SB Nation - Stetson Hatters

Around the ACC: 12.17

MRickman84 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:06:29 -0000

More photos » by Stanley Leary - AP

We finally got a few ACC teams playing on the same day again. Finals are wrapping up and we're closing in on conference play. All four ACC teams won by double figures yesterday, but none played anyone in the KenPom top 100, so it was to be expected.

Let's recap the action in the ACC...

Miami 69, Stetson 49

Dwayne Collins beasted it with 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the Canes shot 56.5% from the floor. There weren't really any other spectacular performances for Miami, but defensively they held Stetson to 33% shooting and 20% from 3. Miami owned the boards +12. Pretty basic non-con cupcake win there.

Clemson 80, East Carolina 63

Another ho-hum game. Trevor Booker did what Trevor Booker does--13 points, 12 rebounds and a surprising 9 assists, not to mention 3 blocks. I've said it before and I'll probably say it a lot more, but Booker is one of the two most overlooked post players in the ACC. I'd take him and Lawal against just about anybody. Tanner Smith and Andre Young combined for 30 points on 10-19 shooting.

GT 65, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 53

Speaking of Gani Lawal, he only had 15 and 15 yesterday. No big deal. Derrick Favors looked like the ACC Rookie of the Year again with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets amped up the D and held the Golden Lions to 29.4% shooting.

Wake Forest 80, UNC-Wilmington 69

We know how this one finished up, but I'm still in awe of L.D. Williams and his career-high 23 points on 6-7 shooting and 11-12 FTs. If L.D. shows those kind of spurts more often, Wake is a much more dangerous team. Ishmael Smith hjad a complete game with 19 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 4 steals and Al-Farouq Aminu overcame some really sloppy play to provide a highlight reel dunk and 17 points/13 rebounds. It didn't look pretty (16 turnovers) and UNC-W had a number of runs in the second half, but the Seahawks only hit 6-23 from deep and were plagued with bad free throw shooting (15-28).

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)

View full size photo »

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 Atlantic Sun Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:45:05 -0000

Before they left the conference for the greener pastures of Division I-A and Conference USA, Central Florida won the 2004 and 2005 Atlantic Sun titles and scared the bejeezus out of two Big East opponents in the first round. With UCF's departure, the league's power center shifted north to Tennessee, where Belmont claimed three consecutive tourney bids, almost knocking Duke out in their 2008 appearance, before East Tennessee State made it last season. The Bucs gave Pittsburgh, the team UCF gave a game in '04, a substantial scare before bowing out at the first hurdle.

Now the power of the league again looks like it will shift to the Sunshine State. Jacksonville, last season's regular season champions who have lost in the A-Sun final two straight times, is the odds on favorite this time around. The league's Tennessee powers will again provide the bulk of the challenge for the Dolphins, though Lipscomb should better neighboring Belmont's performance this time around. But JU will also be challenged by two long moribund programs, Mercer and Campbell.

This offseason, the Camels actually announced that they'll be leaving the conference to return to the Big South, effective with the 2011-12 academic year. Barring any further changes, that means that the league will feature 10 tournament-eligible teams that year. Kennesaw State, the 2004 Division II National Champion, and North Florida are postseason eligible for the first time this season. However, Florida Gulf Coast and South Carolina Upstate have two more years left in their transition period.

More on the conference's teams, both postseason eligible and ineligible, after the jump.

Before we look at 2009-10, here's a look at how the Atlantic Sun standings looked at the end of the 2008-09 regular season.

Atlantic Sun Conference Standings

(updated 3.24.2009 at 12:09 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Jacksonville Dolphins	15	5	18	14
East Tennessee St. Buccaneers	14	6	23	11
Belmont Bruins	14	6	20	13
Lipscomb Bisons	12	8	17	14
Mercer Bears	11	9	17	15
Campbell Fighting Camels	11	9	14	16
Stetson Hatters	9	11	13	17
North Florida Ospreys	6	14	8	22
Kennesaw St. Owls	3	17	7	22

Now here are my picks for the upcoming season, presented in reverse order. However, I'll start with the two A-Sun teams are ineligible for the postseason.

