Monthly Archives: January 2013

Women’s Basketball 68 Wofford 65

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Appalachian travels to Wofford on Monday night for another SoCon road game. The Terriers are struggling mightily this season, having lost five straight games, and are currently winless in the SoCon. Wofford notched a impressive win at Alabama in December, but have not won since that game. To think that the same Western Carolina team that Appalachian just throttled on Saturday beat Wofford by fourteen is tough to imagine. Western is terrible, and it is hard to believe that there is a team in the league that they can beat. Wofford has lost its last three games by double digits and has averaged a mere 47.3 points per games in those three games.

Daniella Motley leads Wofford bu averaging a double-double at 10.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per games. Motley has grabbed double digit rebounds in eight games this season. Motley leads the team in minutes played, but is only a 33% free throw shooter. Rachel Brittenham is one of the better point guards in the league at 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Brittenham had a career high eleven assists against the Mountaineers last year.

Appalachian is in a four way tie for second place in the SoCon, as Chattanooga, Elon and Samford also only have one loss in conference play. All four second place teams are in action on Monday night, with Chattanooga hosting 3-2 Charleston being the highlight of the four SoCon games. Appalachian, Samford and Elon should  win easily. Davidson plays Furman on Tuesday.

Postgame:

We are not going to pretend we know a lot about this game, since our attention was focused on the men’s game at home tipped off an hour after the women tipped in Spartanburg. For whatever reason, Appalachian has a tough time winning easily in Spartanburg. Several games in the Vincent era have been won in the Sparkle City, but not very easily. Appalachian held and eleven point lead at halftime, but allowed Wofford to come back on tie the game at halftime.

It appears both team traded baskets for much of the second half, as the two teams combined for thirteen tie scores and twelve lead changes for the game. Wofford (5-9, 0-6) hit big buckets at the end of regulation and the first overtime to tie the game and force extra periods.

Appalachian (10-3, 4-1) held huge advantages on the free throw line and on the defensive glass. Appalachian only attempted two more free throws than Wofford, but turned that into ten extra points. The Mountaineers also dominated Wofford on the glass, holding a fourteen rebound advantage, mostly on the defensive end. However, it was 35 Mountaineer turnovers that kept Wofford in the game and forced the Mountaineers to work ten extra minutes to get the win.

Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 23 points while also adding fourteen rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Sydnor was named SoCon Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon after leading the conference in scoring the previous week. Katie Mallow added 14 points while Courtney Freeman chipped in twelve points. Anna Freeman was held to single digit scoring for the second time in four games.  Despite a lack of scoring production, Anna added fourteen rebounds, six assists, five blocks and four steals.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Davidson 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 3-0 3-6 1-1 W3
Chattanooga 5-1 .833 4-0 1-1 0-0 W2 12-3 .800 7-0 4-3 1-0 W2
Elon 5-1 .833 3-1 2-0 0-0 W5 8-7 .533 6-2 2-5 0-0 W4
Samford 5-1 .833 4-0 1-1 0-0 W3 8-7 .533 6-1 2-6 0-0 W3
Appalachian State 4-1 .800 2-0 2-1 0-0 W3 10-3 .769 4-0 4-3 2-0 W3

 

Men’s Basketball 80 Elon 70

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Appalachian hosts Elon at approxiamately 4:30pm Saturday afternoon in a game that will have tiebreaker implications as far the SoCon tournament goes. Realizing this is only the third conference game for both teams this season, both teams know each game between divisional opponents has been critical the last several years. Both teams stand 1-1 in the conference standings and could really use a win for confidence. A 2-1 conference record looks and feels a lot better than 1-2. This is the first home conference game of the season for Appalachian. Elon will be playing their second conference road game.

