Games #60-61.  We’re back in DC for a solid double-dip of games at the Verizon Center.

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor.  For an introduction to this series, please click here.

Introduction

We are getting into the thick of the things as teams are now well into their non-conference slate. While many small-conference schools take their lumps at the hands of larger-conference opponents as often happens at this time of year, other are emerging as legitimate contenders within the world of the “Other 26.” At this point in most seasons the Maui Invitational controls much of the discussion within college basketball circles, and this year has been no different. The tournament encompasses some of the nation’s best teams, and for about a week the focal point of college basketball is the Lahaina Civic Center. Suited more for an AAU championship game than a premiere college basketball venue, the Civic Center witnessed one of the most dominating performances in the history of the Invitational. Averaging 30 points, missing only two of 28 free throws, and guiding the young Huskies to the title is the mark of a champion, and Kemba Walker did all of those. Walker’s first heroics of the Invitational came against Wichita State, who so nearly thwarted Connecticut’s chances at winning the Invitational on the first day. In the process, however, the Shockers garnered my full admiration in how they competed with some of the top teams in America. In the end, Kemba Walker and Connecticut prevailed, but Wichita State was heard and will continue to make noise throughout the year.

What team impressed the most?

Following a tough season-opening loss to Georgetown by three points, Old Dominion has run off four straight victories. Their wins were hardly against cupcake opponents either as two came against Clemson and Xavier (it should be known that both the Tigers and Musketeers have both fallen only to Old Dominion). It is a grave task for any opponent to combat the Monarchs’ attack as no one ODU player is far and away the most significant contributor. Frank Hassell is the team’s leader from a statistical perspective as he averages nearly a double-double and is an extremely efficient offensive player, shooting better than 60% from the field. Blaine Taylor, ODU’s coach, is the mastermind behind this balanced attack. Check out these numbers: six players are averaging between 5.5 and 8.8 shots a game, and seven players average between 4.2 and 12.6 points a game. While not a flashy team by any means, Old Dominion plays a true team game — a truce recipe for success come March.

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Kevin Doyle is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League.

A Look Back

• Top 4 vs. Bottom 4: In the Patriot League, it is always hard to gauge how strong a team is relative to the rest of the league after just a few games. Reason being, there is a great disparity in the quality of out of conference opponents for the league’s eight members. With that being said, the top four teams (American, Army, Lehigh, and Bucknell) in the league have combined to go 13-8, while the bottom four (Holy Cross, Colgate, Lafayette, and Navy) have feebly compiled a 3-17 record. I expect these two records to slowly become more even with each other as we move throughout the rest of non-conference play.
• Undefeated Eagles: American has started their young season with a 5-0 record, albeit against some weak opponents as the average rank of their opponents is 280 according to kenpom.com. Needless to say, the Eagles’ top two transfers have found their niche in Washington DC and the defensive effort has been top notch thus far. Vlad Moldoveanu, a second-year transfer from George Mason, is AU’s best player, averaging 21.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, while first-year Georgia transfer Troy Brewer is averaging 13 points and 5.8 rebounds. On the defensive end, American is relinquishing just 56 points a contest. This number will most likely change when the Eagles go up against the meat of the non-conference slate (West Virginia, Florida, Northwestern, and Pittsburgh).
• Struggles in Worcester: Holy Cross, playing under their third coach in as many years, has predictably struggled early on in the season. Learning an entirely new offensive and defensive scheme that contrasts previous year’s philosophies is no easy task; add that to having played the most difficult out of schedule thus far and you have a recipe for early season struggles. There is a strong nucleus of players at Holy Cross; it all boils down to how fast new head coach Milan Brown and the team can mesh.
• Player of the Weeks (Nov. 8-24): Vlad Moldoveanu, American: Moldoveanu has scored in double figures in each of the Eagle’s first five games. The 6’9 forward has the body of a big man that would bang bodies in the paint, but he has the shooting touch of a shooting guard. Thus far, he is drilling 2.4 three pointers a game and is shooting 77% from the charity stripe.
• Freshman of the Weeks (Nov. 8-24): Anthony D’Orazio, Lehigh: How is this for D’Orazio’s first half of his first collegiate basketball game: Connecting on three shots from behind the arc, scoring 14 points (more than half of Lehigh’s points in the first half), and leading his Mountain Hawks to a six point lead at the intermission? Pretty good, huh? Since this very half, D’Orazio has quieted down, but he is still averaging nearly eight points and shooting 46% from three point land.

