Welcome to The Holy Land of Hoops

The game is at 6:30 on FS1. We took care of the cupcake D2 opponent in the scrimmage, we took care of the cupcake D1 opponent in our first game...now we face a tougher opponent. My main concern at this point is scoring inside. It's nice when your shots are falling at a high rate when you settle for 3's, but eventually we will have an off day behind the arc and it will come down to our transition scoring off of turnovers, driving into the paint, and racking up FT's. I'd like to see more aggression inside especially from LoVett/Ponds. So far though I'm impressed with the depth and talent level of this squad. Mussini as a catch and shoot guy is a major X factor. He is that Gonzaga type player we never seem to get. We will need to force a lot of turnovers against these mid major teams to give us a nice cushion. We have to get in their face beyond the arc, because opponents are known for having career days behind the arc against us. I'd also like to see more out of Freudenberg...he has the talent but he did not have the separation or the room to create any offense since the exhibition. It's so nice to see that when we are in transition especially fast breaks, we finish. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating it was last year to get tons of fast breaks and not be able to complete a basic layup. With Ponds and LoVett, these will mostly be converted. A bit nervous for this game honestly, I just have the gut feeling that Binghamton is sneaky and they cannot be taken lightly. Same feeling I get when we play teams like Robert Morris or NJIT. Hopefully I have nothing to worry about and it's all from the negative Lavin years.

SJ: 74
Binghamton: 62

6:30 - Binghamton @ St. John's, FS1 - Brian Custer, Tarik Turner
Line: St. John's -13 145

7:00 - Villanova @ Purdue, BTN - Brian Anderson, Jon Crispin
Gavitt Tip-Off Games
Line: Villanova -2 149

7:00 - Buffalo @ Xavier, CBSSN - Tom McCarthy, Pete Gillen
Line: Xavier -15 161.5

7:00 - Vermont @ Providence, FS2 - Alex Faust, Dickey Simpkins
Line: Providence -6 149

8:30 - Howard @ Marquette, FS1- Jeff Levering, Nick Bahe
Line: Marquette -24 153

KenPom:

87-65 Marquette (98.0%)
87-72 Xavier (91.0%)
77-64 St. John's (88.0%)
77-70 Providence (73.0%)
76-74 Villanova (61.0%)

Should go at least 4-1. I'm hoping for 5-0.

Nova's got a strong opponent, but the other 4 should be easy. The only other game that sort of concerns me is Providence-Vermont, and that's only because the Catamounts already have a game under their belts and the Frairs don't.

The Nova / Purdue game will be an intriguing study in what the game has evolved into (or not). Very big, but somewhat plodding front line vs 4 out 1 in, spread floor and move the ball team. Purdue is like the 80's Celtics and Nova like the 2016 Warriors. It will be an interesting contrast in styles and we'll see if Purdue can impose it's will inside and on the boards or if Nova can spread them out, hit from deep and apply pressure for 90 feet. If Nova can hit at 35% or higher from 3, they win this game. Also if you see Painter make his first substitution a guard or wing for their 7 footer, you'll know that Nova is imposing it's will. If JW turns to Reynolds, Paschall and Bridges on the floor a lot together, then it'll be the opposite.

Vermont is a dangerous buy game. Providence can't look past them

Hopefully Xavier learned from Lehigh not to take any game lightly. Lehigh was 124 in Kenpom; Buffalo is 103

Hopefully everyone does what they need to

TAMU Eagle wrote:Vermont is a dangerous buy game. Providence can't look past them

Vegas agrees, as the line is only 6.

Agree, experienced UVM team will be a test for a Friars team with a lot of new pieces. If they don't perform well they will lose.