Florida Gulf Coast (last NCAA: None) Dave Balza's team continues its trip through transitional purgatory with four returning starters, led by 6-1 guard Reed Baker (13.4 ppg).

South Carolina Upstate (last NCAA: None) Even though the Spartans remain ineligible for the A-Sun crown, they could play spoiler, as they won 8 league contests last season. The task for Eddie Payne's squad will be made more difficult with the departure of leading scorer Bobby Davis (14.8 ppg). The Spartans two best returnees are the Mutt and Jeff of the conference, 7-3 center Nick Schneiders (9.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and 5-9 guard Josh Chavis (8.3 ppg).

North Florida (last NCAA: None) Matthew Driscoll takes over an Osprey program that was absolutely dreadful under previous coach Matt Kilcullen. In their final transitional year, UNF managed to win two road games (Furman and Stetson). Those represent those only road success the Ospreys had tasted in four seasons. (They had only 14 Division I wins in that span.) Progress will be slow for North Florida, who have four returning starters (a theme in this league this season), led by guards Eni Cuka (13.2 ppg) and Stan Januska (8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg).

Stetson (last NCAA: None) Derek Waugh's squad lost three starters from a team that should've performed much better last season. Instead of building on their third place finish in 2007-'08, the Hatters slipped to seventh last time around. It's hard to see how Stetson will improve after guard Garfield Blair (17.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg) graduated. However, point guard A.J. Smith (12.6 ppg, 3.8 apg) is back, as is 6-5 forward Sheldon Oliver (5.6 ppg, 5 rpg). Waugh will have to get a lot out of his newcomers, as guard Mark Lohuis was the only returning reserve who managed more than 2 ppg last year (5.0 ppg). It looks like it will be another long season in DeLand.

Kennesaw State (last NCAA: None) Tony Ingle's team is finally postseason eligible and they could spring some surprises, as the Owls bring back all five starters, three of whom were double-figure performers a year ago--G Kelvin McConnell (11.9 ppg), 6-6 F Jon-Michael Nickerson (10.1 ppg, along with 5.5 rpg), and 6-3 G Kurtis Woods (10.5 ppg). PG Spencer Dixon (7.4 ppg, 2.7 apg) will run the offense, while 6-7 F Jonathan Whipple, another returning starter (4.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg), 6-6 bench performer Zadrian Gibson (4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and 6-9 Auburn transfer Matt Heramb will be expected to improve KSU's inside play.

Belmont (last NCAA: 2008) The Bruins are looking for their fourth title in five seasons, but they'll have to do it without four starters who averaged in double-figures last season: guards Alex Renfroe (16.2 ppg) and Andy Wicke (11.7 ppg), forward Matthew Dotson (12.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg), and swingman Shane Dansby (10.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg). In fact, Rick Byrd's team only returns two players who averaged more than 3.5 points per contest last year, G/F Jon House (8.3 ppg) and forward Keaton Belcher (7.1 ppg). The good news for Belmont is that 6-5 F Jordan Campbell returns after missing most of last year with an injury. He led the Bruins in steals and blocks and was second in rebounding during the 2007-08 championship campaign.

Campbell (last NCAA: 1992) The Camels hope to be a thorn in the side of the A-Sun during their last two years in the league. They have an excellent shot to contend this year, as they return all five starters and their key reserves from the team that earned the program's first winning conference mark since the turn of the century. 6-5 forward Jonathan Rodriguez is a threat for league honors this year after a year where he averaged nearly 16 points and over 8 boards a game. Six others averaged more than 5 points per contest, led by guard Lorne Merthie (9.5 ppg), last year's conference Freshman of the Year. Campbell will have to pack more scoring punch to truly contend, however.

