Miss St vs Fairfield

[Box and one]

It's the MAAC vs the SEC in the Coaches vs Cancer game on thur nite in Birmingham,Al

Miss St is loaded this yr.Could win the SEC and is favored in the West.But Roberts won't play thur nite due to 1 game NCAA suspension.
Bowers there pt gd graduated so 5'11 Ervin will replace him.
Powers is a 6'5 shooter who plays both G/F.Frazier is a 6'4 "can do it all" player.Great defender,slasher,shooter,etc.But Campbell is the 7' center who weighs in at 270 pounds.He can be a double-double player.
This team plays great defense and they can shut down offenses.They have speed,height and are athletic.
Throw in Roberts who is 1st team All American and Miss St is a SEC power.

Fairfield is a pre-season 2nd place MAAC team.Led by 6'9 Deng Gai who is the top shotblocker and a good low post player.But lyr he had 7'0 Thompson inside to help him.Thats missing this yr so teams can concentrate on Gai.stags have a few gds but there all small.,Goode,Sogadzi are 5'5.5'11 and 6'2.Van Schiack the soph from Glen falls is 6'2.Maxwell and Bell are the fds at 6'4 and 6'5.
O'Toole plays that full court man to man defense,traps then jumps into a zone.
But thur nite they will be playing way over their heads.
No one will be able to stop Campbell.Gai is a finesse shot blocker and with the quicker Miss St frontline could be nuetralized.All 4 stag gds will have trouble getting stops.Powers,Frazier,etc will be very tough to defend in an open court.
Fairfield will play zone to stop the 7'0 campbell.
But Miss St has to much talent and are so much quicker.Stags are sucessful when they can use their speed,pressure defense,etc.I don't think they can do that Thur nite.
Stanburry is a good coach who has his kids playing tough,physical defense.I think Miss St wins this by 14-20 pts.With Roberts sitting out guys like Stelmach and others will step up.
Have no idea what the line is.If its in the -12 or -15,I'll jump on Miss St.If its to high -18 or 20 might have to pass on the game.
Could be easy backdoor cover with Stanburry wanting to get all his players some playing time.O'Toole who went to my HS and coached some of my kids is crazy and will leave his starters in as much as he can.

Looking at New Mexico-Little Dukies
Niagara at Providence and a couple more.
Gotta run.Played Toledo +7 over NIU for a small play in football.
Can't believe its b-ball season already.. GL

 

[johnnyb.]

already in mid-season form!!!
look forward to your posts...

 

[hawkeye]

liking fairfield in this ne-gl

 

[devil dave]

when does the college hoops start up? thanks. looking forward to your picks. :clap:

 

[Evin]

So I had to come all the way over here to get the skinny on the Stags.

Good luck Box.

 

[Box and one]

thanks jonhnny reb.
Devil Dave.tomr nite the CC games begin
The lines are
Miss St -14 over Fairfield
Cal Bears -15 over UC-Riverside

UC was the top ats team going 9-3 lyr as a road dogs.They lost to Wash by 13,Zona St 11 and almost beat Utah St on the road.Covered them all.Even in their loss to UCLA by 14 they were down by 1 at the half.
But there best player transfered to OU so now there are some big questions.

Cal had all those super frosh lyr.Now there sophs but the Pac 10 rookie of the Yr Powe is out for the season.Ben has some talent with 10 letterman returning but there still puppies.
Have to pass on this game because not sure what Riverside can do.They do have a stud in Morton and a 7'0 German.
Will post more tomr..

 

[Clem D]

Box what book are you getting the lines at? None of mine have anything hung yet.

 

[Box and one]

Clem,
cris has the lines
Miss St -11 over Fairfield....wow.That is a great line
Princeton -9 over Bucknell
Cal -15 over UC Riverside

Princeton is loaded this yr.Wallace,Venable,Logan,etc.Scott comes back from AF to coach. But Bucknell has Bettencourt who is probaly one of the best 3 pts shooters in the nation.And there big guy McNaughton who is 6'11.But Tigers play will go back to Princeton style offense,something they didn't do the past few yrs.
My book doesn't have have lines yet.[Carib}

 

[Box and one]

Evin,didn't see your reply.
Bucknell vs Princeton what do you think?
I know many people know you but if they never heard of you here let me say a few words.

There is nobody in cyberspace that knows more about the Ivy league then Evin.In football or basketball.I know you know about Memphis also but you have ben King of the Ivies for years.
Hope you post here or at least in my posts.

So what do you think.I know you also think the Tigers are the team to beat.Bucknell has some size inside but Wallace should dominate in the paint.
Hope my book puts out some lines..

 

[Clem D]

Pinnacle hung a 10.5 in the miss state game.

I was hoping it would be bigger.

