SB Nation - Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

The circle is complete: By beating the brains out of Lon Kruger's team, perhaps we finally have erased the demons that have plagued K-State basketball for 20 years — roughly ever since he ditched us for Florida. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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Sorry, guys. I accidentally set this to publish at 11:45 p.m. tonight when I meant for it to go last night. My bad.

Wow, what a Saturday.

I guess I'll start with us. I've adding a ranking indicator, because now that Xavier beat Cincinnati today (likely knocking them out of the Top 25), it's a 99-percent certainty that we will be ranked at this time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our RPI is an eye-popping TWO. I don't think we're likely to top Duke anytime soon, so this basically is the pinnacle for our resume this year, at least from a numbers standpoint. Kudos to Frank Martin for drawing up a PERFECT non-conference schedule, one that now is ranked fourth, after briefly spiking at second last night.

UNLV was added to the ledger of Top 50 wins, and Wazzu's win over Air Force, coupled with playing us, moved the Cougars into the Top 100. That gives us six quality wins so far, and to that you can add Fort Hays State's movement into the Division II Top 25 last week. We've beaten some damn good teams.

What does all this mean? Barring an absolute collapse in Big 12 play, we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And if things keep up like this, we'll have a pretty high seed, too. We almost don't need this feature anymore — the resume speaks for itself. But I'll keep tracking everything, nonetheless.

Here's a little trivia for you: Four teams in the country have three RPI Top 50 wins. Who are they? Answers after the jump. Oh, and be sure to vote in my poll.

Answer: Georgetown, Kansas State, Texas, Villanova

Bonus Answer: Kansas has ZERO Top 50 wins. LOL!

Current Kansas State Ranking = TBD

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40: Win over San Francisco (66-63)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320: Loss to Eastern Illinois (44-41)
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146: Win at Marist (88-72)
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34: Win over McNeese State (83-67)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Indiana-South Bend (92-56)
No. 22* FHSU (7-1): Win over Missouri Western (67-54)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88: Win over Air Force (75-68)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29: Loss to Kansas State (95-80)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91: Loss to No. 5 Purdue (73-65)
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232: Win over Wilberforce (113-61)
South Dakota (5-4) | RPI = 119
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161: Win over Fairleigh Dickinson (87-36)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18: Loss to New Mexico (84-81)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5: Win over Texas State (87-54)
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21: Win over La Salle (90-65)
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Oregon State (50-44)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142: Win at Utah (78-73 in overtime)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

Study Hall: Mizzou vs Fairleigh Dickinson

Bill C. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:27 -0000

by L.G. Patterson - AP

2 days ago: Missouri head coach Mike Anderson, right, tries to quiet the crowd as he sits next to assistant coach Matt Zimmerman, left, after it was announced that today was Anderson's 50th birthday during the second half of a NCAA college basketball game against Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 87-36. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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So apparently my 90-48 prediction was a bit too pessimistic...

Mizzou 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 36

NCAA Basketball Stats

	Mizzou	FDU
Points Per Minute	2.18	0.90
Points Per Possession (PPP)	1.18	0.49
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.23	0.64
2-PT FG%	47.7%	26.5%
3-PT FG%	44.4%	13.6%
FT%	75.0%	56.3%
True Shooting %	57.0%	28.6%

	Mizzou	FDU
Assists	23	7
Steals	18	7
Turnovers	14	26
Ball Control Index (BCI) (Assists + Steals) / TO	2.93	0.54

	Mizzou	FDU
Expected Offensive Rebounds	14	17
Offensive Rebounds	15	15
Difference	+1	-2

Pretty much total domination.

Not really sure what to say about this one. Just about every category saw domination -- shooting, ball-handling, etc. And Mizzou even won the rebounding battle! Barely!

Rebounding.

We'll talk about this a bit in the player stats after the jump, but after an iffy first half of rebounding, Mizzou got its act together, dominating the second half, then getting a nice boost from Tyler Stone and John Underwood, who combined for 9 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes. This is still clearly the biggest concern the team has (followed closely by the halfcourt offense that ensues if Mizzou isn't forcing 26 turnovers). But it's probably not to read too much, good or bad, into what unfolds during a 50-point win.

Player stats after the jump.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player	AdjGS*	GmSc/Min	Line
Kim English	16.0	1.00	16 Min, 20 Pts (7-for-14 FG, 4-for-9 3PT), 4 Stl, 3 Reb, 2 Ast
Laurence Bowers	12.2	0.68	18 Min, 12 Pts (6-for-8 FG), 5 Reb (3 Off), 2 Ast
Zaire Taylor	10.8	0.60	18 Min, 7 Pts (2-for-6 FG), 7 Stl, 3 Reb, 2 Ast
Michael Dixon	9.8	0.49	20 Min, 10 Pts (4-for-7 FG, 2-for-3 3PT), 5 Ast, 3 Reb
Marcus Denmon	7.1	0.39	18 Min, 9 Pts (3-for-7 FG, 3-for-6 3PT), 2 Reb, 2 Ast
Justin Safford	6.6	0.37	18 Min, 4 Pts (2-for-3 FG), 4 Ast, 3 Reb, 2 Blk
Miguel Paul	6.2	0.41	15 Min, 7 Pts (3-for-5 FG), 2 Ast
Tyler Stone	5.7	0.63	9 Min, 6 Pts (3-for-4 FG), 4 Reb
J.T. Tiller	4.5	0.28	16 Min, 5 Pts (2-for-4 FG), 2 Reb
John Underwood	3.2	0.32	10 Min, 3 Pts (0-for-3 FG), 7 Reb (3 Off)
Keith Ramsey	2.6	0.13	20 Min, 2 Pts (0-for-3 FG), 6 Reb
Steve Moore	2.4	0.15	16 Min, 2 Pts (1-for-3 FG), 3 Blk, 2 Reb, 2 Stl
Jarrett Sutton	-2.7	-0.45	6 Min, 0 Pts (0-for-4 FG)

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It does the same thing my previous measure of choice did (it takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game), only the formula is more used and accepted. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

That's right, Zaire Taylor yoinked seven steals in 18 minutes. Not sure I've ever seen that.
Actually, instead of going too deep into the bullet points, let's revisit the player-by-player challenges that I issued during the Oral Roberts wrap-up.

