners 69

NLP: Niners sneak the Easy Button on the plane and win comfortably. Charlotte 83 – La Salle 52

Since joining the Atlantic 10, the Niners have managed to beat Xavier twice. Both of those victories occurred in Halton and took place during losing seasons. Needless to say, it’s been strange. Beating Xavier seems to be an indication that we suck, and since we have done just that the past two games there’s a sense of confidence in the fan base going into this contest.

The bad news is that Henry is still sidelined with a sprained MCL (not his finger, “obviously”) and there appears to be some chemistry issues within the team. Maybe the newcomers have yet to mesh with the elder Hit Squad. Maybe there’s favoritism from the coaching staff for “their guys.” Maybe Judy Rose has stopped giving fashion tips to the seniors. Who knows? Either way, the team is going to need to come together this weekend or else it will be another embarrassment. We can count on Chris Braswell to bring his game to the court, but will Derrio and Deuce step up in Henry’s absence?

There is some good news. Xavier is beatable. Ever since The Brawl the Musketeers just haven’t had the same swagger they had to start out the season. A top ten team with Final Four potential has become a mid-pack Atlantic 10 squad and just suffered demoralizing losses at Dayton and to Saint Louis at home. For whatever reason, they seem as broken as we do.

To get some insight, GTG reached out to Dana and Victory contributor golfitup (@muskieblog). He provided the information you need to know about Xavier that we were too lazy to look up.

GreenTintedGlasses: Xavier was tabbed early on as not only one of the favorites in the conference, but also a potential Final Four team. Now things are obviously not going as well. Would you agree that the Cincy game was the turning point? What has changed with this team since the brawl?

Golf: Clearly, everything points to the “brawl” with UC. But I don’t think the turning point was the fight or subsequent suspensions that followed. The vilification the players faced from everyone in the media who has a keyboard and/or a microphone for referring to themselves as “gangstas” has had a far more lasting impact on the mental make-up of this team. For better or worse, that’s how this team identified themselves. And frankly, I could have cared less. We live in a country where athletes are continually compared to “warriors” and everyone goes “to battle” every time they take the court/field. Hell, against Dayton last Saturday the play by play guy referred to Mark Lyons as an “assassin,” and Tu Holloway had been called a “killer” earlier in the year. I know I’m looking through this with Xavier colored glasses, but what the hell? I just don’t see the difference. And the team has clearly not been able to shake it. The defense has been especially alarming. If Charlotte can run a competent offense with lots of good screens they should see a lot of open looks Saturday night.

GTG: Tu Holloway is one of the best guards in the country and a threat to takeover the game at any time, what do you think makes him such a special player? Are you concerned that he has a tendency to shoot Xavier OUT of games at time as well?

Golf: What makes Tu special is his clutch play late in games. He hit multiple big time three pointers in come from behind wins against Vanderbilt and Purdue earlier this season. Last season, he had to take a lot of the shots because of an extreme lack of depth in the back court and if the shots weren’t falling (like last year at Halton), then our chances of winning reduced significantly. This year he has taken a measured approach to scoring, taking it to opponents only when the opportunity presents itself or late in games when points are needed.

GTG: Xavier has seen good play from some new faces this year, who has really stood out?

Golf: Dezmine Wells has jump out of the gym athleticism. Once he refines his all-around game he could become one of the better players in the league down the line. Dee Davis is a pest defensively, but needs to improve his offensive game. The new front court additions, Andre Walker and Travis Taylor, have their moments but all too often have not shown the requisite toughness needed to be good consistent performers in the low post on both ends of the floor.

GTG: Sucker punches aside, what’s the best way for opponents to control the paint against big Kenny Frease?

Golf: Well, no one in the fan base is quite sure what to make of Kenny Frease this year. He’s been rather disappointing which is unfortunate. Last season was clearly his best in a Xavier uniform. But this year he tends to panic when faced with pressure. If I’m Alan Major I double Kenny right away each time he catches the ball in the low post until he consistently proves he can make the right play under pressure.

GTG: How do you see the Atlantic 10 shaking out in the end? Will Xavier be standing at the top mocking all the pretenders again? Biggest surprise?