East Tennessee State (last NCAA: 2009) Murry Bartow's Bucs will sorely miss Kevin Tiggs, who averaged over 21 points per contest last year, Courtney Pigram (17.6 ppg), and Greg Hamlin (5 ppg, 5 rpg), but senior Mike Smith (15.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and sophomore Isiah Brown (4.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) do return from last year's auto bid winners. The reserves, none of whom averaged more than 4.4 points per contest, will have to step up for the team to repeat. The schedule will be a challenge as the Bucs visit Arkansas and Louisville as part of the Hall of Fame Classic, UAB, and Tennessee. They also face Southern Conference finalists Chattanooga and College of Charleston and OVC favorites Morehead State and Murray State.

Mercer (last NCAA: 1985) Like just about everyone else in the A-Sun, head coach Bob Hoffman returns a solid core of players. The Bears bring back four starters from last year, as they attempt to have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 15 years. Mercer's chances begin and end with 6-1 senior guard James Florence, who is the only active player in the country to average 20 or more points per game in conference play over each of the last three seasons. He's joined in the backcourt by E.J. Kusnyer, who averaged 10.5 points per game last year. Inside, 6-8 senior Daniel Emerson averaged a double-double last year, scoring nearly 14 a game while grabbing nearly 11 boards. Hoffman also gains the services of 6-2 guard Jeff Smith and 6-6 forward Brandon Moore, two junior college transfers who were teammates at Wallace State Community College in Alabama.

Lipscomb (last NCAA: None) Scott Sanderson's squad, which always seems to be in the conversation in the A-Sun, looks to break through for their first NCAA bid this time around. However, next year could really be the Bison's year, as their four returning starters are all juniors. 6-9 Adnan Hodzic is the best post player in the conference (17.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Brandon Brown is another force inside (9.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg). In the backcourt, Sanderson lost Michael Lusk (8.6 ppg), but picks up George Washington transfer Johnny Lee. He graduated in three years and decided to head back to Nashville to conclude his career. Lee will join the talented Josh Slater (11 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Michael Teller (8.3 ppg, 5 rpg) to form a formidable unit that will give the rest of the conference fits.

Jacksonville (last NCAA: 1986) The Dolphins return four starters from the team that won last year's regular season crown by a game over ETSU and Belmont, but got blasted by the Bucs in the game that really mattered. 6-7 forward Marcus Allen (10 ppg, 6.7 rpg) will be missed, but senior Lehmon Colbert (11.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and junior Ayron Hardy (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) are two formidable frontcourt players. Ben Smith, another senior, will lead the team in the backcourt. Smith averaged almost 17 points a game while dishing out 4 assists and forcing 2 steals per game. The schedule will be tough, as the Dolphins "host" Florida at the Veterans Memorial Arena this season, while they travel to South Carolina, Florida State, and California.

So, I expect the Dolphins to break through and claim the Atlantic Sun's auto bid this season. They'll appear in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9.

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

Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team

Player of the Year: James Florence, 6-1 G, Sr. (Mercer)

Remainder of the Team
Adnan Hodzic, 6-9 C, Jr. (Lipscomb)
Jonathan Rodriguez, 6-5 F, Sr. (Campbell)
Ben Smith, 5-10 G, Sr. (Jacksonville)
Mike Smith, 6-6 G, Sr. (East Tennessee State)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Atlantic Sun this season? (Note that Florida Gulf Coast and South Carolina Upstate aren't listed as they're ineligible.)

Belmont

0 votes

Campbell

1 votes

East Tennessee State

1 votes

Jacksonville

3 votes

Kennesaw State

0 votes

Lipscomb

1 votes

Mercer

2 votes

North Florida

2 votes

Stetson

4 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

The Mascot Awards (Pt. 2)

Brian Burke — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:45:14 -0000

Now that the Oscars are over we can get back to the real awards. It's the second installment of the Mascot Awards, so why not give away awards in pairs. The categories today are "Biggest Copycat" and "Most Obscure Mascot at Two Different Schools." Let's see the lovely couples...

If you missed the first installment, check it out here.

Biggest Copycat

In today's world of Photoshop and digital image manipulation, it's all too easy for one school to "borrow" someone else's logo and change it to make it their own. Unfortunately, the following schools have no clue how to use Photoshop...

