On Saturday night, the ever depleting assemblage of basketball players known as the Charlotte 49ers(9-12) fell to the La Salle Explorers(11-11) in a double overtime heart breaker, despite having chances to secure the win late in regulation and the first overtime. Five Charlotte players reached double figures, led by KJ Sherrill’s head turning 24 point, 13 rebound double-double(career highs in both) off the bench. It wasn’t enough though as Cole Stefan buried a long range elbow 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left in the first overtime to extend the game to a second overtime, in which the Niners would fall.

This game started off in favor of the home team, the Niners opened up a 12-12 tie at 13:24 to play with a 7-0 run, extending their lead to ten at one point, before going into the locker room at halftime with a 35-28 lead. The surge of first half points was lead by Javarris Barnett’s 16; Barnett scored Charlotte’s first seven points, and went four of six from beyond the arc in the first half. Barnett was able to knock in a 3-pointer at the start of the 2nd half for his 19th point, one short of his career high, before going cold and failing to score any more points.

Chris Braswell faced a tough task, as he was put in charge of defending Aaric Murray, who drew NBA scouts into Halton Arena. Braswell was able to pull down eight offensive rebounds, 11 total, but he lacked an offensive touch, going only 2 of 9 from the field, including a lot of just plain weird looking shots that just had no chance. With Charlotte up 48-41 Braswell collected his third and fourth foul four seconds a part with just over 12 minutes left to play, this quick change of circumstances began the swing of momentum in La Salle’s favor.

KJ Sherrill led Charlotte with a career high 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Braswell would stay on the bench for the next seven minutes until An’Juan Wilderness fouled out, having recorded 11 points in 18 minutes. From this point on KJ Sherrill was the main option inside. Sherrill went 5 of 8 from the field, and was able to get himself to the line 18 times, knocking in 14(his free throws alone would have set a new career high). With Braswell on the bench, or on the court limited with the burden of four fouls, La Salle was able to slowly whittle down Charlotte’s lead, tying it at 71 with a Ruben Guillandeaux lay-up with 21 seconds left. Charlotte had a chance to win it with time expiring as Derrio Green, who finished the night 2 of 15 from the field, put up a contested mid-range jumper.

In the first overtime La Salle shot out to a four point lead before Charlotte used most of the remaining 3:54 to go on a 7-0 run, taking a 78-75 lead.  Braswell’s 5th and final foul led to the Explorers first two points in the period. The lack of depth caught up to Charlotte fast, of the five players to reach double digits, four of them were on the court for 38 minutes or more. In contrast only one La Salle player saw more than 36 minutes on the court, Tyreek Duren, who saw 44 minutes of action. With the extended minutes, free throw shooting suffered as Charlotte was only able to sink 50% of their attempts in the extra periods. The most untimely of the many misses was by Sherrill with 11 seconds left(although it would be unfair to hang the loss on that one miss), leaving the Niners lead at three.

“Even with the free throw shooting if we defend a little bit better — If we go down and get some stops,” Major said, “There’s a toughness level you want to have to take the confidence away from (the opponent).”

Up to that point Charlotte had held La Salle to 2 of 19 from behind the arc, but Cole Stefan found himself open before drilling a long range bomb that tied it. With time expiring, the 49ers once again ran the ball through Derrio, who’s shot came up short.

“He’s a specialist.That’s what he does,”Coach Major had to say of Stefan, who opend the second half with another 3-pointer, “They made four and he made three of them, including a couple big ones.”

The loss was not easy for the Niners, who’s lack of depth will continue to hold them back. Signs of improvement are showing themselves in each game, but at this point

“It’s very frustrating. We know the work we put in in practice. Competing and hustling,” Javarris Barnett said, also adding, “But I’m a firm believer. We got better from Duquesne to Temple and from Temple to La Salle.”

The 49ers have a tough task at hand on Wednesday when the welcome in Xavier, a team fresh off a 23 point at Richmond. The Niners will then host George Washington on Saturday, continuing a series of what always end up being toughly fought contests.

Charlotte49ers.com Recap
Box Score(.pdf)
AP Recap(via ESPN)

If you really concentrate and listen hard enough, you may just hear the pulse of our basketball program still beating faintly. The cart may be coming through, but Major and Co. are adamantly letting us know that we’re not quite dead yet. This game against the La Salle Explorers provides a great opportunity for the Niners to grab another win and step another game closer to a .500 record.

