Lafayette Game – 2/21/10

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Men’s Basketball Lafayette Game – 2/21/10

This topic contains 24 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by ngineer ngineer 14 years, 1 month ago.

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  • #1706

    LU65
    Participant

    Game Notes are up!

    http://www.lehighsports.com/assets/spor … 022110.pdf

    Lafayette version:

    http://www.goleopards.com/auto_pdf/p_ho … f/LCLU0910

    Items of interest from the Easton publication……….

    WE GO AS WE SHOOT: There is a definite correlation between Lafayette’s shooting percentage and its team’s success in 2009-10. Lafayette is 13-0 when shooting 45% or better from the field and 2-11 when shooting 44% or worse.

    AT THE LINE: Lafayette is ranked seventh in the nation (2/14) and first in the Patriot League in free throw percentage (76.0). The Leopards made all 19 of their free throws against Colgate, the best mark in the nation (as of Feb. 7), topping Kentucky’s 18-of-18 effort from Dec. 19.

    LAST TIME OUT: The adage says that it is hard to win on the road in conference play, and the Leopards found it even tougher on Wednesday without leading scorer Jared Mintz in the lineup. Bucknell won a 78-67 decision in a battle of second-place teams. Lafayette had two players in double figures led by Jim Mower with 12 points and Michael Gruner with 10. Bucknell’s freshman center Jack Muscala had 23 points and 11 rebounds.

    NCAA INDIVUDAL RANKINGS: The latest national rankings (2/14) show Jared Mintz ranked 10th in the country in field goal percentage (58%) and 21st in the country in free throw percentage (89%). Sophomore Jim Mower is fifth nationally for three-point field goal percentage (46%).

    MINTZ=CONSISTENCY: Junior Jared Mintz has been the mark of consistency for the Leopards in 2009-10. He has scored in double figures in 21 of 25 games in which he has played.

    A look at the lines……………

    Sagarin

    LU – Pick ’em

    Pomeroy

    LU given a 54% chance of winning. Predicted Score: 80-79

    #1707

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    My quickie writeup on the game on Sunday:

    http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.co … -this.html

    The Leopards will do anything to keep from the regular-season sweep, and it should be a great game. Key will be senior F Zahir Carrington’s play underneath. I have to admit I really like how this team has come together after the last Navy loss. The biggest X-factor: is everyone healthy?

    #1708

    carney2
    Participant

    "lfnadmin" wrote: My quickie writeup on the game on Sunday:

    http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.co … -this.html

    The Leopards will do anything to keep from the regular-season sweep, and it should be a great game. Key will be senior F Zahir Carrington’s play underneath. I have to admit I really like how this team has come together after the last Navy loss. The biggest X-factor: is everyone healthy?

    I disagree, LFN. Carrington is not the key. He is a given. He always plays well against the Leopards – in fact, a little better than he plays against the rest of the League. He will do the same on Sunday. You can take it to the bank.

    The "key" to this game will be Lafayette’s C/F Jared Mintz, who is the team’s top scorer and top rebounder. He injured an ankle earlier in the week and did not make the trip on Wednesday to Bucknell. If he doesn’t play on Sunday, or is only some percentage of effective, bet the mortgage money on the Squawks.

    #1710

    LU65
    Participant

    Must say I agree with Carney. Mintz holds the key to a Lafayette win. Without him, it’s doubtful – extremely doubtful. With him, it’s a toss-up with, however, an edge given to Lehigh based on……..

    Rebounding Margin
    LU +3.4
    LC -7.3

    Momentum
    LU Winners of four of their last five
    LC Losers in four of their last five

    Multiple Scoring Options
    LU: CJ (22.2), ZC (13.6), GK (12.1), and MH (11.8)
    LC: Mintz (16.6), Mower (13.3), Willen (12.8)

    Senior Leadership
    Intangible, for sure, but I can’t see Carrington, Buchberger, and Shamis letting this opportunity slip through their fingers – especially Hall who comes into this game with memories of going 1 for 10 in the last Lafayette encounter. The four men sport a combined season pt. average of 29.4.

    Three-Point Shooting
    LU: League best at defending the shot @ .315
    LC: When they’re falling, great! When they’re not, not so good. Check out their last 5 games (LC’s 3FG% shown)
    L to BU 30.4%
    W over Navy 45.5%
    L to CU 28.6%
    L to HC 20.0%
    L to AU 23.8%

    Let’s hope we and CBS College Sports give a nation a great game.

