My friend Tony Bozzella's Iona Lady Gaels have a home game on ESPNU at 4:30 vs. Marist. A win over Marist would basically secure a 2 seed in the MAAC Conference Tournament and a first round bye (Marist has already clinched the #1 seed). I won't be able to make the game but I wish him the best of luck.
Butler could have taken over the lead in the Horizon last night after Wright State got pasted by Youngstown State, but the Bulldogs stumbled at home again, losing to Loyola Chicago. The Bulldogs
now look like a #5 or #6 seed in the NCAA tournament. A week ago, we were talking a #3 seed.
I was at the Hofstra/UNCW game last night that was televised on ESPNU. Hofstra came back and won 68-65 in a game that shouldn't have been that close considering Hofstra (21-8,13-4 CAA)was home to a now 3-14 conference team, but for some reason UNCW gives them a hard time. The key point that I want to make is that late in this close game, Hofstra decided to run down the clock and start their offensive play with 6 seconds left on the shot clock. It seems to be a prevailing mentality that when you are up late with the ball in a close game, the clock is your friend. I'm here to tell you that points, not the clock are your friend. That is the name of the game, to score the most points. Hofstra like many other teams I have seen, does this all the time. It ends up in a very rushed shot, often missed, like it was on this play. I have been told that you really need to start your offensive play with 14 seconds left on the shot clock to get a quality shot. Maybe someday teams like Hofstra will realize that.
I know I still owe 4 bracketbuster game recaps. Hope to have those tonite.
Utah State
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