UNCG 50 - Princeton 65
News & Record
Daily Princetonian
UNCG Athletics
Princeton Athletics
UNCG wore their gold uniforms on Sunday and the result was similar to the East Carolina game. The guys came out lifeless and played with no energy. The defense was poor and they couldn't hit shots. Also, they wore the same gold uniforms against ECU.
Positives
- Brandon Evans --- Brandon was basically the entire offense for the Spartans. When it appeared UNCG had never seen a zone before, Evans would drive to the basket and make something happen.
- Zooperstars --- Yes, that's right. The Spartans brought so little excitement to the court that the other highlight was the fake animals dancing to N' Sync.
Negatives
- Defense --- Princeton shot 50% and got any kind of shot they wanted, whenever they wanted.
- Shooting --- UNCG shot 38% from the field, but just 14.3% (2-14) from 3 point range. It really feels like UNCG has missed every big 3 point attempt they've tried at home this year.
That's all I've got. There is not another home game until after Christmas. That should be long enough for me to re-charge and get excited about going to coliseum all over again. Hopefully the Spartans can go and get a win (or two actually) on the road between now and then.
Showing posts with label Princeton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Princeton. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Princeton (3-4) @ UNCG (2-5)
When: Sunday, December 13 1 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None
Princeton Athletics
Princeton Blog
Ivy League Forum
Daily Princeton Preview
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG missed two potential game tying 3 pointers in the final 20 seconds and fell to preseason SoCon favorite College of Charleston 69-66. The Spartans were led by Ben Stywall's 21 points and 14 rebounds.
- Mondays game was Stywall's second straight double-double. He scored 11 points and pulled down 15 rebounds against Samford on Saturday.
- According to an N&R article, guard Mikko Koivisto has been battling a hip strain for the past 2 games.
- UNCG is still winless in its new home, the Greensboro Coliseum. So far the Spartans have dropped games to # 22 Clemson, East Carolina and Charleston.
- Stywall is leading UNCG in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (9.3). Kyle Randall leads in assists (2.6).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.6% from the field, 36.3% from behind the arc and 69.4% from the free throw line.
Tigers Notes:
- In their last game, Princeton overcame a 2 point halftime deficit to beat Lafayette 62-48. Douglas Davis paced the Tigers with 21 points.
- Princeton defeated UNCG 65-55 at Jadwin Gym last season. It was a poor shooting night for both teams. UNCG shot 29.6%, while Princeton was only slightly better at 38.2%. Davis (15 points) and Dan Mavraides (17 points) lead the Tigers.
- Princeton has 9 players that average playing more than 13 minutes a game.
- Davis leads the team in scoring (13.1). Marcus Schroeder leads in rebounding (4.0), assists (2.4) and minutes played (36.0).
- For the season, Princeton is shooting 40.2% from the field, 35.2% from behind the arc and 76.5% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
First off ... UNCG, please don't use the foul strategy to get back into this game. I couldn't overlook the fact that this team shoots over 75% from the free throw line. This was the one decision that Coach Dement made last year that caused to me to lose my mind. We turned a 1 possession game into a 10 point loss.
I think UNCG can take advantage of the Tigers being a very weak rebounding team. The Spartans are averaging almost 8 more boards a game than Princeton. However, Davis made seven 3 pointers in Princeton's last game. UNCG will have to play better perimeter defense than they have in their last 2 home contests.
I'm afraid the biggest factor on Sunday may be the crowd. With forecasters calling for some winter weather tonight, there might be very few people in attendance for a 1 pm Sunday tip off. The Spartans are going to have to bring their own intensity to the Greensboro Coliseum and not depend on crowd noise to help. If so, I think UNCG can be successful.
Go Spartans !!!
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None
Princeton Athletics
Princeton Blog
Ivy League Forum
Daily Princeton Preview
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG missed two potential game tying 3 pointers in the final 20 seconds and fell to preseason SoCon favorite College of Charleston 69-66. The Spartans were led by Ben Stywall's 21 points and 14 rebounds.
- Mondays game was Stywall's second straight double-double. He scored 11 points and pulled down 15 rebounds against Samford on Saturday.
- According to an N&R article, guard Mikko Koivisto has been battling a hip strain for the past 2 games.
- UNCG is still winless in its new home, the Greensboro Coliseum. So far the Spartans have dropped games to # 22 Clemson, East Carolina and Charleston.
- Stywall is leading UNCG in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (9.3). Kyle Randall leads in assists (2.6).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.6% from the field, 36.3% from behind the arc and 69.4% from the free throw line.
Tigers Notes:
- In their last game, Princeton overcame a 2 point halftime deficit to beat Lafayette 62-48. Douglas Davis paced the Tigers with 21 points.
