Ups and Downs of Conference Play

By J Felt

Since the last 49erUpdate, after the Dayton game, the 49ers have gone 3-3 in conference play, leaving us with a record of 12-8, 5-3 Atlantic 10. If one had put this record on Ninernation.net prior to this season, many of us would have scoffed at that possibility, but since the team had already suffered losses to such powerhouses as Mississippi State, Valparaiso, and Wyoming, the losses do not have the heart-stopping effect last season's loss to South Florida had. Instead of dropping into depression and giving up on the team, most Niners have come to accept a loss as just another reason to drink. Even after driving all the way to Richmond to watch a game more boring than Calculus II, our spirits were high by the end of the night, and most of us had forgotten the loss by the time we got back to watch the Lady Niners.

So what if we are not the top of the conference standings with George Washington?

As of the writing of this article Charlotte is still tied for third with Temple, Rhode Island, and St. Louis all at 5-3. This means the Niners still have a chance to be in top four and receive a bye in the first round of the A-10 Tournament. Once we have one that, it's on to the NCAAs with the National Championship as our final goal. Maybe thats a little lofty, but there is still so much season left to play and all this losing makes every game more unbearable, er, EXCITING.

After dispatching The Sally and Steven Smith, the 49ers came home to take on the Xavier Musketeers. The only thing worse than the officiating in that matchup was our execution on offense and, as usual, defense. Every time the Niners were able to bring it close, and start to swing the momentum, either Xavier would score another bucket or a foul would be called. The Niner Nation faithful in the lower level will most likely never forget the spur of the moment screaming to copy the Xavier player who had just hit another clutch basket. Many Xavier fans were in attendance for that game, so there was an element of "walk of shame" afterwards, but hey!, we got a new scoreboard!

That new scoreboard is so nice isn't it? The intro video, "49er Pride" was full of 'tingle' moments, especially the 3 pointer to take Chapel Hill to OT, Eddie's steal against Memphis, and all the incredible dunks. The video showed us younger Niner fans some of the best moments that occured before our time. The experience in Halton Arena now feels more upscale and less "mid-major" thanks in big part to RBC Centura.

The Niners than travelled to Philadelphia for the second time this season to take on St. Joseph's. The usual constintuent gathered at Picasso's to watch the game, and as it was this author's first time at Picasso's, it was relieving to have the 49ers win. The team came out and performed poorly through the first half, and as was the norm this season, the Niner faithful were disheartened knowing that our team had done a horrible job coming from behind at the half.

Then the threes started raining, and when Antwon Coleman slammed it home, we left our seats and got up and cheered. The Hawk did not stop flapping, but it probably felt ready to.

Speaking of the Hawk, does anyone else feel that flapping one arm at a time should be considered breaking the sacred rule? For those who do not already know, the Hawk of St. Joseph's is not allowed the stop flapping his wings from the time he enters the court before every half. When the Hawk came to Halton for the women's game, there were many times where he (or she?) only raised one arm at a time. The only thing lazier than that may have been our men's team against Richmond.

When the Xavier game ended, the only positive to be thought of was that in no possible way could a game ever be more poorly officiated than that one. We were wrong. The referees for the game against the Colonials were downright disgraceful. According to other members of Niner Nation, this is the standard of A-10 play, so we have to get used to it. When it comes to the game though, our Niners once again showed some incredible sloppy offense and lackluster defense. At points Charlotte would make run and bring the game close, but the team could not get an important defensive stop, and the Colonials survived another upset bid. Worst part of that game though would have to be the lady at halfcourt in a Colonials jersey. She was on the FRONT ROW! How does that happen? And that flag, how did that get in there?

Following George Washington, Charlotte had the week off to think about what they had (or hadn't) done. One would think that Bobby would spend the week preparing the guys for the Princeton offense of Richmond. Maybe he did and the team did not listen, who knows. What is known is that our performance against the Spiders was pathetic and completely lacking of any heart and intensity. Officiating was once again poor, and it resulted in a pissed off Lutz, which of course means a technical or two. Being at the game, you could hear Lutz's angry screams across the arena, so the ejection was not surprising. Only one positive came from this game, and it was Nance's fast break dunk. Came out of nowhere, and as Curtis said, he "practically fell over trying to finish it."

Following this game I came up with a list of ways to defeat any Bobby Lutz coached team:
1. Princeton Offense.

Tonight St. Bonnie took on De'Angelo Alexander and lost. Alexander torched the net once again for 34 points, and showed us once again why he, not Curtis, should be the focus of the offense. Withers did a stellar job tonight doing what he does best, rebounding, bringing in double teams to pass out of, and getting garbage points. Hats must go off to Lutz for finally garnering the courage to bench Mitchell and put in Jerrell Lewis. Baldwin has not been playing with any passion, and many Niner faithful have been calling for action to try and light the spark once again. Despite only winning by sixteen points, it was nice to put another notch in the win column.

Next up is Dayton, for the Homecoming Game. We handled the Flyers at their place, and despite our horrible record at home, the 49ers will do the same here.

My Prediction:

The Good Guys: 87, Dayton: 71

By the way, this blog is now listed on yocohoops.com