    #1713

    Mtnhwkfan
    Participant

    The Kirby Sports Center is a tough place for the visitor. In ’08-’09 Lehigh won by 3; in ’07-’08 they lost by 18; and ’06-’07 they lost by 4 in 2OT. Expect a dogfight – with or without Mintz.

    #1715

    LU65
    Participant

    As Matt Logie, LU Associate Head Coach/Basketball, said in the post game radio interview, "You got to tip your hat to Lafaytette." Coach Reed was, no doubt, preoccupied in a one-sided discussion in the locker room. Subject: The Art of Defending the Three-point Shot.

    The LC leopards took it to us today winning the game by a final score of 90-75. The daggers came from deep, in particular from senior Jeff Kari who connected on 6 of 7 from long range. He was joined in double figures by Willen (3 three’s), Mauer (4 three’s) and Gruner (2 three’s). All told, Lafayette dropped-in 16 bombs (55% conversion rate). When you can shoot three’s like that, why go for 2’s? But, just to keep it even, Lafayette did make 16 from inside the arc, too. Overall, they were 32 for 54. And, it wasn’t as if Lehigh couldn’t shoot the basketball. They did, finding the hoop on 29 of 62 attempts (47%). But, not well enough on a day like this and certainly not well enough from deep (6 of 20). The Mountain Hawks put the usual four in double-figures – led again by CJ with 28. And, that’s hard to do shooting just 1 of 8 from long range. Hall had 14, Carrington 12, and Knutson a quiet – very quiet 10. Gabe got schooled a number of times today under the basket on both ends of the court. Welcome to the LU-LC rivalry and to the Kirby Sports Center. So, you live or die with the three and tonight Lafayette is living it up tonight.

    The standings (remaining opponents shown following W-L record)

    LU 8-4 BU HC
    BU 8-4 @LU @Army
    Navy 7-5 AU @CU
    LC 7-4 @A @AU
    HC 5-7 CU @LU
    AU 5-7 @Navy LC
    Army 4-8 LC BU
    CU 4-8 @HC Navy

    LU and BU have clinched a home date for the March 3rd quarterfinals. Who they play is anyone’s guess.

    #1716

    LU65
    Participant

    Typo ! Sorry.

    Make that LC 7-5 in the standings

    #1717
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Pards were verygood from 3, which has defined their season. They win or lose on that skill. would have thought Reed would concentrate on perimeter D. Boy were we inept at it today. We did little to disrupt long range shooting. Congrats to Pards they played theirgame well. We did not.

    #1718

    norcalfan
    Participant

    I agree. Reed did not focus on the perimter D at all. He looked shell shocked and did not make the adjustments. Safstrom and Adams did well in the last outing against LC. Adams had a mere 5 minutes this game vs 14 against Colgate. Ojo had the minutes, but did not start this game. The starters made mistakes and yet they got to stay in.m I will say it again, he needs the bench in the game. Greiner 12 minutes, points? Small 5 minutes? They need a coach who can build their confidence rather than blame them for every loss. Several of us watched this game and all say the coach did not prepare this team to win. I think he focused on the Mintz injury. O’Hanlon is a good coach. This league is a trip, never a guaranteed win. Next year will be interesting.

    BTW, do the assistants have any input during the game. From where I sat, they just sat there.

    Good job LC, you shot the lights out of that 3.

    Looks like BU got the job done. Now LU has to see what they can do against them.

    #1719

    carney2
    Participant

    "RichH" wrote: Pards were verygood from 3, which has defined their season. They win or lose on that skill. would have thought Reed would concentrate on perimeter D. Boy were we inept at it today. We did little to disrupt long range shooting. Congrats to Pards they played theirgame well. We did not.

    This looks like yet another example of how where you are sitting affects your view. I’m talking about the daggers being directed at Reed for not properly defending the 3. That’s a "we lost," rather than "they won" viewpoint. From my seat it appeared that the guys in brown were doing an adequate job, but just ran into a buzz saw that couldn’t be controlled. Lafayette did not appear to be moving well without the ball, and did not seem to have the same open looks that they were getting up to about a month ago. Unlike last month at Stabler however, the ball was finding the basket. I was, on the other hand, impressed with Lehigh’s discipline on their defensive perimeter. Case in point came in the 2nd half when Lafayette had 3 solid outside shooters on the floor along with Mintz (will occasionally throw up a 3, but with predictably bad results) and freshman Tony Johnson (can shoot the 3, but is reluctant). The Lehigh defense consistently laid off Mintz and Johnson as if daring them to bomb from long range, but challenged the other 3 Lafayette players everywhere they went. From my seat it looked like Lafayette’s Kari, Willen, Mower and Gruner were sleepwalking in Wonderland and not a heluva lot more could be done about it than was done.