- Princeton defeated UNCG 65-55 at Jadwin Gym last season. It was a poor shooting night for both teams. UNCG shot 29.6%, while Princeton was only slightly better at 38.2%. Davis (15 points) and Dan Mavraides (17 points) lead the Tigers.
- Princeton has 9 players that average playing more than 13 minutes a game.
- Davis leads the team in scoring (13.1). Marcus Schroeder leads in rebounding (4.0), assists (2.4) and minutes played (36.0).
- For the season, Princeton is shooting 40.2% from the field, 35.2% from behind the arc and 76.5% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
First off ... UNCG, please don't use the foul strategy to get back into this game. I couldn't overlook the fact that this team shoots over 75% from the free throw line. This was the one decision that Coach Dement made last year that caused to me to lose my mind. We turned a 1 possession game into a 10 point loss.
I think UNCG can take advantage of the Tigers being a very weak rebounding team. The Spartans are averaging almost 8 more boards a game than Princeton. However, Davis made seven 3 pointers in Princeton's last game. UNCG will have to play better perimeter defense than they have in their last 2 home contests.
I'm afraid the biggest factor on Sunday may be the crowd. With forecasters calling for some winter weather tonight, there might be very few people in attendance for a 1 pm Sunday tip off. The Spartans are going to have to bring their own intensity to the Greensboro Coliseum and not depend on crowd noise to help. If so, I think UNCG can be successful.
Go Spartans !!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Know Your Enemy - Princeton Edition
Last season, I was able to exchange questions with a Dayton basketball follower before the Spartans played the Flyers. I called the post "Know Your Enemy" (after my favorite Rage Against the Machine song). Well, it's time to try the segment again.
This time I was able to catch up with Jon from Princetonbasketball.com. He runs a great site, but before visiting be warned. Jon's such an overachiever that he doesn't just follow the Tigers, but also many other teams with Princeton connections (Georgetown, Denver, Northwestern, etc).
I'll still post my normal preview later in the week. I answered his questions as well. I'll link to them when they are posted.
It looks like the Tigers have been streaky early in the year. Princeton won it's first 2 games, then lost their next four. The win last Saturday may be the start of another streak. What are the reasons for the up and down play?
In Princeton's first two games, the Tigers started both of their senior centers side-by-side. With 6'9" Zach Finley and 6'11" Pawel Buczak on the court together for long stretches, Princeton's interior defense was sound and both got very makable shots (though against Manhattan they inexplicably missed almost all of them at point blank range).
Despite that early success, the third game of the year against Army was a disaster. Neither Finley or Buczak felt the double (and sometimes triple) teams coming from smaller Black Knight defenders and combined to turn the ball over seven times with zero assists. After this game, where Princeton committed the second highest number turnovers they'd had this decade, the starting lineup was changed.
What have you seen so far out of the Tigers that you like? What have you seen that concerns you?
The lack of production from the center position remains concerning. Since Army, neither Buczak or Finley has completely gotten back on track. Buczak is shooting 28.1% from inside the three point arc and Finley has a 2:17 assist-to-turnover ratio. There have been flashes, but neither looks comfortable doing things that have come naturally to each of them in the past.
I have enjoyed watching Douglas Davis play. He was the first Princeton freshman to lead the team in scoring in program history and in the last two games he has been excellent - making good decisions and under control.
Two freshman forwards - Ian Hummer and Will Barrett have impressed defensively and both are long, active, and hard for the opposition to work around. However, Princeton has struggled to find a balance between what Hummer and Barrett were born with and what the veteran Finley and Buczak have learned. The Tigers are often two teams over one game and have not yet decided which side of the fence they'll ultimately fall on.
The all around game of a now-healthy Patrick Saunders, both on offense and defense, has been a positive. Saunders is one of those players doesn't do any one thing great, but he does almost everything well across the board. When Princeton ran their offense through a posting Saunders in the second half, the Tigers were able to pull away from Lafayette.
"Are we planning on guarding ________ ?" If I'm yelling this from my seat on Sunday, what Princeton player's name seems most likely to be in the blank?
Davis. He can hit from outside (see his seven threes versus Lafayette) at a decent clip and can also get into the lane to pull up for midrange jumpers. At Rutgers, when nothing was working offensively for Princeton in the first half, he was fearless driving right at the Scarlet Knights' big men and drawing fouls. If he gets going, it only opens up options for other Tigers.
Dan Mavraides, Princeton's second leading scorer, can put up points in very small stretches of time.
Head Coach Sydney Johnson took over a program that had fallen on some hard times. He is now in his third season. What are your thoughts about him as a coach? What has he done to really get this program moving back in the right direction?