Power Rankings

1. American (5-0)

Next Week: 11/28 vs. Columbia, 12/1 @ West Virginia

American has soundly beaten all five of their opponents by an average of 10+ points a game. Everyone knew coming into the season that first team All-Patriot League forward Vlad Moldoveanu would be the staple of the Eagles’ of the offense, but junior Stephen Lumpkins continued his stellar play from last season, and transfer Troy Brewer has been a catalyst for the offense. Guard Nick Hendra has provided steady play running the offense as he boasts better than 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. If American sustain its impressive play as they enter into the more challenging part of their out of conference schedule they will be a true force during Patriot League play.

2. Lehigh (2-2)

Next Week: 11/26 @ Kent State, 11/28 vs. Bryant, 12/1 @ Stony Brook

Last year it was C.J. McCollum followed by Zahir Carrington and Marquis Hall. This year, thus far it appears to be McCollum, of course, followed by the surprising Michael Ojo, and then everybody else. The entire league knew that McCollum would be the focal point of the Mountain Hawks—there was a reason he was selected as the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year—but Ojo has been a pleasant surprise. After averaging a shade over four points for his career, and less than a three pointer made a game, Ojo is scoring 17 points per game and connecting on 3.5 threes a contest. Although they sit at just .500, Lehigh could easily be 4-0 on the young season after losing to Monmouth by a point and Penn State by a handful (they led Penn State 27-21 at the half).

3. Bucknell (2-5)

Next Week: 11/29 vs. Wagner, 12/1 vs. Columbia

Much was to be expected of the Bison this year, and their performance after their two opening games suggested Bucknell will be a contender. Their gritty performance against Villanova in the season opener—a night where they shot a paltry 34% from the field, but managed to remain competitive—and then just two nights later they gave Marquette all they could handle, demonstrated how this is a deep and mentally tough team. Bucknell was thrown into the proverbial fire from the get go as they faced two of the better teams in the Big East, but held their own in each. After playing six of their first seven games on the road, their next three will be within the friendly confines of Sojka Pavilion.

4. Army (4-1)

Next Week: 11/27 @ Yale, 12/1 vs. Buffalo

It is nice to see the Black Knights get off to such a nice 4-1 start; although, I am not sure how much one should read into just solely the record. Granted, one of these wins came against Division 3 Vassar College, and the other three wins were against perennial basement dwellers (Bryant, NJIT, and Binghamton), but for a team that was picked to finish last in the league in the preseason, winning these games at least helps with the psyche of the team. Army will be able to steal some more games with their impressive three-point shooting as they are 36^th in the nation hitting 41% of their attempts.

5. Lafayette (1-4)

Next Week: 11/27 vs. Delaware, 11/30 vs. Princeton, 12/1 vs. Susquehanna

The Leopards have had their only win—St. Francis (PA)—sandwiched between two losses on both ends giving them their 1-4 record. Their loss at the hands of Villanova was no surprise, but Fran O’Hanlon seems to have one of his better squads in recent years and should have stolen a game or two from Wagner, Rider, or Pennsylvania. It seems to be a three-man show for Lafayette with Jared Mintz (preseason All-League selection), Ryan Willen, and Jim Mower—the three are averaging more than two-thirds of the team’s points.

6. Holy Cross (0-4)

Next Week: 11/27 @ Massachusetts

After the Crusaders’ season-opening loss to the College of Charleston 93-84, many in Worcester were feeling pretty good about themselves and the team this year under the guidance of first-year coach Milan Brown (formerly the head man at Mount St. Mary’s). Charleston was coming off a one point loss to Maryland, and had the Southern Conference’s preseason Player of the Year Andrew Goudelock on their side; putting up 84 points on such a talented squad was encouraging. The debacle at Harvard, however, erased many of these encouraging emotions. Losing 72-49 against the Crimson, followed by two more losses to New Hampshire and Boston College, will pose challenges to Holy Cross from a confidence and team morale standpoint. It is up to Andrew Keister, a preseason All-League selection, and senior point guard Andrew Beinert to rally the troops.