Golf: What a mess this conference is right now. At 2-4 you all are only 2 games back of first at the moment. Dayton look like legit contenders against us Saturday, and then lost at St. Joe’s by 14 Wednesday night so who the hell knows what will happen. For Xavier, if things don’t improve on the defensive end in a hurry our run at a 6th straight regular season title will end sooner rather than later. At this point, almost nothing will surprise me.

Big thanks to golfitup and Dana and Victory. For those looking for pregame fun, the tailgate starts around 3 PM. Our predictions for the game are below. Leave yours in the comments.

J Felt: Stranger things have happened. Charlotte 71, Xavier 65.
NLP: Bet the house on Green. Niners 49, Xavier 45.
Chaz: Niners aren’t that good this year… which means Xavier is TOAST in Halton Arena. Charlotte 65, Xavier 60.
Mandill “Don’t Think For Yourself” Geep: Very well said Chaz, I agree Niners 68, Muskies 63.
2k: Niners play harder than they did vs Temple, same outcome. XU 80, Charlotte 62.
McFly: Niners may as well wear an X on their jerseys because the Muskies are going to put a shovel in them, they’re done.  X 74, Charlotte 55.

Three straight conferences losses have deflated the momentum created by the Niners’ hot start to conference play. Looking to reverse that backwards momentum, Charlotte (10-8, 2-3) welcomes Temple (13-5, 2-2) to Halton Arena tonight for the 12th all-time meeting between the schools (Temple leads 6-5).

The Niners are looking to regain some of their fire

Temple, as most are #aware, is a quality program. They score a lot of points, shoot really well from the field and have a winning record on the road (5-3), coming into this game having won two straight (both at home) against La Salle and the rebuilding Maryland Terrapins (LOL). Last season, when things seemed their bleakest Temple was only able to beat Charlotte by nine in Philadelphia. However, Temple converts on greater than 46% of their shots from the field, so it will take a defensive intensity unseen before and an offensive fire to keep Charlotte in this game.

Temple has an offense oriented towards the perimeter being lead in scoring by two guards, Ramon Moore (17.2 PPG) and Khalif Wyatt (16.6 PPG). Moore is shooting 41.1% from the field, while Wyatt is converting 47.7% of his shots which is astounding from the guard position. Should the 49ers overbear on these two players, the third leading scorer, Juan Fernandez (11.6 PPG), will probably be wide open with a hunger to make a basket. Moore, Wyatt, and Fernandez all shoot above 35% from behind the arc, with Wyatt and Fernandez shooting over 40% from three-point range. Making matters worse is the overall size of Temple’s backcourt, which is amongst the largest the Niners will face this season. Working in Charlotte’s favor, especially if Pierria Henry gets his usual share of minutes, is that Temple’s three guards account for 7.3 turnovers a game. Henry will need help from Deuce Brisco, Derrio Green, and Terrence Williams to help force these turnovers. More importantly the fastbreaks can’t end with missed lay-ups, fastbreaks only seem to work when DeMario Mayfield has the ball because he finishes strong every time he can.

Inside, the Owls have had to turn to the 6’10″ Anthony Lee and 6’6″ Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson while Michael Eric has been injured for most of the season. Eric (6’10″) might be seeing his first extended action (logged 7 minutes versus Maryland and looked rusty) since his injury tomorrow and Charlotte’s Chris Braswell needs to be ready to pounce if there is vulnerability in Eric’s game. The team only gets four blocks a game so if Braswell, or even Sherrill, can get their post game working for them their shots that start so low have a good chance of getting up and over the basket. Anthony and Hollis-Jefferson have only accounted for 15PPG to this point of the season, Temple doesn’t run an inside-out offense which will help our frontcourt stay out of foul trouble.

Charlotte has to play almost, if not entirely, like a good basketball team to beat Temple. Braswell needs to make his buckets and pass out of double-teams without throwing the ball out of bounds or to an Owl. The Niners have to, as stated earlier, stay composed on fastbreaks and focus on getting the ball through the hoop. When a wing penetrates the lane they need to play through the foul, unless the foul shooting improves the Niners would be better off coming out empty handed on an and-one situation than bricking two from the charity stripe.