I like Coach Johnson a good deal. Two+ seasons in, it is still hard to tell if he is as good an in-game coach as he is a recruiter and mid-week tactician, but his teams are always well prepared and usually play very passionately for him. There are a few very sly things he's coached his teams to do that remind you that he was previously an assistant for an exceptionally sly coach - John Thompson III at Georgetown.
Be honest ... is it flattering or just annoying hearing about the tons of teams around the country that run the "Princeton" offense?
Heh. It is more annoying to have people complain about the lack of backdoor baskets after a game because they think that's the only component of a "Princeton" offense. I really enjoy watching the different permutations of the Carril coaching tree play. There's stuff Denver runs that Georgetown would never do and sets Northwestern uses with great success that the other "Princeton" programs can't seem to pull off as regularly.
Prediction time. How do you see the game between the Tigers and Spartans going down? Just for fun, give me a score.
It sounds like UNCG, similar to Princeton, has struggled with slow starts this season. If the Tigers can play well in the first 10 minutes, I see them returning to New Jersey with a 57-52 victory. If Princeton struggles to score early, like they did versus Army, Cal and Rutgers - the Tigers could be chasing the Spartans all afternoon.
This time I was able to catch up with Jon from Princetonbasketball.com. He runs a great site, but before visiting be warned. Jon's such an overachiever that he doesn't just follow the Tigers, but also many other teams with Princeton connections (Georgetown, Denver, Northwestern, etc).
I'll still post my normal preview later in the week. I answered his questions as well. I'll link to them when they are posted.
It looks like the Tigers have been streaky early in the year. Princeton won it's first 2 games, then lost their next four. The win last Saturday may be the start of another streak. What are the reasons for the up and down play?
In Princeton's first two games, the Tigers started both of their senior centers side-by-side. With 6'9" Zach Finley and 6'11" Pawel Buczak on the court together for long stretches, Princeton's interior defense was sound and both got very makable shots (though against Manhattan they inexplicably missed almost all of them at point blank range).
Despite that early success, the third game of the year against Army was a disaster. Neither Finley or Buczak felt the double (and sometimes triple) teams coming from smaller Black Knight defenders and combined to turn the ball over seven times with zero assists. After this game, where Princeton committed the second highest number turnovers they'd had this decade, the starting lineup was changed.
What have you seen so far out of the Tigers that you like? What have you seen that concerns you?
The lack of production from the center position remains concerning. Since Army, neither Buczak or Finley has completely gotten back on track. Buczak is shooting 28.1% from inside the three point arc and Finley has a 2:17 assist-to-turnover ratio. There have been flashes, but neither looks comfortable doing things that have come naturally to each of them in the past.
I have enjoyed watching Douglas Davis play. He was the first Princeton freshman to lead the team in scoring in program history and in the last two games he has been excellent - making good decisions and under control.
Two freshman forwards - Ian Hummer and Will Barrett have impressed defensively and both are long, active, and hard for the opposition to work around. However, Princeton has struggled to find a balance between what Hummer and Barrett were born with and what the veteran Finley and Buczak have learned. The Tigers are often two teams over one game and have not yet decided which side of the fence they'll ultimately fall on.
The all around game of a now-healthy Patrick Saunders, both on offense and defense, has been a positive. Saunders is one of those players doesn't do any one thing great, but he does almost everything well across the board. When Princeton ran their offense through a posting Saunders in the second half, the Tigers were able to pull away from Lafayette.
"Are we planning on guarding ________ ?" If I'm yelling this from my seat on Sunday, what Princeton player's name seems most likely to be in the blank?
Davis. He can hit from outside (see his seven threes versus Lafayette) at a decent clip and can also get into the lane to pull up for midrange jumpers. At Rutgers, when nothing was working offensively for Princeton in the first half, he was fearless driving right at the Scarlet Knights' big men and drawing fouls. If he gets going, it only opens up options for other Tigers.
Dan Mavraides, Princeton's second leading scorer, can put up points in very small stretches of time.
Head Coach Sydney Johnson took over a program that had fallen on some hard times. He is now in his third season. What are your thoughts about him as a coach? What has he done to really get this program moving back in the right direction?
I like Coach Johnson a good deal. Two+ seasons in, it is still hard to tell if he is as good an in-game coach as he is a recruiter and mid-week tactician, but his teams are always well prepared and usually play very passionately for him. There are a few very sly things he's coached his teams to do that remind you that he was previously an assistant for an exceptionally sly coach - John Thompson III at Georgetown.
Be honest ... is it flattering or just annoying hearing about the tons of teams around the country that run the "Princeton" offense?
