Friday, February 27, 2009

Elon (10-17) @ UNCG (4-24)

When: Saturday, Feb 28 2 pm
Where: Fleming Gym (2,320)
TV: SportsSouth

Elon Athletics
Elon Forum

No Surprise

UNCG 49 - Davidson 70

News & Record
Charlotte Observer
UNCG Athletics
Davidson Athletics
View From Press Row (DC Athletics Blog)

I've spent the better part of this entire week in bed sick. I don't really know how you get vertigo from a sinus infection, but it happened to me. While the Spartans were playing the Wildcats, I was trying to be as still as possible to make the room stop spinning.

Somehow, though, I still believe I had more fun than UNCG Wednesday night.

Stephen Curry scored 20 points, had 10 rebounds and 5 assists. I join fans from around the SoCon in hoping that Mr. Curry has a wonderful NBA career ... that starts very, very soon.

As for UNCG, Kendall Toney scored 15 points and Ben Stywall pulled in 7 rebounds. Coach Mike Dement went with the Eargle/Jackson/Spooner/Hardiman/Bone starting lineup for this game. Meaning that UNCG has basically started almost every possible combination this season. However, G found itself down 36-18 and it was lights out at that point.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

UNCG (4-23) @ Davidson (22-6)

When: Wednesday, Feb 25 7 pm
Where: Belk Arena (5,223)
TV: None

Davidson Athletics
Davidson Forum

Last meeting: UNCG 54 - Davidson 75 (Greensboro Coliseum)

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG trailed by 19 at the half on it's way to losing 69-56 to Western Carolina. Damian Eargle scored 17 points in a very uninspired Spartan effort.
- With a current conference record of 3-15, UNCG is locked into the 6th seed (North Division) for the SoCon Tournament in Chattanooga.
- When UNCG and Davidson met on Feb 5th, it was in front of 11,687 fans at the Greensboro Coliseum. This was the only game that the Spartans played in the coliseum this year. Next season, all Spartan home games will be played there.
- Mikko Koivisto leads UNCG in scoring (13.0) and assists (2.5). Ben Stywall is averaging 11.3 points and a team leading 8.4 rebounds.
- For the season, UNCG is shooting from the 39.9% field, 31.7% from behind the arc and 64.8% from the free throw line.

Wildcat Notes:
- Stephen Curry scored 20 points and handed out 6 assists, but it wasn't enough as Butler defeated Davidson 75-63. This non-conference game was part of the ESPN Bracketbuster series. Davidson will play a return game at Butler next season.
- Davidson comes into Wednesday's game sporting a 15-2 conference record. Both losses occurred at Belk Arena.
- Stephen Curry missed last week's game against The Citadel with a sprained ankle. The Wildcats went on to lose 64-46.
- Curry leads Davidson in points (28.6) and assists (5.9). Andrew Lovedale is averaging 12.5 points and a team high 8.9 rebounds.
- For the year, Davidson is shooting 43.5% from the field, 35.7% from 3-point range and 70.8% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
I was a little surprised by the shooting percentages of Davidson. I really expected them to be higher. With that said, UNCG will have to play the perfect game to beat the Wildcats in Belk. The Spartans will definitely have to play with more passion and focus than they did on Saturday against Western Carolina.

UNCG plays much better on the road than it does in Fleming Gym. Maybe the team can pull a shocker and gain some confidence to finish the season.

Go Spartans !!!

A Throw Away Game

UNCG 56 - Western Carolina 69

News & Record
UNCG Athletics
WCU Athletics

UNCG fell behind 39-20 at halftime with the most uninspired performance this season. Walk-ons Mike Hardiman (6 pts & 3 rebs) and Sean Spooner (3 pts & 4 steals) played the majority of second half minutes, along with Elhanan Bone (4 pts & 2 rebs), DeAngelo Jackson (7 pts & 6 rebs) and Damian Eargle (17 pts & 8 rebs).

UNCG has now dropped 10 straight home games and 23 games total (school record). Next year the team will play its home games in the Greensboro Coliseum. Thus, next Saturday's home game against Elon will be the Spartans last chance to win at Fleming Gym.

Make-A-Wish
The highlight of the day came at halftime, when a 14 year-old boy was told that he was getting his wish granted. UNCG sorority Chi Omega helped raise the money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You can read the story here.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Western Carolina (13-13) @ UNCG (4-22)

When: Saturday, Feb 21 3 pm
Where: Fleming Gym (2,320)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

Western Carolina Athletics
Western Carolina Forum

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, Daniel Oliver's last second shot fell short as App State beat UNCG 70-69. Kendall Toney led the Spartans with 18 points.
-Mikko Koivisto leads UNCG in scoring (13.3) and assists (2.6). Ben Stywall is averaging 11.7 points and a team leading 8.5 rebounds.