This season’s team is nerve-racking and they do not make it easy on [The] Niner Nation. If they can put together 40 Minutes of well-composed basketball they may find themselves with a win over Temple.

Predictions:

J_Felt: I believe that we will win, I believe that we will win, I believe… oh Henry is still hurt?…that we will lose, I believe that we will lose. Charlotte 67, Temple 79.
C-Pip: The Niners are back! Charlotte squeeks one out over the Owls, 75-73
McFly:  I’d bet against us in this one even if Henry was 100%, if he’s not I’d bet the house.  Charlotte 52, Temple 68.
2k: Niners look to remain undefeated at Halton vs Temple.  If PH can play, Niners win 71-68.  If no PH, Temple 76-64.
Geep:  Niners bow down in front of Temple. Owls 82, Charlotte 77.
NLP:  F*** you guys. Niners 74 Temple 68

Well that was a little unexpected. Or maybe it wasn’t? Whatever your feelings were ahead of Wednesday’s non-conference contest against Kennesaw State, the outcome left much to be desired. While the shooting was there for the Niners, who improved to 10-7 on the season (2-2 in league play), sharp outside shooting by the visiting Owls (3-16) and a rebounding advantage (through most of the game) kept KSU in the game much longer than the sparse crowd in attendance would have liked.

Despite the relatively close score, the Niners did well to limit Markeith Cummings, the explosive F who typically leads KSU in scoring.  Cummings managed 14 points; however, it took him 13 shots to get there. What kept the Owls close was the inside play of Aaron Anderson and the outside marksmanship of Delbert Love, who obviously had a sense of agape for the 3 point shot which was certainly reciprocated (unlike any of cpip’s advances). Anderson, though he managed just 6 points, collected a whopping 17 rebounds including 5 on the offensive glass. Anderson’s pigmentally-

challenged frame (you know what we mean) stood at a mere 6’7″, his technique was unremarkable (wasn’t boxing out) and his athleticism was nothing to write home about (see the previous note on melanocyte content); however, he was literally everywhere on the defensive glass. What’s left was effort and Anderson certainly displayed that as he and his teammates routinely beat the Niners to loose balls and rebound opportunities. It was a lethargic effort for the men in green and Kennesaw State seized upon that indifference to make a game that shouldn’t have been close way too close for comfort.

Matching the degree of Anderson’s rebounding accomplishments on offense was the shooting of Delbert Love. Cupid’s arrows were connecting from long range as Love connected on 6-12 from outside the arc on his way to a game-high 26 points. Love also had several layups that were not as strongly contested as they should have been and routinely engaged in trash-talk with Pierria’ Henry.  But who can blame him?  He was getting the better end of it on offense and was almost single-handily keeping his team in the game offensively. Spencer Davis, er Dixon gave the Owls a little lovin’ as well with 13 points, the only other Owl in double figures in scoring; however, it took him 16 shots to get there. Kobe Bryant is probably nodding somewhere in approval.

The Niners were led in their efforts by So. DeMario Mayfield who finished with a team high, and career high, 25 points. The athletic G/F from Georgia showed a resurgence in his jump shot, connecting on 3-6 from outside. Add to that, an array of nice finishes at the rim, including two thunderous first half dunks that left us thinking his eye appointment last Friday may have served his shooting well. The only surprising aspect of his performance was the relative lack of rebounds (3) and assists (1) he finished with. The later was mostly the result of being the recipient of some nice passing (Pierria’ Henry with 7 assists), as the Niners finished with 18 assisted shots for 21 FGs, an outstanding ratio.

Javarris Barnett finished with 13 points on 4-7 shooting from outside and Chris Braswell was the only other Niner in double figures finishing with a quiet 13 points on 4-6 shooting from the field. Though Braswell did not receive as many touches or even shot attempts as one would normally like, he made up for it with selectivity and some of his best passing of the season, adding a pair of assists to go with only 1 turnover.