No, not this La Salle.

Standing at 10-11 (2-4), the Explorers might just be as bad as we are. In conference play, they own close victories over Rhode Island and Saint Joseph’s and hope to extend this mini winning streak to three games. The Niners, 9-11 (1-5), are looking to double their conference wins and put themselves in a better spot to make the A14 Tourney.

Going into this season (it seems like every other season as well), La Salle was poised to be a potential conference contender this season, but once again disappoints and currently sits in ninth place. To the average fan, this looks like a classic battle of futility between two mediocre teams. But since the contributors to GTG are bad fans, we’re going to take a deeper look.

Why did I go to La Salle?!

Taking a look at Statsheet’s Four Factors to Winning, the Niners are in for a battle tonight. The Explorers score an average of nine more points per game, and also own a significant advantage in offensive rebounding. And Niner fans can expect to see a turnover-happy game from both teams, as both squads average over fifteen turnovers a game. If the team in green can play smart basketball and hold on to the ball, that very easily could be the deciding factor in the end.

The Explorers are led in scoring by Aaric Murray, their 6-10 sophomore center. He shoots over 50% from the field, 77% from the FT line, and is pouring in an average of almost 16 points a game. Murray does a great job cleaning the glass as well, bringing down eight rebounds a contest, probably putting a lot of those back up for easy buckets. With the Niners interior lacking in depth and size, we can fully expect Murray to have a good outing tonight. Braswell and Sherrill will be in charge of interior defense, so foul trouble could come in to play early in the evening.

As for the Niners, we’re going to need to score the basketball tonight. La Salle prefers a quicker pace of play, and the Niners tend to perform better in the grind-it-out, low scoring affairs. Derrio and Deuce must be patient with the ball and take their time setting up the right guy in the offensive set. And can someone hit JB’s “Batman Mode” switch? We’re going to need some scoring from Barnett to stand a chance.

Keys to the game:

• Stay out of foul trouble. Braswell and KJ need to keep Murray off the line and get good position for defensive rebounds.
• Control the tempo. Don’t get lured into run-and-gun, make La Salle grind one out.
• Don’t dunk the ball, JB. We’ve lost every game in which you’ve thrown one down on some poor sap, layups are worth two points too!

Predictions are below, and you’ll find their more green tinted than they have been in the past week or so.

J Felt – Derrio plays a masterful game and the Explorers get lost. Charlotte 68, La Salle 65.

C-Pip – Niners start the homestand the right way, taking down the Explorers 70-62.

2k – Niners get back on track with a 74-59 win. Even a GPS couldn’t lead the Explorers to a victory tonight.

McFly – Niners finally win via black magic or some other form of dark arts (other avenues have been exhausted).  Charlotte 64 – La Salle 58

Green Tinted Glasses Presents: Atlantic 10 Schedule Breakdown Part II

If you’ve been paying attention, at this point of the Atlantic 10 season, Green Tinted Glasses expects a 4-4 record, if not please refer to Part I.  Now let us continue.

Quarter Three:

Saturday February 5th- vs. George Washington(7-6): After showing some promise last year, by making their first A10 tournament in three years,  the Colonials have taken a step back this season.  Their best game was something the Niners couldn’t do, which was a win at Oregon State.  The Niners loss at Corvallis was when we hit rock bottom, while, unfortunately for George Washington, their win was when they were at their best.  They have an embarrassing 35 point loss at UAB as well as a neutral court loss to Navy in the BB&T Classic.

Wednesday February 9th- Atlantic 10 Bye #2

Saturday February 12th- at Rhode Island(9-5): Normally at this point of the year Rhode Island has only one or two losses against a mediocre schedule with a couple of strong victories.  Then like clockwork the Rams would struggle in Atlantic 10 play, eliminating their NCAA chances and landing in the NIT.  This is not one of those Rhode Island teams, the Rams started the season by nearly knocking off the Pitt Panthers at home, and have actually tested themselves.  They have a questionable losses to Illinois-Chicago on a neutral court(a team that also won at Illinois), at Quinnipiac and a 25-point blowout at Florida(that will leave a sour taste in their mouth).  Wins against Top 100 teams like Drexel, Davidson and Boston College have challenged the Rams so that maybe this time they are prepared for the stretch run in the A10 instead of caught off guard by it.