The Challenge

As a reminder, I took a look at each Mizzou player and what I needed to see from them during these cupcake games to suggest that team improvement might be on the horizon during Big 12 play.

Zaire Taylor: Shots Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.33 Shots Per Minute.

Not bad, especially considering he was a little hobbled. He was averaging only 0.22 per minute against "real" opponents, and while FDU certainly doesn't qualify as a real opponent, he still shot at a 50% higher frequency, which is good. Again, lacking one more natural scorer, we have to fill in the gaps with our two best scorers (not named Kim English), Taylor and Laurence Bowers. This was a good start. Somewhere in the 0.30-0.35 range for Taylor suggests that he is shooting more and still focusing primarily on distributing the ball.

J.T. Tiller: Steals Per Minute

Versus FDU 0.06 Steals Per Minute.

Eh. Jesus Tyrannosaurus pretty much took this game off, at least in terms of what shows up in the box score.

Kim English: Defensive Rebounds Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.17 Defensive Rebounds Per Minute.

It's a start. I'm looking for anything over 0.15 from Kimmeh here, and he got that. He didn't pull down any offensive rebounds, but that's alright -- offensive boards aren't the major problem.

Justin Safford: Rebounds Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.17 Rebounds Per Minute.

Eh. Not impressed, but it's also at least a slight improvement.

Keith Ramsey: Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt

Versus FDU: 0.40 FT/FGA.

I want to see 0.40 minimum from Ramsey, so I guess this is a win.

Laurence Bowers: Shots Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.44 ShPM

Yes! I want to see anything over 0.35 from Bowers, so this is clearly a win. Again, right now he only shoots on fast breaks and when left wide open. He's not much of a penetrator or anything, and it's pretty likely that his percentages will fall if/when he starts to take more shots, but Saturday he was dominant. As was everybody else, I guess.

Marcus Denmon: Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt

Versus FDU: 0.00 FT/FGA.

Six of Marcus' seven shots were 3-pointers, and since he made three of them, that's not too bad. But he was pretty much a perimeter player only on Saturday, and I still want to see more driving from him.

Mike Dixon: Adjusted Game Score Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.49 AdjGS/Min.

Miguel Paul had a pretty decent game on Saturday, but he was still outpaced by Dixon, whom I am liking more and more. He shot efficiently (10 points in 7 shots, 2-for-3 from 3-point land) but didn't shoot too much for a point guard (7 shots in 20 minutes), plus he grabbed three defensive rebounds and managed five assists in 20 minutes. Lovely.

Miguel Paul: Team Possessions Per Game

Versus FDU: 74 possessions.

I'm still tinkering to come up with an individual "possessions accounted for" measure, but for now the pace was super-fast, and that's what Mizzou wants. I still like Paul in an "8-10 minutes per game, gun the accelerator" kind of role.

Steve Moore: Shots Per Minute

Versus FDU: 0.19 ShPM.

Eh. Stevie had three blocks and two steals, which was quite nice, but he still only took three shots in 16 minutes, and perhaps more worrisome, he grabbed only two rebounds, and committed two turnovers and three fouls, meaning his positives were still pretty much canceled out. I'm curious how his playing time works out as the year progresses, as the two bigs behind him looked a lot better, albeit against a few more of the FDU scrubs.

Tyler Stone and John Underwood: Minutes

Versus FDU: 19 Minutes.

The Bad: Stone and Underwood combined for just 3-for-7 shooting, which isn't very good at all for post players. Plus, Underwood committed three fouls in just 10 minutes.

The Good: Stone went 3-for-4 and grabbed four boards in 9 minutes, while Underwood pulled down seven rebounds. I do wonder if either or both of them could be ready to play a role in Miguel Paul's late-half, "gun the accelerator" team. Not sure which one, however -- they both have strengths and weaknesses.

Jarrett Sutton: Wins

Versus FDU: 1 win.

Sutton played, and Mizzou won. Funny how that works out.

Three Keys Revisited

From Friday's preview.

Show Up

Mizzou did.

Meet the Challenges

A majority of the players did, which is nice.

Block Out

Mizzou eventually did.

Summary

Nobody got hurt, everybody played and contributed something, Mike Anderson had a nice 50th birthday...in all, I guess that's a pretty good Saturday night. The only way this game would have been memorable at all was if they managed to lose or play FDU far too tight, but it didn't happen, so we'll forget all about this game a few weeks from now.

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Fairleigh Dickinson

Bill C. — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Bradley C Bower - AP

about 1 month ago: Fairleigh Dickinson guard Sean Baptiste, left, has his shot blocked by Villanova defenders Corey Stokes, center and Mouphtaou Yarou, right, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

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I'm not going to lie: I cannot possibly think of a better team for Missouri to be playing right now than FDU.

Fairleigh Dickinson: 1-9

	FDU	Opp
Points Per Minute	1.42	1.84
Points Per Possession (PPP)	0.85	1.10
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.13	1.23
2-PT FG%	40.7%	47.0%
3-PT FG%	29.1%	37.5%
FT%	65.2%	71.2%
True Shooting %	46.9%	54.0%

	FDU	Opp
Assists/Gm	7.8	16.1
Steals/Gm	4.7	7.0
Turnovers/Gm	16.2	11.5
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	0.77	2.01

	FDU	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	126	127
Offensive Rebounds	93	127
Difference	-33	+0

FDU's season thus far:

@Villanova 84, FDU 61 (L)
@Wichita State 80, FDU 64 (L)
@FDU 62, Central Michigan 53 (W)
O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic
@Eastern Kentucky 68, FDU 39 (L)
UTSA 75, FDU 61 (L)
UC-Irvine 75, FDU 54 (L)
@Houston Baptist 92, FDU 77 (L)
@Quinnipiac 73, FDU 52 (L)
Army 61, @FDU 40 (L)
@Lafayette 73, FDU 57 (L)

What Does Ken Pomeroy Have to Say?