    #1720

    carney2
    Participant

    I still don’t understand how the League puts its schedule together. We have Army-Navy and Lafayette-Lehigh just sort of thrown into the middle of the schedule. Why aren’t these games the final event? I know the other 4 are saying "what about us?," but you’ve got two of the greatest rivalries in college sports treated as throwaways. I know that the PL administrators attended college, but there are times (many times) when I question whether they actually had enough gray matter to graduate. Really, this doesn’t take a lot of thought.

    #1721

    norcalfan
    Participant

    I would not call them daggers, only an opinion. Reed does not need defending. When you are the #1 team, your defense and offense needs to be solid.
    It’s time to move on. With all the daggers you feel have been sent Reed’s way, it is time for the team to focus on the next two games which would keep them on top. My concern is can LU get past the first round. They have the talent. Reed is the coach and I assume he will get the job done. Good luck to all the teams.

    #1722

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    If I’m Reed, I just tip my hat off to Lafayette, perhaps make a short speech about defending the three, and focus on beating Bucknell. If a team can make 59% from the perimeter and 16-for-29 3’s, they’re going to win almost every time.

    Maybe Lehigh could have gotten a bit more in the face on the outside to challenge the outside, maybe not. But this just seemed like "one of those games". It’s hard to think of what more McCollum (22 points and 10 boards, and getting within range of a triple-double with 6 assists), Hall (14), Zahir (12) and Knutson (10) could have done to win the game. Even Ojo, with his workmanlike 5 points and 4 fouls wasn’t a bad effort off the bench.

    FWIW I don’t think Buchburger is 100% yet, and oddly enough I think it makes a difference. Ojo is a fine player but he’s not an ideal 3 guard, and we could have used B’s defense on the perimeter out there.

    #1723

    LU65
    Participant

    Carney 2, I’m with you. LU’s perimeter "D" was not that bad. This, after watching the game (thanks, DVR) over and over again. Sure, there were a couple of open looks but a few hands in the face, as well. And, while the 3-pt. line may have been adequately guarded, 3-4 feet beyond it was not. Hey, it was just one of those games. It was de ja vue all over again, if you know what I mean. I refer, of course, to a quarterfinal game played up at the Hart Center on 3/4/05 when LU’s Joe Knight scored 45 on 15 for 19 shooting (10 for 12 from deep). I never saw a player so locked-in or in the zone. Yesterday was close but this time it was four guys (Kari/Willen/Gruner/Mower) feeling it. Fifteen made three’s was just too much to overcome. Congrats, Leopards.

    Oddly enough, when it comes to the three point shot, LU is still the recognized leader in the PL.

    League Standings (following yesterday’s play)

    3FG Defense
    LU # 3 @ .339 (it was # 1 @ .315 before yesterday’s game)
    Lehigh has also faced the most 3-point FG attempts in league play, 280.
    I would imagine BU and HC will attempt to add to that total, big time.
    LC # 5 @ .374

    3FG Offense
    LU # 1 @ .402
    LC # 5 @ .365

    On a brighter note, LU fans wake up this morning with the league’s top scorer, C.J. McCollum. He holds a 7 point lead (272 to 265) over Navy’s Cliff Harris following Harris’ poor showing (4 pts. on 2 for 17 shooting) against Army and CJ’s 28 against Lafayette.

    #1724

    ericatbucknell
    Participant

    "carney2" wrote: I still don’t understand how the League puts its schedule together. We have Army-Navy and Lafayette-Lehigh just sort of thrown into the middle of the schedule. Why aren’t these games the final event? I know the other 4 are saying "what about us?," but you’ve got two of the greatest rivalries in college sports treated as throwaways. I know that the PL administrators attended college, but there are times (many times) when I question whether they actually had enough gray matter to graduate. Really, this doesn’t take a lot of thought.

    osu-um is just thrown into the schedule. same goes for um-msu, pu-iu and every other big ten rivalry. and, yeah, it works that way in the sec, too. no cocktail party to end the regular season. big 12? pac 10? big east? they dont do it, either. so that basically leaves three real end-of-season rivalry games in all of major college basketball: unc-duke, umd-uva and (kinda) fsu-miami. (the three others are gt-vt, clem-wf, bc-ncst.)

    lots of idiots in college sports, i guess.

    of course, one must ask what the final game of the regular season means in a sport with both conference tournaments and an enormous national tournament.

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