Heh. It is more annoying to have people complain about the lack of backdoor baskets after a game because they think that's the only component of a "Princeton" offense. I really enjoy watching the different permutations of the Carril coaching tree play. There's stuff Denver runs that Georgetown would never do and sets Northwestern uses with great success that the other "Princeton" programs can't seem to pull off as regularly.
Prediction time. How do you see the game between the Tigers and Spartans going down? Just for fun, give me a score.
It sounds like UNCG, similar to Princeton, has struggled with slow starts this season. If the Tigers can play well in the first 10 minutes, I see them returning to New Jersey with a 57-52 victory. If Princeton struggles to score early, like they did versus Army, Cal and Rutgers - the Tigers could be chasing the Spartans all afternoon.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
3 Games on TV (at least)
Yesterday, 3 UNCG games were picked up by FSN South. The season opener at Duke (11/13), the home opener against Clemson (11/20) and the New Year's Eve clash with NC State will all be shown on FSN. So, not only has the move to coliseum helped UNCG in recruiting and scheduling, but now in TV exposure.
SportSouth has yet to announce it's game lineup for "SoCon Saturday". I would expect at least 1-2 UNCG games to appear there. Last season, SS showed 2 games (College of Charleston & Elon). I also expect ESPN-U to look at picking up another Spartan game too. Last season UNCG's game at Princeton appeared on the network.
It's pretty nice to see that we're talking about 5-6 UNCG games appearing on TV. Now, we need to pack the coliseum.
SportSouth has yet to announce it's game lineup for "SoCon Saturday". I would expect at least 1-2 UNCG games to appear there. Last season, SS showed 2 games (College of Charleston & Elon). I also expect ESPN-U to look at picking up another Spartan game too. Last season UNCG's game at Princeton appeared on the network.
It's pretty nice to see that we're talking about 5-6 UNCG games appearing on TV. Now, we need to pack the coliseum.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Samford Schedule Released (Princeton Too)
Samford released their 2009-2010 men's basketball schedule on Monday. The Bulldogs are playing 3 non-D1 OOC games this season (Spring Hill, Shorter & Tennessee Temple) but make up for those games by taking a road trip through Texas (Texas A&M and Texas Tech). UNCG will be playing in Birmingham early in the year (Dec. 5). The return trip to the Greensboro Coliseum will take place on January 23.
I'm guessing UNCG will be playing at Chattanooga on December 3.
I'm going to start listing UNCG's confirmed dates as more schedules are released throughout the summer.
*Here is the link to the Samford schedule.
Update: Princeton released their schedule as well. The Tigers' game in Greensboro will take place on Dec. 13. Maybe the game will get picked up by ESPNU again this year.
Samford will tip off SoCon play in early December with home games against Elon (Dec. 3) and UNC Greensboro (Dec. 5). The Bulldogs will then play consecutive non-conference games versus Spring Hill (Dec. 12), Alabama (Dec. 16), Shorter College (Dec. 19), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 22) and Chicago State (Dec. 28), before resuming conference play on the road at Davidson (Jan. 4).
I'm guessing UNCG will be playing at Chattanooga on December 3.
I'm going to start listing UNCG's confirmed dates as more schedules are released throughout the summer.
*Here is the link to the Samford schedule.
Update: Princeton released their schedule as well. The Tigers' game in Greensboro will take place on Dec. 13. Maybe the game will get picked up by ESPNU again this year.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
New UNCG Season Brochure (Updated)
Here are some scans of a brochure that's available at the UNCG ticket office. Big thanks to John for sending these to me. As you can see, there look to be some really affordable ticket plans. Also, it looks like being a member of the Spartan Club will pay off for anyone interested. There are some cool promotions being planned with Thirsty Thursday and free parking with the purchase of 2 season tickets.
UPDATE: The UNCG Athletics website now has this article up as it's "splash" page. The article takes you to a place where you can reserve your tickets and also it lays out exactly what everything costs, including the free parking with season tickets. I think that alone makes season tickets really worth the price. There is nothing worse than having to deal with the irritation of parking. If they could get a part of the lot reserved, there's no telling how much extra I'd be willing to pay.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
4 ACC Opponents in the Coliseum (Update)
The News & Record is reporting that UNCG will play home games against 4 ACC schools this upcoming season in addition to out of conference games against East Carolina and Princeton. Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest & NC State will play the Spartans in their new home, the Greensboro Coliseum.
According to the article, the schedule is not completely finalized yet. There are possibilities of several of these games appearing on TV.
According to the article, the schedule is not completely finalized yet. There are possibilities of several of these games appearing on TV.