7. Navy (2-5)

Next Week: 11/27 vs. MD Eastern Shore, 11/29 @ Mount St. Mary’s

Of Navy’s first 10 games, eight of them are on the road; couple that with their top play Jordan Sugars’ shooting woes and the Midshipmen have gotten off to a rough start. Sugars, who averaged nearly 16 points and hit on better than 40% of his three point attempts last year, is now connecting on less than a quarter of his attempts and has seen his points per game dip by three points since last season. Although Sugars has struggled, life for Navy has just become more difficult after he suffered a freak injury in practice to his non-shooting hand. What is also discouraging is the margin of defeat for Navy (21.6); it will take a little more than just Sugars, once he is healthy again, to jumpstart the Midshipmen. Ironically, Navy was able to get past Towson without Sugars in the lineup behind a career high 31 points from freshman J.J. Avila.

8. Colgate (0-4)

Next Week: 11/27 @ Dartmouth

Colgate is just a few possessions here and there from being 2-2, instead of 0-4. It was a foregone conclusion that they would get walloped by the consensus number one ranked team in the nation in Duke, but their games against Binghamton and St. Francis (PA) were both decided on the final possession. The Raiders have been heavily relying on their stud junior forward Yaw Gyawu, who is their only player to average in double figures.

Caught on Film

With just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bucknell Bison led Marquette 57-45 and seemed poised to defeat a Big East juggernaut. After playing such solid defensive basketball, and methodically on the offensive end, Bucknell relinquished 24 straight points to the Golden Eagles. The following clip highlights the Marquette run:

A Look Ahead

• The road does not get any easier for Holy Cross, who travels to Massachusetts and Wake Forest in their next two games. Although, considering Wake has lost to Stetson, Virginia Commonwealth, and Winthrop, maybe the Crusaders can steal a game from the Demon Deacons.
• American has a 5-0 record, but has largely been untested thus far. They will have a chance to show if they are indeed the class of the league against West Virginia on December 1.
• Bucknell finally concluded their play in the CBE Classic after their loss against James Madison. They now have three home dates—all very winnable games—against Wagner, Columbia, and Boston University.
• Lafayette has a much needed home stand. After four of their first five games were away from Easton, the Leopards’ next five will be in the Kirby Sports Center.

1. The prospect of a local/regional tournament has popped up again, this time in an intriguing locale. Several coaches from programs in Chicago came out yesterday in favor of a Chicagoland get-together similar to what Philadelphia has had for a long time (The Big 5) and what Indiana’s going to start this year. DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell even nominated “The Chicago 5” as a possible name for their version, an apparent nod to the annual Philadelphia institution. We’re totally on board with these things (the state of Illinois was a 9-seed in our so-called State Tournament), and we wouldn’t be surprised if more of them sprang up. It looks like this one will soon happen. Could Chicago become a college hoops town again?
2. We will not attempt to describe it, because it’s something you need to experience for yourself, but web developer/journalist/author/soothsayer (we could keep going with truthteller/interstate philosopher/truck stop expert/cartoonist) Kyle Whelliston launched the seventh season of The Mid-Majority into space on Monday. The link takes you to the front page, but set aside some time to click on as many links as you can while you’re there. You will probably not be the same by the time you’re done.
3. Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but ten years ago four schools agreed to become part of the Colonial Athletic Association, thereby saving it from oblivion. Hofstra, Drexel, Delaware, and Towson joined the league when Richmond, American, and East Carolina decided to make tracks, and to commemorate the 10th anniversary of those four schools joining up, CAAHoops.com is listing the accomplishments of each program since becoming part of the CAA.
4. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a great piece on Maurice Lucas, the former NBA and Marquette star who died Monday, aged 58, of bladder cancer. Bittersweet to read now, there are some great stories in there about the methods used by Al McGuire to motivate Lucas during his time as a Warrior, and some nice insights on the man through stories relayed by his former teammates.
5. “I really don’t see a problem with it…it was going to happen at some point. And I can talk about it so it doesn’t bother me.” Looking for courage? There’s where you’ll find it. That’s Seton Hall’s Herb Pope from an article posted by Adam Zagoria late last night at Zagsblog. Pope collapsed in April during a workout because of what was eventually found to be an “anomalous right coronary artery” (the RCA helps supply blood to the part of the heart that creates the rhythm — not exactly a part of the ticker that you want angry). CPR. Defibrillator. Three hours of cardiac surgery. Recovery. He will play basketball this year, which is astounding, considering he shouldn’t be…breathing. Got a couple of hours on a weeknight?  Take a CPR class (they’ll teach you how to use a defibrillator, too) and learn what to do for the 3-5 minutes in a situation like this before medics arrive. It’s not hard. And you never know when you’ll need it. The life you save will not be your own.