FDU Offense vs MU Defense
	FDU Offense	MU Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	323	20	Um, MU
Effective FG%	328	50	Yeah
Turnover %	289	3	Ridiculous
Off. Reb. %	314	271	MU!
FTA/FGA	57	183	FDU
MU Offense vs FDU Defense
	MU Offense	FDU Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	32	260	Ouch
Effective FG%	44	215	Oof
Turnover %	90	324	Wow
Off. Reb. %	120	197	MU!
FTA/FGA	302	85	FDU

Where the Knights are solid

Well, they do get to the line fairly well. That's something, right? Especially against Mizzou? They're also a fairly (sorry, fairleigh) decent defensive rebounding team, which is also a good thing against Mizzou.

Where the Knights are less than solid

Everywhere else. God, this could be the worst BCI team Mizzou will ever play. Their 260th-ranked defense is actually impressive compared to their 323rd-ranked offense (FYI: there are 347 teams in D1 this year). They appear to be somewhat big and relatively physical...and horribly devoid in overall talent.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player	*AdjGS/Gm**	GmSc/Min	Line
Sean Baptiste (6'3, 185, Sr.)	13.2	0.40	32.7 MPG, 15.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.4 TOPG
Alvin Mofunanya (6'8, 245, Sr.)	11.8	0.47	25.3 MPG, 10.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 3.1 TOPG
Mike Scott (6'0, 180, Jr.)	9.3	0.26	35.8 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 3.9 TOPG
Terence Grier (6'8, 180, Jr.)	7.5	0.24	31.5 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 2.0 TOPG
Anaclet Mulumba (6'7, 220, So.)	6.7	0.29	22.8 MPG, 2.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Kamil Svrdlik (6'8, 235, Jr.)	3.4	0.16	21.2 MPG, 5.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 TOPG
Sam Fernley (6'0, 170, So.)	2.3	0.26	8.8 MPG, 1.7 PPG
Louis Larizza (5'7, 160, Fr.)	2.1	0.25	8.3 MPG, 2.6 PPG
John Galvin (6'8, 250, Jr.)	1.3	0.11	12.4 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.4 TOPG
DeJuan Pursley (6'9, 215, Jr.)	0.5	0.03	14.7 MPG, 1.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Lawrence Brown (7'2, 205, Sr.)	0.3	0.09	3.2 MPG, 0.0 PPG

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It redistributes a team's points based not only on points scored, but also by giving credit for assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls. It is a stat intended to determine who had the biggest overall impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Sadly, this is a rather experienced team. Not really what you want to see when you're 1-9 and coming off of thumpings by the hands of Lafayette, Army, Quinnipiac, Houston Baptist, UC-Irvine, UTSA, and Eastern Kentucky.

Potentially the most interesting thing about FDU this year is their head coach, Gregory "Shoes" Vetrone. Andy Katz wrote about him when FDU hired him this summer.

Greg Vetrone was unofficially banished, sent away through a mutual understanding so UNLV could move on after violations emerged in the late 1990s.

Vetrone wasn't given any show-cause penalty. His violations were deemed secondary (mostly dealing with the recruitment of Lamar Odom in 1996-97) and focused on improper recruiting inducements and contact with Odom, including inadvertent phone calls and a manager that he said used his FedEx account to mail him gear.

So, Vetrone, known as "Shoes," was sent away to work with basketball grassroots guru Sonny Vaccaro and begin a 10-year climb back to relevance.

He finally got his shot to be a headline coaching performer again on Tuesday.

Fairleigh Dickinson athletic director David Langford gave Vetrone the team's interim coaching tag after he abruptly fired coach Tom Green, the coach who gave Vetrone his second chance at Division I when he hired him as an assistant last year. Green had been with the Knights for 26 years.

I guess I should also mention that FDU's got one player in particular who could have a good game against Mizzou: Alvin Mofunanya. He's averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks per game, and he's got the size that has given Mizzou problems this season. Unfortunately for FDU, he and FIVE other Knights are averaging at least 1.4 turnovers per game, and of their eight players averaging double-digit minutes, only one (ONE!) has more assists than turnovers. They can't hold onto the ball, and it goes without saying that that is probably a bad thing for opponents in Mizzou Arena.

Keys to the Game

Show Up. Seriously, this is looking like the worst team that will play against Mizzou this year, sans Truman State. This will present a good bounce-back opportunity and give Mizzou a chance to feel good about itself again, which is probably a pretty good idea after their first upset loss to a mediocre mid-major in Mike Anderson's tenure.
Meet the Challenges. I mentioned yesterday that I would be monitoring players' progress in specific statistical categories. That starts tomorrow.
Block out. Mizzou has been outrebounded in terms of expected rebounds for three straight games now. They will win tomorrow regardless, but improvement on the boards starts immediately, and if they can't beat FDU in the expected rebounds category, the season starts to look a lot more iffy.

Prediction

Again, this is just what the doctor ordered. Anything less than a complete blowout is a giant red flag, but I assume a blowout is exactly what we will see. Expect another 30-1 type of run at some point. Mizzou 90, ~~Mostly~~ ~~Somewhat~~ Fairleigh Dickinson 48.