"I know there's been some interest from Raycom with us making this move," Hirschman said, "and when you're playing those caliber opponents, there's also some interest from ESPNU.
"Let's face it: We want to be on television as much as we can. So you want to keep the door open. And when you do that, you don't want to tell your fans, 'We're playing this team on this date at this time' when TV could move that game two weeks."
UPDATE: Here's what fans of NC State and Clemson are saying on their Scout.com forums.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Links & OOC Scheduling
Now that I have some free time for the next couple of months, I'm going to try to exchange links with a few more college basketball websites. Feel free to send me sites that you think I should check out. I'm going to start by contacting websites of teams that UNCG is playing this upcoming season.
Which brings me to my to my next point. I'm adding a new space for confirmed out of conference opponents. I'll use this post to point out where I found these teams from. Hopefully by the time the real schedule comes out, we'll already have a good portion of it figured out. If anyone comes across a link or knows something that they'd like to share, email me.
- NC State, ECU & Princeton - We've known about these 3 for a while. All three games will be at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Duke, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia Tech & Wake Forest - The article points out that the Duke game is in Cameron (11/14). Other than that game, it's unknown where the rest of these will be played.
- NC A&T (rumored) - I'm going to leave this one off the list because the article only vaguely says that the series will be restarted.
- Richmond, VCU & Charlotte (rumored) - The article just says Barakat is working on these teams. I also believe these are the same teams he mentioned at the press conference in December.
Which brings me to my to my next point. I'm adding a new space for confirmed out of conference opponents. I'll use this post to point out where I found these teams from. Hopefully by the time the real schedule comes out, we'll already have a good portion of it figured out. If anyone comes across a link or knows something that they'd like to share, email me.
- NC State, ECU & Princeton - We've known about these 3 for a while. All three games will be at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Duke, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia Tech & Wake Forest - The article points out that the Duke game is in Cameron (11/14). Other than that game, it's unknown where the rest of these will be played.
- NC A&T (rumored) - I'm going to leave this one off the list because the article only vaguely says that the series will be restarted.
- Richmond, VCU & Charlotte (rumored) - The article just says Barakat is working on these teams. I also believe these are the same teams he mentioned at the press conference in December.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Regular Season Recap - January
The recaps continue ...
January
Princeton (L) - It was a 3 point game with about a minute left and then UNCG started fouling. Princeton hit their free throws. Game over. I still think this was the worst coaching decision of the season. If the strategy had worked out, it would've been the best strategy ever. It didn't, and it wasn't.
Western Carolina (L) - The Spartans let a 9 point lead slip away and lost their second straight close game.
App State (W) - Damian Eargle went crazy (25 pts and 11 rebs) and UNCG survived a desperation 3 pointer that sent the game into overtime.It was the first win against a D1 team.
Georgia Southern (L) - UNCG takes a step backwards after moving forward and gaining confidence in their last 3 games.
Elon (W) - A second half explosion from UNCG turns a close game into a blow out win. All 5 Spartan starters scored in double figures.
Chattanooga (L) - Not really a competitive game. Basically another "throw away" game.
Samford (L) - Samford used their "Princeton" offense to cut up the Spartans. This game wasn't really close or in doubt. The second straight of that variety.
Furman (L) - Still the most perplexing loss of the year. This is a game that UNCG really should have won. One of the few games that I'm hanging on the coach. He's got to get the guys up to go down to Greenville and get a win. UNCG slept through the first half and couldn't wake up in time to get a win.
Charleston (L) - Almost the exact same game that was played a month before in Greensboro. Only difference, UNCG's bad half was the first half this time.
Citadel (L) - By now, everyone had figured out that the Citadel was a good team. UNCG had a 4 point lead late and then went scoreless at the end. It was a good showing with a bad outcome.
January
Princeton (L) - It was a 3 point game with about a minute left and then UNCG started fouling. Princeton hit their free throws. Game over. I still think this was the worst coaching decision of the season. If the strategy had worked out, it would've been the best strategy ever. It didn't, and it wasn't.
Western Carolina (L) - The Spartans let a 9 point lead slip away and lost their second straight close game.
App State (W) - Damian Eargle went crazy (25 pts and 11 rebs) and UNCG survived a desperation 3 pointer that sent the game into overtime.It was the first win against a D1 team.
Georgia Southern (L) - UNCG takes a step backwards after moving forward and gaining confidence in their last 3 games.
Elon (W) - A second half explosion from UNCG turns a close game into a blow out win. All 5 Spartan starters scored in double figures.
Chattanooga (L) - Not really a competitive game. Basically another "throw away" game.
Samford (L) - Samford used their "Princeton" offense to cut up the Spartans. This game wasn't really close or in doubt. The second straight of that variety.
