Game 16: 2022-23 La Salle (1/11)

[eldonabe]

Can't believe no thread on this yet? Are people that disgusted in whatever that was at GW???

Umass is favored by 10 at the moment. Who shows up is impossible to predict, but given their home / away personas, Umass should win this one?

Discsuss

[bobolink]

they're ahead of us in the standings

[MikeUMA]

^ Only by virtue that the league has an odd number of members and they got one of the early mini-byes. They didn't play a mid-week game this past week.

La Salle is not great. They're currently 7-8 / 1-1. They're 2-6 away from Gola. In the A-15:
Lost at VCU, 80-67
Squeaked out an OT win at home over Rhody (having their own fairly disappointing season so far), 77-75.

The pre-season poll had them 14th, just a single vote out of dead last. (Duquesne was picked last but they've been a pleasant surprise so far, at 12-5 / 2-2.)

Current NET rankings has the Explorers at 287. (We are 137.)

More later - gotta go now.

[Juice Stand]

Gotta have this one. This should be a "get right" game with the ghost of Fran Dunphy over on the opposing bench. UMass is at home and better than LaSalle in just about every aspect https://atlantic10.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2022

The coaches and players should respect every opponent, but I'm neither, and I say LaSalle flat out stinks. I'll be at the Mullins Center with my maroon pom poms, and I hope we don't see another UMass Lowell or Dartmouth type of effort from this group.

[bobolink]

speaking of UMass-Lowell, I see Albany beat them yesterday. these games are SO unpredictable

[eldonabe]

Gotta have this one. This should be a "get right" game with the ghost of Fran Dunphy over on the opposing bench. UMass is at home and better than LaSalle in just about every aspect https://atlantic10.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2022

The coaches and players should respect every opponent, but I'm neither, and I say LaSalle flat out stinks. I'll be at the Mullins Center with my maroon pom poms, and I hope we don't see another UMass Lowell or Dartmouth type of effort from this group.

St Louis was the get right game. but apparently it did not right anything.


As a fan I am very frustrated. Seeing this Jekyll and Hyde thing is bringing up old memories from the DK days.

[Juice Stand]

^Yup, I thought it was too, but that's one that we weren't necessarily expected to win. I'm calling this a get right game because we're home and are much better than LaSalle. If we squeak out a win I'll continue to have some concerns, but if we take care of business and roll comfortably, I'll start to feel better about things, especially if they can repeat it at home against Rhody in a down year. I would say that I'm at a 2 on the concern-o-meter. If they still look like a .500 up and down team at the end of the month, I'll be at a 6. It's time to start getting this roster to click.

[stevemaz]

I think we will see a pattern of winning at home and having a tough time on the road. That said take care of business this week twice, lose at VCU, but win at St Joes. Next two are home.. Id be happy with 6-3 record heading into Feb

[eldonabe]

I think we will see a pattern of winning at home and having a tough time on the road. That said take care of business this week twice, lose at VCU, but win at St Joes. Next two are home.. Id be happy with 6-3 record heading into Feb

Steve you are leaving ZERO room for error in February - I believe you expected 15-3?

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Hopefully some home cooking will help here. They haven't played back-to-back home games since Albany/Lowell... could really use some confidence building here with these two.

[stevemaz]

I think we will see a pattern of winning at home and having a tough time on the road. That said take care of business this week twice, lose at VCU, but win at St Joes. Next two are home.. Id be happy with 6-3 record heading into Feb

Steve you are leaving ZERO room for error in February - I believe you expected 15-3?

I did. they should not have lost to Lowell or GW (two bad losses).

[stevemaz]

But on a more positive note i hear the great Steve Maz will be in attendance tomorrow.. Oh wait, thats me...

[Juice Stand]

Kyle Grabowski reports that Wildens may return tonight:

UMass center Wildens Leveque, who missed the past three games and played just three minutes against Dartmouth, practiced Sunday and Monday. He was resting to help combat knee tendonitis, but his body reacted well enough after Sunday to give him a full run Monday. If it continues to handle the workload well, he’ll play Wednesday against La Salle.

https://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-basket ... g-49497900

I'm not sure that we'll need him tonight, but it would be nice to start to work him back into the rotation. Even if it's only a few minutes.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I think getting him in for a few minutes to test things out would be beneficial. We seem to have such tough luck with guys and knee problems.

[Juice Stand]

But on a more positive note i hear the great Steve Maz will be in attendance tomorrow.. Oh wait, thats me...

If they lose, the blame falls squarely on your shoulders. This is not up for debate.