Saint Louis Head Coach Rick Majerus

Wednesday February 16th- vs. Dayton(12-3): The Flyers did not handle being the Atlantic 10 favorite very will last season, but are doing okay in their underdog roll.  They’ve tallied a lot of wins, most against chumps in front of the GREATEST FANS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL, with three strong wins, at Mississippi and Seton Hall plus a home win against George Mason.  Dayton got absolutely drilled at Cincinnati and followed that up by a home loss to East Tennessee State, so the jury is still out on the Flyers.  Since they host Temple days before coming to Halton, the 49ers will again have a vulnerable Dayton team to beat up on at home.

Saturday February 19th- at Saint Louis(5-8): Rick Majerus’ squad started the season by giving the boot to two of his most talented players for getting into trouble with the law.  Saint Louis opened the season with a disappointing loss at home to Austin Peay, and since then have lost the games they should have and won the games they should have.  No strong victories and no killer losses(unless by 37 to Duke counts).  The could have trouble getting wins in the A10 with the middle of the conference up combined with travel partners like Xavier and Dayton.  What was supposed to be the Billikens breakthrough year in the Atlantic 10 will become a struggle to finish .500.

First of all, George Washington is terrible, and deservedly so. They’ve lost 3 straight in Halton, and that streak should continue. Rhode Island will be a tough road get for our boys.  We will beat Dayton, because losing in Halton Arena is Dayton’s trademark.   This Saint Louis team is very vulnerable, the players they suspended were team players, just not great citizens. A rare Niner win at Saint Louis is within reach, but history(aka resident downer J Felt) has taught us to assume otherwise. 49erFanatics 3rd-quarter prediction: 2-2

Quarter Four:

George Washington Head Coach Karl Hobbs

Wednesday February 23rd-  at George Washington(7-6): The rematch with George Washington could well be amidst a horrendous losing streak as the Colonials will have just played road games at La Salle and Massachusetts after hosting Richmond and playing at Charlotte.  Luckily for the Colonials, Fordham and  Saint Joseph’s will give them a run for the money as to who sits out the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Saturday February 26th- vs. Richmond(11-4): Our home game with the Spiders will be with a team that could be rolling by winning six out of seven(or more).  Charlotte will be three days removed from a trip to Washington D.C. while Richmond will have been resting for a week after hosting St. Bonaventure.  This Kevin Anderson led squad has a chance to be the first time EVER, other than the 49ers, to win four in a row at Halton Arena. George Washington is only other team to win three in a row in 2003, 2006 and 2007.  The 49ers will need to impose their will and force the tempo to take down the Spiders in this one.

Wednesday March 2nd- at Xavier(8-4): Considering that nobody other than Xavier wins in the Cintas Center, don’t count on the Niners coming back with a victory.  In Xavier’s 4 previous games they have easy wins at Saint Joseph’s then at home against Fordham and La Salle before traveling to Dayton.  The Flyers will push the Musketeers to the edge, with any luck Charlotte will be facing a tired AND demoralized Xavier team.

Saturday March 5th- vs. Saint Joseph’s(5-8): Due to slight changes in Atlantic 10 opponents, we get to host a pitiful Saint Joseph’s team at home two years in a row.  Since starting conference play in 2009 at 7-1, Phil Martelli’s Hawks have suffered a Niner-esque 3-7 collapse followed by an 11-20 season and a not-so-hot start to this season.  Saint Joseph’s will struggle to gain any momentum throughout conference play(as in absolutely NONE), and will be coming to Halton Arena after hosting Richmond.  The Hawks may have already turned their TV’s on to watch the Atlantic 10 Tournament from home before taking the flight down from Philly, while the Niners will be looking for a impressive showing leading up to the A10 Tourney where, of course, they will go 4-0 on their way to the NCAA’s.

Once again, George Washington is terrible, and their home court won’t help them. Richmond, at home, before traveling to Xavier will be a test for the Niners, although this could be the year Charlotte’s defense can shut down Kevin Anderson but the Cintas Center is never an easy place to play.  Remember how when the ground was falling out from underneath the Lutz era and we still beat Saint Joeseph’s by 37 points? 49erFanatics 4th-quarter prediction: 3-1

Here’s the best part, you don’t have to know math to figure out Green Tinted Glasses’(very biased)  A10 Prediction for the 49ers, it’s 9-7.  After extensively going over the rest of the Atlantic 10 calender, here are a predicted order of finish along with predicted record, overall in parenthesis only counting D-I games.

