The Friday Fives

It's been a little while, but we're back with another edition of the Friday Fives to kick of the new year. Today we'll bring you the first edition of America East Top Plays in 2013, some keys to conference play this weekend and reading material as you get set for the weekend. Enjoy!

Top Plays




Marquee Matchups

WBB: Boston U. at Hartford -- One of these two teams can make a statement early on with a win on Saturday. Both squads have been in the Mid-Major Top 25 for much of the non-conference slate and both teams need this win.

WBB: Stony Brook at New Hampshire -- After an impressive non-conference performance in which it easily beat its win total from a year ago, Stony Brook is making everyone think twice about picking the Seawolves to finish last in the conference.

WBB: Albany at Binghamton -- How will the Bearcats follow up the surprise victory over Hartford in the conference opener? A win over the Great Danes would give Binghamton wins over two of the top three teams in the preseason poll.

MBB: Albany at Vermont -- One of the best rivalries in the conference, things are always fun when the Catamounts and Great Danes tangle. Through 15 games, Albany's 12-3 mark is the best since the 2004-05 Vermont squad.

MBB: New Hampshire at Stony Brook -- The Seawolves get their conference slate underway and New Hampshire continues a tough opening stretch in the America East. Having already played Vermont, three of the Wildcats first four games in conference include the Catamounts, Stony Brook and Albany.

The Numbers Game

MBB -- Stony Brook is 18-3 in its last 21 America East contests.

WBB -- Albany leads the conference in both scoring offense (65.9 per game) and scoring defense (50.5 per game).

MBB -- Jordan Reed continues to have an excellent rookie campaign, as the Binghamton guard is the only player in the conference to average a double-double (16.9 ppg/10.0 rpg). He's also second in scoring and first in rebounding.

WBB -- Megan Craig is shooting an even 60 percent for the season, which leads the conference. The sophomore from Albany is fourth in scoring at 11.8 points per game.

MBB -- Another freshman having an impressive year is Boston U.'s Maurice Watson Jr. The speedy guard leads the conference in assists at 4.9 per game and is doing so at a 1.7 assist to turnover ratio.

Keep An Eye On...

 ...Jameel Warney. Much has been written about the Stony Brook freshman, and rightfully so. Over his last four games he has been much more aggressive on the offensive end, averaging 11.8 points per game as the top scorer in three of those four games.

...Jasbriell Swain. She was essential to Binghamton's win over Hartford on opening night, grabbing 16 boards to lead the Bearcats. Swain is averaging 10.5 boards over her last four games.

...Justin Edwards. The leading scorer in the America East, Edwards was held to just 10 points in a win over Boston U. after averaging 22.6 points in his previous five games. It will be interesting to watch as he adjusts to being the focal point of opposing defenses.

...Lauren Buschmann. She is the only Catamount to start in all 14 games this season. The senior had a big double-double (17 pts, 11 rebs) in Vermont's overtime win versus New Hampshire to open conference play.

...Aaron Morgan. The freshman guard has been getting some serious burn for UMBC this season, averaging 35 minutes per game (fourth in the conference). Morgan turned in one of his best games of the season in a 69-61 loss to DePaul two weeks ago, racking up 15 points on five of seven shooting while also adding three steals.

Linked Up

A blast from the past today, as we relive former America East interns settling the great Philly Cheesesteak Debate.

Check out the UMBC Athlete of the Month and Top Plays for December.

Six America East schools are listed on Kiplinger's 100 Best Values in Public Colleges.

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski III joined the T. Row Price Group as an independent director.

The Sixth Man Series: Boston U. Men's Basketball

To kick off our coverage of conference play in America East basketball, the Sixth Man series will be running over the next few weeks. We reached out to the student media at each of our nine institutions for guest posts on men's and women's basketball. Today, we have Chris Dela Rosa, a freshman sports writer for the Boston U. Daily Free Press, writing about the Terrier men's basketball team. A big thanks to Chris and the Sports Editor at the Daily Free Press, Greg Davis, for participating!

It has been a rather disappointing first half of the season for Boston University’s men’s basketball team. The Terriers are currently sitting at 3–6 following a series of disappointing losses.

BU’s season started off with high hopes. It was able to recruit some new players that it hoped would work into the roster immediately. 

Maurice Watson Jr.
(Photo: Steve McLaughlin)

Its top recruit was freshman Maurice Watson Jr. out of Landsowne, Pa., a small but speedy point guard that can spread the ball around while creating his own shot. 