November 14 Recap, November 15 TV Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:06:56 -0000

by AJ Mast - AP

about 1 month ago: Butler's Willie Veasley, left, shoots a three-point shot in front of Davidson defender Bryant Barr in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Butler won 73-62. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

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There was quite a bit of action on the first Saturday of the season, a day that will always have an uphill fight against football for media attention.

The two biggest matchups featured four of the best mid-major programs in the country. In Indianapolis, No. 11 Butler pulled away late to beat Davidson 73-62. It was basically the same story for No. 21 Dayton, as they beat Creighton 90-80. And after a night when Rider won at Mississippi State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Oregon State in a tourament in Lubbock, and San Diego beat Stanford, the mid-majors pulled two more upsets. Ivy League favorite Cornell ruined Anthony Grant's Alabama debut.and Kent State defeated UAB. A&M-CC couldn't repeat their feat from Friday, as they lost to Texas Tech by 7.

Most major programs were a bit more lucky yesterday. Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State won their openers, while 14th-ranked Washington won their second straight in the round-robin event they're hosting.

A few more teams get started today, as yet another hybrid multi-team event gets started. More on today's action after the jump.

The CBE Classic opens up today, and it has the same format as its corporate sibling, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Instead of traveling to New York for the semifinals, the four host schools will visit the very underrated Kansas City, which hosts the CBE--or College Basketball Experience, the home of the sport's Hall of Fame. The building is conveniently a part of the Sprint Center, which hosts the final rounds. Three games from this event will be on ESPNU today, starting at 2. (All times are Eastern.)

Texas hosts UC Irvine in the tournament opener.
At 4, Wichita State opens up at home agains Fairleigh Dickinson.
At 6, Iowa faces Texas-San Antonio from the Southland Conference.

In other televised action today,

Wake Forest opens up their season in the Greensboro Coliseum against East Carolina. (MASN, 2)
Stetson, who's never made the tournaments, visits Florida, who looks to return after a two-year absence. (Select FSN and CSN Networks/Full Court, 4)
No. 6 North Carolina gets another tuneup in before they travel to New York for the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals. They host Valparaiso today at 4 (FS South/FS Florida/NESN).
Kansas State hosts Western Illinois. (FS Kansas City/Full Court, 4)
IPFW takes on Wisconsin in Madison. (Big Ten, 5)
Sean Miller makes his official debut at Arizona when the Wildcats host Northern Arizona. (FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 5)
Oregon looks to go 3 for 3 in the round-robin they're hosting. They face Colorado State at 6:30. (OSN/CSN Northwest)
Washington looks to do the same in their tournament, against defending Big Sky champ Portland State. (10 FSN Northwest/FCS Pacific)

TV info, as always, is from Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site.

BtB 2009-10 Northeast Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:00:28 -0000

Robert Morris was the final NEC team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament during the first decade of the 21st century, and like all of the others, they failed to register a win in the field of 64, falling to Michigan State in round one. Monmouth and Mount St. Mary's were the only team to register a tournament win in the decade, as they both won the Opening Round games, in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

The Colonials and Mountaineers will again be threats to claim the Northeast Conference's (probable) only bid, while Quinnipiac, who's never made the Tournament during their short time in Division I, are a serious threat to break down the door. However, the same fate undoubtedly awaits which ever team gets in, a low seed (though hopefully not a spot in the Opening Round) and yet another early exit.

Or is it? Perhaps this is the year when the bottom of the league finally gets its act together, boosting the league's RPI? Or it's the season where one of the contenders claims some major conference victims in the early weeks of the season? Such is life in one of the most disrespected D-I leagues...one spent daydreaming of the miraculous campaign that will finally bring national respect.

In membership news, the NEC adds one more team to the club of dreamers, as transitional D-I member Bryant plays a full league schedule. However, they still have a three-year wait for tournament eligibility.

Northeast Conference Standings

(updated 3.21.2009 at 12:16 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Robert Morris Colonials	15	3	24	11
Mount St. Mary's, Md. Mountaineers	12	6	19	14
Sacred Heart Pioneers	12	6	17	14
Long Island U. Blackbirds	12	6	16	14
Quinnipiac Bobcats	10	8	15	16
Wagner Seahawks	8	10	16	14
Cent. Connecticut St. Blue Devils	8	10	13	17
St. Francis, NY Terriers	7	11	10	20
Monmouth Hawks	6	12	8	23
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	6	12	7	23
St. Francis, Pa. Red Flash	3	15	6	23

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order, starting with Bryant, as they are ineligible for the conference title.

Bryant (last NCAA: None) While Tim O'Shea's team was the Division II runner-up in 2005, they may have a hard time adjusting to life in D-I. For starters, they'll only play two non-league home games, against Columbia and Brown. The schedule also sees the Bulldogs heading down the road to Providence, where they'll join the Friars, Mercer, and Bucknell in a round-robin event. O'Shea has three starters back from last year's squad, including 6-5 F Cecil Gresham (13.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

St. Francis (PA) (last NCAA: 1991) Don Friday's Red Flash, who finished at the bottom of the league last season, only have two key contributors back from that team--6-6 swingman Devin Sweetney (16.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and 6-7 F Mislav Jukic (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Friday will need big contributions from his seven freshmen and 6-6 Santa Clara transfer Cedric Latimer to escape the basement. The non-conference schedule is road heavy, as the Red Flash visit Notre Dame, Ohio State, Drexel, Duquesne, and Akron.

Wagner (last NCAA: 2003) Mike Deane's Seahawks lost four starters from a season ago, who combined to averaged almost 48 points a contest. The only returning starter is 6-7 senior C Michael Orock, who only averaged around 3 points and 3 boards a game. Wagner's leading returning scorer? 5-10 G Chris Martin, who averaged 6.1 points a contest, while shooting better than 45% from 3-land. Needless to say, Deane will need to see a lot from the 7 freshmen on his roster. The Seahawks have to travel to BYU and Nevada for the Las Vegas Classic, where they'll play Jackson State, then Eastern Washington or Chicago State in the undercard for the main event.