Green Tinted Glasses Atlantic 10 Projection:

Coach Major has a chance to make some noise in his 1st A10 Season1. Temple 14-2(23-4)

1. Temple 14-2(24-6)
2. Richmond 13-3(24-7)
3. Xavier 12-4(20-10)
4. Rhode Island 11-5(20-10)
5. Dayton 10-6(22-9)
6. Charlotte 9-7(17-13)
7. St. Bonaventure 8-8(15-14)
8.  Massachusetts 8-8(15-13)
9. Duquesne 6-10(13-15)
10. Saint Louis 6-10(11-18)
11. La Salle 5-11(13-18)
12. George Washington 4-12(11-18)
13. Fordham 3-13(9-19)
13. Saint Joseph’s 3-13(8-22)

Green Tinted Glasses Presents: Atlantic 10 Schedule Breakdown Part I

As members of THE Niner Nation, we’ve been relying on the use of Green Tinted Glasses since the very first buzzer sounded to end the Gardner-Webb game.  However, a new season starts with conference play.  An at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament has been a pipe dream since the Charleston Classic, but we are a very different and much improved team from the one that walked off the court after playing two overtimes against Coastal Carolina to no avail. Since then Shamari Spears was removed from the roster, the Hornet’s Trophy was lost and Charlotte helped send the 7^th ranked team in the nation into a tailspin.  With Charlotte’s 4-game win streak, including 2 BCS scalps, the Green Tinted Glasses can be taken off and the 49ers momentum going into A10 play is still very visible.

The Atlantic 10 is having a… different year, to say the least.  Temple is still the class of the league, Richmond and Xavier have  some questionable losses, but they did last year too.  Dayton has loaded up on home-wins over scrubs,  Rhode Island nearly knocked off Pitt in their season opener, Saint Louis has struggled as you would expect a team too after sitting 2 great players, while Massachusetts came back to earth quickly from their quick start.  The rest of the Atlantic 10 teams aren’t setting the world on fire unless you consider Fordham getting more than 3 wins an explosion.  But their are a lot of questionable losses considering how strong the conference looked going into the season.

Let’s break this 16 game slate down into quarters, equal quarters no less, of…4 games apiece. The Atlantic 10 season is broken down into 18 “mini-weeks” of a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday or Saturday-Sunday combination, each team receiving two byes, some of which are used for non-conference games.

Niner Nightmare: 2010 A10 POY Kevin Anderson

Quarter 1

Wednesday January 5th- at Richmond(11-4): The Spiders come into conference play looking vulnerable , dropping a contest to Georgia Tech by 13-points in the Bahamas, and a stunning 1-pt loss at home to Bucknell on Sunday. Richmond has one of the Atlantic 10′s three wins over Top 10 ranked teams, with an 11 point win over then  #8 Purdue in the Chicago Invitational final.  Also among their strong wins are a road wins at Arizona State and  Seton Hall as well as a home win over CAA contender VCU.  The other 2 losses come on the road at another CAA contender, Old Dominion, and at the early MAAC favorite, Iona.

Saturday January 8th- at St. Bonaventure(7-5): Charlotte will be the A10 home opener for the second time in four days when they travel to Olean to face St. Bonaventure.  The Bonnies have gotten out to an above average start, by St. Bonaventure standards, highlighted by a road win against the Steve Lavin’s Saint John’s squad.  Andrew Nicholson has been downright dominate so far, and will be a real test inside for Phil Jones and Chris Braswell.  The Bonnies still dropped a couple of questionable decisions on the road to Canisius and at home to Niagara.

Wednesday January 12th- Atlantic 10 Bye

Saturday January 15th- vs. Fordham(6-6): For a team that was only able to muster five wins TOTAL in the last two seasons, the only thing to say about the Rams is For-DAAAAAAAAAAMN.  Most of these wins are fluff wins, although games they would have dropped the last two seasons, but Tom Pecora was also able to lead his team to a win over Saint John’s at home.  The Fordham Rams will still be a welcome sight for the 49ers who could lose a lot of the momentum from non-conference play by playing two on the road to open Atlantic 10 play.