Next was Wallingford, Conn., native guard John Papale, one of the nation’s top high school 3-point shooters. Papale, BU’s equivalent to Knicks sensation Steve Novak, has had a rather impressive season, making a slew of 3-pointers to start his college career. 

The third recruit was this year’s Kentucky Mr. Basketball, Nathan Dieudonne. The 6-foot-7 forward has done a solid job at the starting power forward position this season.

           

The season began with heartbreak for the Terriers, as they traveled across Boston to play against Northeastern University at Matthews Arena. With a two-point lead and the ball in the Huskies’ (4­–5) hands, BU was in control of its own fate.

However, BU fell asleep at the wheel and gave up a wide open three-pointer that went in with 0.7 seconds left. With no timeouts left, all hope was lost for the Terriers as they suffered their first loss of the season.

           

BU’s bad luck continued as it traveled to Buffalo, N.Y. the following week and allowed another game to slip out of its hands as Canisius College pulled away in the final minutes to win, 83–75. 

Things went from bad to worse for the Terriers during their first home game against George Washington University when they fell, 72–59.

           

The Terriers then traveled down to New Brunswick, N.J. to try to pick up their first win against Rutgers University. But with a very late flagrant foul, BU put itself out of position to beat the Scarlet Knights (7–2). 

A second buzzer-beater loss came the very next game when George Mason University scored a game-winning layup en route to a three-point play to edge the Terriers, 48–45.

“The big thing I think, I felt that we controlled the majority of the three toughest losses [George Mason, Harvard and Northeastern] and did a good job. I thought in each of those game we were not able to get a stop at the end of the game and it came down to one possession at the end of the game and we couldn’t get a stop,” said BU coach Joe Jones.

In its second home game, the team took a few steps in the right direction against Coastal Carolina University.  Facing a tough Chanticleer’s (2–5) team that had the nation’s second-best shooter at the time, BU went on several runs and easily defeated Coastal Carolina, 74–44, to pick up its first victory.

That win was the start of a three-game win streak for the Terriers, helping the team rebound from a shaky start. 

Unfortunately for the Terriers, that win streak came to a bitter end against another local school. BU made the short trip from its campus in Boston over to Allston to take on Harvard. It fell to the Crimson (5–4) on a last–second shot by Harvard point guard Siyani Chambers. BU junior guard D.J. Irving, who was playing as well as he played all season, tried to bring the ball down the court and score with five seconds left, but he could not sink the attempted buzzer-beater.

D.J. Irving goes for a layup.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a team where we’ve struggled a bit down the stretch. It’s coming down to that one play where we have to execute late in the game,” Jones said.

With that, the first America East game will be against the University of Maine on Jan. 2. Considering how the Terriers have performed thus far against non–conference opponents, they should have a pretty good season playing against America East opponents. (Editor's note: Boston U. lost to Maine last night in the conference opener, 63-58.)

The team is still somewhat young and inexperienced, which means it is gradually improving the more the players are together on the court. Expect to see a strong showing from the Boston University men’s basketball team as the season progresses.

“It’s a much more positive 3–6. Our guys feel pretty confident. We don’t want to be a team that only looks at our record. We’re about seeing what we’re doing wrong,” Jones said. “I’m focusing on finishing the non-conference play strong so that we can go into conference play with positive momentum.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

at Albany 65, UMBC 48: Box/Recap/Highlights

at Hartford 61, Binghamton 58: Box/Recap/Highlights

at Maine 63, Boston U. 58: Box/Recap

Vermont 64, at New Hampshire 51: Box/Recap

Women's Basketball

Albany 87, at UMBC 33: Box/Recap

Boston U. 72, at Stony Brook 61: Box/Recap

at Vermont 63, New Hampshire 60: Box/Recap/Highlights

at Binghamton 46, Hartford 44: Box/Recap/Highlights

Local Media Coverage

Men's Basketball

UMBC at Albany

• Troy Record (with video)
• Albany Times Union

Binghamton at Hartford

• Hartford Courant
• Binghamton Press and Sun

Boston U. at Maine

• Bangor Daily News

Vermont at New Hampshire

• Burlington Free Press
• WCAX News (with video)
• Seacoast Online

Women's Basketball

Albany at UMBC

• Albany Times Union
• Troy Record

New Hampshire at Vermont

• Burlington Free Press
• Seacoast Online

Hartford at Binghamton

• Binghamton Press and Sun
• WBNG News (with video)

Linked Up

Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton gets a shout out in Jon Rothstein's latest article.

The Daly Dose of Hoops blogs take a look at how Stony Brook men's basketball is bursting onto the scene.

The Maine women's basketball team is looking to improve in conference play, writes the Bangor Daily News.