Elon has been playing like team that prefers a slower pace and does a really good job of taking care of the basketball. Yes, Elon averages close to 70 points per game, but have only managed 54.5 points per contest in two conference games. The Phoenix have also only committed twelve turnovers in each conference game, against Charleston and Georgia Southern, both members of the Southern Division. Elon has used the same starting lineup in all but two games, and are led by forward Lucas Troutman and sharp shooting guard Jack Isenbarger. Troutman averages 14.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Isenbarger averages scoring 14.6 per game, and leads the team in three pointers and free throws made. Sebaston Koch is also deadly from three point range shooting 44.6% behind the arc while also snagging 4.9 rebounds per game.

For Appalachian, the season has slowly turned around for the positive. Part of that turn around is having their starting point guard back in Mike Neal. Even though Neal has not put up monster numbers, the team has a better chemistry with him in the game. Neal has averaged 7.6 points and 3.8 assists per game. Tevin Baskin has been turning it up the level play as well in the last few games. He has seen increased playing time and has pushed his averaged to 9.5 points per game. Nathan Healy has continued to shoot well from all points on the floor. Healy is a 55% shooter from the field, 44% three point shooter and 88% free throw shooter. Jay Canty continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, but has fallen off recently while he battles a sore thumb.

We are guessing the spread to be somewhere in the 3.5 to 6 point range in favor of Elon. The Phoenix has a much higher RPI, and defeated South Carolina, while the Mountaineers fell just short. However, Elon has not won in Boone since 2007, and is 2-13 all time in Boone. Appalachian played perhaps its best game of the season last year in a 15 point home win over the Phoenix. We will update in the morning on the actual number. Appalachian is still the only undefeated team against the spread in college basketball at 8-0 on the season. Our picks are 7-1 on the season.

12:18 AM UPDATE: Elon opens as a 1.5 point favorite. We had some slight premonitions that we were off in this game, and that we could be looking at a pick’em. However, Appalachian at +1.5 at home, where Elon has only won twice in fifteen previous attempts, seems pretty fair. An easy play would be to buy 0.5 points down on the Apps to ensure a push. We will update our play in the morning once Vegas has time to change they line if they seem necessary.

Postgame:

Appalachian trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but rallied for their second straight SoCon win in a 80-70 victory over Elon. The Phoenix started the game with everything falling. At one point, they had hit seven of their first nine shots to take a quick twelve point lead. In fact Elon led by twelve points on three different occasions in the first half, at 21-9, 29-17 and 31-19. Appalachian went on a 15-3 run to end the half, and tie the score a 34.

The second half was tight early on, but Appalachian eventually stretched the lead out on the back of its superb three point shooting. Five different Mountaineers combined to hit ten threes. Nathan Healy and Mike Neal each hit three apiece. Neal hit every one of his attempts. Appalachian finished with five players in double figures, led by Healy’s 22 points, 8 rebounds and four steals. Tevin Baskin came off the bench and continued his strong play with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Neal added 17 points and three assists. Tab Hamilton added ten points, but his best work was done on Elon star Jack Isenbarger, who was held to nine points, making only one three pointer. Ryley Beaumont has the game of his life, hitting 11/13 shots for 26 points while grabbing nine rebounds.

Appalachian has now won four straight games and five of six. Even more impressive, Appalachian has now covered in all of its lined games this season. Eventually oddsmakers will figure out Appalachian, currently 9-0 against the spread. Our pick was correct again and we have improved to 8-1 on the season. Greensboro is next at home and Appalachian will most likely be favored against the struggling Spartans, who are 3-11 on the season, and 0-2 in SoCon play. We believe Appalachian will be favored by 3 to 5 points. As usual, we will update the line in the morning.

Women’s Basketball 77 Western Carolina 46

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Appalachian will host in-state rival Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon as the first part of a doubleheader starting at 2pm at the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers (8-3, 1-1) have defeated Western Carolina (4-9, 2-1) seven straight times including in last year’s SoCon Tournament. The Catamounts are surprisingly over .500 in conference play, although their win are over some conference cellar dwellers. Neither UNCG nor Wofford are considered contenders in conference play. The fourteen point win over Wofford win looks pretty good when you consider their scrappy style of play. However, their loss to Georgia Southern is confusing. No matter how you slice, Western is 2-1 against teams who are 1-12 in conference play. The Catamounts have beaten up on the bottom of the conference.

