Ritchie's Pregame - George Washington

The #16/#18 George Washington Colonials (3-0 A10, 13-1 overall, 33rd Pomeroy, 61st RPI) travels into Halton arena at 4pm Saturday to take on the Charlotte 49ers (4-1 A10, 11-6 overall, 95th Pomeroy, 84th RPI) which are surprisingly bad at home this year. With only a 4-4 record at home, the usually tough Halton Arena has become the Niners biggest problem this season after going 7-2 on the road and holding one of the greatest road records in the nation. The less than intimidating home record led Coach Bobby Lutz to joke that the team might just stay in a hotel Friday night and that they are looking to move the upcoming matchup vs Temple up to the city of Philadelphia where the Niners hold a 2-0 record with wins over La Salle and St. Joe’s.

George Washington was the preseason pick to win the A10, with the Niners finishing 2nd. The Colonials are currently holding up to their preseason predictions with a 3-0 start vs A10 opponents, although they performed less than average during their most recent wins in matchups vs Stony Brook (3-12 non-conference game) vs Saint Louis in OT (8-8) and Marshall in OT (7-8 non conference game).

The Colonials have one of the top backcourts in the game, ranked 7th in the nation by SI.com, with the explosive combination of Danilo Pinnock and Carl Elliot. Pinnock averaging 15.6ppg and Elliot averaging 11.5ppg are only two of the five players on the team that average double digits. Mike Hall (12.5ppg), Maureece Rice (12.0ppg) and Pops Mensah-Bonsu (10.8ppg) are also nightly scoring threats with their consistant performances.

One could argue the Colonials have put up their impressive numbers against sub-par competition. And that argument has some merit, the Colonials hold the 276th strength of schedule according to the RPI with only 2 wins coming against top 50 RPI opponents and 8 wins coming vs. opponents with an RPI lower than 201. GW has an over non-conference SOS of 316th which is one of the lowest in the country. Comparably, the Niners have a non-conference SOS of 143rd and an overall SOS of 82nd.

This could be the Niners game to break into the national spotlight and increase their hopes of an at-large tourney birth. For Charlotte to put together a solid game, they must improve their perimeter defense and play with the stifling intensity the entire team showed in the 2nd half during their win at Saint Joe’s. Pinnock and Elliot must be held to single digits and the Niners should try to give up the majority of points inside where Pops Mensah-Bonsu (6-9 240lbs.) has a slight size advantage over Charlotte’s Curtis Withers (6-8 246lbs).

Ritchie's Pregame - Xavier

The Charlotte 49ers take their undefeated A10 Conference record and five game win streak home to Charlotte Saturday night to face the top team in the league, the Xavier Minutemen.
The Niners (10-5 [3-0 A10], 101 Pomeroy, 83 RPI) find themselves in an early season must win game vs the Minutemen (10-2 [2-0], 6 Pomeroy, 60 RPI) in order to assert conference dominance.

Xavier is one of the top defensive teams in the nation, running a style most like North Carolina State (http://www.kenpom.com/stats.php?y=2006&team=Xavier&s=0), playing slow and patient on offense, while being aggressive and stout on defense. Xavier ranks 8th in the nation at defensive field goal percentage, holding their opponents to an average 37.4% from the field. Even more stifling is the Minutemen’s opponents 3-pt percentage, an average of 28.2%.

Xavier leads the A10 in seven categories, scoring margin (+17.8ppg), field goal percentage, 49.6%, 3 point field goal percentage, 39.4%, field goal percentage defense, 37.4%, 3-pt percentage defense, 28.2%, assists , 19.2/game, and assist-to-turnover ratio 1.55. If all of those league leading stats weren’t enough, Xavier also is 2nd in the league in scoring offense, scoring defense, and blocks.

The Minutemen are clearly playing the hottest ball in the A10 right now, and if Charlotte can win this game, the Niners would make a major statement that this team is ready to win the Atlantic 10.

Players to look for Saturday night include Brian Thornton, shooting 64.9% on the season (72-111), leading the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks. The Niners must play better perimeter defense than they have in previous games this season because six Xavier teammates are shooting 38% or better from the 3-pt line, Johnny Wolf (42.9%), Stanley Burrell (42.4%), Justin Doellman (41.9%), Josh Duncan (41%), Justin Cage (40%), and Dedrick Finn (38.5%).

Charlotte must play strong perimeter defense, holding Xavier to under 30% from 3, while also limiting FT opportunities when the Minutemen drive inside. Offensively, Charlotte needs big games from Curt, and Nance to loosen the perimeter for Lee, Mitch, Marcus, and DA to hit some threes.

