ncaa early play 11/17

[10DimeBry]

Ok had a great night in hoops to kick off my ncaa season. 3-0 sweep. 1 early play. As some of you know I consider myself a specialist in MAAC basketball and their teams. Today Siena plays Oregon St.

My play Oregon St -4.

write up to follow in a bit.


GLTA

[Homer]

GL Bud will be on Oregon State

[10DimeBry]

here's what i got:

Its early and I dont know a ton about Oregon St. What I know is that 1 of their top players is out. They are picked 4th in the PAC-10 this year.

As for Siena. This team I know a ton about. I talked directly with Siena HC Rob Lanier on a local radio show here this week. This is what I got out of it. Leading scorer Michael Haddox has a sore back and will be in and out all game. Soph. outside shooter Michael Beers is out with a broken hand. Kojo Mensah is a freshman who will be handling the point guard duties. I for one am not big on freshman being the floor leader. Siena also has 3 other freshman who will see playing time as soon as today. Siena is picked 7th in the MAAC. Lanier says he thinks his team can finnish in the top 4 in the MAAC. I for one would like would like to play Siena in this spot but I just cant. Since Lanier took over this team 3 seasons back, Siena is a live & die by the 3pt shot squad. Much like Penn St. In my opinion Oregon State wins this game by 8-12pts. some trends:

Siena are 2-4-2 ATS in their last 8 games
Siena are 2-4-0 ATS in their last 6 away games
Siena are 4-1-0 OU in their last 5 away
Oregon St are 6-3-0 ATS in their last 9 games
Oregon St are 1-5-0 OU in their last 6 games
Oregon St are 1-6-0 OU in their last 7 at home

[cowboys]

GL

GL Boss. playin that and pepperdine, even earlier.

[RJeremy]

Bryan

I'll ride you on this Oregon St. pick.

I'm also going to bang Pepperdine pretty hard in this early game.

I wish the REAL teams would start playing, that's where we'll tear it up.

[10DimeBry]

RJ,

My oregon state play isnt any stronger than any of my other hoop picks. Once MAAC conference games kick in thats when I'll be pounding thegreek. Today I just dont think Siena matches up well with Oregon State and I need to see how Siena's freshman PG does before I back them.

[orientalhawn]

Thanks for the info I'm in

good luck

[Homer]

FYI

Hotmail is working now. Just returned your email

[10DimeBry]

homer,

Got your email a min ago, thanks for the reply. I wrote you back.

[thaikarate1]

Dime, here is some more info on the game.

I like your play.

GAME NOTES: A couple of teams kicking off their respective 2004-05 campaigns meet in the first round of the BCA Invitational today, as the Oregon State Beavers take on the Siena Saints from the RBC Center in Raleigh. The winner of today's game will meet either Pepperdine or East Carolina in the second round on Thursday. The Beavers are coming off a rather lackluster 2003-04 season in which they finished just 12-16 overall and 6-12 in Pac-10 play. Disappointment seems to be a common thing for Oregon State, which hasn't posted a winning record since Gary Payton's last year in Corvallis back in 1990. Still, third- year head coach Jay John thinks this could be the team to break that drought with all five starters and several key reserves back from a year ago. As for Siena, it failed for the first time in three years to make a postseason appearance in 2003-04, finishing just 14-16 overall and 9-9 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. With three starters gone from last year's club, head coach Rob Lanier will have his work cut out of for him to return the Saints to the postseason. Lanier, who guided the Saints to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001-02 and an NIT berth in 2002-03, is 2-1 in season openers in his three years at the helm. Today's game marks the first-ever meeting between Oregon State and Siena on the hardwood.

While the Beavers may not have finished above .500 last season, they were certainly competitive. Of the team's 12 conference defeats, half came by nine points or less, and with no significant losses from that club, OSU may be finally ready to turn the corner. Former walk-on David Lucas will surely play a big part in the team's chances of a winning record, after averaging a solid 17.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season. The senior forward also made 51.0 percent of his shots from the floor in earning All-Pac-10 honors. However, following surgery on his toe in late October, Lucas will remain shelved to start the season. Sophomore forward Kyle Jeffers, who led the team in blocks as a freshman last year, should provide a significant boost in the frontcourt in Lucas' absence. Junior guard Chris Stephens (15.8 ppg) shows great perimeter scoring prowess, followed by senior guard J.S. Nash (10.5 ppg), who has demonstrated the same.

With no less than six freshmen on the team, the Saints will surely go through some serious growing pains early in the season. Along with the squad's inexperience comes a lack of an inside game with nine guards currently on the roster. Siena, the top rebounding team in the MAAC last season, may struggle to duplicate that effort even with the return of one of the strongest inside players in the league in Michael Haddix. The junior forward earned Second Team All-MAAC honors last season after averaging a near double-double with 15.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. The Saints could get more better production from Haddix if junior guard Antoine Jordan (9.4 ppg, 2.9 apg) returns to form now that he appears fully recovered from a severe ankle injury that limited his availability last year. Put Tommy Mitchell (10.4 ppg) next to Jordan in the backcourt again, and when healthy the duo is one of the best in the league. At 6-10, center Brent Sniezyk gives the Saints some size in the frontcourt even though he averaged just 2.5 ppg off the bench a year ago.

Oregon State has nearly its same team from a year ago, while Siena must find a way for all of its new players to gel quickly. The Beavers should have the better chemistry, and despite the absence of Lucas, should come out on top today.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oregon State 70, Siena 60

[10DimeBry]

thai,

Thanks for the wright up. I agree. I dont know alot about oregon st as stated above, but I do know alot about the MAAC and imparticular Siena. Siena wont be as bad in conference but they are young and yet to be tested. Who knows maybe they win? But my money is on Oregon st

[Homer]

Mail returned

[thesandman]

Question - Sports Network Writeup

Thai. Thanks for the writeup. It's great. I went to the Sports Network site, looking for their writeups on other games. I just saw the writeup for the NO/NCState game. Do they have writeups for all the games somewhere, or just a few. If just a few, how do they decide which games to post. Are those their best plays?

[BigTicket]

Sandman

Hey sandman,

I decided to answer your question since I frequent the sports network site. They have writeups and predicted outcomes on every college basketball game every day. I believe what you clicked on was "top 25 scoreboard" instead of "NCAA scoreboard", which shows all games for the day. It can be a valuable resource throughout the season. Hope this helps!

[The Lovedoc]

damn

am i the only one who has siena?? I'M DONE!!!