Western Carolina is led by senior Diamond Hunicutt who leads the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game. Hunnicutt is one of two players on the Western roster to start every game. The other is Ali Lane, who was named to the all-freshman team last year while starting 29 of her 31 games. Lane led the team in steals last year and is second on the team with 14 steals this season. Lane averages 7.5 points per game. Western’s roster features three players with who have hit at least ten three pointers on the season.

Appalachian continues to be lead by its talented threesome of Anna & Courtney Freeman and Maryah Sydnor. Anna scored her fewest points of the season in her last two games. Anna scored nine against Davidson and ten against Furman. Despite only scoring 19 points in her last two games, Anna is still averaging 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to go along with 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per contest. Courtney Freeman is on a similar slump, perhaps because she started the season so hot. Courtney has cooled off to scoring 14.8 points per contest while grabbing 6.3 rebounds. Sydnor continues to play strong, as she has bumped her average up to 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Raven Gary continues to get back into game shape, as she is the team’s best ball handler. Gary chips in 5.9 points and 3.7 assists a game in the eight games she has played in this year.

Postgame:

There was not much to say from this game. Western Carolina is vastly inferior to Appalachian. The Catamounts had more fouls than points for a large majority of the first half. By the time Western Carolina broke double digts, as in scoring their tenth point, the Mountaineers had already built a twenty-nine point lead, and the margin stayed around that number most of the game. The Mountaineers cruised to a 77-46 win.

Lindsay Simpson was the only Catamount to score in double figures with 15 points. Simpson was responsible for the only two three pointers the Catamounts were able to make. Western shot 27% for the game, and their starting five managed only four baskets on twenty-six attempts. Only three of Western’s sixteen field goals were assisted on.

Appalachian’s terrific trio paced them once again in scoring. Courtney Freeman led all scorers with 19 points. Anna Freeman added 17 points, 9 rebounds and five assists. Maryah Sydnor contributed with 16 points, 8 rebounds and four assists. Appalachian only made two three pointers, something it needs to improve on. Vincent emptied the bench in the rout, with every players seeing action. Khadejah Wilkerson was not dressed out Davidson and was not on the bench that we noticed on Saturday. Via instagram, we took note to a foot injury she may have sustained so it is possible that she will redshirt.

Next up for Appalachian is Wofford on Monday evening.

Davidson 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 3-0 3-6 1-1 W3
Chattanooga 4-1 .800 3-0 1-1 0-0 W1 11-3 .786 6-0 4-3 1-0 W1
Elon 4-1 .800 2-1 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 5-2 2-5 0-0 W3
Samford 4-1 .800 3-0 1-1 0-0 W2 7-7 .500 5-1 2-6 0-0 W2
Appalachian State 3-1 .750 2-0 1-1 0-0 W2 9-3 .750 4-0 3-3 2-0 W2
College of Charleston 3-2 .600 1-1 2-1 0-0 L2 7-7 .500 3-2 4-5 0-0 L2
Furman 2-3 .400 1-1 1-2 0-0 W2 6-8 .429 4-2 2-6 0-0 W2
Western Carolina 2-3 .400 2-1 0-2 0-0 L2 4-10 .286 3-4 1-6 0-0 L2
Georgia Southern 1-5 .167 1-1 0-4 0-0 L2 2-13 .133 1-3 0-9 1-1 L2
Wofford 0-5 .000 0-2 0-3 0-0 L5 5-8 .385 1-3 3-5 1-0 L5
UNCG 0-5 .000 0-3 0-2 0-0 L5 3-11 .214 3-7 0-4 0-0 L5

 

Men’s Basketball 50 Wofford 49

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The SoCon gauntlet begins tomorrow evening for Appalachian. Seventeen straight games against conference opponents. On Tuesday, Appalachian resumes conference play against Wofford, who like Appalachian, is 0-1 in SoCon play. Both teams really need a win, perhaps Wofford even more so. If the Terriers want to contend in the SoCon South, they will need to keep pace with Davidson, who they have already lost to in early December.