Catamount Notes:
- Freshman Harouna Mutombo lead WCU in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (4.7). Brigham Waginger lead in assists (3.3).
- On the season, WCU is shooting 44.6% from the field, 35.5% from behind the arc and 64.1% from the free throw line.

Friday, February 20, 2009

They're Called "Free" Throws for a Reason

UNCG 69- App State 70

Winston-Salem Journal
News & Record

An ASU 3 pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining sent App State on to victory. UNCG has now tied it's school record for losses in a season (22). Unless they can make a run to the national championship, they will set a new record for losses in a season. But this was the closest UNCG has came to winning a home game since beating Webber Interantional in the very first home game.

- Kendall Toney (18 points), Mikko Koivisto (13 points) and Ben Stywall (17 points & 8 rebounds) led UNCG.
- App State out rebounded UNCG 41-25 (16-11 offensive).
- Free throw shooting killed UNCG. 19-35 (54.3%) Awful. Just awful.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

App State (10-15) @ UNCG (4-21)

When: Thursday, Feb 19 7 pm
Where: Fleming Gym (2,320)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

App State Athletics

Wow. Work, illness and a greeting card holiday have really put me behind on my blog the last few weeks. Sorry about that.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of time to even write a preview before leaving for the game (it's about a 40 minute drive without traffic for me).

So, I'll simply just say that I really want to see the Spartans win at least one more in Fleming. I really don't like the idea that I've already witnessed the last UNCG win at the place.

Monday, February 16, 2009

I Heart 'Nooga

UNCG 74 - Chattanooga 83

News & Record
Chattanooga Times Free Press

God, I hope we never get those same refs again !!!

Friday, February 13, 2009

UNCG (4-20) @ Chattanooga (13-13)

When: Saturday Feb 14 7 pm
Where: McKenzie Arena (11,218)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

UTC Athletics
UTC Forum

- I'm going out-of-town in a few minutes (Valentine's Day). So, this is all for the preview. I'll have a much more detailed follow up by Monday, plus an expanded one from Samford.

Welcome to Our Conference ...

... here's another win for you.

UNCG 60 - Samford 73

UNCG Athletics

Moving on ...

Thursday, February 12, 2009

UNCG (4-19) @ Samford (11-13)

When: Thursday, Feb 12 8 pm
Where: Pete Hanna Center (5,000)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

Samford Athletics
Samford Forum

There's No Place Like Home ???

UNCG 57 - Wofford 69

News & Record
Spartanburg Herald-Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wofford Athletics

From New & Record ...

"(This is getting) very old, very fast," said UNCG's Ben Stywall. "I
thought
we could get some momentum off that road win, but obviously we didn't
come
out like we were hoping to. I'm not sure what it is about the road; we've
gotten our wins there. I guess since we have a road trip coming up,
hopefully we can continue that."

I'm still so disgusted at how this game went, that I've decided against doing a full recap. I haven't seen UNCG win a game in person in over 2 months. It's sad to think of the idea that the last UNCG win in Fleming Gym may have already taken place.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Wofford (10-11) @ UNCG (4-18)

When: Monday, Jan 9 7 pm
Where: Fleming Gym (2,320)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

Wofford Athletics
Wofford Forum

Spartan Notes:
-Last time out, Mikko Kiovisto hit 5 of 7 3 pointers on his way to scoring 26 points as UNCG defeated Georgia Southern in Statesboro (84-76). Damian Eargle pulled down 12 rebounds.
- UNCG's 3-10 conference record leaves the Spartans in last place in the North Division, one game behind Elon.
-Mikko Koivisto still leads UNCG in scoring (12.7) and assists (2.5). Ben Stywall leads the Spartans in rebounding (9.0).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 40.1% from the field, 30.2% from 3-point range and 65.9% from the free throw line.

Terrier Notes:
- Tonight's game is the only meeting between Wofford and UNCG.
- On Saturday, Wofford ran out to a nine point halftime lead and easily held on against Samford, 74-61. Noah Dahlman lead Wofford with 15 points.
- Junior Salters (5 games), Noah Dahlman (1 game) and Corey Godzinski (7 games) have all missed time this season.
- Dahlman leads Wofford in scoring (16.6) and Tim Johnson leads in rebounds (8.8). Jason Dawson leads in assists (3.0).
- On the season, Wofford is shooting 44.5% from the field, 37.8% from behind the arc and 69% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
UNCG and Wofford have a history of playing really close games. I would be lying if I said that I still wasn't still irritated thinking about last year's game in Fleming. Kyle Hines had the chance to send a game that UNCG had controlled (for the most part) into overtime with 2 made free throws. He made only 1 of 2 and that was that.

