SB Nation - Sacred Heart Pioneers

Penn State Defeats Sacred Heart 87-75

BSD — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

After a disappointing 1-2 trip to the Charleston Classic, the Nittany Lions were hoping to find some offense and get back to winning games in the friendly confines of the Jordan Center. Though the crowd was pretty subdued due to most of the students gone for Thanksgiving break, the Nittany Lions found all the scoring they needed and shot a blistering 63.8% from the field.

David Jackson had a career day with 26 points to go with 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Talor Battle was Talor Battle with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Impressions of the Game

This was the first time I've been able to watch Penn State this season, so I'll offer some of my impressions of the team for you.

David Jackson looked like a completely different player from the one we saw last year that at times couldn't even handle a pass or score an easy layup all alone under the basket. Not only was he showing off some nifty low post moves, he just looks bigger with more muscle tone. I doubt we'll see 26 points from him every game, but I see no reason why he can't be a legitimate second scoring threat to compliment Battle and average 15 or so per game.

Jeff Brooks started out looking pretty good. He was being really aggressive around the basket and scored four points in the early going. But he ran into foul trouble and Ed put him on the bench. He only logged 13 minutes on the night.

Brooks's foul misfourtune was Bill Edwards's gain. The true freshman has been seeing significant playing time despite suffering an MCL tear a few weeks ago. Although he wore a knee brace and obviously looked a step slow in his lateral movement, Edwards showed tremendous body control in traffic weaving his way to the basket. He made it look effortless in scoring 10 points in only 13 minutes. I can't wait to see this kid when he's 100% healthy again.

Tim Frazier showed flashes of brilliance here and there, but he also lost control once or twice and turned the ball over when he got in traffic and his plan didn't work out. I can see the comparisons to Stanley Pringle. Though Battle still logged 37 minutes in the game, Frazier was a huge help just moving the ball up the court and starting the offense. When Frazier and Battle were on the court together, Penn State was really able to push the tempo.

I was not impressed with Andrew Jones last night. Where was the guy that was collecting double-doubles in the NIT last year? Last night he only had 6 points and 4 rebounds in 32 minutes of play. If we're going to depend on Battle to lead the team in rebounds as he did last night with 8, we're in big trouble. On the night Penn State was outrebounded 26-21. Both teams were shooting well so there weren't many rebounds to get.

At times the team looked fantastic moving the ball around and finding the open man. But other times they looked like they struggled to find their identity and I couldn't really figure out what they were trying to do. This is what happens when you are giving heavy minutes to three freshmen. Ed was mixing and matching a lot of different combinations of players last night. At one point he tried a twin towers lineup with Andrew Ott and Sasa Borovnjak.

The defense needs a lot of work. Sacred Heart did a lot of bobbing and weaving and setting screens. Ed obviously told his guards to not even try to fight through them and to switch off. The Pioneers were able to get their shooters open. Corey Hassan and Chauncey Hardy absolutely killed them from the arc. They have to get faster in their rotations.

RPI WATCH: 11/23/09

BracketCat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:00:13 -0000

Well, it's officially basketball season here at BOTC, so I'm going to try and get some basketball-related stuff on here on a more consistent basis. Big 12 Outlook will return after New Year's, but in the meantime, I need to resume the Big 12 previews and shift them into overdrive a little in order to make up for lost time.

The other thing I want to do is update you on all of our opponents on a daily basis. I'll look at how they performed in yesterday's games and maybe track the RPIs a little, too. The idea is to get a general picture, on a day-to-day basis, of how strong our non-conference schedule is, because I've seen some concern from various corners of late.

For a more detailed discussion, hit the jump. But here's a short preview: We did ourselves a lot of good in Puerto Rico.

Here's how our opponents have performed to date, in order to provide a baseline comparison and bring everyone up to speed. (After all, not everyone has been paying attention to hoops like I have, given our North-contending football team and what have you.)