Zach Hayes is an RTC editor, contributor and bracketologist.

Bids per conference (auto bid listed first):

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Kevin Doyle is the RTC correspondent for The Patriot League.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Bucknell (10-4)
2. Lafayette (9-5)
3. Holy Cross (8-6)
4. American (8-6)
5. Lehigh (8-6)
6. Colgate (5-9)
7. Navy (5-9)
8. Army (3-11)

All-Conference Team (key stats from last season in parentheses)

• CJ McCollum (G) – Lehigh (18.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg)
• Jordan Sugars (G) –  Navy (15.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
• Jared Mintz (F) – Lafayette (14.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
• Andrew Keister (F) – Holy Cross (10.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
• Vlad Moldoveanu (C) – American (19.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg)

Sixth Man

• Devin Brown (G) – Holy Cross (13.2 ppg, 45.4 3pt%)

Impact Newcomer

• Troy Brewer (G) – American (transferred from Georgia)

Navy's Jordan Sugars is ready for another big season in the fiercely competitive Patriot League.

What You Need to Know

• Gone are the days where Bucknell and Holy Cross had supremacy against the six other members of the Patriot League. In three years ranging from the 2004-05 season to the 2006-07 season, the Bison and Crusaders compiled a gaudy 74-10 record in Patriot League action. In this span, Bucknell garnered two NCAA Tournament wins (Kansas and Arkansas), while Holy Cross had an NIT victory (Notre Dame). Times have changed, however, as storied coaches Pat Flannery (Bucknell) and Ralph Willard (Holy Cross) have moved on to other endeavors. Since then, the Patriot League has become one of the most competitive leagues in the country in terms of balance within the conference. Jeff Jones at American hit the lottery with a dominant backcourt in Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, who nearly pulled off a dramatic upset of Villanova two years ago, and Lehigh saw freshman sensation CJ McCollum carry them all the way to a Patriot League title just a year ago. In the 2010-11 campaign, however, it is anyone’s guess as to whom will be standing atop the pedestal come year’s end. Lafayette and Bucknell have the most talent coming back, American has Player of the Year candidate Vlad Moldoveanu playing for the entire season (he missed the fall semester last year), Lehigh has McCollum back after his rookie season that saw him dominate Patriot League competition by averaging 23 points per contest, and Holy Cross returns a boatload of talent, but will be playing under their third coach in three years.

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Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League and America East Conference.

Patriot League Tournament

In a league in which the first five teams finished within three games of each other any team could win three games in a row to secure the NCAA bid. Lehigh was the best team throughout the year with a 10-4 record. If they face Navy in the semis there could be problems posed after dropping both against the Midshipmen this year. American could also beat Navy and ride the hot hand of Vlad Moldoveanu as far as he will take them. Holy Cross has a lot of skill for a #7 seeded team, but who knows if Coach Kearny can get them to perform. Lafayette faded huge down the stretch, but started out 5-1 in conference. Any of the teams could end up hosting the Patriot League trophy at the end of the tournament, but I will go with Lehigh, the favorite, to win it. Tune in for the league championship on ESPN2 on March 12 at 4:45 pm.