Fairleigh Dickinson (last NCAA: 2005) After two disappointing seasons, FDU dismissed longtime coach Tom Green over the summer and replaced him with assistant Greg Vetrone. Last year's starting point guard Cameron Tyler graduated, but his backcourt-mate 6-3 SG Sean Baptiste, the team's leading scorer (16.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) returns. 6-0 JC transfer Mike Scott will move into Tyler's slot, and if he can perform well, the Knights may move up the standings. That's because FDU has some talent inside: 6-8 Alvin Mofunanya (9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 6-8 Kamil Svrdlik (6.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), and 6-9 C DeJuan Pursley, who averaged 5.3 points and nearly 4 boards a game when he was last healthy in 2007-08. The Knights open their season at Villanova and travel to Wichita State for the CBE Classic. They'll also visit Eastern Kentucky for one of that event's "subregionals," where they'll also take on UT-San Antonio, and UC Irvine.

St. Francis (NY) (last NCAA: None) The Terriers have hope after a 10-win season, as four starters return, led by 6-2 junior G Ricky Cadell (15.3 ppg, 40% from 3) and fellow sharpshooter 6-6 Serbian soph Stefan Perunicic (10.8 ppg, 38.8% from 3), with another 3-point specialist 6-5 swingman Kayode Ayeni (13.3 ppg, 38.8% from 3) coming back from a knee injury. The frontcourt is an issue, as 6-7 F/C Nigel Byam and 6-7 F Herman Wrice didn't even combine to average 10 points and 9 boards last season. 6-9 JC transfer Alexander Harrington should push them immediately. The Terriers travel to Boston College, Syracuse, and UMass this season.

Monmouth (last NCAA: 2006) The Hawks will welcome Isiah Thomas' FIU team and Seton Hall to their new arena to open the season. The new building will see a Monmouth team that returns all five starters from a disappointing 8-23 club. 6-3 Rutgers transfer Justin Sofman becomes eligible this season, and coach Dave Calloway hopes his arrival will help out an offense that returns only one double figure scorer, 6-8 sophomore F/C Travis Taylor (12.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

Sacred Heart (last NCAA: None) The Pioneers were the highest scoring in the NEC last season, but they may not put as many points on the board in 2008-09, as two of last year's four leading scorers Joey Henley (15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Ryon Howard (10.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) have moved on. F Corey Hassan and G Chauncey Hardy are back, however, and they both averaged around 11 points a contest. If guards Ryan Lithe (7.9 ppg) and Shane Gibson (8.1 ppg off the bench) can pick up their production, SHU will be in good shape offensively. The frontcourt is a weak spot, and 6-9 Turkish junior Mehmet Sahan, 7-0 British senior Liam Potter, and 6-9 redshirt freshman Nick Greenbacher will see plenty of minutes. The Pioneers will participate in the Connecticut 6, where they'll play Yale. Visits to Xavier and Penn State are also on tap this season.

Central Connecticut State (last NCAA: 2007) Howie Dickenman's team should be able to improve on last year's 8 NEC wins, thanks to the return of four starters. 6-0 junior PG Shemik Thompson (16.5 ppg, 5.8 apg) is among the best the league, and 6-3 sophomore Robby Ptacek should certainly improve on the 10 ppg he averaged last season. 6-6 junior Ken Horton--a threat for league honors and the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.5 ppg--is back to lead in the frontcourt, where he'll be joined by 6-5 David Simmons (6.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and 6-6 freshman Joseph Efese. The Blue Devils have a unique scheduling situation where they play Independent Savannah State three times: home, away, and at a tournament at the Citadel.

Long Island (last NCAA: 1997) While the Blackbirds lost two starters, after the late offseason departure of 6-8 Lithuanian Aurimas Adomaitis, LIU should still contend in this league because of the talent that's still in place. The Blackbirds are led by the backcourt trioof 6-1 senior Jaytornah Wisseh (15.2 ppg, 4.4 apg), one of the top players in the entire conference, 6-3 junior Kyle Johnson (13.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg), and 6-1 junior David Hicks (8.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg). 6-7 Julian Boyd was a key bench player last season, averaging 10.5 points and 6+ boards, but he'll be even more valuable now that Adomaitis is gone. However, 6-10 JC transfer Milos Nikolic should make an immediate impact inside. The Blackbirds visit St. John's this season, and they'll also travel to Chattanooga for a holiday tournament featuring Morgan State and Eastern Kentucky.

Robert Morris (last NCAA: 2009) The defending champions should contend again, especially because of their defense, but they'll have to begin life without last season's leading scorer, Jeremy Chappell. That means the returning backcourt players, 5-11 senior Jimmy Langhurst (9.9 ppg), 6-3 junior Gary Wallace (5.9 ppg), and 6-4 senior Mezie Nwigwe (6.5 ppg), will have to up their scoring. 6-8 seniors Rob Robinson (11.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Dallas Green (6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) anchor the frontcourt. The Colonials travel to Syracuse for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, and they'll also visit Albany for one of that tournament's "subregionals," where they'll also play Detroit and Alcorn State. Trips to Duquesne and Penn State also appear on the schedule.

Quinnipiac (last NCAA: None) The Bobcats are a serious threat for their first ever tournament appearance because of the amount of talent they have returning from last season's squad that claimed 10 NEC wins. Tom Moore has a loaded backcourt for his third campaign, as starters James Fedeline, a 6-4 senior who averaged 17.6 ppg last year, and 6-0 soph James Johnson, a point guard who scored almost 10 a game while dishing out at little more than 4 assists a contest. 6-3 senior reserve Jeremy Baker averaged 10 points a game himself last season, while Evann Baker, who averaged almost 11 points a game back in 2007-08, returns from a knee injury. 6-7 junior Justin Rutty (14.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg) is a true frontcourt force, and he'll be joined by 6-6 Rhode Island transfer Jonathan Cruz and 6-7 frosh Jamee Jackson this campaign. The Bobcats will face Hartford in the Connecticut 6 Classic, and visit UMass and Cruz's former school.

