Some quick hitters as we head into another weekend:
- Providence head coach Keno Davis hinted that lineup changes could be in store starting with Saturday’s home date with Rutgers. Davis was not happy with the Friars getting annihilated on the glass by a 45-21 margin on Wednesday, including 26-7 in the second half. He indicated that the practices leading up to Saturday’s game might shape the minutes some players get, and one has to think Jamine Peterson was one target of the comments as he averages over 10 rebounds per game but didn’t have one in the second half while also giving them nothing offensively. But he was hardly alone in the struggles on the glass.”We will try to correct the problem, whatever it turns out to be, and that might be different personnel,” Davis said. “Other players have to look and say, ‘hey, this is my opportunity, all I have to do is get in practice and rebound and I’ll get an opportunity on the court.’ And some of the guys that have been getting the opportunity, their minutes will be cut down if they don’t start to rebound.”
- George Mason‘s loss at Northeastern on Thursday came in their only road game during the stretch of four games in eight days to start the meat of CAA play. The young Patriots caught a break in the schedule in that respect, and while they started out 3-0 the staff knows they have a young group and have seen them go up and down like any team with this much youth often will. The offense looked erratic on Thursday night, and that might be their trouble spot, as the defense hasn’t been great but hasn’t been bad, either. But the offense is turning the ball over nearly 16 times per game and the struggles seemed quite noticeable on Thursday night.”I think our guards were not able to find open men,” head coach Jim Larranaga said. “They penetrated and ended up shooting difficult, difficult shots, challenged by their big guys, instead of just kicking it out to an open man. We’ve just got to do a much better job of that in the future.”
- Entering the final part of the four-in-eight stretch in the CAA, five teams are tied atop the conference at 3-1. We’ll have more on how the standings look after Saturday’s games coming up later, focusing on how teams did during this key stretch to start 2010.
- In prep school action, St. Mark’s knocked off Worcester Academy 67-55 on Friday in a rematch of a game Worcester won a year ago. The Lions responded to every rally by the Hilltoppers and look to be playing better basketball, although it’s worth noting that they have played a very tough schedule to date. Siena signee Melsahn Basabe (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF, Glen Cove (NY)) continues to have a solid senior season, scoring a game-high 24 points to lead the Lions, while Alex Murphy (6’9″ So. SF, Wakefield (RI)) had 15. Christophe Varidel (6’1″ Sr. SG, Geneva (Switzerland)) led Worcester Academy with 16 points and showcased his excellent shooting stroke.