First Round Matchups

• #8 (14-14, 4-10) Army at #1 (19-10, 10-4) Lehigh – 03/03/10 Wednesday 7 pm.  Lehigh should roll in this game against Army. Every victory Lehigh has had this year has been by double figures including both over Army. The matchup problem comes in the second round. If Navy manages to beat American, Lehigh will not be pleased. Navy beat Lehigh as many times this year as the rest of the league combined.
• #7 (8-21, 5-9) Holy Cross at #2 (14-16, 9-5) Bucknell – 03/03/10 Wednesday 7 pm.  If Holy Cross can put together some defense this game they stand a good chance. The Crusaders beat Bucknell once at home, but lost in mid-February on the road. It seems that the Crusaders just never bought into Kearny’s system, so it will be hard to start in the playoffs. Especially after dropping four of the last five in the regular season.
• #6 (10-18, 6-8) Colgate at #3 (17-12, 8-6) Lafayette – 03/03/10 Wednesday 7 pm.  The away team came away with a victory in each of the games this year between these two teams. Colgate’s win over Lafayette was only one of three home losses on the year for the Leopards. It was also only one of three home victories on the road for the Raiders. I can see Lafayette continuing their second half swoon and dropping this first rounder.
• #5 (13-16, 7-7) Navy at #4 (10-19, 7-7) American – 03/03/10 Wednesday 7:30 pm.  American came out on top of both matchups during the regular season including a 80-77 overtime victory at Navy during the last week in February. Moldoveanu hit the go ahead layup, but a huge game out of Stephen Lumpkins won the Eagles that game. Moldoveanu scored 37 points the first time the two teams met. Navy is only 3-10 on the road this year, so the home court advantage was huge for American. The Eagles come in having won three out of their last four while Navy has dropped three in a row. American, 8-0, has never lost in a first round matchup since joining the league in 2002. Expect the Eagles to continue to live on.

Award Winners

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Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the America East Conference and Patriot League.

2009-10 Patriot League

1. Lafayette        5-1,  14-7
2. Lehigh        4-2,  13-8
3. Army        3-3,  12-8
4. Navy         3-3,  9-12
5. Bucknell        3-3,  8-14
6. American         3-3,  6-15
7. Colgate      2-4,  6-14
8. Holy Cross        2-4,  5-16

Hottest Team. Lafayette (3-1) – W 89-78 at Longwood University W 73-66 at Delaware State, W 86-79 vs. NJIT, W 75-69 vs. Yale, W 78-67 vs. American.  This is the second time in the last three years Lafayette has started off 5-1 in league play. This time I don’t think they will lose seven of their next eight.

Stud Player. Vlad Moldoveanu – American (23.8 ppg /7 rpg) – In the last four games Moldoveanu has been playing great ball for American including a 37-point game in the victory over Navy. American has won three out of the last four games behind Moldoveanu who is turning into a star.

Thoughts on the Patriot League:

• Marquis Hall became the fourth player in league history to hit the 500-assist mark. Hall was the first to do so with over 1,300 points. He currently sits 32d in career history in points, 19th in steals, and 4th in points. Hall is not the only one putting up impressive numbers. Kyle Roemer, the league’s active leader in points with 1,474, is five three-pointers away from reaching the top ten in league history.
• Lafayette is still playing great ball. Their 77-68 win over Army regained them first place in the league at 5-1. The Leopards have won six of the last seven and 10 of the last 12. The win over Army was accomplished with some great shooting. In the second half Lafayette shot 55% from the field including 5 for 9 from three-point range. They also shot 17 for 20 from the charity stripe. Jared Mintz led the way with 20 points, Ryan Willen totaled 17, and Jim Mower added 15 on five three-pointers.
• Lehigh at 4-2 is sitting in sole possession of second place, although they recently had their three-game winning streak snapped at Bucknell. It was an 81-76 overtime loss for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks blew a 10-point lead at the end of regulation. Marquis Hall had a chance at the buzzer from downtown to win it, but missed. Hall did play well finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. C.J McCollum also finished with 20 points, his third straight game reaching that total.
• Army lost their second straight Patriot League game Wednesday night. The Black Knights lost 77-68 to Lafayette. At this point Army is 1-3 on the road in conference, but has played more road games than any other team in the conference. Cleveland Richard had 20 points to lead Army while Julian Simmons added 18. The Black Knights just couldn’t shoot well from the outside hitting only 7 of 21 three-pointers.
• Navy had their third loss in conference play at American 69-59. Chris Harris led the way with 21 points, remaining the league leader at 20.5 per game. Jordan Sugars added 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Navy shot terrible from the field including 4 for 19 from three-point range.
• Bucknell has won back-to-back games placing itself in the four-way tie for third. Their come-from-behind win against Lehigh was a work of art. They were down 10 points with three minutes to play. Their defense shut out Lehigh and they scored the final ten points to send the game to overtime. The Bison ended up scoring an 81-76 victory. This followed a win at Colgate in which they scored the final five points to win 62-61. G.W Boon came up big in the victory over Lehigh with 12 of his season-high 18 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. Mike Muscala finished with a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• American rode their star, Vlad Moldoveanu, to their second straight victory. Moldoveanu scored a career-high 37 points in the game. He shot 10 for 17 from the field and 14 for 15 from the line.  It was the most points in a Patriot League game since Navy’s Greg Sprink had 37 almost two years ago to the date. American has now won 20 straight games at home, their last loss coming a full two years ago from Saturday. American still needs to cut down on turnovers though with 20 of them in the game.
• After notching two straight victories Holy Cross is back on another two-game losing streak. The latest lost was a heartbreaker. The Crusaders dropped a 69-68 game at Colgate. Colgate scored the game winning points with three seconds to play. Holy Cross still only has one victory all year on the road. Devin Brown finished with 19 points to lead the team and Mike Cavataio had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
• Colgate scored a come from behind victory against Holy Cross Wednesday. Yaw Gyawu hit a game winning shot with under three seconds to play to give Colgate the victory. Gyawu finished with 17 points. Kyle Roemer led the way with 18 points. Colgate snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory.