Mount St. Mary's (last NCAA: 2008) Milan Brown only returns three starters from last year's NEC runners-up, but they are his three leading scorers. 5-9 senior Jeremy Goode (14.9 ppg, 4.1 apg) is the team's heart and soul, while 6-3 junior Jean Cajou (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) is another major offensive threat. In the frontcourt, 6-5 senior Kelly Biedler (10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) will get more help this year, thanks to the emergence of 6-7 reserve Shawn Atupem (9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and the arrival of 6-9 Croatian C Kristijan Krajina. 6-4 senior swingman Will Holland, who averaged nearly 5 points a contest last year, is another player who could contribute more. The Mountaineers open their season at Oklahoma; travel to American, Boston U, Georgetown, Old Dominion, and Pitt; and host Loyola (MD), Niagara, and Vermont.

The Mountaineers will appear as Northeast Conference champions in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-NEC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-NEC Team

Player of the Year: Jeremy Goode, 5-9 G, Sr. (Mount St. Mary's)

Remainder of the Team
Sean Baptiste, 6-3 G, Sr. (Fairleigh Dickinson)
Ken Horton, 6-6 F, Jr. (Central Connecticut State)
Justin Rutty, 6-7 F, Jr. (Quinnipiac)
Jaytornah Wisseh, 6-1 G, Sr. (Long Island)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Northeast Conference this season? (Note that Bryant does not appear as they are ineligible for the postseason.)

Central Connecticut State

0 votes

Fairleigh Dickinson

1 votes

Long Island

1 votes

Monmouth

1 votes

Mount St. Mary's

1 votes

Quinnipiac

0 votes

Robert Morris

0 votes

Sacred Heart

0 votes

St. Francis (NY)

0 votes

St. Francis (PA)

0 votes

Wagner

1 votes

5 votes | Poll has closed

How Good/Bad is Rutgers?

ibleedscarlet — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:52:12 -0000

Rutgers needs to take Eric Foster's advice and get back to "Choppin"....

So how good/bad is Rutgers really? We're six weeks into the season and the Scarlet Knights sit at 4-2 overall, and in the cellar of the Big East with an 0-2 record. Is all hope lost? Is this one of the worst FBS teams in the nation?

Not a chance. Though their play might not say it, I still think that this Rutgers team is pretty darn good. Why do I say this? Because I believe in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. And if you believe in Cincinnati and Pitt, like CNNSI's Stewart Mandel does, then you have to give Rutgers a little vote of confidence. With losses to a top 5 and a top 25 team, Rutgers thus far has 0 bad losses (the Cincinnati loss isn't bad, just the nature of it), which is a lot more than some other top 25 teams can say (see Houston's loss to UTEP).

But then again, Rutgers 4 wins have come against the dredges of society. Florida International played Alabama tough, but besides a late 4th quarter run was out-classed by Rutgers. Maryland is a 2-5 team who boasts a win over Clemson, but losses to Viriginia and Middle Tennessee State. And Howard and Texas Southern are the lower end of the FCS.

So how good or bad is this Rutgers team? I don't think we'll find out much more this Friday against Army (though they are a much improved Black Knights squad), but I feel like Rutgers is a team that can hang with anyone in the Big East (except Cincinnati), and teams in the middle of the conference in the other BCS league. I'd lump RU right now in with the likes of Minnesota, Washington, and Nebraska; teams that are good enough at some point to be in the Top 25, but are far too inconsistent to stay there for long.

I think we've seen the worst that we can see so far from Rutgers and things will slowly build from here. If Rutgers can beat Army on Friday, and steal a win from an emotional UConn team on Halloween, that will leave them at 6-2 going into a Thursday night showdown against South Florida. Win that and you're 7-2 and 2-2 in the conference, and right back in the middle of the Big East pack.

Going forward I hope Coach Schiano gets this team back to basics. Last week there were far too many penalites and undisciplined plays. If Rutgers can just "keep choppin" they might be able to somehow sneak their way back to respectability.

Poll

How many Big East games will Rutgers win?

0

11 votes

1

1 votes

2

18 votes

3

16 votes

4

16 votes

5

3 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

The 2009-10 Coaching Carousel Recap

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Dusty Compton - AP

(Yes, it's a column about coaching changes that doesn't feature a picture of either John Calipari, Josh Pastner, or Sean Miller.) Former Florida assistant Anthony Grant left VCU during this offseason to return to the SEC, taking over at Alabama. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)

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As I posted last Monday, everyone knows that John Calipari is Billy Gillispie's replacement at Kentucky, and that Josh Pastner now has to try to keep Memphis at the top of Conference USA. It's also no secret that Sean Miller left Xavier to become Lute Olson's permanent replacement at Arizona, and that the Musketeers promoted assistant Chris Mack to the head job.

But there were 24 other coaching changes in Division I after the 2008-09 season. Some of these were the result of the domino effect that happens when a school in a power conference hires someone who was successful at a lower level, a decision that often leads to multiple jobs opening up. Others were cases where athletic directors felt that they needed to make changes, but stayed within the current staff.

This year's coaching carousel was a pretty lengthy one. Proving that the pressure is getting a bit ridiculous, even at lower levels of Division I, John Cooper (No, not THAT John Cooper.) replaces Cy Alexander at Tennessee State, which is a noteworthy story because Alexander was fired back on Feburary 9. Cooper was previously Jeff Lebo's associate head coach at Auburn. The final change of the offseason (I say that now like it's a certainty.) was finalized late Thursday when Cornell assistant Zach Spiker was hired at Army to replace Jim Crews.