5. Chaminade Eagles & Philadelphia Eagles - "Do you think anyone will notice if we just take the Eagles logo, flip it, and throw in some different colors?" said the worst marketing team ever. I mean, really Chaminade, did you think no one would notice? I kindof cheated because this is a high school team, but all they did is soften the edges, outline it, and make the colors goofier. This is like the Kidz Bop edition of the Eagles logo. They should be forced to call themselves the Eaglez.

4. Southern Methodist Mustangs & Calgary Stampeders (CFL) - Hmm... it looks like the Calgary Stempeders symbol is a puzzle and the Southern Methodist logo is the last piece. Well not exactly, the tails are a little different. Also, to be fair, both of these logos came out in 1968, so I don't know who copied off of who, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these weren't a coincidence.

3. Georgia Bulldogs & Grambling State Tigers & Green Bay Packers - Maybe Georgia and Grambling St. just thought no one would notice. I mean, they did change the colors. Look, who's ever heard of the Green Bay Packers, anyway? At least they didn't pick to copy the logo of a team with one of the most recognizable symbols in all of sports that had won 3 of the past 5 Super Bowls at the time of their logos' release (1965). Oh, wait. Oh I see where they went wrong.

2. Michigan State Spartans & Stetson Hatters - Ok, this is just getting absurd. Stetson actually tried to disguise their "S" theft by putting a hat on it. They might as well have done this. As if Stetson's logo will take its hat off and the other logos will say "Oh my gosh, is that you Michigan State? I didn't even recognize you with that hat on!" This is like the worst double agent ever.

1. Howard Bison & Buffalo Bills - Wow. Why even bother at this point. You're not fooling anyone. In fact, most people will look at Howard's logo and say "What's that word on the Bills logo?" Just be honest Howard, go with this.

Most Obscure Mascot at Two Different Schools

Sure there are a lot of eagles and tigers and bulldogs out there, but who would have thought there are two Broncs? Well there are, Texas - Pan American and Rider. And although they didn't make the list, it's only because the following schools have even less imagination and even more pride.

5. Elon and Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix - Phoenix is a pretty sweet name, so I can't blame either school for choosing it, but it's still pretty obscure. Known for being reborn out of its own ashes, the mythological phoenix is actually a bird on fire. Maybe someone's director of marketing should be fired for not being able to think of a mascot which isn't already taken.

4. Duke and Central Connecticut State Blue Devils - You sure about that, Central Connecticut State? You're gonna stick with that? This is quite possibly the most overshadowed mascot of all time, and maybe it's for the best. Duke's mascot looks about 10 times cooler and has about 100 times more recognition. At least pick a different color, CCSU, none of the other devil colors are taken in college basketball.

3. Cal State Bakersfield and Texas San Antonio Roadrunners - Well at least a roadrunner is a real thing, unlike our last two winners. What really pushes this one up to the three spot is that not only did these schools decide on the same mascot, but they named it the same thing. That's right, both the Cal State Bakersfield and Texas San Antonio Mascots are specifically named Rowdy. How much does it suck to only have the second best roadrunner mascot named Rowdy in the nation?

2. South Carolina and Jacksonville State Gamecocks - As if there weren't already enough things wrong with naming yourself the gamecocks, one of these schools did it knowing it was already in use. Plus, they're both almost the same tone of red which is not helping to distinguish them. South Carolina is the much more well known school here, but I'm not sure if that's a victory or a defeat. Their mascot's name is Cocky, which you have to be to keep this name for so long.

1. Northern Arizona and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks - Who knew there was even one school with the lumberjacks as their mascot? I want to know who was so sold on the name lumberjacks that he didn't care that it was already someone elses mascot. Like some guy had been planning this name for years and was too proud to admit that it was no longer a good idea since it was taken. "Are you sure, sir? It's not too late to change names, you know." "We're going to be the lumberjacks, Damnit! And that's final!"

Check back in soon for the third installment of the Mascot Awards

Monday Musings - The Short SHORT Version

The Beef — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:51:44 -0000

First off, a bonus point to anyone who knows the movie I am referencing right there.

