Fordham learning to win in crunch time
No one had Fordham taking 3 out of 4 against Davidson, Bona, VCU, and UMass, after losing their first three conference games. But the young Rams are learning how to win close games, winning their last three by a combined total of 12 points. It wasn’t pretty at times, and scoring only 29 in the second half didn’t help, but at the end of the game, they found a way to win. Neubauer deserves a lot of credit for their hot streak too. He certainly outcoached the guy on the other side of the court yesterday.
Aaaannd Surprise! UMass loses another close game
Another close loss, and another game where anyone who watches has to be puzzled with Derek Kellogg. At the end of the game, down one, with the ball under their own basket, Kellogg elected not to call a timeout, and a predictable turnover ensued. The previous 39 and a half minutes were typical of any Kellogg coached team. Undisciplined, sloppy, and confused. There’s too much talent on this team to be losing as often as they do. One has to wonder how long UMass fans can keep taking this.
Rhody takes care of business
Rhody did exactly what they needed to do on their trip to Pittsburgh. Win. Now they head to Richmond for a HUGE matchup against the currently 5-1 Spiders. The season hasn’t gone exactly according to plan for the Rams thus far, but there is still plenty of time to right the ship. Two wins for them next week will position them perfectly for a run at the top of the standings.
Duquesne headed for a Wednesday tournament game
It certainly doesn’t help that the Dukes graduated their two best players last year, and lost another young talent to transfer. But starting the conference season at 2-5, and with their next four games being Davidson, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, and Dayton, it looks like their fate in the bottom four of the league might already be sealed. It would take a miracle for Duquesne to find there way out of playing Wednesday in the A-10 Tournament.
Standings starting to take shape
Now, as teams near the halfway point in the conference season, the standings are starting to take shape. There is still time left for teams like Davidson, George Mason, and Fordham to climb the standings, however, any loss in the next week for any of those teams puts a serious dent in those chances. This is still Dayton’s league to win, as they showed by beating Richmond handley and moving back into a tie first, but they’re still two other teams tied with them, along with another three only one game behind. Sunday’s games, particularly VCU vs La Salle, should shine some more light on the hierarchy of this years standings.
Love that you’re doing this, Joe! Love your perspective as a HS sports journalist But please learn the difference between their, there and they’re. Look at your 2nd to last sentence in the article, “…their are still two teams….” Also as the daughter of a former president of a New York newspaper, I still remember by dad’s words to me when I aspired to be a writer. He said that usually in journalism it is best to keep the written pace lively, so avoid long compound sentences whenever they are easily broken up without being choppy. I think the same sentence I referenced above is a good example of being easily broken up. All that being said, keep up the good work and A-10 reporting. If sports writing is your ambition, I think you”ll be terrific and look forward to following your career! Regards from a UD Flyer fan and season ticket holder and former HS teacher.