Wednesday January 19th- vs. Massachusetts(8-5): The Minutemen come to Halton Arena to close out our two game road stand, and hopefully Coach Major’s game plan only involves using only 5 players at a time to beat them.  Massachusetts got off to a 7-0 start, included a non-D1 game, before crashing down with four straight losses.  None of their wins have much strength and the losses at home to Maine and a shellacking at the hand of Central Connecticut State to close the non-conference schedule show that the Minutemen are far from contenders.

The Niners will have to battle if they want to steal a road win or two to open up the A10 season.  A win at Richmond might be too much to ask for, and Olean provides a much tougher environment than Georgia Tech’s Thrillerdome.   The team absolutely must take their first 2 home games, which they will easily. 49erFanatics 1st-quarter prediction: 2-2

Quarter 2

Saturday January 22nd- at Duquesne(7-5): The Niners will go on the road to face a Dukes team that has so far gone 6-5 against D1 competition, with 2 non-conference games yet to play.   Duquesne’s record lacks any type of a signature win, their best performance being a moral victory in losing by 3 at home to West Virginia.

Tu Holloway(aka The Artist Formerly Known as Terrell Holloway) has filled a majority of the hole left by Jordan Crawfor

Wednesday January 26th- at Temple(9-3): The Owls are back to their old tricks again, having only dropped 3 of their non-conference games to date with matches against Penn and Duke forthcoming.  Temple has collected 4 BCS scalps so far, included another one of the A10′s 3 Top-10 wins at home against then #10 Georgetown.  They Owls came close to getting a second Top 10 win at Villanova, but the Wildcats finished strong.  None of their losses are horrible, the worst being to Cal, and they are expected to be one of the teams who run away with the conference this season, and will in all likeliness run away with this game.

Saturday January 29th- vs. La Salle(Operation La Sellout)(7-7): The Explorers come into conference play with a .500 record against an okay schedule, back-loaded with losses.  La Salle will be desperate to create momentum in A10 play, which could be difficult as they start on the road at George Washington before hosting Richmond.  This will be a must-win game for Charlotte, as they will need to take care of all the mid/low-level A10 teams at home to have a decent seeding for the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Wednesday February 2nd- vs. Xavier(Whiteout)(8-4): Chris Mack’s Musketeers will becoming into Halton Arena just a few days after a trip to Richmond, which will be a tough out, so the Niners might have a shot at Xavier while they are down, which worked to our favor a couple of years ago.  Xavier’s best non-conference win was over 2010 National Finalist Butler in the confines of the Cintas Center, a rematch of the infamous “stopwatch game” of a year before.  Xavier did drop one to Miami U on the road, but have taken care of everyone else they should have on their schedule.  The Musketeers play Cincinnati on Thursday before beginning A10 play.

The only one of this bunch that is out of reach would be the game at Temple.  The Niners are capable of beating this Duquesne team on the road and a Xavier team that has struggled when leaving the confines of the Cintas Center. I would not be surprised if this team won one of those, but 2 is a stretch. The Explorers shouldn’t have a chance with Operation La Sellout in effect at Halton Arena. 49erFanatics 2nd-quarter prediction: 2-2

Check out Part II tomorrow for 3rd and 4th quarter breakdowns as well as an official(and biased) Green Tinted Glasses prediction of the Atlantic 10 standings.

Wilderness provided the heroics with the game winner against La Salle.

Well that was pretty much the definition of awesome.  D-Fo had his birthday wish delivered in the form of a game-winning runner delivered by the hands of An’Juan Wilderness as time expired at Tom Gola Arena.  The basket broke a 82-82 tie with the La Salle Explorers and gave the Niners another impressive road victory as they try to keep place with Xavier and Temple at the top of the A10 standings.  The win sets up a battle for first place Wednesday against #16 Temple  in Halton Arena (7PM tip.  If you don’t have tickets yet I’m gonna hunt you down).