Wofford has fought through a lot of injuries and is finally getting healthy for the stretch run. UNCG has found confidence over the last few games. This sounds like the recipe for another nail bitter.

Go Spartans !!!

Welcome Back Mikko

UNCG 84 - Georgia Southern 76

News & Record
UNCG Athletics
Ga Southern Athletics

Saturday, February 7, 2009

UNCG (3-18) @ Georgia Southern (7-14)

When: Saturday, Feb 7 7:30 pm
Where: Hanner Fieldhouse (4,358)
TV: None / Spartan All-Access

Ga Southern Athletics
Ga Southern Forum

Last meeting:
UNCG 63- Ga Southern 72 @ Fleming Gym

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG trailed Davidson by 10 points with less than 7 minutes to play, but could get no closer. Davidson defeated the Spartans 75-54 at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of 11,687 spectators. Ben Stywall led 3 Spartans in double figures.
- UNCG has now lost 6 straight games.
- Mikko Koivisto leads UNCG in points (12.0) and assists (2.6). Ben Stywall is averaging 11 points and a team high 9.1 rebounds.
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.2% from the field, 29.7% from behind the arc and 66.2% from the free throw line.

Eagle Notes:
- Georgia Southern went scoreless for the last 2 minutes against Elon and fell 57-54 on Thursday night. Ben Drayton III led the Eagles with 17 points.
- Georgia Southern has now dropped their last 4 games in a row.
- Leading scorer Willie Powers (14.5) is out for the season. Powers was also leading the team in assists (3.6). Antonio Hanson (12.0 pts & 2.5 assists) and Julian Allen (11.9 pts & 6.7 rebs) are now leading the Eagles.
- For the year, Georgia Southern is shooting 44.3% from the field, 33.2% from 3 point range and 67% from the free throw line.

Friday, February 6, 2009

New Home, Same Results

UNCG 54 - Davidson 75

News & Record
Charlotte Observer
UNCG Athletics
Davidson Athletics

11,687 people came out to watch UNCG play on it new soon-to-be homecourt at the Greensboro Coliseum. Unfortunately, the Davidson Wildcats decided to come too. Stephen Curry scored 29 as Davidson turned back a fiery UNCG team that was down only by 10 with a little less than 7 minutes remaining.

This title is a little misleading. There were a lot of great things associated with the coliseum last night. I'll get to those in another post, I promise. But for now, let's focus on the game.

The Good:
- UNCG gave tremendous effort. I've said before that this team still fights to the end. They proved it again on Thursday.
- Kendall Toney. He had a great stat line (12 points, 5 assists & o turnovers) and seemed to feed off of Stephen Curry's energy. I really hope that he continues to shoot the ball with confidence because he can be a really good player when the ball is going in the basket.

The Bad:
- Offense - 37.3% from the field.
- Rebounds - UNCG 27 & Davidson 46.

The Ugly:
- Davidson had 21 offensive rebounds.
- UNCG had 20 turnovers.

Let's face it, these are the 2 stats that have killed UNCG all year. The Spartans got a Davidson team that wasn't sharp at all. If they could have put something together, it was a night when Davidson could have been beat. Things didn't work out that way. Nothing you can do but move forward.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Davidson (19-3) @ UNCG (3-17)

When: Thursday, Feb 5 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (23,500)
TV: None/ Spartan All-Access

Davidson Athletics
Davidson Forum

This is the game that every SoCon team is looking forward to this season. Ten SoCon teams get to host the darlings of last year's NCAA tournament. UNCG decided that this would be the first game at the Spartans new home, the Greensboro Coliseum. Judging by the amount of tickets sold, that was a very good idea.

The excitement that surrounds this game is one thing, the game itself is a completely different animal.

Spartan Notes:
- In their last game, the Spartans were held scoreless the 3:52 as the Citadel erased a 4 point deficit and won 66-60. Damian Eargle led UNCG with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
- With Saturday's loss at the Citadel and Elon's win at College of Charleston, UNCG (2-9) now finds itself alone in last place in the North Division.
- The Spartans should be happy that this game is being played at the Greensboro Coliseum and not in Fleming Gym. The Spartans have been traditionally tough to beat in Fleming. This year, however, UNCG has compiled a record of just 1-6 at home.
- It was announced on December 5, 2008 that UNCG would be moving to the Greensboro Coliseum full time starting next season. They will be using a modified setup for seating. This setup will have a capacity of ~7,600.
- Mikko Koivisto Leads UNCG in points (12.4) and assists (2.7). Ben Stywall is averaging 11 points and a team high 9.2 rebounds.
- For the year, UNCC is shooting 39.3% from the field, 29.5% from behind the arc and 66.2% from the free throw line.