This will be the toughest opponent the Niners have faced all year, despite Indiana’s national ranking. With a win, Charlotte can finally prove that they’ve turned the corner and that they are ready for a shot at the NCAA tourney.

Ritchie's Pregame - LaSalle

The Niners make their first trip to Philadelphia this season on Wednesday to take on the LaSalle Explorers. Charlotte is on fire with a 4 game win streak and a 2-0 start in the A10, but LaSalle is doing the same, starting 2-0 in A10 play.

While Charlotte is 9-5 and LaSalle is 10-2, the Niners should feel confident that they are more prepared. Charlotte’s two A10 wins were against Dayton (Pomeroy 112, RPI 171) and Rhode Island (Pomeroy 142, RPI 132), while LaSalle was victorious vs. Duquesne (Pomeroy 309 , RPI 312) and Richmond (Pomeroy 247 , RPI 191)

Charlotte is currently ranked 116^th in Pomeroy.com power rankings while LaSalle is ranked 67^th. However, over the last 5 games the Niners are ranked 84^th while LaSalle is ranked 158^th.

LaSalle is 5-1 in Home games this season with no quality home opponents of note. However the Explorers have played at Drexel (W 62-50) and #3 Villanova (L 98-57).

LaSalle averages 2,602 people in attendance at home games.

The team is led in scoring by Senior Steven Smith, an amazing scorer that is shooting 49% on the season. Smith also leads the team in rebounding, steals, minutes, FTs, and turnovers. Smith is 2^nd on the team in assists and blocks.

To say LaSalle is a one man team is a bit of an understatement. Steven Smith does everything for this team, including single handedly beating Central Connecticut State in 4OT this season where he recorded 41 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals where he lead the team in every category.

But saying LaSalle is a one man team does not mean the Niners should take the Explorers lightly. The team is packed with freshmen that are learning quick and two Explorer freshmen have earned consecutive A10 rookie of the week honors, Paul Johnson and Marshall Taylor.

If the Niners limit Smith to less than 20 points and less than 10 rebounds, they should be able to win the game if the strong perimeter shooting and inside attack of the four-game win streak holds up.

Leewire Goldwire? Leemire Goldmire?!

Was it just my ears, or were the announcers continually getting Leemire Goldwire's name wrong as he torched the nets in the game versus Dayton? It seems the only time his name was correctly pronounced was at the end of the game for his announcement as the Player of the Game. Silly as his name might seem, the sophomore from Florida has been phenomonal the past two games, averaging over twenty points in both. We all knew Lee had practiced his shooting in the offseason, but he has exceeded any expectations.

You know those commercials about relaxing when your credit card is stolen? Thats how I feel now when Goldwire heads to the line. Obviously cold blooded, Leemire is now fifth in the nation (cbs.sportsline.com) in FT %, and has tied Henry Williams record of 37 consecutive free throws made. Considering last season no player on our team was that consistent from the line, it is encouraging to know we will not lose any games in the closing minutes due to missed free throws. What is really encouraging about this is that he is ahead of J.J. Redick of Duke, the supposed "best free throw shooter in the nation." Who doesn't find that extremely satisfying?

What may be Threemire's best attribute is his leadership, which has become evident the past two games especially. For a sophomore to take the team on his shoulders and lead a team with a plethora of upperclassmen like ours is promising for his senior year. One could say we would be much worse off without Leemire at this point in this season, and he would be right. Between him and Dumptruck (Antwon Coleman), there is enough energy and emotion to get our team going in the middle of the game.

Speaking of Dumptruck, how awesome was that block and reblock of the same guy who had just dunked on him? Once again, he provided a spark to get the Niners in gear once again, and managed to silence the usually rabid Dayton fans.

All in all, the victory over Dayton may not seem like a big deal to some, but to the Niner faithful it speaks volumes about our team. The 49ers dominated most of the game, but still let Dayton back into the game every few minutes or so. If we are able to get rid of our "spurtiness" play, we will be a solid and scary team come conference tournament. It is quite frustrating to watch our guys put on a scoring clinic for 3-4 minutes, and then go ice cold for the next 3-4 minutes. Imagine what the score would have been if our points had never stopped falling?

Next we travel to Philadelphia to play LaSalle. What type of name is that, anyway? LaSalle? Is it French for the Sally? Read Ritchie's Pregame here. Their best player is named Steve Smith.

There is only one Steve Smith worth cheering for, and thats the one that catches passes from Jake Delhomme.

