Maryland 95 Holy Cross 71 Seton Hall 105 Wagner 71 (Curtis Cobb scored 7 points on 2-9 shooting, 1-8 from three) Oakland 94 Goshen 66 UMass 79 UMass-Lowell 64 William & Mary 70 High Point 56 Marquette 88 Loyola Maryland 53 USC 77 Florida A&M 48
Monmouth 66 Lehigh 62 Rider 91 Coppin State 84 Siena 96 American 80
Hartford 74 CCSU 59 Yale 74 Stony Brook 69 (overtime) Providence 106 Sacred Heart 60 California Baptist 93 Jackson State 70 (Ferron Flavors scored 22 points)
Well other than us losing, the MAAC won the other three games played. Certainly a better start for the league than the 1-7, 2-6 type results that are usually the norm. A lot of this is due to scheduling and who the competition is of course. But at least at the beginning of one season it is nice to see the league with an above 500 record. BTW the most meaningful result just based on the numbers and the predicted strength of the teams involved, Siena may have taken a major step forward not so much because they won, but more so because of how much they won by. In any event, in his first game as a head coach our old friend Coach Carmen had a great night. So congratulations to him!
Also, the margin of the Providence victory over Sacred Heart is very surprising to me considering the Hearts have almost everyone back from a team that finished strong last year and is predicted to have a great chance to be one of the best in the NEC this season. Were they over-rated, or maybe, just maybe, Cooley has a real strong team again this year after a slump in 2018-19? One result doesn't always tell a complete story but I do think a trend may have been established, more so with the Friars in mind as opposed to the Pioneers.
For those of you that want to watch a video on ESPN+ of UMASS beat UMASS-Lowell...... here is the link. I watched part of it. UMASS has new starters that seem to be very active and athletic. I would say that UMASS is beatable because it is their 1st away game for these players.
For those of you that want to watch a video on ESPN+ of UMASS beat UMASS-Lowell...... here is the link. I watched part of it. UMASS has new starters that seem to be very active and athletic. I would say that UMASS is beatable because it is their 1st away game for these players.
They may be but they have both a 3 star and 4 star freshman that are sure to be impact players over time. I would not want to face them as the season progresses, I think they have the stock needed to rebuild the program.
Sacred Heart (0-1) at UConn (0-0) tonight (Friday) at 7:00 pm on SNY. It's the Huskies home and season opener from the Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs. A tough two early games for SHU to start the season as they were clobbered 106-60 at Providence on Tuesday in PC's home opener and this game won't won't be any easier for them.
Sacred Heart (0-1) at UConn (0-0) tonight (Friday) at 7:00 pm on SNY. It's the Huskies home and season opener from the Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs. A tough two early games for SHU to start the season as they were clobbered 106-60 at Providence on Tuesday in PC's home opener and this game won't won't be any easier for them.
Actually I think opening night jitters from SHU plus the fact that Cooley had his charges ready to go after a down year last season might have contributed to the lopsided margin of that game. I think the Hearts might eventually be pretty good, at least in their league, therefore I look for a much better effort this time against the Huskies, who while starting to become much better in Dan Hurley's second year in charge nevertheless might be in the process of finding themselves a bit. UConn will win, but it will be fairly competitive I think.
Fordham and Fairfield need to go as a package deal to the Patriot League. Much higher academic profile than the MAAC and the A-10. Better market reach, with a presence in East Coast markets from Boston to DC. Superior alumni bases. 4 former MAAC schools in Fordham, Holy Cross, Army, and Loyola. IMO, a no brainer, but Fordham will never bite.