Key Upcoming Matchup

01.30.10 – American at Lafayette – 1 pm.  Can American continue with their two-game winning streak at Easton? Moldoveanu has been playing the best ball in the league since he came tor the Eagles. American has won the last ten games against Lafayette, including a victory over the Leopards last time Lafayette was 5-1 which started them on a second half swoon.

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League and America East Conference.

Patriot League Standings (conf/over):

1. Lafayette                                  2-0,  11-6
2. Navy                                          2-0,  8-9
3. Lehigh                                      1-1,  10-7
4. Army                                        1-1,  11-5
5. Bucknell                                   1-1,  6-12
6. Colgate                                      1-1,  5-11
7. American                                  0-2,  3-14
8. Holy Cross                               0-2,  3-14

Hottest Team. Lafayette (4-1)

L 82-72 OT at Delaware; W 77-62 vs. Penn; W 91-74 vs. Columbia; W 84-74 vs. Holy Cross; W 95-82 at Colgate

Lafayette has won four straight games and only has one loss since Christmas.

Stud Player. Kyle Roemer– Sr. Colgate; 28.5 PPG in conference play.

Roemer is averaging 19 PPG, but started off the conference play with a 26 point game that included a game-tying three that sent Colgate into overtime. He followed it up with a 31 point game.

Thoughts on the Patriot League:

It looks like this season will see more high-scoring games than the 2008-09 Patriot League. No player scored 30 or more points in a regular-season game last year. After the first week of conference games this year there already have been two. The longest winning streak of the season by any Patriot League team was snapped this past Thursday.

Lafayette has won seven of their last eight, with the only loss being an overtime game at Delaware. The Leopards opened up the conference schedule with a win against preseason favorite Holy Cross. Ryan Willen led the way in the game scoring 20 points. Willen was one of four Leopards in double figures. Lafayette shot 8-15 from long range in the game and 20-23 from the line in the ten-point win. Lafayette never trailed during the game. In the first conference game on the road Lafayette got another double-digit victory, and once again had a second half to remember. In the first two conference games the Leopards have put up over 50 points in the second half. Willen once again was one of four players with double-digit points. This time he had 19 points in 19 minutes. Jared Mintz led the way with 22 points.

Navy has started out 2-0 in conference play. The victories came at Bucknell and over Lehigh. Lehigh was in the midst of a six-game winning streak when Navy took them down, 94-83, at home. Senior guard Chris Harris put together an impressive offensive performance scoring 29 points while going 14-14 from the charity stripe. Harris is currently averaging 20.2 PPG to lead the Patriot League. Navy overwhelmed Lehigh in the second half scoring 58 points. The Mids used runs of 10-2 and 9-0 to stretch the lead in the last ten minutes to double digits.