No, in reality, the Niners will find a way to limit Smith to twenty points while Curtis Withers, excited by the matchup against Smith and wanting to get some of the spotlight back from Lee, will light up the floor and score 27 pts. The threes will continue to fall and by the end of the game LaSalle will be 11-3.

Final score: Niners 85, Explorers 76

Until next time, Go Niners! And of course, Go Panthers!

Starting things off

OK, so just like the 49ers this season, I'm off to a slow start getting this page ready. Infact, I've been downright lazy, but who can blame me? The team is sitting at 8-5 when we supposed to be something wonderful such as 11-2, or even 13-0. With that record we would most likely be ranked, but nothing like top ten, God forbid that'd ever happen, and all would be well with the world.

No one would fight anymore, the hungry would be fed, traffic jams would cease to exist, and terrorism would be a cloudy thing in our memories. Instead, the world is still a messed up place to live ; the Tarholes are ranked, Duke is undefeated, Gregg Doyel always pokes fun at us, the seats are not full, traffic outside Concord Mills still sucks, and people are still bickering about stupid shit, like sports. Thanks to the 49ers, we'll have to wait until next season for world peace.

This season has been, other than a dissappointment, very exciting regardless. Not knowing which team will show up to each game creates an anxiety that can only be matched by young couples about to be married. Are we going to witness team ball and 3 Pointers showers? Or are we going to experience an offensive explosion like the nine points we put up against Miss. St. in the first half. Oh wait, that day never existed.

Our marquee wins so far are over Davidson and Rutgers. While beating Davidson in two overtimes was quite a match to experience, the Wildcats have ceased to impress me after that game, especially against the Tarholes. If there is one team I wanted Davidson to beat it was Chapel Hill, simply for the fact that my parents, er, my Canadian parents, and my two sisters (UNCA and Campbell alums) cheer for them, even though none of them have any connection to that Baby Blue Bunh of Whiners. I will give them credit though, those freshman play very well together, and will be scary in a few years. To get back to Davidson, the team that showed up to play that night was not our best effort, but it was the most heart we had shown in any game thus far. The energy that Antwon Coleman showed in that game was felt by the entire crowd. Its wonderful to have a guy like him on our squad.

Then there was Rutgers, which my sister now attends, and many of us did not consider that to be an easy win, and some of us were probably expecting a loss, considering what had happened against Valporaiso and Indiana.

Let me say something about that Valpo game, not only did we let a skinny white guy scorch us offensively, the 49ers HAD to lose the game that I brought Summer Graham to. How saddening is it that you get a girl like her to attend a sporting event with you, and your team proceeds to lay an egg? How am I supposed to get my obligatory celebration hug when all we do is lose?! Thanks a lot Niners.

Back to Rutgers. Living in Greensboro, I was not able to watch the game on the stellar sports network, PBS, and I was attending a Christmas party which prevented any access to internet radio. Besides, I refuse to pay $5.00 a month to hear the Niners play over the internet when I can just watch most of the games on PBS now. So when I returned home later that evening my first impulse, as always, is to head to NinerNation.net and see the reactions from other fans. I do not need to the score, I just need to know how people are feeling. Even if we lost, if those guys feel our team put out a good effort, then thats all that matters. I was pleasantly surprised to see Charlotte 85, Rutgers 82. I printed out the ESPN write up and pinned it on my fridge for all my family members to read. Add that victory to our spanking of UNC-Asheville and I am (2-0) vs. family members this year.

After opening up conference play by handling Rhode Island (88-80), the 49ers travel to the Dayton Flyers, who like Charlotte, have been somewhat of a disappointment thus far. Despite that, the Flyers' fanbase is said to be dedicated and the arena will be loud for our visit. Considering how well the Niners are playing lately, I give Charlotte the edge in this battle. As usual, one player from Dayton will have a career night, but strong performances from Curtis and De'Angelo will carry us to victory. Final score: Charlotte 81, Dayton 74.

In other Niner related news, Traci Ray just might be the hottest girl to ever don a Niner Basketball Uniform. Our ladies are also at 8-5 thus far and have shown strong performances throughout the season, especially the victory over Liberty and that monstrosity Koop.

Other than our Niners not being as successful as we expected, another disappointment has been the lack of scantily clad women at our basketball games. If we could some girls like those Cowgirls of FSU, student attendance would increase and I gaurantee we would get more televised games. Get a few cute girls, put them in the front row in cleverly designed Niner Nation shirts, and you've got yourself a marketable product.

The Niner Girls.....I could see it now.

Until next time....