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Stonehill 61, Fairfield 60
Well, Fairfield lost to a Division II team last year and still rebounded to get to within a jump shot of the NCAA tournament.
With that in mind, there is a precedent -- also set last year with Syracuse, which lost to LeMoyne before eventually earning a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance -- for teams suffering humilating defeats like the one Fairfield suffered tonight.
But if Ed Cooley and Co. wanted to keep the buzz going into Saturday's opener against Sacred Heart, losing to Cooley's alma matter tonight at the Arena at Harbor Yard probably wasn't the best idea.
The most alarming stat for a team that's supposed to have good low-post play? The Stags were outrebounded 39-34.
If you're not on high blood pressure medication and think you can survive looking at it, here's the box score.
***
Anyone up for MAAC hoops chatter?
In addition to the regular Rider game chats, I'm pleased to announce I'll be co-hosting a live MAAC chat every Wednesday morning along with Troy Record Siena beat writer Andy Santillo.
The chat will be live every week at 11 a.m. both here and on Andy's On the Sidelines blog.
With that in mind, there is a precedent -- also set last year with Syracuse, which lost to LeMoyne before eventually earning a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance -- for teams suffering humilating defeats like the one Fairfield suffered tonight.
But if Ed Cooley and Co. wanted to keep the buzz going into Saturday's opener against Sacred Heart, losing to Cooley's alma matter tonight at the Arena at Harbor Yard probably wasn't the best idea.
The most alarming stat for a team that's supposed to have good low-post play? The Stags were outrebounded 39-34.
If you're not on high blood pressure medication and think you can survive looking at it, here's the box score.
***
Anyone up for MAAC hoops chatter?
In addition to the regular Rider game chats, I'm pleased to announce I'll be co-hosting a live MAAC chat every Wednesday morning along with Troy Record Siena beat writer Andy Santillo.
The chat will be live every week at 11 a.m. both here and on Andy's On the Sidelines blog.
posted by Kyle Franko at
11:51 PM
9 Comments:
Are you serious doody? I have never considered you a source of great, unbiased information, but how can you compare Fairfield to Syracuse. I know that cooley is a good coach, but let's let them actually win something before you crown their a$$.
didn't ben have them in the sweet 16? can't lose to a D2 team and be taken seriously.
Shooter,
That is one of the least valid comments I've seen here in quite some time.
As I'm sure just about everyone else understands, the point isn't to suggest that Fairfield is anywhere near as good as Syracuse, or that Fairfield is going to the Sweet 16.
The point is pretty simple: Teams -- Syracuse last year is the posterchild -- have lost to D2 teams in the past, then rebounded to do some pretty impressive things.
Not sure what's so hard about that to understand.
... Anon, Fairfield is my pick to win the MAAC -- a view held by countless others, including six of the league's 10 coaches.
I have made no predictions regarding how far anyone will get in the NCAA tournament.
What did Syracuse do that was "pretty impressive?" They lost in the first round of the big east tournament and choked away a 1seed by losing to a mid-major in the sweet 16....which is almost as embarassing as losing to a D2 in preseason. It looks to me like that d2 loss told us a lot about what they were.
Everyone needs to relax. It is called EXHIBITION for a reason. IT DOESN'T COUNT. Go ask the forty-niners how an undefeated pre-season worked out for them.
Shooter,
Cuse went 28-4, won the Big East regular season title by two games. I think plenty of teams would sign for a season like that.
Anon,
For the most part, I agree. That's not to say the Stags should feel OK about a few of the things that went on the other night, but as long as they get their act together when the games start to count, last night won't matter.
Doody, I assumed that you know a little about the sport you get paid to cover.....the regular season is meaningless in college hoops. Mid majors have to play well for a weekend in March and teams like syracuse play for final 4's and national championships.
Let's not get caught up in preseason ranking either doody. Remember, RT was preseason player of the year and he stunk last year.
Shooter so you watch college basketball? the "mid-major", that you don't even name, that syracuse lost to came within 1 point of winning the national championship. that same mid-major also beat Michigan State and Kansas State in the tournament. But yeah,they weren't that good...
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