Wofford grabbed the attention of college basketball before Christmas with a one point win on the road at Xavier. Prior to that, the Terriers had lost to some mid-majors that they should have competed with better than they did. Wofford put up some ugly point totals against UNCW (37), Gardner Webb (54) and Ohio (50). However that is Wofford’s style, a Princeton-esque offense that utilizes the shot clock and plays a slow down game, very similar to their football team and the wingbone. Honestly, they are a boring team to scout and watch because they have a team of players whose skill levels are not that far apart from top to bottom, and they play together.

Regardless, the Terriers are 3-0 at home this season, with wins over Winhrop and Gardner Webb and a non-D I win over Weber Intl. The rest of their eleven games have been on the road. Wofford has only scored 87 points their last two games, but Appalachian might be exactly what they are looking for. The Mountaineer defense has been bad all year, mostly in transition. Wofford prefers the halfcourt game, so the Mountaineers may have a small edge in that category. Even though Wofford is scoring in small bunches, they have three players averaging in double figures. Karl Cochran leads the team with 16.1 points per game, and has hit 42 three pointers this season. Lee Skinner averages 10.9 points and 6.9 rebounds while Spencer Collins scores 10.7 per game with 27 made threes. The scary thing for the SoCon, is that all three are underclassmen, with at least two more years to play. They are young, and will make mistakes, and be out of position on defense, but they are still solid.

The early spread says that the Mountaineers are ten point underdogs on the road. This is exactly what we have been looking for all season when picking a game. The Mountaineers are a perfect 7-0 this season against the spread, and I doubt this game stays so high. Appalachian is one everyone’s radar in Vegas, and I bet this line could move as much as 1.5 points before the game tips off. We will update with a line in the morning. In the meantime, we are gonna stay on Appalachian at +10.

UPDATE: Our main book that we use opened this morning at +8 and in two hours it has moved back to +9. It is very likely this line moves again, and I think it could go either way, but I would think towards 9.5.

UPDATE II: Just a couple hours before tipoff, the line moved again to 9.5, but it was shortlived as the line closed at +9 before tipoff. We have no reason to change our pick and we will stay with the Mountaineers.

 

Postgame: It was not a pretty game, but it was effective. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and any time you win on the road in conference play it is a big plus. Appalachian won its third straight game with a 50-49 win over Wofford on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers led by one at halftime, and overcame a seven point deficit with seven minutes to play the secure the victory.

Opening the second half, Appalachian went on a 11-3 run to lead 36-27 before Wofford called a timeout with 17:15 to play. From there, Wofford responded with a 20-4 run that spanned the next nine minutes of the ball game to take a seven point lead with 8:29 to play. Appalachian rallied to score ten of the final twelve points of the game to hold on for the win. Wofford failed to score for the final 6:57 of the game while the Mountaineers took their time scoring the final eight points of the game.

Nathan Healy was the star of the game for Appalachian with 10 points, five rebounds and several altered shots that did not make it to the official scorer. Healy says he blocked three shots, despite only being credited for one. Tevin Baskin came off the bench to score 10 points and grab four rebounds, including a huge blocked shot with under a minute to play. Jay Canty chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.

For the seventh straight lined game, we were able to correctly make the right play against the spread. Our record is 7-1 on the season, while the Mountaineers have covered every game that has been lined. That mark is the best in college basketball. The closest team to Appalachian’s 8-0 record against the spread is Gardner-Webb, who is 3-0. All the moving of the line prior to the game proved to be a moot statistic as Appalachian also won straight up in a lined game for only the second time this season. Next up for Appalachian is Elon on Saturday, and I expect the Mountaineers to once again be underdogs, maybe by as many as six points. I could see the line being as low as 3.5

Women’s Basketball 66 Furman 52

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The best possible scenario for Appalachian to forget that dreadful second half at Davidson is to get back on the court as soon as possible. That is what the Mountaineers will do when they play their second straight road conference at Furman on Monday night. The Paladins have been a scrappy team in the past, one that relies heavily on the three pointer. Furman’s last win in the series came in 2011 when the Paladins hit a game-winning three pointer in the closing seconds to defeat the Mountaineers by one.

