12/8/2024
Towson sits at 3-4 after four straight losses including losing all three games at the Western Slam in Lethbridge, Alberta in Canada over Thanksgiving weekend. The good news is the Tigers are back in the United States for the rest of the season. The bad news is Towson has already committed to the Atlantic/Eastern Slam next season which is in New Brunswick, Canada which last time I checked is rather cold in late November. Delaware has won 3 of their last four contests with their only loss coming to Duquesne. The Blue Hens next two games are at home with the latter game being at 11am on Tuesday morning 12/17. Will fans be able to purchase beer at that game? Hopefully not as we all know how rowdy UD fans can get but if they start drinking before noon then anything can happen – right?
Northeastern is coming off a big win over LaSalle earlier this week to return to winning ways. Their next opponent is Colgate. The Huskies take on the Raiders in Boston. I can already hear the trash talk on the court between the two teams arguing over which arena is colder – Matthews Arena or William A. Reid Athletic Center. My answer is they are both freezing – just let the teams play the game outdoors – right? Hofstra is currently 7-3 and only has three more games prior to the start of CAA Conference play in early January. The Pride’s next home game is on Sunday afternoon 12/15 at 12pm vs. Temple. You would think they would play the game later in the day so both teams can go to Sunday morning mass – especially Temple – right?
Drexel is 6-4 as the Dragons enter mid-December. Their next road game is at Howard University in Washington, DC. Who knows maybe Vice President Kamala Harris will be in attendance at her alma mater on Tuesday afternoon 12/17. Drexel may want to lose the game as if they don’t they will probably have to listen to a lengthy speech from the current VP. The topic of the speech may be climate control and that the Dragons should bus to all of their future games on the East Coast to save the planet. I mean come on how many trips does Air Force One make a month – lol. Elon is having a solid season so far and is in for some home cooking in December with only one more road game until January which is at East Tennessee State on Wednesday evening 12/18. The Phoenix will travel to Johnson City, TN to face the Buccaneers. I swore Johnson City, TN was a made up place but apparently it is real. The game is live on ESPN Plus that night so it must not have been a dream I had.
Charleston is 6-2 as Chris Mack’s team is gaining momentum with each passing game. The Cougars face a tough test this coming week when they travel to Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia for a tough non-conference game. Hagan Arena is a hard place to play. The atmosphere is intense and the mascot for the university is the Hawk who flaps his wings non-stop throughout every basketball game. I mean even the players get a halftime break, but the Hawk doesn’t. Being the Hawk sounds like a very difficult job – he has to get some NIL money – doesn’t he?
11/29/2024
Campbell enters the final weekend of November with a record of 3-4 and finishes the month with a game at Green Bay. Don’t worry as even though it is a 1pm game it’s not against the Packers so the Fighting Camels at least get to play indoors. Hampton looks to get back to winning ways as they enter December. The Pirates first opportunity is their opening Conference Game against North Carolina A&T. Yes – their opponent is North Carolina A&T – not AT&T. Monmouth is still searching for their first victory this season and the schedule doesn’t get much easier as they enter December. The Hawks best bet for a win might come against Fairfield right before Christmas. They should be able to garner victory if Fairfield plays fair – right – lol. North Carolina A&T sits at 3-3 as the Aggies enter December with several difficult road games looming. Their toughest test might come right before Christmas when they travel to Fayetteville to take on John Calipari and Arkansas. Yes – that is right Fayetteville, Arkansas not Fayetteville, North Carolina so it will be a flight and not a short car ride.
Stony Brook enters December looking to return to winning ways after 3 straight losses. The Seawolves do have to fly to Frisco, TX to take on Air Force on Saturday 12/7. Wait, if they are flying to Texas to play Air Force can a stipulation be put in place that if Stony Brook beats Air Force the Falcons must fly the entire Seawolves team back to Long Island. That sounds fair – right? UNC Wilmington has had a solid start to the season so far as the Seahawks currently sit at 4-2. Things get more difficult for UNC Wilmington in December with several road games looming including a trip to Howard on Saturday 12/14. What will be more difficult - beating the Howard Bison or getting to the game before Tip-Off? We all know how horrendous DC traffic is around the Holidays. William & Mary has had an uneven start to the season as the Tribe stands at 3-5. William & Mary only has 5 games in December and more time to prepare. That will bode well for them especially when they host Navy in late December in Williamsburg. Navy is always well prepared – it could be said they are always ready for war – right?
11/24/2024
Towson sits at 3-2 after back-to-back wins over James Madison and Nicholls this past week. The Tigers next three contests are against Morgan State, Kent State, and Kennesaw State. Wait, what? Well at least the Tigers opponent on Saturday 11/30 is UC Irvine. I was thinking it had to be ?? State – right? Delaware just lost back-to-back contests by a total of 5 points to Bryant and Vermont. The Blue Hens reward is a game against Yale on a Neutral Court. That’s a tough turnaround for Delaware and after their loss they won’t have much time to study which puts them at a disadvantage as everyone knows the Yale players don’t need to study. Northeastern has a 5-1 record after four straight wins including wins over Florida International and Florida Gulf Coast. Their reward is a game against Cal State Bakersfield but it should be a trip to the Beach – shouldn’t it? Hofstra is coming off a pair of road losses to Power 5 opponents Florida State and Houston. The Pride still sit at 4-2 and get an entire week off to enjoy the Thanksgiving Break and some good food. They return to the court to take on Rice on Black Friday. Who wants Rice – I am sure they would rather have Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, etc.