Furman (L) - Still the most perplexing loss of the year. This is a game that UNCG really should have won. One of the few games that I'm hanging on the coach. He's got to get the guys up to go down to Greenville and get a win. UNCG slept through the first half and couldn't wake up in time to get a win.
Charleston (L) - Almost the exact same game that was played a month before in Greensboro. Only difference, UNCG's bad half was the first half this time.
Citadel (L) - By now, everyone had figured out that the Citadel was a good team. UNCG had a 4 point lead late and then went scoreless at the end. It was a good showing with a bad outcome.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Close only counts in ...
UNCG 55 - Princeton 65
News & Record
UNCG Athletics
Princeton Athletics
UNCG spotted Princeton a 15 point first half lead and then spent the rest of the game trying to erase it. The Spartan got to within 3 with a little over a minute to play. But Mike Dement's dumbass foul strategy backfired when Princeton hit 11 of 12 free throws to pull away.
The Good:
- DeAngelo Jackson - 4 points and 9 rebounds (6 offensive) in 24 minutes. Not great stats, but solid enough. Elhanan Bone didn't play. So, Jackson needed to step up to try to replace some of his stats and he did an adequate job. His offensive skills are still raw and not that great, but he helped provide a spark.
- Attitude - UNCG has kept fighting back in almost all of their games, regardless of deficit or talent differences. It almost paid off this time. Hopefully, UNCG will be able to come all the way back next time.
The Bad:
-Shooting - 29.6%. In a game with a team that limits the number of possessions, you have to make a higher percentage of your shots.
- Rebounds - UNCG was outrebounded by a poor rebounding team. Not only that, they couldn't get one in the last couple of minutes when they absolutely needed one. Some of that can be attributed to the lack of Bone's presence. However, you've got to find a way to hold on to the ball when the game's on the line.
The Ugly:
- Mike Dement's ridiculous strategy. He elected to start fouling in a 3 point game with over a minute remaining. Not only that, UNCG fouled a 86% free throw shooter. I don't get it. Yes, Princeton would've ran 30+ seconds off the shot clock. But if they miss (and UNCG was playing very good defense at the time) the Spartans get the ball back with a chance to tie. It made absolutely no sense to me.
A few other things:
- At least twice, I heard the public address announcer call UNCG "North Carolina-Charlotte". I guess we're all the same. Maybe next year when Princeton comes to Greensboro we can call them "Harvard". Heck, all you Ivy league schools are basically the same, right?
- The ESPN-U announcers were gushing over Princeton's Jadwin Gym, going as far as calling it, "One of the five best arena's on the east coast". I don't get it. On TV, that place looked odd, empty and unattractive. Guess you had to be there.
Anyways, let's move on to SoCon play and hope things get better.
News & Record
UNCG Athletics
Princeton Athletics
UNCG spotted Princeton a 15 point first half lead and then spent the rest of the game trying to erase it. The Spartan got to within 3 with a little over a minute to play. But Mike Dement's dumbass foul strategy backfired when Princeton hit 11 of 12 free throws to pull away.
The Good:
- DeAngelo Jackson - 4 points and 9 rebounds (6 offensive) in 24 minutes. Not great stats, but solid enough. Elhanan Bone didn't play. So, Jackson needed to step up to try to replace some of his stats and he did an adequate job. His offensive skills are still raw and not that great, but he helped provide a spark.
- Attitude - UNCG has kept fighting back in almost all of their games, regardless of deficit or talent differences. It almost paid off this time. Hopefully, UNCG will be able to come all the way back next time.
The Bad:
-Shooting - 29.6%. In a game with a team that limits the number of possessions, you have to make a higher percentage of your shots.
- Rebounds - UNCG was outrebounded by a poor rebounding team. Not only that, they couldn't get one in the last couple of minutes when they absolutely needed one. Some of that can be attributed to the lack of Bone's presence. However, you've got to find a way to hold on to the ball when the game's on the line.
The Ugly:
- Mike Dement's ridiculous strategy. He elected to start fouling in a 3 point game with over a minute remaining. Not only that, UNCG fouled a 86% free throw shooter. I don't get it. Yes, Princeton would've ran 30+ seconds off the shot clock. But if they miss (and UNCG was playing very good defense at the time) the Spartans get the ball back with a chance to tie. It made absolutely no sense to me.
A few other things:
- At least twice, I heard the public address announcer call UNCG "North Carolina-Charlotte". I guess we're all the same. Maybe next year when Princeton comes to Greensboro we can call them "Harvard". Heck, all you Ivy league schools are basically the same, right?