Coming out of the opening tip, the Niners pulled out to an early 8 point lead thanks in large part to the hot shooting of Derrio Green.  Green scored 9 straight points for the Niners on three 3-point baskets and layups by Chris Braswell and An’Juan Wilderness put Charlotte ahead 15-7.  La Salle would battle back with impressive shooting for long range of their own thanks to sensational Fr. C Aaric Murray.  Murray, despite the offensive explosion in the first half, would be limited in action for much of the game due to foul problems, which exacerbated an already thin bench for the Explorers thanks to injuries to Ruben Guillandeaux and Kimmani Barrett, the latter finding out he will likely miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot.

The Niners would again build a first half lead, this time going to the inside game.  Shamari Spears, and in particular, Braswell scored often against the big La Salle frontcourt.  Braswell did his damage both on the floor and at the line, finish the game with another double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds and a very impressive 9-9 at the foul line).  The Explorers would again make a run to tighten the game at the half thanks to Yves Mekongo and Jerrell Williams, who found themselves frequently converting at the foul line in the latter minutes of the first half.  When the buzzer sounded to send the game to halftime, the Niners held a small 48-46 advantage.

The second half featured more of the same: the Niners building leads and the Explorers battling back.  The lead grew to as many as 11 points for the Niners, and they maintained a 5 point lead with just 2:03 remaining before the La Salle would make one last run.  A pair of Rodney Green free throws and a Yves Mekongo 3 pointer tied the game at 82 points apiece with just under a minute remaining.  A missed Derrio Green shot left the ball in La Salle’s hands with a chance to win and 25 seconds to work with -basically they could run the clock down and either win it or send it to overtime.

Not so fast.  An’Juan Wilderness played tough defense on Rodney Green on a pick and roll with Aaric Murray, causing Green to opt to pass to Murray who was cutting to the basket with possibly a dunk or layup to win it.  The pass however sailed off Murray’s fingers out-of-bounds giving the Niners one last chance with a little less than 5 seconds remaining.  The 49ers immediately inbounded the ball to An’Juan Wilderness who covered about three-quarters of the court an managed to get off a runner as time expired which found the bottom of the net, giving the Niners the stunning last second victory.  It was the 2nd win in 3 games that game on the last possession for the Niners who suddenly find themselves in the unfamiliar role of road warrior in A10 conference play.

The starters again shined for the Niners as they were responsible for 81 of the 84 points scored.  The lone bench points came from an Ian Andersen first half 3-pointer.  Leading the scoring charge for Charlotte was Shamari “Sherman” Spears who finished with 22 points on 7-12 shooting and 8-11 from the foul line.  Derrio Green was the third Niner to reach 20 points for the game, managing exactly that number on 6-14 shooting.  Derrio had another good game distributing the ball and leading the team with 7 assists on the game to go with just 1 turnover.  The provider of the last-second heroics, An’Juan Wilderness, also had a terrific game with 13 points on 6-7 shooting and adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds.  DiJuan Harris didn’t have his best game, fouling out in 33 minutes of action with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists to go with 3 turnovers.  Credit Rodney Green for being a difficult matchup all game for Harris.

Despite being outrebounded by La Salle, the margin was not particularly bad.  Finishing just boards behind the Explorers, the Niners managed 11 offensive rebounds including 6 by Braswell.  Impressively, Charlotte handed out 23 assists on 27 made baskets as again the Niners did a fantastic job moving the ball on offense, including in transition.  Who is this team?  What have they done with my Niners of old???  Actually, don’t answer that question.  I just want to enjoy this.

In the end, the difference in the game was foul shooting by the Niners.  Most, if not all previous Niner teams under Lutz would have lost this game, but Charlotte coverted 23 of 28 foul shots, good for an 82.1% mark.  In contrast, La Salle only hit 16 of 23, which was good for 69.6%.

Next up, a first place tumble with the very tough and very well-coached Temple Owls.  Here’s to hoping we fill Halton Arena on Wednesday to give Fran Dunphy a not-so-warm welcome to the QC.  The average sports fan needs to know how good the Niners, Owls, and A10 are so be sure to get the word out!  See you on the 27th.

There was one casualty for the Niners tonight.  Charles Dewhurst went down late in the 2nd half with a leg injury.  No would yet from the team what the extent of it is, but rumors are an ankle injury.  We’ll update you when we get word on the extent of his injury.

Today is the second of two installments giving a brief run-down of the A10 so far during non conference play.  Click HERE for Part 1.