Kansas State RPI = 28

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Dayton

Good Wins (RPI 51-100) = Loyola

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = none

Loyola (2-1) | RPI = 64: Loss at Kansas State (92-54), Win over Canisius (89-69), Win at Holy Cross (76-73)
Western Illinois (2-2) | RPI = 112: Loss at Arizona State (87-35), Loss at Kansas State (82-50), Win over Truman State (71-59), Win at Central Arkansas (56-46)
Boston (1-4) | RPI = 141: Loss at Iona (82-73), Loss to George Washington (69-59), Loss to Kansas State (80-70), Win over Indiana (71-67), Loss to No. 21 Georgia Tech (85-67)
Ole Miss (4-1) | RPI = 76: Win over UALR (92-64), Win over Alabama State (90-53), Win over Indiana (89-71), Win over Kansas State (86-74), Loss to No. 5 Villanova (79-67)
No. 18 Dayton (2-2) | RPI = 32: Win over Creighton (90-80), Win over No. 21 Georgia Tech (63-59), Loss to No. 5 Villanova (71-65), Loss to Kansas State (83-75)
IUPUI (4-1) | RPI = 75: Win at Drake (88-82), Win at Eastern Illinois (69-66), Win over Austin Peay (77-63), Loss at Auburn (80-65), Win over Georgia State (67-56)
Fort Hays State (2-0) | RPI = N/A (D-II): Win over Friends (82-46), Win over Central Christian College (85-66)
Washington State (3-0) | RPI = 140: Win over MVSU (94-66), Win over Eastern Washington (67-61), Win over IPFW (89-70)
Xavier (3-0) | RPI = 79: Win over Youngstown State (83-57), Win over Bowling Green (101-57), Win over Sacred Heart (105-65)
UNLV (3-0) | RPI = 1: Win over Pittsburg State (91-52), Win over Nevada (88-75), Win over Southern Illinois (78-69)
Alabama (2-1) | RPI = 186: Loss to Cornell (71-67), Win over Jackson State (86-69), Win over Providence (84-75)
UAPB (0-3) | RPI = 166: Loss at Colorado (88-72), Loss at Denver (75-56), Loss at UTEP (70-52)
Cleveland State (3-1) | RPI = 260: Loss at St. Bonaventure (72-62), Win over Wilmington (99-74), Win over Florida A&M (78-64), Win over Sam Houston State (80-65)
South Dakota (2-2) | RPI = N/A (D-I transition): Loss at Texas Tech (88-49), Loss to Oregon State (62-47), Win over TAMUCC (76-73), Win over Mayville State (99-67)
Missouri (2-0) | RPI = 280: Win over UT Martin (83-68), Win over UTPA (100-64)
Texas A&M (3-0) | RPI = 135: Win over Angelo State (88-69), Win at SMU (80-68), Win over Samford (68-49)
Colorado (3-0) | RPI = 128: Win over UAPB (88-72), Win over Coppin State (82-58), Win over Texas Southern (88-77)
No. 3 Texas (2-0) | RPI = 17: Win over UC Irvine (89-42), Win over Western Carolina (73-41)
Oklahoma State (3-0) | RPI = 21: Win over Seattle (86-64), Win over Southern (93-61), Win over North Texas (82-68)
Baylor (4-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Norfolk State (86-58), Win over Hartford (71-69), Win over Southern (61-45), Win over Hardin-Simmons (106-45)
No. 1 Kansas (3-0) | RPI = 46: Win over Hofstra (101-65), Win over Memphis (57-55), Win over Central Arkansas (94-44)
Nebraska (2-1) | RPI = 134: Win over SCUU (76-49), Loss at Saint Louis (69-55), Win over TCU (90-77)
Iowa State (4-0) | RPI = 188: Win over Idaho State (88-68), Win over Chicago State (72-50), Win at Drake (90-70), Win over MVSU (96-55)
No. 17 Oklahoma (2-1) | RPI = 65: Win over Mount St. Mary's (95-71), Win over UL Monroe (72-61), Loss at VCU (82-69)
Texas Tech (5-0) | RPI = 86: Win over South Dakota (88-49), Win over TAMUCC (66-59), Win over Oregon State (64-60), Win over Northwestern State (94-75), Win over Lamar (77-54)

My plan is to update this daily with the games are played the previous day, and I'll probably start looking at RPIs some time after Thanksgiving (they're pretty meaningless before that point due to the disparity in scheduling).

Update: Got bored and added the RPIs around midnight. I'll save the analysis for tomorrow's edition.

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