America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen sat down with 101.3 ESPN Radio at halftime of the Vermont/New Hampshire men's basketball game.

In football news, former New Hampshire assistant coach Chip Kelly is being sought after by at least one NFL team for its head coaching position.

The Sixth Man Series

To kick off our coverage of conference play in America East basketball, the Sixth Man series will be running over the next few weeks. We reached out to the student media at each of our nine institutions for guest posts on men's and women's basketball. Today, we have Jaquam Bodden, Sports Director at Albany campus radio station 90.9 FM WCDB, writing about the Albany men's basketball team. A big thanks to Jaquam for participating!

The Great Danes will begin America East Play tonight with an 11-3 record and standing at first-place in the conference. Let us take a recap on how they got there.

Mike Black takes the ball up the floor.

The Great Danes started their season with a 69-66 victory over Duquesne on Nov. 9. The Danes used a great team effort to hold off the Dukes from pulling off a comeback late in the second half. John Puk came up big in the victory. The 6’10” center posted 14 points on seven of seven shooting from the field and also grabbed eight rebounds. After starting their season with a win at home, the Great Danes went on a road trip beginning in Columbus, Ohio vs Ohio State. The Great Danes played hard for majority of the game until the Buckeyes made a huge run in the second half. The Danes ended up losing that game 82-60, however senior guard Mike Black shined in that game. Mike Black Scored 20 points in the game in the Danes’ loss.

Next, the great Danes traveled to Seattle where they would play reigning Pac-12 regular season champion Washington. This game turned out to be one of the biggest victories in school’s history and it came down to the wire. The Great Danes battled hard and took advantage of Washington’s poor play down the stretch. Mike Black came up big in that game scoring 22 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing six assists. His heroics also included the game winning layup with 3.7 seconds left to lead the Great Danes to a 63-62 victory over Washington. In this game the Great Danes shot better from the free-throw line shooting 62.5 percent compared to Washington’s 57 percent. Jacob Iati had a huge game as well, scoring 20 points including six three-pointers.

The Great Danes continued their road trip going 1-1 at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.  The Great Danes squeaked past UMKC with a 62-59 win and lost to Loyola (Md.) 67-64. The Great Danes finished off November strong with an 83-55 win over South Carolina St. and a 66-63 win over Wagner. In the win over South Carolina St. the Great Danes shot 51 percent from three-point range.

The final stretch of the non-conference slate started with a battle versus crosstown rival Siena. The Great Danes wanted revenge for their last loss to Siena as well as bragging rights as the best college basketball team in the capital district. With a huge run in the second half, the Great Danes claimed the Albany Cup and defeated Siena 69-56. After beating their crosstown rival, the Great Danes entered CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major poll at No. 25. Making the Mid-Major poll is a huge confidence builder for the Danes and it motivated them to play even better going forward.

The Great Danes finished the 2012 winning six of their last seven games in December. Here are some things to consider going into conference play for the Great Danes. The Great Danes are ranked No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll. Jacob Iati is one of the top shooters in the America East as well as in the country. Iati shoots 46 percent from three-point range – that’s third in conference and 78^th in the country according to ESPN.com.

With the Great Danes strong non-conference play the question remains is will they exceed expectations and win the conference? We will see tonight, as they will face the UMBC Retrievers at 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena.

Linked Up

The Albany men had a great start to their season, but the team knows the importance of conference play.

The Bangor Daily News talked to Maine men's basketball coach Ted Woodward about the keys to today's conference opener versus Boston U.

From Newsday, a look at Jameel Warney's learning process as Stony Brook begins conference play.

The newest Inside Wildcat Country features New Hampshire women's basketball coach Maureen Magarity.

What's Next?

It's officially that time of year again and America East Conference play gets under way tonight! Here's what's in store:

Men's Basketball

Binghamton at Hartford, 7 p.m.
Boston U. at Maine, 7 p.m.
UMBC at Albany, 7 p.m.
Vermont at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.

Women's Basketball

Albany at UMBC, 7 p.m.
Boston U. at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Binghamton, 7 p.m.
New Hampshire at Vermont, 7 p.m.

Top 12 of '12: The Top Three

Here we are on the final day of the year two-thousand and twelve and we have three more America East moments to rehash before the clock strikes midnight. So before you put on your party hats and prepare to bring in the new year, we hope you can take a few minutes to recognize three more moments that highlight the incredible things our student-athletes accomplished this year. Here's to 2013, everyone.

