With another rise of the sun we inch another day closer to November 11th and the start of basketball season. That being said, Green Tinted Glasses isn’t close to finished providing preseason coverage to THE Niner Nation. If haven’t read the breakdowns of the 2011-12 schedule and roster, click here and here, respectively. Now that you have those out of the way, allow the GTG Gang to enlighten you with our season predictions and Atlantic 10 poll. By no means does this mean we won’t go and predict the Niners to win near every damned game this season in our Gameday posts.

J Felt:

Notes: Typically, I’m the optimist in the group and my predictions reflect that. I do have us winning every game we should win with the obvious exception in Lamar on the road. This team will destroy Davidson, however. Not because we’re that much better, but because the team will be hungry for revenge, and frankly the fans deserve it, after last season.

NC CENTRAL: WIN
at Central Michigan: WIN
at Lamar: LOSS
EAST TENNESSEE STATE: WIN
at Wright State: LOSS
at East Carolina: WIN
at Radford: WIN
DAVIDSON: WIN (a slaughter, actually)
COPPIN STATE: WIN
MIAMI: WIN
at Arkansas: LOSS
at Memphis: LOSS
KENNESAW STATE: WIN

Total: 9-4
Atlantic 10: 10-6
Overall: 19-10
Postseason Prediction: ANOTHER BANNER YEAR! We’ll make the semifinals of the A10 Tourney and narrowly miss out on the finals. Make the second round of the NIT and Major is left with plenty to build on for the next season.

NLP:

Notes: Alpha Duster is really pretty.  I’ll miss her this year. 

NC CENTRAL: WIN
at Central Michigan: LOSS
at Lamar: WIN
EAST TENNESSE STATE: WIN
at Wright State: WIN
at East Carolina: DIE IN A FIRE, LEBO WIN
at Radford: WIN
DAVIDSON: WIN
COPPIN STATE: WIN
MIAMI: LOSS
at Arkansas: LOSS
at Memphis: LOSS
KENNESAW STATE: WIN

Total: 9-4
Atlantic 10: 10-6
Overall: 19-10
Postseason Prediction: NIT

C-PIP 

Notes: Our schedule is pretty easy, and I’m well prepared to eat crow, be we can’t be horrible enough to lose some of these games this year. We have a decent streak of getting wins at some big conference programs, thank you Razorbacks for letting that happen again.

NC CENTRAL: WIN
at Central Michigan: WIN
at Lamar: WIN
EAST TENNESSE STATE: WIN
at Wright State: LOSS
at East Carolina: WIN
at Radford: WIN
DAVIDSON: WIN
COPPIN STATE: WIN
MIAMI: LOSS
at Arkansas: WIN
at Memphis: LOSS
KENNESAW STATE: WIN

Total: 10-3
Atlantic 10: 10-6
Overall: 20-9
Postseason Prediction: A10 semifinals run leading to an NIT appearance, falling one game short of MSG.

McFly

Notes:  Would I love for this group to win 20+ games?  Of course, but I’d love for NLP to get hit by a truck too, doesn’t mean it will happen.  Charlotte always lays at least one stinker at home, and I think that will be ETSU.  Outside of that, the three BCS games are going to be tough.  I do not believe we will be drubbed by 20+ in any of those games, but that they will serve as more of a teaching tool and what is expected of them night out and night in performance wise.  Also, those three games I think can help this squad turn a “W” against a Temple or Xavier come league play.

NC CENTRAL: WIN
at Central Michigan: WIN
at Lamar: WIN
EAST TENNESSE STATE: LOSS
at Wright State: LOSS
at East Carolina: WIN
at Radford: WIN
DAVIDSON: WIN
COPPIN STATE: WIN
MIAMI: LOSS
at Arkansas: LOSS
at Memphis: LOSS
KENNESAW STATE: WIN

Total: 8-5
Atlantic 10: 8-8
Overall: 16- 13
Postseason Prediction:  They will win an A10 Tourney game, no post season aspirations there after

2k:  

Notes: I would love for a NIT bid, but not as much as Ginger loves Burger King.  Still think (hope) we’re 1 year away from post season play.