- The ESPN-U announcers were gushing over Princeton's Jadwin Gym, going as far as calling it, "One of the five best arena's on the east coast". I don't get it. On TV, that place looked odd, empty and unattractive. Guess you had to be there.
Anyways, let's move on to SoCon play and hope things get better.
UNCG (1-9) @ Princeton (2-8)
When: Saturday, Jan 3 12 pm
Where: Jadwin Gym (6,854)
TV: ESPN-U
Princeton Athletics
Princeton Basketball Blog
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG fell to Akron 75-53 at Fleming Gym. Ben Stwall lead the Spartans with 11 points adn 11 rebounds.
-Mikko Koivisto still leads UNCG in scoring (11.7) and assists (2.6). Stywall is the leading rebounder (8.4).
- 9 of the 10 Spartan scholarship players active for this season are averaging double figures in minutes played.
- UNCG, as a team, is sporting an awful 1/1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 36.4% from the field, 28.6% from behind the arc and 65% from the free throw line.
Tiger Notes:
- Princeton lost at Lafayette Tuesday night, 54-53. The Tigers missed a last second shot that would have been the game winner.
- You can see a season recap of Princeton's wins/losses/RPI here.
- Doug Davis is the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points. Pawel Buczak is the leading rebounder (4.6) and Kareem Maddox leads in assists (2.0).
- For the season, Princeton is shooting 41.1% from the field, 35.1% from behind the arc and 71.9% from the free throw line.
- Princeton has 5 players shooting over 39% from 3 point range.
My Thoughts:
From the positive side, Princeton is not very good. They don't rebound the ball nearly as well as UNCG. For the first time in a while, UNCG has a size advantage. This is a very winnable road game. I think it's very hard to criticize the effort that the Spartans have shown in all of their games this year. The execution, however, is where things have went wrong.
From the negative side, Princeton's stats show just what you'd expect. The shoot the 3 pointer really well, and keep the score low. The spread the ball around well and shoot a very good percentage from the free throw line.
Honestly, I'd like our chances if the point guard play was even near an average level. But Princeton's system limits the number of possessions that you get and UNCG just hasn't been effective at scoring points at all. I just don't think this is a good match up at all for UNCG. Hopefully, I'm wrong.
Go Spartans !!!
Where: Jadwin Gym (6,854)
TV: ESPN-U
Princeton Athletics
Princeton Basketball Blog
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG fell to Akron 75-53 at Fleming Gym. Ben Stwall lead the Spartans with 11 points adn 11 rebounds.
-Mikko Koivisto still leads UNCG in scoring (11.7) and assists (2.6). Stywall is the leading rebounder (8.4).
- 9 of the 10 Spartan scholarship players active for this season are averaging double figures in minutes played.
- UNCG, as a team, is sporting an awful 1/1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 36.4% from the field, 28.6% from behind the arc and 65% from the free throw line.
Tiger Notes:
- Princeton lost at Lafayette Tuesday night, 54-53. The Tigers missed a last second shot that would have been the game winner.
- You can see a season recap of Princeton's wins/losses/RPI here.
- Doug Davis is the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points. Pawel Buczak is the leading rebounder (4.6) and Kareem Maddox leads in assists (2.0).
- For the season, Princeton is shooting 41.1% from the field, 35.1% from behind the arc and 71.9% from the free throw line.
- Princeton has 5 players shooting over 39% from 3 point range.
My Thoughts:
From the positive side, Princeton is not very good. They don't rebound the ball nearly as well as UNCG. For the first time in a while, UNCG has a size advantage. This is a very winnable road game. I think it's very hard to criticize the effort that the Spartans have shown in all of their games this year. The execution, however, is where things have went wrong.
From the negative side, Princeton's stats show just what you'd expect. The shoot the 3 pointer really well, and keep the score low. The spread the ball around well and shoot a very good percentage from the free throw line.
Honestly, I'd like our chances if the point guard play was even near an average level. But Princeton's system limits the number of possessions that you get and UNCG just hasn't been effective at scoring points at all. I just don't think this is a good match up at all for UNCG. Hopefully, I'm wrong.
Go Spartans !!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The rest of the OOC schedule
Just figured I'd put up some info on the other 6 of UNCG's out-of-conference opponents. These are current as I write this post. I'll try to update it every few days. So, check back often. All of my RPI numbers come from RealtimeRPI.
*Red - Where they were when UNCG lost to them.
*Green - Where they were when UNCG defeated them.
NC State (3-0)
Current RPI: 227
Wins: @ New Orleans, High Point, Winthrop.
Losses: None.
East Carolina (7-1)
Current RPI: 126
Wins: Coker, St. Andrews, Campbell, VCU, @Winthrop, @UNCW, Limestone.
