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Username Post: Hoops End 20 Day Break - Monmouth Up Next        (Topic#6688)
LU65 
Sophomore
Posts: 133

Reg: 07-30-06
12-27-07 05:47 PM - Post#40303    

After what I have been told is the longest Exam/Holiday Break in Patriot League history (20 days), the Mountain Hawks (5-5) return to action on Friday in the first of four games to close out its 14-game OOC schedule. This, before the real fun begins on January 12th when we host American to kick-off the 2008 PL Season. The next four games are like the final spring training games in baseball - a final dress rehearsal for the real thing. And, based on the numbers below, they should prove challenging and one might argue, winnable.


Date (home or away) / Team / Record / RPI / SOS

Dec. 28 (h) / Monmouth / 2-9 / 289 / 181
Dec. 31 (a) / Penn State / 7-4 / 181 / 207
Jan. 2 (a) / Columbia / 4-7 / 197 / 182
Jan 6 (h) / Princeton / 2-8 / 244 / 73

Lehigh's comparable numbers (5-5 / 309 / 338) are not pretty.

The final two numbers say it all! While everyone associated with the program may have signed for a .500 record at the start of the season, think competition! We earned it playing the fourth weakest schedule (won/loss record of our opponents) of all teams in Division I basketball. In fact, the combined records of the teams we are about to face (15-28) is a step UP in class from what we have seen to date. Our five wins have come against: St. Peters, St. Francis (PA), NJIT, Stoney Brook, and Harvard. Together, they're 13-46 entering play this weekend. So, the nagging question remains: Are we really as bad as the numbers would indicate? For those of you who subscribe to Sagarin's Power Ratings that appear weekly in the USA Today, it would seem not. Jeff Sagarin slots Lehigh in at #265 - a few notches above Navy yet trailing all others in the PL. As someone who sees the "glass half full" and is a professed loyal fan of LU basketball, I would argue "no," we are not that bad. The schedule is what it is; we play who we're told to play. Who is to say - with 100% conviction - that we would not have won an equal or higher number of games against teams posting a slightly higher winning percentage than the likes of those mentioned above? The true test of that position will come this Friday and in the nine days that follow when Lehigh is called upon to raise its level of play against slightly higher levels of competition.

Test # 1: Monmouth

The Hawks come into Stable riding a 6 game losing streak and stand 2-9 overall. Their biggest claims to fame this year might be bowing to Seton Hall (8-2, RPI 25) in OT and posting wins over Charlotte (7-4, RPI 160) and Wichita St (7-4, RPI 116). They rely heavily on the talents of # 3, Sophomore Guard, Jhamar Youngblood who is clocking nearly 32 minutes per game. He leads the team in both points scored and steals per game @ 15.0 and 2.0, respectively. He is also second on the team in rebounds with 3.4 pg. Youngblood is not particularly effective from beyond the arc (.280) or from the Free Throw line (.568). When it comes to giving a foul, if Lehigh finds itself in the position to do so, we would be wise to stay away from Rutledge (.947 FT %) and Coleman (.917 FT%). When it comes to common opponents, Monmouth loss to St. Peter's by 10 (LU had beaten the Peacocks by 4 earlier in the year). The Hawks of Monmouth are young and without a senior on the roster. They start 3 freshmen, 1 sophomore and 1 junior. While there is no such thing as a sure thing, this contest shapes up as one we can, and perhaps should, win. We are, after all, playing at home, riding a 2 game wining streak, shooting better than our opponent (.434 vs .375 FG%) and for once do not find ourselves out- manned in terms height, weight, and experience under the boards. The concern I have, however, is our FG Defense stats. Currently last in the PL, these numbers are sure to catch Monmouth's attention:. .437 (FG%) and .450 (3 pt. FG%). Finally, if the players and coaches need added incentive, they need look no further than the "egg they laid" at the Boylan Gym in West Long Brnach, New Jersey a year ago. A 3-8 Monmouth team embarrassed us 67-39.

See you at Stabler!


 
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