NC CENTRAL: WIN
at Central Michigan: LOSS
at Lamar: WIN
EAST TENNESSE STATE: WIN
at Wright State:  WIN
at East Carolina: WIN
at Radford: WIN
DAVIDSON: WIN
COPPIN STATE: WIN
MIAMI: WIN
at Arkansas: LOSS
at Memphis: LOSS
KENNESAW STATE: WIN

Total: 10-3
Atlantic 10: 7-9
Overall:17-12
Postseason Prediction: Win 1 in AC and then the year is done.

Atlantic 10 Poll: To offset some of the green tint from our own ballots, the official Atlantic 10 preason poll was given a ballot. But remember, we all still want the Niners to win the conference. All ballots had the same teams in the top four, and Charlotte plays each of those four teams at home (and Xavier on the road once, too). If things happen the way we voted, Charlotte would host a 1st-Round A10 Tournament game against either Duquesne or Rhode Island (There are no ties in basketball!), with the winner getting Temple in Atlantic City.

1. Xavier 83 (5)
2. Temple 78 (1)
3. Saint Louis 73
4. St. Bonaventure 66
5. George Washington 53
6. Saint Joseph’s 52
7. Charlotte 47
8. Richmond 45
9. Duquesne 33
9. Rhode Island 33
11. Dayton 29
12. Massachusetts 16
13. La Salle 15
14. Fordham 7

Leave your own predictions in the comments thread, the winner gets something… eventually… we promise.

A preview of UD Arena after the game.

Niner fans, are you having fun yet? It’s February 2010, we have a great record, and we’re first place in the league. Don’t get too comfortable, though, because things could get uglier than Rick Majerus in a hurry. We’ve got Dayton today, and looming after that we have Xavier, Richmond, and AT Rhode Island. Those four games are immensely important, not only for first place, but for locking up our chances at an… well, I’m not even going to say it.

A couple seasons ago in 05-06, Dayton brought a good portion of fans down to Charlotte for a game. That wasn’t so bad, it’s always exciting to have fans of the opposition in Halton, it makes the game more intense for everyone involved. The student section wasn’t the most gracious of hosts however, as we, ahem, those asshole students, tore down the Dayton fans flags not once, but twice. I do hope we’ve been forgiven for that, but not for Curtis Withers’ dominating 20 pt/20 rb game that afternoon. Oh, how could I neglect to mention those stupid hats the Dayton visitors wore? You know, those hats that come adorned with lights that let passerbys know an Idiot is coming… How silly.

We should take a second to really thank Derrio Green for saving our collective ass this past Saturday at Fordham. If it weren’t for him we’d be the laughing stock of the league. The tied for first place team that lost to Fordham. What a disaster. It was a sight to see though, wasn’t it? It was as if Derrio just said to himself, “I’m Derrio Green. I am awesome. This is ridiculous, we ARE NOT losing to Fordham.” And then he proceeded to score 49 straight points and basically win the game for us. That type of “know your role, Fordham” bitch slapping was Chuck Norris-esque. It’s nice to have a guy like him on the team, otherwise we’d be in a lot worse shape. Plus, I’ve always thought the best group chant in the world was “Rufi—ohhhhhhh” from Hook, and why the student section hasn’t started going “Derri—oohhhhhhh” is beyond me.

Back to the topic at hand: Dayton. These guys are fairly good. Not REALLY good though. They were REALLY good on Saturday, knocking Xavier around for a 25-pt butt kicking. But they’ve really only been fairly good on average. If they had played every game like they did Saturday, the A10 would have two guaranteed bids to the NCAAs and not a bunch of “should be in”s. I fully expect Dayton to play well tonight, but not nearly as well. They have to hit their shots if they want to win, because DiJuan Harris won’t let Dayton get Charlotte out of it’s gameplan. Just ask Dayton how it went last year, when they accounted for almost 10% of our wins. Plus, their name is mispelled in our poll, which definitely means we’ll beat them.

When all is said and done later tonight, Charlotte fans will know the answer to the all important question.

Are these 1st place Niners for real?

It’d be way too easy for this team to fold up and be content with being on the bubble and finishing top 4 in the conference. If Charlotte wants to prove themselves worthy of their spot in the standings (and rankings), the Niners have to show up tonight and fight from the start. In essence, Derrio Green must continue to be awesome, Shamari should draw 400 fouls, Braswell must arise and be a monster again, Phil Jones must be Phil Jones and not Butterfingers Jones (would you trust Phil Jones to hold your baby? – my fiancee), DiJuan must be rock solid, Dew and An’Juan have to play defense, and the Lutz ‘stache must intimidate Dayton’s humorous fanbase.

