Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › Game 31: Wyoming
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March 18, 2013 at 1:28 pm #9839
CBI Tournament Home Page
http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/cbi/index_main.htm
Former Winners
’08 Tulsa
’09 Oregon St.
’10 VCU
’11 Oregon
’12 Pittsburgh16 Team Bracket
http://www.gazellegroup.com/lock/0319202013.pdf
This Year’s Field (School/Record/RPI)
Wyoming / 19-13 / 72
North Dakota St. / 24-9 / 77
Richmond / 18-14 / 91
Santa Clara / 21-11 / 97
Lehigh / 21-9 / 106
Texas / 16-17 / 115
College of Charleston / 24-10 / 125
Western Illinois / 22-8 / 127
Western Michigan / 20-12 / 131
Perdue / 15-17 / 132
Wright State / 21-12 / 134
Vermont / 21-11 / 137
Tulsa / 17-15 / 139
Bryant / 19-11 / 156
George Mason / 18-14 / 159
Houston / 19-12 / 197Average Record: 19.6 – 12.2
Average RPI: 125Lehigh gets a tough draw taking on the top-rated (RPI) Wyoming Cowboys in their home arena tomorrow night. Oddly, 6 of the 16 teams play opening round games on Tuesday while the remaining 10 start play on Wednesday (see brackets). No doubt our guys are getting on an airplane today to begin the 1800 mile journey west to Laramie. Sleep? Film study? Game Planning? Your guess is as good as mine. Hey, despite some who view this as a waste of time and money (can’t comment intelligently on the cost or where the funds come from, so I won’t), the University thought this to be in the best interest of the school. The players were polled and (see link below) and it’s a go! Who am I to question their collective wisdom. As a diehard fan, I’m simply excited and ready to get behind my team.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh/index.ssf/2013/03/lehigh_university_mens_basketb_93.html#incart_riverI’m sure there’ll be a number of stories and subplots to this tournament, but two caught my eye immediately. One involves our “friends” from Bryant. Despite losing a NEC quarterfinal round game to Mount St. Mary’s, the Bull Dogs of Bryant (KenPom 186….RPI 156) snagged an invite to the CBI. Bryant finished the year with a 19-11 record (two of those wins coming against Boston College and Lehigh) and can now boast the best pure win improvement in D-1 basketball this year, having gone 2-28 last year. Another oddity is this will not be our first visit to Laramie and a game on Wyoming’s home court. Back in January of 2005 it was Jose Olivero sinking a last second shot to beat Coppin State in the second of three games played out in Wyoming as part of the BCA Invitational? We did lose the other two to Northwestern and Butler. Anyway, look for the Lehigh’s Game Notes to set the stage when published later today.
March 18, 2013 at 1:30 pm #9840Lehigh gets a tough draw taking on the top-rated (RPI) Wyoming Cowboys in their home arena tomorrow night. Oddly, 6 of the 16 teams play opening round games on Tuesday while the remaining 10 start play on Wednesday (see brackets). No doubt our guys are getting on an airplane today to begin the 1800 mile journey west to Laramie. Sleep? Film study? Game Planning? Your guess is as good as mine. Hey, despite some who view this as a waste of time and money (can’t comment intelligently on the cost or where the funds come from, so I won’t), the University thought this to be in the best interest of the school. The players were polled and (see link below) and it’s a go! Who am I to question their collective wisdom. As a diehard fan, I’m simply excited and ready to get behind my team.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh/index.ssf/2013/03/lehigh_university_mens_basketb_93.html#incart_riverI’m sure there’ll be a number of stories and subplots to this tournament, but two caught my eye immediately. One involves our “friends” from Bryant. Despite losing a NEC quarterfinal round game to Mount St. Mary’s, the Bull Dogs of Bryant (KenPom 186….RPI 156) snagged an invite to the CBI. Bryant finished the year with a 19-11 record (two of those wins coming against Boston College and Lehigh) and can now boast the best pure win improvement in D-1 basketball this year, having gone 2-28 last year. Another oddity is this will not be our first visit to Laramie and a game on Wyoming’s home court. Back in January of 2005 it was Jose Olivero sinking a last second shot to beat Coppin State in the second of three games played out in Wyoming as part of the BCA Invitational? We did lose the other two to Northwestern and Butler. Anyway, look for the Lehigh’s Game Notes to set the stage when published later
March 18, 2013 at 7:12 pm #9843It seems like BJ Bailey will not be boarding the plane to Laramie, which IMO seems to make an already tough job even tougher.