No. 3: Record Number of Basketball Teams Make the Postseason

Although the NCAA Tournament earns most of the press, the college basketball postseason includes more madness than just the Final Four. In 2012, a record-breaking seven schools (both men and women) qualified for postseason play. The women boasted four teams including America East champion Albany in the NCAA's for the first time in program history. In addition, Boston U. earned an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) while Hartford was selected for an at-large berth. Rounding out the bunch was New Hampshire playing in the third annual Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). And while all four fell in the first round of their respective tournaments, it was a proud moment for the league on the national stage.

While the women broke a record, the men tied a record for the third time in the league's history. Three America East squads made it to a set of brackets, including conference champion Vermont in the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook earned a spot in the NIT for the second time in three seasons and Albany took part in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). The Catamounts, with the recently expanded tournament, played Lamar in the first round for the right to advance and play No. 1 North Carolina. With 12 rebounds and seven assists from Brian Voelkel, Vermont topped Lamar 71-59 for the program's second NCAA Tournament win ever. While they would fall to the Tar Heels in the next round, the Catamounts joined Northeastern as the only other school with multiple tournament wins. Stony Brook and Albany would both play hard fought games -- the Seawolves took NIT No. 1 Seton Hall to the brink, losing 63-61 -- neither advanced past the first round. But America East basketball showed its prominence to the nation.

No. 2: Lucy Van Dalen's Magical Year

Lucy Van Dalen's name is all over the America East track and field record books. In fact, both Lucy and her sister Holly left quite the mark on the conference. But in 2012, Van Dalen accomplished things that few can ever claim. On March 11 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Stony Brook senior ran a 4:39.76 to claim the National Championship in the mile run. Van Dalen became the first America East national champion since Binghamton's Rory Quiller won the pole vault at the indoor championships in 2008. She is also one of two America East female runners to win the national championship in the mile run, joining Boston U.'s Jennifer Lanctot.

But Van Dalen wasn't done there. Representing her native New Zealand, the national champion took her talents to the 2012 London Olympics to compete in the 1,500 meter run. After qualifying for the semifinals, Van Dalen ran a 4:06.97 in an attempt to qualify for the finals. Though she came up short, Van Dalen had improved her time from the qualifying rounds. Just think for a second about what she was able to accomplish (the Olympics!) and there's no way to be anything but floored with how incredible 2012 was for Van Dalen.

No. 1: Stony Brook Baseball Reaches the College World Series

College baseball is an interesting thing. Like professional baseball, many times, the nation's top seeds do not win the title. This opens up the gates for stories like Fresno St. in 2008. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 4 in their opening regional, went all the way to Omaha and won the College World Series. This spring, Stony Brook put on the Cinderella slippers and made its own visit to Omaha.

The Seawolves were coming off of a conference championship and had several pro players on the roster, including first-round MLB draft pick Travis Jankowski. As a low seed coming into the tournament, the challenge is always traveling to a traditional baseball powerhouse and playing in front of their fans. In this case, it was the Miami Hurricanes. Playing in a stadium named for Alex Rodriguez (though he never played there himself), tradition stares you right in the face. But what did Stony Brook do except come out and knock the home team around to the tune of 10-2 victory to open up regional play. The Seawolves would go on to avenge a loss to the University of Central Florida in the championship game of the Coral Gables Regional, winning 12-5. The offense was incredible throughout, as the Seawolves averaged 10 runs per game en route to the Super Regionals.

While a trip to Coral Gables was certainly daunting, a trip to Baton Rouge is perhaps even more illustrious. The Louisiana State University Tigers are the owners of six national championships, they have made the College World Series 15 times and the fans are loud and rabid. This didn't stop Stony Brook from beating the Tigers in three games, however. Game One was incredible: a 12 inning affair that saw multiple game tying home runs. The game actually had to be delayed in the 11th and picked up again in the morning, when the Seawolves finally lost. But Coach Matt Senk and his squad did not back down an inch, and beat the Tigers in back-to-back games to punch a ticket to Omaha. It was an incredible accomplishment, as Stony Brook joined Fresno St. as the only teams to advance to the CWS as a No. 4 seed. The Seawolves would go 0-2 in Omaha, but their run was one of the best in the sport's history and they earned well-deserved attention all over the sports world. Without a doubt, it was one of the most memorable moments ever for both Stony Brook and the America East.

Linked Up

Stony Brook women's basketball is off to its best start (8-5) since the 2005-2006 season.

Check out the recap from the Boston U. women winning the Christmas City Classic title.

Maine's Justin Edwards was key in Maine's win over Quinnipiac, just as he has been all season.

Though Binghamton came up just short in a comeback versus Cornell, Coach Dempsey saw some good things.