Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
Oh, it's a delicious day for college hoops fans across the country. Today's big game of local intrigue? Georgetown, fresh off Wednesday's huge 88-74 victory over #8 Syracuse which brought them to 3-2 in Big East play, take a trip down Tobacco Road to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a show-down with #3 Duke -- arguably the marquee matchup on a Saturday which features five games between top 20 teams. The Blue Devils (15-1) come into the game boasting an impressive 67-game home winning streak against nonconference opposition, but the Hoyas (12-3) will likely serve as the stiffest test Duke has seen all year. It also serves as a minor barometer for comparison between the Big East and ACC, without question the country's two strongest conferences. The outcome will depend on which Georgetown team shows up in Krzyzewskiville: the tenacious squad who nearly ran the 'Cuse out of the gym and knocked off Connecticut in their house; or the lackluster, frustrated enigma which surfaced in the losses against Pitt and Notre Dame. Tipoff is at 1:30 on CBS -- it should be a dandy.
Now to catch up with some other area campuses:
American
report by Graham Hough-Cornwell
DC's favorite Cinderella from 2008, the American Eagles, are back and off to a strong start to Patriot League play. Sure, they took their lumps in an uneven non-conference schedule which included both a four game win streak and a four game losing streak, as well as undoubtedly profitable blowout losses against Final Four hopefuls Georgetown and Oklahoma. But at present, they're back in the midst of a five game tear, including two conference wins to start the Patriot League season. Jeff Jones' team won't blow many teams out this year (our prediction: none), but they will lean heavily on veteran sub-six foot guards Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer. Combine Carr's 18.4 points per game (second in the conference) with the league's second best scoring defense, and you've got a recipe for success in a very tight race. If the Eagles stay tough on the glass and continue last season's road success, this is a team that could and should be playing for a second consecutive NCAA bid come March. We'll know considerably more this Saturday, when the Eagles travel to Hamilton, NY for a rematch against last season's runner-up, the Colgate Raiders.
photo by cstein96.
George Washington
report by Andrew Wiseman
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times: when GW started off 6-2 this season, it looked like last year's bad losses and player issues had been resolved. Then the proverbial wheels fell off -- the Colonials have lost 6 straight, including lowlights against juggernauts Longwood and Coppin State. (Coppin was 1-10 before the GW game, it's lone victory against a non-D1 team.) The player issues seemed to continue too, as sophomore guard Xavier Alexander left school a few days ago for as of yet undisclosed reasons. Alexander is the fourth player to leave school or be kicked off the team in the last 10 months. Alexander had started all but one of GW's games this season. Head Coach Karl Hobbs also benched last year's second-leading scorer Wynton Witherpsoon for three games, and sat leading scorer and rebounder Rob Diggs and starter Damian Hollis at other times. So far, the Colonials are 0-2 in the Atlantic 10, losing to Richmond at home and wasting a 64% shooting night against Duquesne on Wednesday. Hobbs has been getting heat from fans (including a new Fire Hobbs blog) about the losses, benchings, and questionable substitution patterns. It's a long fall from 2005-2006, when GW achieved a #6 overall ranking and went undefeated in conference play. He's responded in his characteristically stubborn manner by saying he doesn't pay attention to what the fans say.
The Colonials will try to right the ship at Saint Louis on Saturday night. The Billikens have won 3 of their last 4.
Maryland
report by Brett Gellman
After a modest start with victories over Michigan State and Michigan, the Maryland Terrapins (12-4, 1-1 ACC) took several steps back after falling to Morgan State 66-65 at home last week. Up until that point, the Terps resume wasn't looking so bad as the team's only losses were to two Top 25 squads in Georgetown and Gonzaga.
Many fans were hoping Maryland would not dissapoint against a non-conference opponent at home like last year's surprising losses to Ohio and American. Those two games helped cost the Terps a trip to the NCAAs and, up until the Morgan State debacle, Maryland had beaten the teams they were supposed to.
The Terrapins were able to bounce back a few days later in its ACC opener against Georgia Tech, but it wasn't pretty. The Yellow Jackets committed 28 turnovers while the Terps shot a paltry 32% from the field. Maryland pulled away in the final minutes in the 68-61 victory.
This past Wednesday was a tale of two halves as Maryland took on Miami in its first true road game of the season. The Terps played excellent basketball in the first twenty minutes only to surrender a 17 point lead in the second half. Guard Adrian Bowie had his best game thus far as a Terrapin, but the 23 career high points he scored were ultimately all for naught when the final buzzer sounded on another defeat. How Maryland will bounce back from such a demoralizing loss this early in the ACC slate is anyone's guess -- but as the only team in the conference with two meetings apiece against Duke and Carolina, the road for the Terrapins back to the NCAAs looks high risk, high reward. The Terps will try to get back on track on the road against the Florida State Seminoles today.
Around The Rim: George Mason hosts James Madison today, looking to start 7-0 in CAA play. At 13-3 overall and with a stifling defense, GMU is more likely than not the best team in the conference and looks on track to be dancing come March after last year's absence...Sure, they might be 1-14, but Howard's basketball team did beat Oregon State, helmed by the new President's brother-in-law, Craig Robinson.
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Mason did go the the tourney last year. We were bounced in the first round, but we won the CAA and got in. The year before was the year we didn't go.
Thanks for the correction. Should be fixed now.