Lehigh had their six-game winning streak snapped by Navy despite a career-high 31 points from freshman C.J. McCollum. In the Mountain Hawks first game of the conference schedule they scored an 11 point victory over American. Zahir Carrington put together a double-double that game with 18 points and 12 rebounds while point guard Marquis Hall added 17 points and six assists. Lehigh had a big lead at half, but allowed the Eagles to climb back into it before six straights points with under two minutes left put the game away.

Army opened up their conference schedule on the road. The first matchup was at Colgate followed by a game at Holy Cross. In the opener Army blew a four point halftime lead to Colgate. Cleveland Richard was the only player who hit double figures for the Black Knights, finishing with 20 points. Army then beat Holy Cross in Worcester. That was just the second win in the last eighteen meetings with Holy Cross, but both have come at HC in the last three years. In this matchup it was Richard’s defense that came up big, when he blocked a last-second three-pointer by Holy Cross with a chance to tie it. Army ended up winning 67-64 led by Josh Miller’s 22 points. Army’s 11-5 start is the best since the 1978-79 season.

Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak that included their lowest output of the year with a victory at home over American. Patrick Behan led the way with 22 points in the 72-68 win over American. It was Bryson Johnson’s big three that sent the game into overtime. Johnson finished with 16 points in the contest. The Bison controlled the ball better than ever before in program history, committing just one turnover the entire game.

Colgate had won five out of six including a conference opener against Army before Lafayette came to town and beat them, 95-82. Colgate took Army to overtime in the opener. Kyle Roemer finished with 26 points including a three-pointer to force overtime. Roemer scored nine points in overtime to propel Colgate to victory. Roemer then came out against Lafayette and scored 31 points. Roemer shot a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line.

Holy Cross continued their disappointing start with two losses in league play. The first one came at Lafayette, the second one was at home against Army. Holy Cross outrebounded Army 37-28, led by Andrew Keister’s 18 rebounds, but still lost the matchup by three. Andrew Beinert had his last second three blocked. Holy Cross has now last eight of their last nine. It was Keister’s second 18 rebound game of the season.

American also continued their lackluster season with a 0-2 Patriot League start. Against Bucknell, American had the lead with less than two minutes to play before the Bison made their final run. The Eagles went 1-5 on their six game road trip with the only win being at Brown. That is also their only win since the upset of Depaul. Since Vlad Moldoveanu joined the lineup he has done everything he can, averaging 18.4 PPG and 6 RPG.

Key Upcoming Matchup

01.16.10 – Lafayette at Navy – 7 pm.

First place teams in the Patriot League face off early in the season in this matchup in Annapolis. One team will get their first conference loss of the year. If Lafayette manages to get the victory at Navy, it will give them the confidence to continue this stretch of great basketball. It will come down to whether or not they can contain superstar Chris Harris.

OK, maybe that headline’s a tad unfair, because by just about every account, Jerry Wainwright is a top guy.  Who knows, maybe being a nice guy got him a little more time at DePaul than anyone else would have received.  Either way, Wainwright was let go today as head coach of the Blue Demons.  He took over before the 2005 season and built a 59-80 record while running things there.  In a twist that might make that ol’ Yalie Stephen V. Benet proud, it’s now The Demons and Tracy Webster, the assistant who was promoted to interim head coach for the rest of this season.  The buzz on Wainwright’s departure began in earnest last night, but we should give props to Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy for listing him as numero uno on his list of coaches under pressure in a pre-season article.

Wainwright in better -- yes, better -- days.

Wainwright’s squad had started out 5-1 this season, scoring wins over a decent Detroit team, losing a close one to current darlings Tennessee, and handing 14-1 Northern Iowa their only blemish on the season.  There were a few cupcake wins and a couple of setbacks to a pair of pretty good SEC teams in Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.  These early performances likely served to mitigate the sting left over from last year’s crippling 0-18 conference record, but then came a home loss to American (3-13), a loss at Florida Gulf Coast (5-10), and eventually three convincing losses to Big East powerhouses (at Pittsburgh, Georgetown, at Villanova) to start the conference slate that put the Blue Demons at 7-8, and turned out to be Wainwright’s undoing.  In that last game against Villanova, by the way, Wainwright actually suffered a torn MCL and broken tibia when he was hit by a diving player near the DePaul bench.

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