One player who stood out for the Niners was local Fr. Terrence Williams.  Williams played 20 minutes and collected 7 points and 9 rebounds.  Those numbers would have been better if he managed to convert his free throws though, as he missed 5-10 from the charity stripe.  Still it was a good all-around performance for Williams, particularly with his rebounding as he helped turn what was once a game-long rebounding disadvantage to a +7 margin by the end of the game.

Reading this column, one might get the sense that despite the close score, there was a number of good individual performances.  That would be true.  What kept the game close though was a collective lack of effort/urgency from the Niners, particularly on the defensive end. Delbert Love got free way too many times for open shots, which he hit most of. Many loose balls ended up in the hands of Kennesaw State players, most often it seemed to be Aaron Anderson’s hands. Though the Niners only turned the ball over 10 times, fans couldn’t help but feel those turnovers were sloopy, disinterested turnovers which came from our own errors, not anything Kennesaw State was doing.

The path turns much more difficult this Saturday with a trip to Foggy Bottom to face the George Washington Colonials. Despite the 7-11 record, GW is already 2-2 in conference play with a thorough 18 point win over Richmond at home. If the Niners take Saturday’s game as lightly as the Kennesaw State game, expect a loss.

A fast start to Atlantic 10 play came to a grinding to a halt when Charlotte (9-7, 2-2 A10) dropped its second straight to Saint Louis (13-4, 2-2 A10).

The Niners jumped out to a 10-2 lead three and a half minutes into the game. Charlotte was hitting its shots and keeping the Billikens from running their offense. Everyone in Halton Arena was feeling good. Saint Louis never got within five points of Charlotte in the first half, but the Niners armor showed cracks when a 31-18 lead shrunk to 31-24 on a six point Billiken run over a two minute stretch. A Pierria Henry 3-point shot put Charlotte back up by ten, but Kyle Cassity converted a fastbreak lay-up immediately after, with the clock running out, to keep the Billikens within single digits going into the break.

Charlotte kept a safe distance for a few minutes of the 2nd-half, leading 40-31 on a Pierria Henry lay-up with 16:19 remaining. The Niners then found a way to turn the ball over on seven of the next eight possessions, the remaining possession resulting in a missed 3-point attempt by Chris Braswell. Pierria Henry accounted for four of those turnovers, which were all thoughtless passes into the hands of the Billikens. Henry finished with 8 turnovers in what we hope was just his freshman status showing itself, and only momentarily. Henry may have been battling illness as their was some question beforehand to whether or not he’d play, although he still scored 10 points and registered 10 steals.

Saint Louis capitalized on those turnovers by going on a 12-0 run to take a 43-40 lead before Deuce Briscoe tied it with a three (Briscoe then failed to convert the and-one free throw). The Niners were able to keep up for a few more minutes, holding a 47-46 lead momentarily before a Saint Louis answered. With Charlotte trailing 49-51 an 11-0 run by the Billikens ultimately put the game out of reach with a 62-49 lead with 4:15 remaining.

Then a funny thing happened, an 8-0 run by Charlotte, including five from Derrio Green, closed the gap down to 62-57 and brought some life back to Halton Arena with 1:33 remaining. Charlotte fouled on its defensive possessions the rest of the way, sending Saint Louis to the line while they proceeded to knock in six of eight free throw attempts down the stretch. DeMario Mayfield scored a 3-pointer each along with lay-ups by Barnett and Braswell to shrink the gap in the waning moments. Javarris Barnett hit an NBA-range 3-pointer with three seconds left to bring the Niners within one, 67-68. Mike McCall Jr then missed his two free throws, the second intentionally, giving the Niners a live ball with 1.8 seconds left and no timeouts. Barnett’s desperation heave was after the buzzer and fell short.

Javarris Barnett led Charlotte in scoring, putting up 23 points on 9/14 shooting (3/6 on 3PA), while pulling down seven rebounds. DeMario Mayfield had good offensive numbers, scoring 10 points of 4/5 from the field and also getting seven rebounds. This loss went through the fingertips of Pierria Henry and Chris Braswell, who combined for 13 of the teams 22 turnovers. Braswell followed up his 31 point, 10 rebound game at UMass with 10 points (4/10 FG%) and two rebounds. Charlotte managed to shoot 54.3% in the losing effort, which is a product of the turnovers.