UMass Minutemen (4-5)

The UMass Minutemen sport a mostly new roster under second year head coach Derek Kellogg, bringing in 5 new freshmen including heralded wing forward Terrell Vinson, a former target of our Niners coaching staff.  Joining the strong freshman class are transfers Sean Carter (Oregon State, also a former Charlotte recruit) and Hashim Bailey (Memphis).  So far the results have been less than spectacular for the Minutemen.  Although the losses have been to mostly decent programs, the wins have mostly come against lesser D-I competition and DII Arkansas-Fort Smith (their hypen, not mine).  With such an inexperienced roster, these trials and tribulations can be expected, but if improvement isn’t seen over the course of the season, questions of whether Kellogg is much of a head coach will start to arise.

Not surprisingly, the top players for UMass are a pair of upperclassmen guards, Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley.  Both are averaging north of 17 points per game and Harris has been tops in assists.  Freshman swingmen Freddie Riley and Vinson are also both off to solid starts for their careers, with Riley putting up over 9 ppg in just 16.2 mpg and Vinson averaging 8.1 ppg. and chipping in 3.9 rpg.  Sean Carter has been the top post player leading the team in both rebounding and blocked shots.  Although the Minutemen have improved their rebounding from a season ago, problems defensively persist.  UMass is allow opponents to shoot 46% from the field and a horrific 41.8% for shots taken behind the arc.  If UMass wants to finish above .500 in A10 play, this is a must for Kellogg to address.  Although I do expect the Minutemen to improve, real progress in the win/loss column will probably have to wait until next year.

La Salle Explorers (6-2)

The season has started basically as expected for the La Salle Explorers.  Dr. John Giannini has done a sharp job improving a program that lacks the facilities to really “wow” recruits despite playing on a court that bears the name of the legendary Tom Gola.  In the early going of the season, La Salle has taken care of business, winning the games it should win, but has lost both opportunities for BCS scalps (South Carolina in Charleston and @Villanova in Big 5 action).  The non conference slate has several very tough games remaining, including this weekend at Kansas, and future dates against Oklahoma State and Ivy favorite Cornell.

The Explorers are led by Sr. guard Rodney Green.  Green is averaging an even 18 ppg. and leads the team in assists.  Green also pitches in an impressive 5.8 rpg.  Fellow seniors Kimmani Barrett (13.3 ppg.), Ruben Guillandeaux (61.5% from 3), and and Yves Mekongo (10.1 ppg.) have all played well, though Mekongo is struggling a bit from the field.  Joining the senior-led Explorers is highly touted freshman center Aaric Murray.  Murray has played quite well in the early season, averaging 11.5 ppg. and leading the team with 7.1 rpg. and 2.5 bpg.  One area that needs work for Murray (as well as the Explorers as a team) is FT shooting.  Murray only has 13 attempts on the season, and has made less than half.  Despite the FT struggles, La Salle has developed into a very good team and could contend for the A10 title and should certainly contend for a conference tournament bye.  The Explorers are shooting a stellar 47.2% from the field and 43.5% from behind the arc.  They have also taken care of business on defense, enjoying an over 10 rpg. advantage over their opponents.

Dayton Flyers

I actually dread writing about Dayton.  Their neurotic fans over on the A10 board scare me.  But they’re a solid team with a good coach and hey, it’s my job.  So here goes.  The Flyers started the season with a bang, getting a victory over common non-conference foe Georgia Tech in Puerto Rico.  This was followed by a pair of losses in the same venue to Villanova and Kansas State, both very good teams and nothing to be ashamed of for the Flyer faithful.  Since returning to the continental US, the flyers have taken care of business against some slightly less-than-stellar competition including an escape @ George Mason (56-55) where the Flyers surrendered a large lead in the 2^nd half.  The remainder of the non-conference slate features good opportunities to pick up quality wins against Old Dominion (another common foe with the Niners) at home and on the road against New Mexico.