Wildcats Notes:
- On Monday night, Davidson raced out to an 18 point halftime lead on Western Carolina and cruised to victory, 89-65. Stephen Curry led Davidson with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
- Monday's win extended Davidson regular season SoCon winning streak to 42. They now trail West Virginia's SoCon record by just 2 games.
- The Wildcats have now won 9 straight games. Their last loss was at Duke (79-67) on January 7th.
- Curry, POY in the SoCon last year, is basically a lock to win the award again this season. He's also very high in the running to be named and All-American and National POY.
- Curry leads Davidson in scoring (28.9) and assists (6.5). Andrew Lovedale is averaging 12.3 points and a team leading 8.9 rebounds.
- For the season, Davidson is shooting 45.1% from the field, 38.2% from 3 point range and 73.3% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
I think Davidson compares favorably with another team that UNCG played earlier in the season, the Dayton Flyers. The difference is that Dayton did not have Stephen Curry. Curry single handily defeated UNCG a year ago at Fleming Gym.

UNCG officials have said that they are expecting over 10,000 people to be at the game tonight. This will not be a home game for UNCG. I expect over half of the crowd to be wearing red, and many other will be there to just see Curry.

UNCG will have to play the perfect game to have any kind of a chance, and even that might not be enough. My hope is that the Spartans give everyone that shows up a fun game to watch and a reason to come back very soon.

Go Spartans !!!

- UNCG Athletics preview
- N&R Game Preview
- N&R Editorial

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Homecoming

That's how I plan on referring to the UNCG-Davidson game this coming Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. I'm going to use this post to link to some game related articles. Plus, I'll throw in a few links to some other Davidson blogs, and there are quite a few of them.

I'll be back later this evening or tomorrow with my actual game preview.

- News & Record story discussing the fact that there will be beer sales for the game. It points out that the coliseum basically sells beer at all of their events. So, this will be a non-issue.

- UNCG student ticket allotment's have almost sold out. 2,250 tickets have already been distributed and as of the article, there were only 250 left.

- Speaking of tickets, you can buy them here. I know in the past games at the coliseum that there have been plenty of really good seats left right before game time. I don't think that's going to be the case for this game. If you're wanting lower-level seats, buy them now, as opposed to getting them at the window. They're running a 4 for $44 special (with 4 drinks and 4 hot dogs).

- There are a lot of events planned prior to the game. Here's an article on Spartanfest.

- Thursday will be another "Blue & Gold Day". You may remember that the first Blue & Gold Day was on Friday December 5th. This was the day that the permanent move to the Greensboro Coliseum was announced.

- Kyle Hines' latest blog entry from Italy.

- UNCG athletics is now writing a blog too. The first installment can be found here.

Davidson websites:
- Davidson Forum
- Wildcats Pride
- Lefty Legacy
- 16.8
- View from Press Row
- Above the Rim (not exclusively DC)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Was this game at Cameron Indoor?

UNCG 60 - Citadel 66

News & Record
Charleston Post & Courier
UNCG Athletics
Citadel Athletics

UNCG led 60-56 with a little under 4 minutes remaining, but would go scoreless from there as The Citadel scored 10 straight. Zach Urbanus scored 20 and Demetrius Nelson scored 19 to lead the Bulldogs.

The Good:
- Four Spartans scored in double figures. Damian Eargle (18 pts, 7 rebs & 4 blocks), Mikko Koivisto (14 points, all in the second half), Ben Stywall (11 pts & 7 rebs) and Kendall Toney (10 points) and chipped in for UNCG.
- Rebounds - UNCG 35 & Citadel 29.

The Bad:
- If you look down the stat sheet, there's no reason that the Spartans lost this game. I'm just listing that as bad. When you win on the stat sheet, you have to find a way to win on the scoreboard.

The Ugly:
- Free Throws- UNCG 12-16 & Citadel 25-30. I wasn't at the game. So, I can only point out the stats and let whoever is reading this decide if it seems a little unbalanced. So, go ahead and decide.

*** With the circus (Davidson College) in town this coming Thursday, there will be several post taking place. Check back often.