Losses: George Mason.
Kent St (4-5)
Current RPI: 216
Wins: NC Central, St. Louis, UNCW, Youngstown St.
Losses: Illinois, Texas A&M, @Kansas, St. Mary's, Western Carolina.
Dayton (9-1)
Current RPI: 36
Wins: Wofford, Deleware St, Bethune-Cookman, Mercer, Auburn, Marquette, Troy St., @Akron, Coppin State.
Losses: @Creighton.
Akron (7-4)
Current RPI: 102
Wins: Canisius, Winthrop, Urbana, @Niagra, @Fairleigh Dickinson, NC A&T St. Francis (NY).
Losses: @ Pitt, Eastern Kentucky, Dayton, @VCU.
Princeton (2-8)
Current RPI: 323
Wins: @ Army, @Fordham.
Losses: Maine, Central Michigan, South Carolina, @St. Bonnie, Rutgers, Manhattan, Central Conn State, Lafayette.
Last updated: 12/30/08
*Red - Where they were when UNCG lost to them.
*Green - Where they were when UNCG defeated them.
NC State (3-0)
Current RPI: 227
Wins: @ New Orleans, High Point, Winthrop.
Losses: None.
East Carolina (7-1)
Current RPI: 126
Wins: Coker, St. Andrews, Campbell, VCU, @Winthrop, @UNCW, Limestone.
Losses: George Mason.
Kent St (4-5)
Current RPI: 216
Wins: NC Central, St. Louis, UNCW, Youngstown St.
Losses: Illinois, Texas A&M, @Kansas, St. Mary's, Western Carolina.
Dayton (9-1)
Current RPI: 36
Wins: Wofford, Deleware St, Bethune-Cookman, Mercer, Auburn, Marquette, Troy St., @Akron, Coppin State.
Losses: @Creighton.
Akron (7-4)
Current RPI: 102
Wins: Canisius, Winthrop, Urbana, @Niagra, @Fairleigh Dickinson, NC A&T St. Francis (NY).
Losses: @ Pitt, Eastern Kentucky, Dayton, @VCU.
Princeton (2-8)
Current RPI: 323
Wins: @ Army, @Fordham.
Losses: Maine, Central Michigan, South Carolina, @St. Bonnie, Rutgers, Manhattan, Central Conn State, Lafayette.
Last updated: 12/30/08
Friday, November 21, 2008
G on TV
UNCG just got 2 more of its games scheduled as TV games. The Dec. 13th game at East Carolina will now be shown on MASN. For people like me with Time Warner Cable, this won't matter much. Even though several lower courts have found that Time Warner must start providing MASN, TWC still refuses and is appealing the decisions. If you've got DirecTV, let me know how the game goes.
UNCG's January 3rd meeting at Princeton is going to be carried on ESPNU. This makes me really happy that TWC at least put this channel on the digital package last year. I've always wondered with all of the mid and low major basketball being played all over the counrty, why ESPNU doesn't have wall-to-wall programing going on during basketball season. Hopefully, this is something that network plans on doing a lot of in the future. Maybe they'll do it for college baseball too.
I'm also happy just b/c this gets the Spartan basketball program in the living rooms of many possible recruits. Even though MASN isn't available in the triad, it is on DirecTV nationwide. I think this has something to do with the "ripple down" effect of Davidson's elite 8 run last year. Hopefully, more mid-major programs can make big runs in March to show the people who put together sports programming that there is plenty of good basketball available for TV.
*** By the way, there were already two UNCG games that were scheduled to be on TV - College of Charleston @ Fleming Gym (Dec. 6) and Elon @ Fleming Gym (Feb. 28) - on SportSouth.
UNCG's January 3rd meeting at Princeton is going to be carried on ESPNU. This makes me really happy that TWC at least put this channel on the digital package last year. I've always wondered with all of the mid and low major basketball being played all over the counrty, why ESPNU doesn't have wall-to-wall programing going on during basketball season. Hopefully, this is something that network plans on doing a lot of in the future. Maybe they'll do it for college baseball too.
I'm also happy just b/c this gets the Spartan basketball program in the living rooms of many possible recruits. Even though MASN isn't available in the triad, it is on DirecTV nationwide. I think this has something to do with the "ripple down" effect of Davidson's elite 8 run last year. Hopefully, more mid-major programs can make big runs in March to show the people who put together sports programming that there is plenty of good basketball available for TV.
*** By the way, there were already two UNCG games that were scheduled to be on TV - College of Charleston @ Fleming Gym (Dec. 6) and Elon @ Fleming Gym (Feb. 28) - on SportSouth.
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