Our bold, scientific, and completely unbiased predictions are below. Leaves yours in the comments and the closest one to the correct score wins their very own siren hat.

J Felt – Charlotte 71, Dayton 65. We’re better than we were at Fordham and versus GW, plus, Dayton fans are weird and Braswell’s due to break out anytime now.

letsgoNINERS11 – This game would go a long way towards locking up a tourney spot and garnering some respect on the national scene, Bobby gets us ready to play.  Charlotte 78 – Dayton 74

HP – Too windy for the Flyers… Niners 72, Dayton 68.

NLP – Wait, what’s that sound?  That’s… that’s Derrio Green’s music!  Niners 67 – Bike Shops 63

D-Fo – Another big game from Spears coupled with some solid shooting from Green (and hopefully the “return” of Chris Braswell) helps Charlotte shoot down the Flyers and come out with a close “W.”  78-75 Charlotte.

JRitchie – Charlotte looked less than impressive pulling out wins v. GW and at Fordham but the pure will it took to gut out those victories proves this is a different squad than Lutz’s previous outings in the A10. Can the new look Niners gut out a win in the A10′s toughest arena? Charlotte shows up but this one comes down to a coin flip. Charlotte 65-Dayton 63. (Thanks for the novel. – J Felt)

P.S. -  Not a prediction, but we wouldn’t mind a $3 donation every once in awhile, we need to pay for JRitchie’s addiction, er, hosting costs. Click on the button up on the left! Thanks!

49er Blackouts are known to cause this in opponents.

It feels like it’s been a month, but it’s finally gameday again! Even better, it’s a home game in Halton Arena! The Niners are set to take on the Pirates of East Carolina University, a school known as EZU and recognized more for its baseball and STDs than it’s basketball program. Any other time we take on ECU, it’s a “big deal” type of game, because traditionally, ECU sucks, bad. But there’s still a bad taste in our mouths from January ’05, when some guy named Mouse gave us our third loss and sent Niners fans home dejected and in an ice storm. Everything about the day sucked. Greenville sucked, Curtis Withers sucked, our team sucked, their crowd sucked, and losing sucked. The only way to help us forget that day is for the Niners to destroy ECU, just as they should’ve years ago.

Spears should dominate these guys, and it won’t be pretty. For many Niners, he’s the first consistent low-post scorer we’ve ever been able to see in person, and it’s a wonderful sight to see. But what if he gets in foul trouble? This is a question that needs to be solved as soon as possible if we’re going to be any good this year. We can’t expect Spears to dominate the other team’s big men from the bench, though it’s definitely a possibility versus ECU. Put on your Green Tinted Glasses people, FIVE AND ONE is basically here, it’s ECU, it’s Halton Arena, it’s Shamari Spears, and it’s ECU. Hell, even dogs on youtube hate the Pirates…

Predictions are below, add your own in the comments, and the winner will receive one free memory wipe of that ECU game and all of March ’05 as well.

J Felt – Charlotte 84, ECU 63. Niners run away in the second half as ECU can’t hang with Spears, Phil Jones has a block party while wearing an eye patch just for kicks.

HP – Pirates wash away in the rain storm as 49ers roll, 86-68.

D-Fo – The Pirates will leave Halton with a true peg-legged limp after Dijuan and Derrio finish breaking their ankles all night.  Spears goes for 25, Bowden gets hot again and goes off for 5 or 6 three-pointers.  At the end of the night, the Pirates walk the plank back to Greenville to the tune of an 89-75 loss.

Bust – Charlotte 84, EZU 71. Niners take the week off of gold mining as the pirates bring the treasure to them.  Pirates walk the plank (with one pirate scoring his personal best)

NLP – Charlotte 73 EZU 68. Shiver me timbers.  All hope abandon, ye who enters Halton Arena!

letsgoNINERS11 – EZU steps into the black hole that will be Halton Arena and Shamari feasts for 30.  Sharpshooter Shamarr Bowden is gonna go Navy Seals on the Pirates from long distance for 18 and Chris Braswell chips in 15-10.  81 – 65 Niners FTW.

JRitchie – Ian Andersen single handedly defeats that Pirates after they black out… Niners win 93-68

LIARS!

