Defense has been a struggle for Central Connecticut

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Every team has at least one team that is a bad matchup for one reason or another. For Central Connecticut, one of them would seem to be Bryant, a relentless offensive team that is tough enough to beat as it is and even tougher if they get some defensive stops. That was in evidence in the Blue Devils’ 88-67 loss to the Bulldogs on Thursday night, especially in the second half as Bryant broke open what was a close game for some of the first half and showed the growing pains this Central Connecticut team has had.

Central Connecticut has just one senior to go with four freshmen and a junior college transfer. Last season’s team had three seniors, all very experienced, along with a junior, so while last year’s team also had some youth they had more veterans to carry them. Head coach Howie Dickenmann is now starting three underclassmen and is bringing the one senior, Joe Efese, off the bench. How long he will stick with that lineup remains to be seen, but to a degree Tuesday night is an aberration because they struggled against a hot offensive team. The Bulldogs shot over 53 percent from the field on the evening.

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Maryland just can’t keep momentum from the win over Duke

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Just as quickly as Maryland’s win over Duke on Saturday night vaulted them into the NCAA Tournament conversation, the Terrapins may have moved right back outside of it.  A lackluster effort on Tuesday night culminated in a 69-58 loss that can undo a lot of what Saturday’s win did for them.

“I just don’t get it,” said head coach Mark Turgeon.  “I just don’t understand – right here, it’s a big game, it’s not a hostile environment.  You’ve just got to want it.  It just seemed like we were standing in quicksand all night, standing and watching.”

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Providence is hitting their stride in February

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey wasted no time heaping praise on the team that beat his Fighting Irish convincingly on Saturday. He had barely sat down when he started.

“I think they are the most underrated team in our league, quite frankly,” said Brey. “They are really hard to guard. I think Ed’s done a fabulous job with them.”

Providence is clearly hitting its stride at long last, and Saturday was the best exhibition of that. After battling personnel issues through the early part of Big East play, this team finally seems to have settled into what they are. The Friars are healthy, have found their roles, they know what’s expected and they have found a rotation that is working. And it probably doesn’t hurt from an intangible standpoint that one of the players they were eager to get eligible is not with them now.

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Loss at Providence an aberration for Notre Dame

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Throw out Saturday’s 71-54 loss at Providence for Notre Dame. It’s an aberration, and maybe it was something they were due for given what they’ve had to do lately. The Fighting Irish have now lost their last two games decided in regulation, but they have come a couple of games apart. And while they didn’t play well, head coach Mike Brey very accurately assessed that this outcome is more about the home team.

“It’s been a long week, but I’d say 95 percent of tonight was Providence’s performance, and they were fabulous,” said Brey.

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Delaware could finish this season like they did last season

BOSTON – Last season, Delaware lost a heart-breaker at Northeastern, a game that they had in their grasp.  The Blue Hens were not deflated, however, although they lost their next game at Drexel, because then they didn’t lose again until the CAA Tournament.  This time around, the Blue Hens pulled out a dramatic 76-74 overtime win at Matthews Arena and hope a different game result is part of the same result after the game.

“I don’t know if that was exactly what I drew up in the huddle, but all’s well that ends well,” head coach Monte Ross said of the game-winning shot, a deep three-pointer by Jarvis Threatt with the shot clock running down.

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Clemson shows promise and room for growth in loss at Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Brad Brownell’s body language said it all. The Clemson mentor watched Boston College miss two free throws and his team not hang on to the rebound, giving BC the ball back with a fresh shot clock while already having a ten-point lead late in the game. It was that kind of afternoon for the Tigers in their 75-68 loss to the Eagles, an afternoon that masks the potential this team has.

The Tigers never looked like you would expect a Brownell-coached team to and then seemed to lose their cool at times. They finally showed some life in the final ten minutes of the game, rallying to within one late, but they dug themselves too deep a hole to rally from. Perhaps this might just be a case of growing pains, something this team has had with only two upperclassmen on the roster.

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Missed opportunities make for a missed opportunity for Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Thursday night was a missed opportunity for Providence.  The Friars had a lot of those on the evening, actually, but that’s what the 82-79 overtime loss to Connecticut amounted to as a result.

It was a missed opportunity to get back above .500 overall and simultaneously send Connecticut below .500 in the Big East.  It was an opportunity to stop a two-game losing streak and to do so against their rivals from one state away, at a time when they are very beatable.  And most of all, it was an opportunity to win a game where effort wasn’t the biggest issue.

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Win over Richmond shows how UMass is adjusting after a key injury

AMHERST, Mass. – Perhaps the best way to sum up UMass’ 70-65 win over Richmond is that the Minutemen found a way to pull it out.  It won’t go down as a particularly memorable game for one reason or another, but it was still a win over a team that had some momentum, and along the way they did some of what they will have to do to win games the rest of the way.

UMass wasn’t a great jump shooting team, especially from long range, to begin with.  Now that Jesse Morgan is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL over two weeks ago, they have to change a little of how they attack other teams offensively.  They were 3-15 from long range against Richmond, but the 15 attempts is their second-lowest total of the season.  They have taken 33 shots from deep in two games this season.  Conversely, they have taken about 10 percent fewer free throws than three-pointers.

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New Hampshire is searching desperately for answers

DURHAM, N.H. – Bill Herrion summed it up rather succinctly in the middle of his post-game press conference.

“We’re rock bottom,” said the subdued New Hampshire head coach.  “I’m not going to lie to you, we’re rock bottom right now.”

Thursday night’s 51-40 loss to Hartford was the Wildcats’ ninth in a row.  It was another game where the offense struggled to get going, and once the defense had some trouble, the game was over.  In past years the Wildcats would defend well enough to stay in the game, and the offense had enough to win some games.  That’s not the case with this team, and that’s before we get to the fact that they don’t seem to play well together at the offensive end.

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Win over William & Mary helps explain Northeastern’s 7-0 CAA start

BOSTON – Northeastern didn’t win Wednesday night’s game as comfortably as they probably should have.  The Huskies had a 16-point lead early in the second half and appeared to be dominating William & Mary, which one might expect given that the Huskies came in undefeated in CAA play and the Tribe was a game out of the cellar and mired in a seven-game losing streak.  In the end, they won 95-91 in double overtime, and head coach Bill Coen breathing a sigh of relief tells you how much the bottom line is what counts.

“We were very, very fortunate tonight to come away with a victory,” said Coen.  “A lot of teams, after surrendering a 15-point halftime lead, wouldn’t be able to find a way to win.  It speaks to this group because they stuck together, they believed in one another.”

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