This teams youth manifests itself in inconsistency, whether it be from game to game or possession to possession. There is improvement but there is still a lot of work to do by Alan Major and the staff to turn this program around. Charlotte sits in the heap that is the middle of the A10 at 2-2, a .500 conference record would be one anyone would have taken after walking out of the Saint Joseph’s game last season. Charlotte hosts Kennesaw State in its final non-conference game Wednesday night. The Atlantic Sun team is 2-15 against Division I this season and provide a great chance for the Niners to match their win total from last season.

We can’t win them all, but we sure as hell can’t lose them all either.

Normally we open with some sort of snark about eviscerating our opposition; however, the GTG staff apparently has a case of the #badfans and some are predicting defeat.  As usual, McFly and 2k are being Negative Nancys. Pish tosh, says NLP, the Niners are going to empty the Saint Louis chances for victory like liposuction would empty Rick Majerus of his abundant accumulation of adipocytes. Really, Majerus should consider a career as a luxury liner. With yet another cruise ship tragedy, one would think that someone as buoyant as the Boy Beluga would be in high demand as an unsinkable vessel. It would certainly be better than hearing his annual grips about wanting to move SLU to the MVC so that his abundant waistband doesn’t have to log so many miles.

Predictions:

NLP (the best):  Charlotte put the Saint Louis offensive attack on a crash course weight loss plan. Niners 72 – Bilikens 63

J Felt:  Niners win, Majerus leaves with 4 minutes to get good seat at Olive Garden. Charlotte 70, SLU 65

McFly:  Billikens return to their early season form, Niners still search for some semblance of consistency. SLU 73, Charlotte 60

Gill: Biliken doesn’t bring luck to SLU. Charlotte 77-71

Cpip: Braswell stays in beast mode, leading Niners to victory. Charlotte 62 – Saint Louis 58

2k: Not ice under Halton, but will feel like it… SLU 63 Charlotte 57

Saturday, the Saint Louis Billikens (13-4, 1-2 A-10) come to Halton to renew their tepid rivalry with your Charlotte 49ers (9-6, 2-1 A-10). Of course, that means it is the time of year where we ask ourselves, “What exactly is a Billiken?”  Most would comment that it is a troll, or a small person, and even Google isn’t sure.  When I typed in “Billiken” the all powerful search engine asked me if I meant to search “Black Men”.  Obviously, this wasn’t satisfactory for the GTG.net archivists so they tirelessly worked to not only find us answers, but earn their high level pay, and they were able to provide us with an answer. They found that a Billiken was a charm doll created by Florence Pretz, an art teacher, from St. Louis, Missouri (our crack team of researchers have told us that there may be a coincidence to her place of residence and creation, and the university’s location and use of said mascot, but it cannot be confirmed).  Apparently, the elf-like figure came to Ms. Pretz in a dream, down to the pointy ears, little patch of hair on its head, slightly mangled, stout body, and that shit-eating grin you’re so used to seeing.

Speaking of visions coming to people in dreams, many Saint Louis fans had similar dreams when Rick Majerus was hired to take over the program, but while it hasn’t quite been a nightmare, it’s been much more like pergatory then a dream scenario.  Two seasons ago, Majerus directed the Billikens to a CBI Championship game appearance (GTG.net does not acknowledge the existence or the importance of pay-to-play post season tournaments), where they lost to VCU in a best of three championship series.  However, the good showing at the end of the season raised expectations for the following season, but Saint Louis would battle injuries, suspensions, and overall poor play to finish 12-19 (6-10 A-10).  Heading into this season, the Billikens returned a few players from injury as well as not loosing many to graduation, and were pegged as somewhat of a darkhorse, being picked third by all of us here at GTG.net in the Atlantic Ten preseason poll (As well as being rated highly by numerous, less prestigious polls).  This season the Billikens started off strong beating Big Six conference foes such as Washington, Boston College, Villanova, and Oklahoma, and racing out to a 12-1 start.  Recently, Saint Louis has gone 1-3 in their last four, with losses versus Dayton, Temple, and New Mexico (sandwiching a win versus George Washington in there).  Depending on your outlook, it could be a good thing they are in a slump, or a bad thing as they may be motivated to get out of it.

