If you are VCU and you want to secure an at large bid to the dance, especially after being left out of the tournament last year, you need to win games like last night at Rhode Island. In the battle of the Rams, VCU kept it close throughout by shooting 60 percent from the field, but 26 turnovers led to 43 Rhode Island points, and Rhode Island held off VCU 92-86. Eric Maynor led the way with 22 points for VCU but he had 10 of the 26 turnovers. Joey Rodriguez had 14 points for VCU. VCU also didn't help matters by shooting 11 of 19 from the free throw line (though Rhode Island only shot 22 of 35 for 62 percent..free throw shooting is a lost art). Rhode Island shot 54 percent from the field and all five starters were in double digits led by Keith Cothran's 23 and Jimmy Baron and Kahiem Seawright each had 17. An important note to VCU fans. Larry Sanders only played 7 minutes last night and fouled out quickly with only 3 rebounds and more importantly zero blocks. The previous game against South Dakota State, he played 22 minutes with 8 rebounds and 7 blocks, though he did have four fouls. Sanders must stay out of foul trouble for VCU to be successful. Otherwise Kirill Pishchalnikov ( Pishchalnikov is Russian for five fouls) will play more and he is simply nowhere near as skilled as Sanders.
The Chris Gadley Resurrection Watch continues as Gadley got his first start last night and again, the big man dominated. Gadley shot 8 of 10 from the field, including get this 2 of 3 from the three point arc, for 22 points. Gadley also had 8 rebounds as the Golden Griffins beat LIU 76-63 for their first win of the season. Hofstra fans are finally seeing the potential Gadley had come to fruition. Unfortunately its not for Hofstra.
Sadly, the Tim Crossin Burial Watch also continues as Crossin didn't even play last night in Towson's 82-73 win over Hampton. Yes, the same Hampton George Mason lost to. Huh? Well this game was at Towson and the Tigers shot 10 of 24 from three (unlike the Patriots 2 of 17 in that Thursday night loss). Jarel Smith led four Towson scorers in double figures with 24. The Tigers are now 2-1 without having Junior Hairston for their first three games due to suspension. The Tigers might be better than everyone thinks, including yours truly.
George Mason bounced back nicely from their loss to Hampton by beating East Carolina 77-71 as the Louis Birdsong Coming Out Party continues. Birdsong had another strong game with 19 points and Andre Cornelius came off the bench to add 19 as well for the Patriots. However, Dre Smith again struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 2 of 8. Perhaps Smith (12 points) might want to stay within the arc from now on, because he did shoot 3 of 6 from the rest of the field. Darryl Monroe nearly had a double double with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Creighton smoked Oral Roberts 87-65 as Cavel Witter had 25 points for the Bluejays. There are some teams that do know how to shoot from the charity stripe as Creighton shot 27 of 33 from the free throw line. Siena struggled early but poured it on in the second half to beat Cornell 74-56 as Kenny Hasbrouck led four Saints players in double figures with 22 points. The Saints play Tennessee on Thanksgiving in a nationally televised game. Finally Illinois State went to 3-0 with a 107-70 win over Houston Baptist. Osiris Eldridge led EIGHT Redbirds' scorers in double digits with 16 points. And again, talk about great free throw shooting. The Redbirds shot 29 of 32 from the line (90 percent). Nice!
What to Look For Today - If you are San Diego, you need to win games like this vs. Wisconsin to strengthen your at large bid case. Today the Toreros play the Badgers in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam. A win over Wisconsin goes a long way at the end of the year when you are on the bubble. Also with a win over the Badgers and a win by UConn over Miami, and you get a rematch of the first round NCAA tournament game from last season in the Paradise Jam championship. The Toreros beat the Huskies last season in that first round game. OOOH!
Kent State gets to face the Phoenix Suns of the CAA, as they play host to UNC Wilmington in what should be a very entertaining game for the Golden Flashes home crowd. Also, I have to plug the Xavier Memphis game today at 7:30 PM on ESPNU, which is the championship of the O' Reilly Autoparts Tipoff championship in San Juan Puerto Rico. This despite that Xavier in the A10 is NOT a mid major (waiting for a Tom Kemp response on that).
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