Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › We Tip in 30 Days
This topic contains 18 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by lehigh90 7 years, 5 months ago.
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October 13, 2016 at 2:17 am #28743
Let’s get some banter going on here. I’m psyched to watch Lehigh hoops and this Board is dead.
October 13, 2016 at 9:09 am #28748Agreed. This team is potentially among the deepest, most talented Lehigh teams ever. By the way, Xavier lists our game as available on Fox College Sports. I’m assuming that’s FCS Central, which we do get here in the Lehigh Valley on Service Electric cable. So I have my fingers crossed for that Friday night.
October 13, 2016 at 1:31 pm #28752Last year it was Syracuse, the year before that it was Villanova, the year before that Minnesota, the year before that Baylor, and in 2011-12 it was St. John’s. Now, this year it’s the Musketeers of Xavier and I couldn’t be more excited and happy, too, that our Athletic Department challenges us the way they do each year by allowing the national spotlight to shine on our players and coaches – if only for a night. Who knows, maybe the lights will shine bright again in the Spring.
As for our first opponent, Xavier, they were picked to finish 2nd in the Big East Pre-season Coaches’ Poll and feature a fair of 6’6” guards who were tabbed, in that same poll, as members of the Pre-season All Big East First Team. I’d expect a lot of banter on the Board in the days leading up to Friday, November 11th, but for time being here’s a look at the Big East Coaches’ Poll Results………
and the Xavier Roster for 2016-17……
October 13, 2016 at 1:42 pm #28753Here is a pretty comprehensive preview of Lehigh/Xavier from a Xavier fan site. Also of note is that Xavier will likely be without Myles Davis and JP Macura (suspended indefinitely). Davis averaged 10ppg last year and Macura averaged 9 as the Big East Sixth Man of the Year.
http://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2016/9/19/12982518/know-your-non-conference-opponent-lehigh
Xavier will still have a ton of talent but if one or both does not play it definitely will affect their depth and experience.
There would be more to talk about if there were some level of news coming out of practice, either through the athletics department or local media.
October 13, 2016 at 10:26 pm #28759I may be crazy but I think we have a good shot vs Xavier. They aren’t very big and we may have an advantage in the frontcourt. Usually against the power teams (Pitt/Baylor), we got dominated up front with size mismatches. But, when we played a good Villanova team and even Syracuse, we kept it close as they didn’t have good big players. I’m not sure Xavier can check TK.
And, maybe AP can shut down his high school teammate who is a big scorer for Xavier.
October 13, 2016 at 11:59 pm #28761Agreed that this may be one of our best high-major chances. Surprise is in our favor too, imo. No matter what a coach tells them, a Big East team is going to under estimate a PL team. We have guys with plenty of experience in this scenario (see Az St., DePaul).
I’m really excited for this season, but it feels a little bittersweet too. End of an era, sort of. Time to appreciate what TK and AP have provided – I hope they go out on top.October 14, 2016 at 12:33 am #28764It will be a real shame if this senior class doesn’t get 1 PL title and NCAA trip.
October 14, 2016 at 3:27 pm #28785One big concern with Xavier game. They are pretty much a sure thing at Cintas. Since 2000, 217-31 at home, .875 winning %. And, they average about 97% of capacity and it holds 10,500. Big home court advantage.
October 14, 2016 at 5:53 pm #28792[quote quote=28785]One big concern with Xavier game. They are pretty much a sure thing at Cintas. Since 2000, 217-31 at home, .875 winning %. And, they average about 97% of capacity and it holds 10,500. Big home court advantage.
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But over the past decade, they are 0-1 at Cintas vs the Patriot League. Their last home game vs a PL team was a loss to Bucknell just before Christmas in the 2006-07 season. i think it will be a close game.
October 14, 2016 at 10:42 pm #28793Took almost 1/2 last season for team to coalesce. Will this team do so quicker? Hope so with the returning starters. How much depends on the F spot? Holba or Lieb? Big or small lineup to start season?
October 15, 2016 at 12:56 am #28794Sounds like people high on both Holba and Lieb. If we get BA back, and Andree and Cohen contribute, we should have some nice depth.
We could be huge with a starting frontcourt of TK, MH and JL. But, have to assume KL is a starter (along with AP and KR).
October 15, 2016 at 1:24 am #28795We could be huge with a starting frontcourt of TK, MH and JL. But, have to assume KL is a starter (along with AP and KR).
I agree that the big line-up is improbable (and likely not the best option), but I love that it is even an option. Regardless of how ready Holba, Sedore, Lieb, and Andree are – I can’t remember a time that Lehigh has had that many big bodies on the roster since I started paying attention in the ’90’s. Remains to be seen how it works out, but nice to have some roster balance for the first time in a long time.
October 15, 2016 at 1:35 am #28796One think we are lacking is the 6’6″ athlete. We have smaller and bigger, but in that Xavier game they have to defend a really good 6’6″ scorer in Sumner. Not sure who draws that type of assignment, BA? We may struggle guarding bigger perimeter players. Luckily, we only see those types in the big OOC games.
October 15, 2016 at 1:45 am #28799Sumner is a great athlete with a lot of potential, but he only averaged 11 ppg last year on <40% shooting. I think scouts love his size, versatility, and potential more than his scoring. He’s 6’5.5 with a 6’8 wingspan and skinny. I think either AP or KL should be able to do a reasonable job on him. KL is stronger, and AP is close to as long.
As far as a 6’6 “athlete” – isn’t Holba was a 6’7 athlete”? I know he is a forward, but athletic 6’6 guards are going to be few and far between in the PL. I guess Hass from Bucknell the last few years would qualify.
October 15, 2016 at 2:26 am #28802Not sure MH going to have quickness to guard on the perimeter. Hope he is that athletic. Is he a Greiner type, inside/outside, scores off bounce and can shoot? I thought he was more of a post/baseline guy, but really don’t know.
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