RT @bj_bailey: Have fun in Wyoming fellas….I love you guys to death
Incidentally, the game will be carried on AXS.tv (formerly known as HD Net) and is carried on Dish, FiOS and Service Electric in their additional HD tiers.
March 18, 2013 at 7:20 pm #9847This is getting stranger and stranger. So we are flying fully across the country to play in a 3rd rate tournament without 2 of our best players? At the country’s highest altitude D1 arena?
I really hope we pull out some W’s in this tournament to make it worth everyone’s time & money. The staff better be making time to stay on the recruiting trail with the spring signing period approaching and at least one open scholarship.
March 18, 2013 at 9:45 pm #9848Dont get the purpose or the reason for this excapade.
March 18, 2013 at 9:54 pm #9849Lehigh Game Notes
http://www.lehighsports.com/assets/1/workflow_staging/Sport/51701.PDFA Lehigh win in Laramie will mark the school’s 1000th all time. With the “W” we’ll advance to play the winner of the North Dakota State/Western Michigan game on Monday, March 25th.
KenPom Rankings and Chance of Winning
LU (21-9, 10-4 Patriot) 100th
Wyoming (19-13, 4-12 Mountain West) 103rd
Wyoming wins it 63-60 (63% chance)March 19, 2013 at 11:06 am #9850My 2 cents, worthless I know, but still…Am I excited to be playing in the CBI, not entirely, but am I excited to be playing another game, yes sir. Now I know we’re not a young team so its not about development at htis point, but if the team earned their way to a birth and the team wants to play, I have no problem with it. This was a difficult year for the team, playing short handed all year long, so if the guys who suited it up every day want in, I’m in as well. By no means is the CBI birth “below” our standards. If texas and purdue can play in it, and I don’t know or care what their situations are, but if they can play in it from BCS conerences we can as well.
SBum – I agree about recruiting being a priority, but I’m hopeful this doesn’t slow that down at all. The staff ahd all last week off to go visit kids should they have choosen too. Hopefully they took advantage of it.
March 19, 2013 at 12:40 pm #9851I don’t like Bj not going, that seems odd, but what else is new
March 19, 2013 at 12:48 pm #985200, I’m with you on this one. Always have been. I seriously doubt recruiting efforts are taking, or have taken, a back seat during this fling – if you wish to call it that. Reed comes off as a man who carefully calculates his every step. This one, I’m sure, got his utmost attention.
While we all wanted the Big Dance or at least a shot at the NIT, instead we’re in a 16-member tournament which features four Top 100 teams. At #106 (RPI), LU is looking up at all four. Win tonight against #72 and we stand a good chance at meeting #77 (North Dakota State) next week. Win that game and the prospects of playing still another Top 100 (Richmond at #91) are good. For a team that played just one Top 100 team all year long – that being Bucknell – I call that a window of opportunity and some valuable experience. I’m glad we are where we are today – Laramie, Wyoming.
March 19, 2013 at 2:19 pm #9856Am I excited to be playing in the CBI, not entirely, but am I excited to be playing another game, yes sir. Now I know we’re not a young team so its not about development at this point, but if the team earned their way to a berth and the team wants to play, I have no problem with it.
I too am excited for Holden and Gabe and will I be watching the CBI game with a cold Yuengling in hand tonight? You bet.
But I disagree with the idea it’s not about development. Mackey will get valuable postseason minutes playing in Wyoming and so will Goldy, whose jobs are “only” to replace two Lehigh legends next season.
Also, no matter what happens with coach Reed this offseason, I thought it was a hugely classy move for him (one in a long line of them) to ask the kids what they wanted in terms of a postseason chance. It is really refreshing to see that he always seems to have his priorities straight in that it’s always about the kids. If he goes, he’ll be missed in a giant way.
March 19, 2013 at 2:29 pm #9857This is a very difficult assignment.