While that's a start, it's certainly not everything that happened in the world of coaching during the spring and summer. After the jump, I'll run through the rest of the coaching changes made this offseason.

At one point, Kevin O'Neill was the interim coach in Tucson and the replacement in waiting for Lute Olson. That obviously didn't happen, so now the former Northwestern and Tennessee head coach has replaced Tim Floyd at USC.

Alabama hired Anthony Grant to replace Mark Gottfried. VCU then followed its own playbook by replacing Grant with another Florida assistant, Shaka Smart.

Georgia hired Mark Fox to do what Dennis Felton failed to do, rebuild the program. Nevada promoted assistant David Carter to replace Fox with the hopes he'll have the Wolf Pack ready to challenge Utah State and Idaho at the top of the league this year.

Tony Bennett left Washington State to replace Dave Leitao at Virginia. Former Portland State coach Ken Bone heads to the Palouse to replace him, with Vikings assistant Tyler Geving taking over the head job there.

Buzz Peterson left his job as Director of Player Personnel with the Charlotte Bobcats to return to Appalachian State. He left the Mountaineers to take the Tulsa job in 2000, leaving there for an average four seasons at Tennessee. After being forced out in Knoxville, Peterson coached Coastal Carolina for two years before heading to Charlotte. Elon will also have a new coach. Ernie Nestor was fired, and the school looked to tap into a winning formula in hiring his replacement. The Phoenix will now be led by former Davidson assistant Matt Matheny.

Isiah Thomas will now attempt to not ruin Florida International's program like he ruined the CBA and the New York Knicks. He's off to a great start at earning friends and influencing people.

Holy Cross hired Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney to replace Ralph Willard, who left to be an assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville.

Ritchie McKay left Liberty to be one of Bennett's assistants. Another former Colorado State head man, Marquette assistant Dale Layer is his replacement. Former South Carolina assistant Scott Cherry is the other new hire in the Big South, he replaces the fired Bart Lundy at High Point.

Dennis Wolff couldn't bring America East glory to Boston University, so he was fired and replaced with Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers.

Tom Green (not the "funny" Canadian) had significant success at Fairleigh Dickinson, just not over the past couple of years. He was fired and the Knights will be led by his former assistant, Greg Vetrone, at least on an interim basis.

Washington assistant Cameron Dollar, a star player on UCLA's 1995 National Championship team will lead Seattle through their Division I transition period, replacing Joe Callero, who took the job at Cal Poly in the Big West. North Carolina Central is the other Independent with a new coach for 2009-10. Henry Dickerson wasn't rehired, and he will be replaced by one of his assistants, LeVelle Morton.

Kevin Nickelberry resigned at Hampton, where Edward Joyner, Jr., one of Nickelberry's assistants will lead the team on at least an interim basis.

At Grambling, a tragic incident led to the end of Rick Duckett's tenure. Henry White, a transfer from Hill (Tex.) Junior College, died after an offseason workout on a 104 degree day at the Louisiana school. The school says Duckett resigned, but the coach says he was fired via a letter from the school. Assistant Robert Washington, Jr. will be the interim coach.

Tom Schuberth was fired at Texas-Pan American, where winning will always be tough because of the slim chance at making the NCAAs (something that won't change with Great West membership). St. Edward's coach Ryan Marks is the new head man in Edinboro.

There were two other changes in the Ohio Valley this offseason besides the Tennessee State switch I mentioned before the jump. Former Arkansas State head man Dickie Nutt is back in the business, taking over a Southeast Missouri State program that spent most of last season in turmoil after the Scot Edgar regime. Bret Campbell resigned at Tennessee-Martin. His replacement is former assistant Jason James.

At the end of the season, I'll come back and look at how each of these coaches did in filling their new jobs. On Tuesday, however, I turn my attention back to the players with my first ever preseason All-America teams.

Monday Links Round Up

anshey — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:46:06 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

3 months ago: Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage calls signals against Howard during the second quarter of their NCAA college football game at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Browse more photos »

The future is now! Tommy Savage put up some numbers against an inferior squad, all you can ask for from a freshman QB. The competition will ramp up a little bit this week with FIU coming to town, but it will be a good test and if RU is up to the challenge, they should come away with a solid victory.

Here's your Monday links recaps:

Team gets 2 days off. Much needed due to the intensity of playing 2 games in a row without a normal break.
Official game recap from ScarletKnights.com
Bleed Scarlet takes a look at what we've learned
ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett still needs to see a bit more from Rutgers as they come in at #6 in his weekly power rankings.
Scarlet Scuttlebutt likes the moxie of Tom Savage
#7 jersey tees now available from RUjerseys.com. Get em while you can and support the savior!

We'll have some recaps of the win vs. Howard later this week, along with an FIU preview. Stay tuned!

Expanding on that defense

Nuss — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:49:49 -0000

Grady did a great job breaking down just how it is that this team is playing so well defensively. It's pretty much the sole reason that this team, after dipping to No. 2 yesterday, is back up to No. 1 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings today.

(Yes, I know ... small sample size, computer rankings are dumb this early in the year, blah, blah, blah ... just let me have my fun, OK?)

It's tempting to say that the defense has just been a simple reflection of the competition, but that would be far too simplistic. Mississippi Valley State has played four games this year. Check out their offensive efficiency in each (what's efficiency?):

Date	Opponent	Result	Pace	Eff.
Fri Nov 14	Arizona St. (s) (sr)	L, 80-64	65	97.7
Sat Nov 15	Washington St. (s) (sr)	L, 76-25	64	39.2
Mon Nov 17	Oklahoma (s) (sr)	L, 94-53	77	68.5
Tue Nov 18	James Madison (s) (sr)	L, 62-54	66	81.4

See those numbers? MVSU has played at a pace around 65 three times this year, and only once has it been so thoroughly dominated -- and that includes a game against a supposedly top 25 team.