Drexel is back on track as the Dragons followed two straight losses to Big Five opponents with two straight victories. The Dragons now get Purdue Fort Wayne on Monday on a Neutral Court. That’s good news as Drexel might be in trouble if they had to deal with John Wayne but they should be okay against Purdue Fort Wayne. Elon is having a great start to the season as the Phoenix most recently defeated Notre Dame in South Bend. Ironically the Phoenix defeated Northern Illinois prior to defeating the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame couldn’t beat the Huskies in football – could they beat them in basketball – probably not. Charleston lost their first game of the season last Sunday evening against Liberty. It stinks the Cougars lost but they were probably exhausted after outlasting Florida Atlantic two days prior by defeating the Owls 119-116 in 2OT. I can imagine how tired Charleston must have been. I mean I am getting tired just thinking about it.
11/17/2024
Campbell has had an uneven start to the season as the Fighting Camels sit at 2-2 . They did win their season opener at home against Pfeiffer. Wait – Pfeiffer – wasn’t he Fred Savage’s friend on The Wonder Years TV Show? I didn’t know he could play basketball. Hampton sits at 1-3 after 4 games. The Pirates do have an upcoming game against Apprentice School in a few weeks so hopefully they can learn a few things during that game even if they don’t come away with a win. Monmouth is off to a rough start this season as the Hawks sit at 0-4 with losses to Michigan State and Rutgers already. The Hawks best chance for a win in November may come at Seton Hall on Saturday 11/30. All they may have to do is score more than 28 points which is what Wagner put up against the Pirates yesterday. Yes – more than 28 points – not in a Half but in the entire game – lol. North Carolina A&T is 1-2 after back-to-back road defeats. The Aggies do have several road games in the coming weeks with the most glaring being a game at Buffalo on Monday 11/25. A trip north to Buffalo in late November is rough, but at least their game against the Bulls is indoors – hopefully - right?
Stony Brook is 2-2 with their next three games against Ivy League opponents. The Seawolves better hit the books in more ways than one to pull off a three game sweep. At least their games at Columbia and Brown are over the Thanksgiving Break. I am sure even Ivy League players take a slight break from studying over the long holiday weekend – right? UNC Wilmington is off to a hot start as the Seahawks are 3-0. Their reward is a trip to #1 Kansas to play the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The good news is that the game is on ESPN+ instead of one of the other ESPN channels so the majority of CBB fans won’t see the bludgeoning. William & Mary has already played 5 games this season and will play again on 11/17 against Georgia Southern. Looking ahead to December, the Tribe takes a short trip to VCU to play the Rams on Sunday afternoon 12/22. The Tribe better be prepared for that game as “A VCU home game at the Siegel Center is more life altering than a 10-day trip to Europe.” – Jon Rothstein That leads me to my next question – when did Jon Rothstein go to Europe?
11/9/2024
Towson travelled 3,000 miles just to lose to St. Mary’s on Opening night. Then the Tigers got back home just in time to beat Penn State Wilkes-Barre by 55 points. Imagine if Penn State Wilkes-Barre had Michael Jordan who could have chipped in 55 points without even breaking a sweat. Delaware split a pair of Home Games this week losing to Bucknell, but defeating Robert Morris. Wait – Robert Morris is a team and not just one person? Northeastern opened the campaign with a victory on the road over Boston University. Next up for the Huskies are back-to-back home games against Princeton and Harvard. Even if Northeastern loses the next two games they can at least say they lost to smart opponents even if the teams aren’t talented – right? Hofstra is off to a hot start with two wins to start the season. The Pride take on Seton Hall in their 3rd game of the season this coming Wednesday night at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. Word is the Islanders get to play the winner later that night. That can’t be correct - right?
Drexel is off to a 2-0 start as well and faces two Big 5 opponents this coming week with a game at Temple on Tuesday night followed by a home tilt against LaSalle next Saturday afternoon. The bad news is both games will be very difficult. The good news is Drexel saves a lot of money on gas this week with the lite travel. Heck if they played at Penn this season they could walk to the game – literally. Elon gave North Carolina fits on opening night before succumbing to the Tar Heels. The Phoenix do get a slight reprieve this season as UNC is only one of two ACC Teams they play. The other is Notre Dame and everyone knows the Fighting Irish only care about Football until at least early Spring. Charleston is off to another good start as the Cougars won both their games so far this season. New Head Coach Chris Mack is back in coaching and has replaced Pat Kelsey who left for Louisville. Wait – didn’t Chris Mack used to be the head coach at Louisville and Pat Kelsey the head coach at Charleston? Was this another remake of the movie Freaky Friday?
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