Here’s a true story that many Niner fans across the world (yes, across the world, we have a fan in Australia) can commiserate with about the Hofstra game in 07-08. HP and I wanted to watch the game, but like most people, didn’t have MASN at home. Going to a bar was our only option. I being the young guy in town really wanted to impress the alumni in the area and make sure we had a spot to watch the game. So I called Buffalo Wild Wings, I mean, surely, they’ve got the game, right? The nice lady on the phone said, “if it’s on TV, we’ve got it.” Sounds good. At gametime, they have yet to find the channel and eventually we hear some BS excuse about it being “blacked out” because the game wasn’t sold out. Mind you, this game was in frigid New York, not North Carolina. Thanks overweight manager lady, now the alumni are mad at me.

Needless to say, we found a different place across town, because we HAD TO watch this game. Gerrity was making his regular season debut as a Niner, and there’s no way I was missing the enveiling of his frosted tips. But after all that, we played terrible and still lost. To Hofstra. Add that game to the earlier loss to Monmouth, and the Niners have a new term for those type of RPI-anchor/NCAA-bubble popping losses….Monstra losses.

The Niners are 3-0 this season against animal mascots!

So here we are, matching up with those jerks again. Though, this isn’t the same Hofstra we faced two seasons ago, this one is experienced, fast, athletic and plays smart basketball. They took it to UConn in the PNIT, but they did struggle against Yale more than we did. The transitive property of sports is unapplicable here, since both teams are 2-0 against the same competition (Yale and Elon). Though, Hofstra destroyed Elon last night, so we may want to keep our Glasses on while we make predictions.

Spears will eat the Pride for his last Thanksgiving appetizer, but who else will step up and score? And when will we play solid defense? If we can answer those questions, we’ll pick up the W and go to 4-1. Predictions are below, add your own in the comments. Winner gets an official Godzilla vs. Monstra Collector’s DVD.   – J Felt

J Felt – Charlotte 84, Hofstra 75. Everything clicks for the Niners and Dewhurst seals the game late with free throws and witty jokes.

JRitchie – Charlotte 83, Hofstra 71. The Pride get shamed by three’s that drop at record rates.

HP – 84-81 Charlotte. $pears can’t be stopped.

letsgoNINERS11 – Charlotte 65, Hofstra 70.  Shamari Spears for 24.  Remember when I said I wasn’t worried?  I’m worried. (You aren’t wearing your green tinted glasses, did you break them after the Duke game? – J Felt)

D-Fo – 82-78 Charlotte. Another solid night for Derrio Green, who goes for 15+ Points.  Spears plays with one arm behind his back to make it fair in the paint.  Rashad Coleman remembers why he has a scholarship and actually scores a few points.  The recent boycotting of defense by the Niners leads to a close one.

NLP – Charlotte pulls a Captain Koons and finds victory in the least likely of places.  Charlotte 84 Hofstra 81

Bust – If Rashad Coleman sees very limited minutes, we will win. If he sees significant minutes (like more than 6), we will continually blow leads, fall behind, and kill our momentum. 83-74 Charlotte wins or 78-71 Hofstra wins, depending on how much time Coleman plays. (So you’re saying we either win or we lose?)

Can you believe this, Niner Nation? You can say the words, “IT IS GAMEDAY VERSUS DUKE!” Duke, the school known for free iPods, skinny kids in weenie bikinis and the Master Splinter himself, is taking on our Charlotte 49ers in the Preseason NIT. Considering half our student body thinks Charlotte isn’t even in the same division as Duke, we’re quite pumped for this matchup. I mean, Duke is in the ACC, that basically implies unbeatability right?

WRONG.

We always get up for these games. Even in an 11-20 season we took Clemson to the wire, and the year prior we went .500 against the almighty conference.  These games are important to the players, the coaches, and most importantly, us. Let’s put on our Green Tinted Glasses and say we’ll dominate inside, Spears will feast upon soft post players, Big Phil will have more blocks than an old school lego set, Bowden will remember to set his laser-guided arm to “score baskets”, and maybe even Gohkan will reach Super Saiyan. Of course, we at GTG are magical and have visualized the future…

Oh yes, your tears will make Bobby's mustache grow.

 Predictions are below, provide your own in the comments and you could win lessons in MS Paint.   – J Felt