Despite being the preseason favorite to win the A10, the Flyers do have some holes that need addressing before conference play begins.  Dayton has struggled to keep opponents from reaching the FT line, allowing 24.8 trips/game (about 5 less per game than the Flyers).  They have also struggled to outrebound their opposition, holding the slightest of edges (0.4 rpg.).  Offensively, the Flyers are led by a pair of very good forwards, Chris Johnson and Chris Wright.  The pair lead the Flyers in both scoring and rebounding providing 14.5 and 7.0 (Johnson) and 14.3 and 6.1 (Wright) respectively.  In the backcourt, Sr. PG London Warren and Sr. SG Marcus Johnson get the starting nod.  London is a blur with and without the ball, but looks to pass and defend as opposed to scoring.  Johnson is scoring 8.4 ppg. but has struggled with his shot.  The top outside threat for Dayton has been F Luke Fabrizius who is hitting on 45.5% of his long-distance attempts.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks (3-5)

The season couldn’t have started much better for the Hawks, winning their first three including a nice victory over Boston College in the Virgin Islands.  However, the inexperienced roster (only 2 seniors) dropped the next five, largely to quality teams such as Purdue, Cornell, and Villanova.  The remaining non-conference slate doesn’t get much easier with trips to Minnesota and Siena.  Saint Joseph’s is led by its lone pair of seniors; guards Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson, scoring 25 points between each other.  A bright spot so far has been the play of Fr. guard Carl Jones who’s contributing 10.1 ppg. in 21 minutes/game off the bench for the Hawks.

Looking strictly at the numbers, a couple stats stand out that contribute to the Hawks’ losing record.  Saint Joseph’s has struggled to rebound the ball, averaging a deficit of nearly 8 rpg.  Couple the rebounding woes with poor shooting (41.5% from the field) and it’s no surprise Saint Joseph’s has posted a 3-5 record thus far.  Though the non-conference schedule is one of the most difficult in the league, the Hawks’ early struggles will likely carry over to conference play and Coach Phil Martelli is likely to see his squad post the first losing record in 10 years.

Duquesne Dukes (6-3)

Despite being friends with Huggy Bear, I’m a Ron Everhart fan.  He’s quickly turned the wreckage of Danny Nee around, inheriting a 3-win team in Nee’s last year and turning it into a 21-win team last season.  Despite the loss of Aaron Jackson, the Dukes have a strong roster to go with their excellent coach and should be in the top half of the A10 this season.  Duquesne has no seniors and is led by Jr. forward Damian Saunders.  Saunders is putting up 14.8 ppg on 54.1% shooting from the field to go with a beastly 12.4 rpg.  Fellow Jr. swingman Bill Clark is also playing well, putting up 16 ppg.  The Dukes have relied heavily on a tight rotation thus far with 5 players averaging over 30 minutes per game.  This should improve in a few weeks with the return of Melquan Bolding, who is nursing a broken wrist sustained in a game with Nicholls State (shame too, he was having a big game).

In non-conference play, the Dukes have victories over Iowa and a collection of lesser regarded such as Binghamton and Savannah State.  Losses have come at the hands of Western Carolina, Pittsburgh, and mostly recently a blowout against WVU where the Dukes managed just 39 points.  The remaining non-conference games are quite manageable with the most difficult being trips to IUPUI and Old Dominion (is it me or is every A10 team required to play ODU or Cornell in the non conference?).  One area Duquesne does need to focus on is 3 point shooting.  The Dukes are connecting on just 27.0% of their 3 point attempts.

Xavier Musketeers (5-3)

The Musketeers, under first year Head Coach Chris Mack, have produced mix results against their usual difficult non-conference schedule.  Xavier has dropped games against Marquette, Baylor, and Kansas State while posting wins against Creighton and Kent State.  Remaining non-conference games against Cincinnati, Butler, LSU, and Wake Forest will further test this edition of the Musketeers and ideally ready them for conference play as well as providing a means to hopefully boost the conference RPI.  Xavier is led by So. transfer Jordan Crawford (by way of Indiana) putting up 18.5 ppg. with a scorching 48.7% from behind the arc.  The only other player scoring in double figures for Xavier is Sr. forward Jason Love who is averaging a double-double with 10.3 ppg. and 10.0 rpg.

Despite a record that is not particularly awe-inspiring, Xavier is playing good basketball.  They shoot the ball extremely well (48.0%) from the field and perimeter (44.5%), hold their opponents to poor shooting (38.7%), and limit second chances by rebounding the ball well (+6.2 rpg).  Don’t let the early losses fool anyone.  This Xavier team plays a very difficult schedule, probably the most difficult in the league.  If Chris Mack is as good of a coach as he is a recruiter, I won’t be surprised at all if Xavier is one of the top teams in the A10.