The #4 Stags (L2)(12-9)(6-4) return to action on ESPN+ at Mahoney Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4 for a 2:00 pm rematch with #10 Manhattan. The Jaspers (L1) are (5-14) overall and (2-8) in the MAAC.
On January 21 Manhattan lost at home in Riverdale, NY 75-82 to Fairfield.
Fairfield is (5-3) at home in Mahoney Arena with a box score attendance average of 2,312.
Promotions Student T-shirt Giveaway $10k Full Court Putt: One student randomly selected to shoot a full court putt to win $10,000 Drink Voucher for the first 200 students (Sponsored by FUSA) Food Voucher for the first 200 students (Sponsored by FUSA)
going to be a challenge for the boys and an opportunity for some of the guys to get a chance to play extended minutes they might not usually see..JJJ, Jack Brown, Matt Curtis, maybe Anthony Davis, Ryan M., etc. I’m not sure if the status of Peyton, Birima, is Alexis ready abd on and on. Wins are valuable and I’m confident that we will have enough toughness to overcome the adversity we’re facing. Go Stags!!
I am hoping Bleechmore can return vs Manhattan playing at least some minutes.At the Iona game on Friday I saw him walking normally in regular sneakers so I took that as a good sign.
going to be a challenge for the boys and an opportunity for some of the guys to get a chance to play extended minutes they might not usually see..JJJ, Jack Brown, Matt Curtis, maybe Anthony Davis, Ryan M., etc. I’m not sure if the status of Peyton, Birima, is Alexis ready abd on and on. Wins are valuable and I’m confident that we will have enough toughness to overcome the adversity we’re facing. Go Stags!!
Well first of all, even without the current health situation, this contest didn't figure to be the slam dunk victory that some might have expected a couple of weeks ago based on the trends of both teams at that time. Mostly talking about the Jaspers here because their record is so poor. But recently they have been competing well, something the Stags saw in person down at the Draddy when the result was not really known until probably the moment when Goodine hit that shot from the sideline that many questioned he should have even attempted. But after that they were able to do what we couldn't do previous, namely defeat Niagara up at the Falls. And a tough 6 point loss to Quinnipiac after that proves they shouldn't be taken lightly at all.
Now regarding the players Chris Casey will employ today from an assumption that NONE of the injured will be available (which I believe will be the case considering the short two day break between games), I think to get the job done our four main guards will all be playing close to the full forty minutes with those guys supplemented by the rotation of JJJ, Seck and Jack Brown. That's it, seven men if all goes according to plan (no extra foul trouble or god forbid ANOTHER injury). Maybe Matty for a couple of minutes based on how he was inserted the other night to give Brycen a short rest. But no deeper than that (IMO) based on the lack of game-time experience any of the others have had this year. Anyway having enough toughness is the key (as you suggest), and I think the make-up of this team suggests they should, and therefore I have a lot of hope that we will be happy around 4:00 PM this afternoon at the Leo.
Stags are listed as 9.5 pt favorites today. Seems to be way to high of a spread favoring FF considering the injury report! If I was a betting man I think I would take Manhattan on this one to beat the spread.
Agree totally with Nash's post above. IMO the key to victory today will be the return to his previously deadly outside shooting for Brycen. If he is on today we can outgun the Jaspers even given the fact we will get killed on the offensive boards. PS Perhaps we can get some semblance of a good ALL AROUND game from JJJ. That will help immensely!
Available roster will certainly be the key. I'm guessing the Stags will be cautious and will hold everyone back until next week. It'd be nice if Yetna was able to give them 5 minutes each half... but we'll see!
I am hoping Bleechmore can return vs Manhattan playing at least some minutes.At the Iona game on Friday I saw him walking normally in regular sneakers so I took that as a good sign.
I think he said on the Open Court Pod, that he's targeting next week. Sounds like today is out of the question.
Fairfield Starting Lineup () POS # NAME Class G 0 Fields, Caleb SR G 3 Leach, Jalen SR G 4 Floyd, Jasper JR G 14 Johns Jr., James SO F 1 Seck, Birima JR
Held out hope that Johns would develop further as the season progressed. Not happening on either end. Falls asleep on defense and his shooting and shot selection are awful.