Anyway, only two GAMES this week for all the Mizzou teams, neither of which I saw, both of which we won. And as I am currently fighting off some illness and am a day behind in work, and still have the Bowl Pick 'Em to update, well...let's just say you are not going to get a lot of wonderful info out of me this week. What can I say, I am into Holiday Mode already.

So, let's get to it...what "it" there is anyway.

Men's Basketball:

I guess I lied at the top of the page in saying I did not see either of the games. I saw the first 8 minutes of this game and I suppose I really wish I had not. Just awful and sloppy basketball. However, clearly everything turned out fine as we put up 51 points in the last 20 minutes to run away with another win. In the end, 9-1 equals 9-1 and we will see if Mizzou can crack the top 25 (with Davidson, Memphis and Miami losing, but Minnesota winning, we have a shot, but it will be close) leading into a suddenly pretty relevant Braggin Rights Game.

Looking over the stats and the little I know about this game:

Stetson is a terrible shooting team, but ONE assist? Egad
I think we only had two turnovers in about the last 30 minutes
30-59 from the field = good.
7-17 from 3 pt. range = perfectly acceptable
11-21 from FT line = not good
1 person over 20 minutes = always good
7409 = too bad

Anyway....and I realize this is probably going to be too strong a statement, but I am putting a lot on this next game. Yes, we have already won a couple of decent games on the season, but this is a game I REALLY want to win and one which I believe would further propel us as our schedule is not too tough until a roadie to Okie State a MONTH from now (after this game). Win and...well...the wins SHOULD keep on coming (and not to say they wont if we don't win this game, but you certainly become pretty nationally relevant if you are ripping off double-digit winning streaks). But it is time for this team, this coach, this program to win this game.

Women's Basketball:

Speaking of winning streaks, the women's team is on one right now, and continued it with a pretty impressive come-from-behind effort yesterday over the 9-2 Arkansas Lady...um...Razorbacks down in Fayetteville. Down by 8 with only four minutes to go, Mizzou tore off a 14-4 run to finish the game and win it 56-55. Helping out the run was a 3-pointer by Alyssa Hollins (only her 2nd out of 12 attempts) and the team going 6-6 from the FT line (only 14-26 for the game). The win was the 5th in a row for the Tigers who are now 6-4 after opening 1-4

Jessra Johnson led the team in scoring and boards with 17 and 9, while Hollins kicked in 16 for the Tigers. Overall, the team only shot 32 percent for the game from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range. However, where Arkansas turned it over 24 times, the Tigers only coughed it up 13 times, and in a game this close, that makes a big difference.

The ladies are now off the entire next week, with their next game coming on Monday, December 29th against SEMO. Seeing as the game was scheduled for 7pm, but was moved because of the bowl game, the Tigers will compete at 3pm that afternoon. Admission is free, so while you are wringing your hands getting ready for the football action, stop by Mizzou Arena and cheer them on. They have three out of conference games remaining and getting there at 9-4 would pretty lovely considering their start.

On tap this week:

Two games from the men's team (Tuesday and Saturday afternoon vs., SIU-E)...that's it. Enjoy the holidays!

Random Thoughts:

In my fantasy football league championship game, I appear to have out-thought myself and probably cost myself the championship.
My Devils are red-hot right now, winners of 12 of their last 15. Three HUGE games this week against Boston, Pittsburgh and at the Rangers. If only I could watch them on TV every now and again...
My Jets, on the other hand...typical Jet December tank-job. Thankfully I dont get to see any of THAT action.
The vitriol (and deservedly so) against the Rams in my local media is reaching an amazing level from week to week. At least KC appears to be entertaining in losing. The last year's Mizzou team still has more wins than STL and KC...combined...in TWO seasons. (in FIFTY fewer games)
Gartrell Cooper of Colorado State...wow
The first update to the Rock M Nation Bowl Pick 'Em Contest will be coming here in a little bit. No one made it through the first five games without a loss, and everyone won at least 1 pick as well.