– They found out their opponent Sunday night and spent all day yesterday travelling (I think they slept in Denver last night). So while Lehigh is on airplanes, Wyoming is sleeping in their own beds, practicing, and watching tape.
– No CJ, and now no BJ
– The single highest altitude arena in division 1
This is a tall task, and I hope the guys are up for it. Wyoming isn’t huge, which is a plus for us. I really hope they make a run and win a couple games in this thing for the seniors to go out on a good note and also to make the effort of the CBI worthwhile.
March 19, 2013 at 3:11 pm #9859I think anytime you have an opportunity to play you take it. Although, LU may be undermanned the team taking the flight will largely be the team on the floor next year. A chance to compete against any top 100 school will only benefit the players going into the off-season, especially if they make a run. I am excited to see how team plays with many factors staked against them i.e. travel, altitude, injuries.
March 19, 2013 at 3:36 pm #9860Trying to get a handle on what we might see tonight, I turned to KenPom stats. There are some vast similarities as well as some stark differences between the two teams. But before putting too much stock in the numbers, remember Wyoming
is a member of the 9-team Mountain West which happens to rank 3rd among the 31 units in D-1. They trail only the Big 10 and Big East. In fact, 7 of the 9 are in post-season
play this year. By the way, the PL ranks 17th.First, when it comes to rebounding the ball I was pleased to see we weren’t the only ones struggling this year. On the offensive board side, LU comes in at 27.0% (305th) and
Wyoming at 24.2% (341st) in terms of “the percentage of available rebounds you nab off your offensive glass.” Oddly enough, while differing greatly in 3-point accuracy
(LU @ 39.6% or 9th best with Wyoming @ 31.4% or 278th best), we each look to the “3” to build our score (% of total points scored). Here LU ranks 53rd @ 31.9% while Wyoming is
ranked 68th @ 31.3%. Perhaps the biggest difference (stat wise) would be in Tempo or number of possessions/game. LU ranks 125th @ 66.9 while Wyoming is 336th @ 60.7. I’ll be
anxious to wa.tch if we continue to push and pressure the ball or lay back to conserve energy being short-handed (BJ and, of course, CJ at home) and playing at altitude.The big guns for Wyoming (off their website):
All-MW Third Team and All-Defensive Team member Leonard Washington continues to pace the Pokes at 12.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals, despite battling
back and ankle injuries over the last few weeks of the season. The senior forward ranks in the top 11 of the MW stats in all four categories. Senior guard Derrious Gilmore and sophomore forward Larry Nance Jr. both scored in double figures in UW’s two games at the MW tournament. Gilmore averages 12.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and a team-high
2.8 assists, including a career-high eight against Nevada in Las Vegas. Nance rounds out UW’s double-figure scorers at 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds. He has nearly averaged a double-double in Wyoming’s five tournament games this season.
Freshman guard Josh Adams adds 6.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in addition to big plays at key moments, while sophomore guard Riley Grabau is UW’s other probable starter at 5.8 points and 2.5 assists.March 19, 2013 at 5:17 pm #9862Should you be interested, the Vegas lines on tonight’s
CBI games are:Wyoming – 5 1/2 over Lehigh
Charleston – 4 over George Mason
Santa Clara – 8 1/2 over VermontThe other 5 first-round games take place tomorrow.
March 19, 2013 at 6:23 pm #9864I’m glad they are playing tonight. It shows everyone that this program and this university is serious about basketball. Most teams go play when postseason tournaments invite them. And, as fans, what the hell do we care? It’s not our money that is being spent for the season to continue. I can’t see Lehigh raising ticket prices next year because they lost their ass on the CBI. If one player, coach, or fan gets one solid memory from a trip to Laramie, Wyoming, then it’s worth it. Do people really care if Lehigh loses a few bucks on this game, or the PL loses a few bucks? Lehigh has $1B in their endowment, or close to it, they can certainly afford it. I don’t think our academics will be sacrificed if we lose $100K. If we lose tonight, I am not surprised, as it is a tough spot, and if we win, I’m thrilled, and hopeful I get to see another game in Stabler. It’s about time, this program started acting like a legitimate mid-major basketball program.
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