 

[Blackman]

Just of note, Bucknell fought very hard in their first game last year and was beating Michigan State in the 2nd half, but ultimately sh*t the bed and missed 15 of 16 free throws down the stretch. Haven't fully looked at this years team but do expect them to play hard, Bucknell always is comparing itself to the Ivy's and the athletic department likes to see how many teams can get a win or two against the Ivy league each year.

 

[superbook]

Bucknell +10 (buy the 1/2)

Logan is out for a few weeks with knee surgery and Schaer has decided to sit out for the season so new coach Scott is going to have to go to an untested player and a freshman.

The return to the Princeton D will keep the scoring down...Bucknell has five returning starters from its young team and is pre-season #1 in the Patriot League...this is Bucknell's big game as Princeton will be looking forward to SYR in the next game.

Princeton will win but Bucknell should keep it within ten.

 

[Evin]

Hey guys and Box,
I agree with Superbook and have taken Bucknell.
Princeton starts untested frosh Matt Sergeant at the point and Bucknell's strength in th backcourt.
8.5 too much to lay in 1st game on neutral site.
Princeton's going to be fun to watch this year.
I think Yale sneaks in to second place this year.
Depends on the forwards play.

 

[MAJOR MARTY]

==== GREAT INSIGHT AS USUAL BOX ====

==== GREAT INSIGHT AS USUAL BOX ====

SURE HOPE YOU WILL BENEFIT THE "HOMEBOYS" WITH YOUR EXPERTISE ..............<p>YOU ARE THE MAN !<p>GL BOX<p>====

 

[thisisbad]

I dunno if this factored in but Roberts isn't playing tonight for Miss st, suspended for one game for not paying for his NBA Draft workout or something?
In any case he's not playing, i apologize if that was already known my first time in here this year

 

[Box and one]

Miss St -11 over Fairfield *****
Stags strength is in their 4 gds and Gai[pronounced Guy] They are a scappy team with Goode and Todd that press and play like "waterbugs".Sogo and Van are both 6'2 and its nice to see two NY kids that played in the NY state finals a few yrs ago.
Gai is the 6'9 shot blocker who can intimadate and score but is a "soft" player.He is smooth and runs the floor nice.Maxwell and Bell are your typical MAAC fds types.Around 6'4-6'5 rebound well,and have some range.
The frontline is where the Stags get killed.Thompson the 7'0 is gone.He was one of the most important cogs in Fairfields sucess lyr.His stats don't show it but he was a "blue collar" kid in the paint.
That is where I see Miss St dominating tonite.
History tells us that anytime the Stags play "up" in class they have troubles.Lyr Duke and Michigan beat them 66-43 and 99-58.[now I know its Duke]
The yr before DePaul and Duke and the scores where 73-45 and 86-58.Boston Col and Mich again,the same..90-78 and 88-59.
Having backcourt depth will not be enough to stop the Campbells,Rhodes,etc
And MSU's has good gds that are better then Fairfields.Frazier and co are just as quicker and can score.The best shooter tonite is Powers.
Plus your dealing with a team that prides itself in defensive pressure,transition and fast break.
Stags defense should have problems in matchups.
O'Sullivan and Felleccia are 2 kids that are 6'8 off the bench.But their slow.
Even with Roberts missing I can't see Bulldogs not wining this by 14-20 pts.Timmy just ran the NY Marathon last week.I think he'll need to do some more running after the game.

George Mason -15 over IPFW *
small play.GM is loaded.Butler is a top player in CAA.Lewis is tough.Thomas the superfrosh from Balt is the real deal.They have depth,play good defense.They won 23 games lyr.Larranaga is a good coach,etc,etc.IPFW has Butler and Quinn.Simon there big kid will dress but might not play.They played a D-3 team last week and won by 1.

Princeton -8.5 over Bucknell *
small play too.Love Bucknell.Love Bettencourt.Pat league is the one Army is in.That have an aircraft carrier in McNaughton at 6'11.This in one scappy team that could win the conf.
But there going against the wrong teamTigers are loaded.Logan is out but Wallace inside is a big time threat.I think the return of Scott as a coach makes them so much better.It's back to motion offense,backdoors,etc.Why they went away from that is beyond me.There were 15 teams playing Princeton style offense and Princeton wasn't.
Scott in the WAC with AF had everyone going nuts.They have the talent do win the Ivy.Bucknell battles hard tonite but the Tigers pull this out and win by 10-12 pts.Not a big play..

Cal -14 over UC-Riverside *
Cal is at home.They play pressure defense,transition,etc.Super sophs are talented.They all made Frosh all rookies in the PAC-10 lyr.Braum would like nothing better to do then get a big opening win.UC losing Carter is in unknown waters.Morton is tough.But I don't think they have enough around him.Only playing this game because its a home game for Cal.Cal is one of the worst home team favs the past 2 yrs going 10-17.Unreal.And Riverside is 16-10 ats away dog.

 

[Blackman]

Going to play Miss State as well -- thanks for the info Box!