Offensively, Saint Louis is a fairly balanced team, shooting 47% from the field and 39% from the three point line (both a higher percentage then Charlotte, 40% FG, 31.3% 3FG), and are led by senior forward Brian Conklin (6’6″, 230 lbs) at 14.5 PPG.  Conklin is strictly an inside the arc player, and he is very good at it, shooting 60% from the field (only one three point attempt all year, but he made it).  He is also the anti-DeMario Mayfield, and should not be fouled as he converts on 86% of his attempts.  Conklin is flanked by Kwamain Mitchell and Cody Ellis, who both average just north of 11 PPG, but do it in different ways.  Mitchell, the junior point guard, is more adept at driving to the basket, but also shoots 36% from the three point line.  Ellis, the junior forward, is more of a face up four-man (he’s Australian, what do you expect?) and converts on nearly 41% of his three point attempts. So, all in all, Saint Louis, as always, is highly efficient on the offensive end, and now they actually score above 56 PPG (They average 70.1 PPG as a team).

Defensively, the Billikens are just like the Billikens of old.  They hold their opponents to a 55.8 PPG average, which is fairly remarkable considering Charlotte only holds their opponents to a 67 PPG average, but holds the opponents to a lesser shooting percentage both from inside and outside the arc.  Saint Louis is not exactly a strong rebounding team, only averaging 32 RPG, but when you are as efficient as they are, there shouldn’t be too many balls to chase down at the end of possessions.  The Billikens also turn their opponents over at a solid rate of 15 turnovers per game, which is plus-five to their own turnover rate.

This game will largely come down to who can keep their composure the most.  Both teams thrive in that regard in different ways, Saint Louis with their efficiency, and Charlotte in with their lack of consistency (largely on the offensive end).  Either way, it should make for a good game, with an old rival in Halton Arena.

Keys to the Game:

• Pressure the ball and contest every shot.  Saint Louis operates at a highly efficient rate, and barely turn the ball (10 turnover per game).  This will need to change to get them out of their rhythm.
• Limit second chance opportunities.  Saint Louis is not an overly strong rebounding team, so multiple opportunities need to be limited for a team that operates at a high percentage.
• Avoid the droughts.  The Forty-Niners have struggled to start games and halves strong.  They finish fairly well, and handle the inbetween, but have been cold in many games coming out of the gates.  Saint Louis, with their defense, is not a team you can battle back against when you’re down double digits.

As poorly as the Niners (9-6, 2-1) shot against the UMass Minutemen (13-4, 2-1), they nearly pulled off the monumental comeback Wednesday.  In the end, the comeback ran out of gas, as so many often do when coming from way behind, as the Niners fell 85-75 in Amherst. In the loss Jr. PF/C Chris Braswell posted a career high 31 points on 9-15 shooting (3-5 from outside) and 10-11 at the foul line.

Early on it looked like the Niners were going to be run out of the Mullins Center, as UMass sprinted out to a 18-4 lead in the opening 5 minutes of the game. Raphiael Putney, who finished with a career high 19 points, helped key the early surge with help from Chaz Williams (19 points) and former Charlotte recruiting target Terrell Vinson (18 points). As hot as UMass was, the Niners were equally cold with Chris Braswell (who scored 8 of the team’s first 10 points) providing the only consistent response.

The Niners would eventually crawl back into the game as the Minutemen cooled off, and would close to within 7 points at 28-35 following a pair of three-pointers by Derrio Green and Javarris Barnett and a made FT by Chris Braswell.  UMass would rebuild the lead to 11 points at the end of the half with a painful 3 pointer by Putney which immediately followed an ugly missed 3 point attempt by Green.

The 2nd half opened up with UMass extending the lead they built late in the first half as the Niners went over 3 minutes between scores.  A Sean Carter layup would push the lead to 37-57 with 16:22 to go in the 2nd half, leaving most to think the game was out of reach. Fortunately some inspired play on both ends of the court, highlighted by Chris Braswell’s career night scoring the ball, broke the UMass stranglehold on the lead and allowed the Niners to roar back into the game. At one point Braswell hit 3 straight 3-pointers, bringing the Niners within 7 points and 10:36 to play in the game.