Now, check out Fairleigh Dickinson:

Date	Opponent	Result	Pace	Eff.
Fri Nov 14	Pittsburgh (s) (sr)	L, 86-63	68	92.4
Tue Nov 18	Washington St. (s) (sr)	L, 55-33	63	52.1

In case you didn't know, Pittsburgh -- who we may yet get to see up close and personal -- is the No. 6 team in the country. The game was played at a higher pace, but not so much so as to assume that it caused the significantly higher efficiency.

Simply put, the Cougs have dominated their opponents on the defensive end in a way two Top 25 teams could not. That is nothing short of amazing in my book; I really thought it was the defense that would take a while to come around with all the new guys. But that clearly has not been the case.

The offense is a bit of a different story. Yes, we put up some huge numbers against MVSU, but so did everyone else. And we didn't even approach Pitt's offensive efficiency numbers against FDU. So that will bear some watching as we move toward that Mississippi State game. But Tony Bennett has to be pretty happy right now that he can wait a little bit for the offense to come around because the defense is playing so well.

Tenacious D: The secret to the Cougs' early success

Grady. — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:07 -0000

Apply Murphy's Law to the first half of yesterday's basketball game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Everything that could go wrong for WSU, did.

FDU's zone defense was slowing the normally dominant Aron Baynes. The Cougars had 14 points in the first ten minutes, and were on the way to shooting 39.3% from the field. They hit only one of seven three-point attempts. Klay Thompson was shooting - he just wasn't connecting, going 1 for 6 with only a lay-in to his credit. The officiating took "let 'em play" quite literally, calling only two fouls on the visiting Knights.

And yet, after all that, the Cougars had an 11 point lead. They were in control the whole half, and ultimately the entire game.

Holding the other guys to fifteen first-half points will do that for you.

How is it, that the 2008 version of the Cougars - a team that boasts ten players that hadn't yet played a second of NCAA basketball - could come out hardly missing a beat defensively from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad?

Let's break it down:

Team Defense: Can a team that lost one of the best defensive players in the nation still stifle the opposition? Well, when your system is so solid that all you have to do is find the parts to fit it - yes. And that's exactly what Tony did - bringing in a recruiting class that meshes so well with the defensive mindset of Bennett Ball. Hard nosed man-to-man defense, with the occasional double team on the low post to make sure the Knights' inside game didn't get going. The Cougars have done about as good a job as anyone at making sure perimeter shots are contested. FDU's best player statistically, Sean Baptiste, finished with a 3 for 13 evening. FDU shot 21.6% for the game.

Taylor Rochestie: Running the point isn't the only thing Taylor does well. His on-ball defense of Cameron Tyler was superb - especially when Tyler would attempt to isolate against Rochestie and drive for a basket as the shot clock wound down. The most athletic guard on the FDU team was shut down by one of the most athletic in the Pac-10.Tyler finished 1 of 8 from the floor.

Aron Baynes: The slimmed down Baynes is so far everything we could've hoped for. He's more mobile. He avoids silly fouls and keeps his hands straight up. His footwork appears to be improved from last season.

One of my favorite things about Baynes is how he works so hard in the off-season to improve himself, even when he's already a great player. That, and the new mustache.

Daven Harmeling: I'll reassess this when Baylor and Gonzaga come to town, but against these undersized mid-major opponents, Harmeling is a good fit defensively at power forward. He was able to help Baynes on the double-team and looks like he has found a nice role for himself - one that doesn't involve being the sixth man.

Block Party: Ivory Clark would be proud. Klay Thompson adds, to steal from Jay Bilas, "tremendous length". He had 3 blocks last night, including one of those healthy Greg Oden type blocks where he tipped it right to himself. DeAngelo Casto has lived up to his billing, with six blocks so far on the year. Even Abe Lodwick (remember, he could do this in high school too) swatted a shot away. Opponents miss 100% of the shots that don't make it to the basket.

Nikola Koprivica: I've been gushing a lot about the kid from Sport Grammar School lately, but it's for good reason. Not only has he already upped his three-point percentage from 14% to 57% this year, his knee looks good enough to make him a force defensively. Last year, when Tony lined him up against Jerryd Bayless, we knew the ball coach had faith in his abilities. Hopefully Koprivica works hard and improves even more as the season rolls along. He could be our best chance at finding someone comparable defensively to Kyle Weaver. A tough thing to find, indeed.

Now, the tricky part: Can the Cougs keep this up against BCS conference opponents? Well, we won't know for sure until the later rounds of the Legends Classic.

Perhaps the more interesting question is: can they give up less points per game than the football team?

---

And now, to debut my new favorite postgame feature: Win probability [and other fun stuff] chart!

Stats by StatSheet.com

SB Nation - Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

What will K-State be ranked in today's AP poll?

Study Hall: Mizzou vs Fairleigh Dickinson

Mizzou 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 36

Player Stats

The Challenge

Three Keys Revisited

Summary

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Fairleigh Dickinson

Fairleigh Dickinson: 1-9

What Does Ken Pomeroy Have to Say?

Player Stats

Keys to the Game

Prediction

November 14 Recap, November 15 TV Preview

BtB 2009-10 Northeast Conference Preview

Northeast Conference Standings

Preseason All-NEC Team

Who is your pick to win the Northeast Conference this season? (Note that Bryant does not appear as they are ineligible for the postseason.)

Central Connecticut State

Fairleigh Dickinson

Long Island

Monmouth

Mount St. Mary's

Quinnipiac

Robert Morris

Sacred Heart

St. Francis (NY)

St. Francis (PA)

Wagner

How Good/Bad is Rutgers?

How many Big East games will Rutgers win?

0

1

2

3

4

5

The 2009-10 Coaching Carousel Recap

Monday Links Round Up

Expanding on that defense

Tenacious D: The secret to the Cougs' early success