Charlotte would finally take the lead on a difficult layup by Braswell (replays showed he was very, very clearly fouled) with 4:47 remaining to give the Niners a tenuous 69-68 lead. Unfortunately that would be the last basket until the 1:24 mark, allowing UMass to retake the lead and push that margin out to 10 by the final whistle.

Throughout the game the Niners attacked the rim without abandon. For some (Braswell mostly, DeMario Mayfield as well) that meant success.  For the rest of the team, it meant missed layups (Niner bench had only 5 points for the game). What is most stunning is UMass shot 31 foul shots to the Niners’ 13 – Braswell accounting for 11 of those attempts.  Yes, you are reading those stats correctly. Remarkably, the Minutemen announcers noticed a number of missed calls as well.  That’s not to say the referees were biased, but it makes one wonder if the poor start subconsciously altered the manner in which fouls were called.

To paint a picture that the Niners lost because of officiating would be absolutely wrong. To the credit of the Minutemen, they controlled the glass as they collected 11 more rebounds (38-27).  However, on the opposite end of the spectrum the Niners committed only 12 turnovers to UMass’ 20 turnovers, a definite positive trend that continues to improve from earlier this season.

What needs to improve though:

• Bench scoring.  Deuce Briscoe needs to be that consistent scorer off the bench but struggles to do so.  Some nights he’s terrific, others (like tonight) he’s not-so terrific.  Tonight in particular he was bad selfish (yes, there’s such a thing as good selfish) and forced his shots in a number of spots
• Playing with composure.  At times E Victor Nickerson and Terrence Williams were out of control and it lead to the ball quickly going the other way or a cheap foul.  The aggressiveness is certainly laudable but it needs to come with patience.

In hindsight, this writer sees the loss as more of what UMass did well (shooting early, foul shots late) on offense and their willingness to actively defend the fast break on defense as the reason the Niners lost.  Sure Charlotte struggled at times from the field but many of the shots were well contested and unfortunately UMass is a strong home team. There is no shame in this defeat and the comeback is something the team can build on.

We can absolutely beat Saint Louis on Saturday.  The end, good night.

It’s gameday Niners, and for the time being, spirits are high in Ninerland with Charlotte sporting a 9-5 (2-0 A-10) record, and sitting tied atop the Atlantic Ten standings.  So tonight the Forty-Niners put that impeccable 2-0 conference record on the line against the University of Massachusetts Amherst Minutemen (12-4, 1-1 A-10) in Amherst, Massachusetts (not Boston).  If you don’t know much about the competition for tonight’s game check out the preview here, along with the injury update here to get caught up.  Don’t feel bad though, at least you have the excuse of being out of the loop because you’re not a Massachusetts resident, likely because you enjoy warm weather, accent free douchebags, and pretty women.  Also, you would likely prefer to pay attention to more worthwhile sports teams in the area such as the New England Patriots (perennial Super Bowl contenders) with Tom Brady’s glorious locks and chin, the Boston Bruins (Stanley Cup Champs), and the Boston Red Sox (perennially buying World Series contenders).  Not a soul would blame you…  No one.  I cannot stand one Massachusetts team, and even I understand.  It probably doesn’t help matters when you have one Final Four appearance technically, but not technically thanks to the car salesman that is John Calipari.  We should probably really hate these guys, but they can’t even garner applause in their own region.  Either way, we really need to beat these guys, and give the people of Massachusetts another reason not to cheer for them.

Predictions:

J Fart: Charlotte 67, UMass 64. The dance team, tired of dealing with minute men, have their hearts stolen by Pierria.

McFly: UMass goes cold as a winters bone. Charlotte 65, UMass 59

NLP: Niners show UMass what it’s like to be 40 Minutemen.  Niners 73 UMass 62

2k: Niners escape Amherst with another road win:  Niners 64 UMass 60

Ginger: The offense shows up for this one, Charlotte 74 UMass 63

Gill: Niners can’t keep step with the Minutemen and fall 66-72.