Furman (4-7, 0-2) went an entire month without a victory following their victory over Mercer on November 24th. Their next win came on December 29th, a win over USC-Upstate. Despite their unattractive wins, three of the four Paladin wins have come at home. Furman’s Timmons Arena, is a tough place to play, mainly because it is not suited for basketball. The depth perception for a shooter is tremendously different from one half to the next. If you have ever been there, you know what we are talking about.

In their eleven games, the Paladins have used a slew of starting lineups. Only Teshia Griswold has started every game. Eleven players have started at least one game, and those same eleven average double digit minutes on the season. Griswold averages 14.4 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. Brittany Hodge leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 boards per game while chipping in 7.2 points per contest. Sarah Durdaller averages 14.2 points per game, but did not play at all during Furman’s six game losing streak.

Appalachian boasts three players in double figures in Anna Freeman (19.4), Courtney Freeman (15.6) and Maryah Sydnor (13.1). Anna scored a season low nine points against Davidson. Sydnor led all scorers with 15 points and is coming on as the season progresses. Sydnor had a slow start to the season but has just recently upped her scoring average into double figures.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Chattanooga 3-1 1.000 2-0 1-0 0-0 W3 10-3 .833 5-0 4-2 1-0 W2
College of Charleston 3-1 1.000 1-0 2-0 0-0 W3 7-6 .583 3-1 4-4 0-0 W3
Davidson 3-0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2 6-7 .417 3-0 1-6 1-1 W1
Elon 3-1 .667 1-1 1-0 0-0 W2 6-7 .417 4-2 1-5 0-0 W1
Samford 3-1 .667 2-0 0-1 0-0 L1 6-7 .417 4-1 1-6 0-0 L5
Western Carolina 2-2 .667 2-1 0-0 0-0 W1 4-9 .333 3-4 1-4 0-0 W1
Appalachian State 2-1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 L1 8-3 .700 3-0 2-3 2-0 L2
Furman 0-3 .000 0-0 0-2 0-0 L2 4-8 .364 3-1 1-6 0-0 W1
Wofford 0-3 .000 0-0 0-3 0-0 L3 5-6 .455 1-1 3-5 1-0 L3
UNCG 0-4 .000 0-2 0-1 0-0 L3 3-10 .250 3-6 0-3 0-0 L3
Georgia Southern 1-3 .000 0-0 0-3 0-0 L3 2-11 .083 0-2 0-8 1-1 L9

Postgame:

It was an absolutely ugly first half, but Appalachian fought off one Furman push after another to hold on for a fourteen point road win on Monday evening. Appalachian struggled from the free throw line for the first time all season long. We hinted about not getting the chance to get to the line at Davidson and then the poor shooting backdrop at Furman. At one point in the game, the Mountaineers were 4-14 from the line, but finished the game 16-29. Appalachian also dominated Furman on the boards 44-30, with a 16-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers took better advantage than Furman in the turnover battle. Appalachian forced 24 turnovers from Furman, 16 of them being straight steals.

The Appalachian sophmores led the team in scoring with Maryah Sydnor scoring a game high 21 points and added six rebounds. Katie Mallow scored 15 points with the help of a trio of tree pointers, while dishing out four assists. Anna Freeman continues to be shut down, and she only managed 10 points, but did corral 13 rebounds for a very solid double-double. Kelsey Sharkey also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Around the conference, Elon knocked off Chattanooga at home in overtime, giving the Mocs their first conference loss. Davidson defeated upstart Charleston on the road to remain undefeated in conference play. The loss was Charleston’s first conference loss of the season as well. Appalachian hosts Western Carolina on Saturday at home, who just lost to Georgia Southern, giving the Eagles their second win of the season. Conference standings are updated above, but the positioning is off. Charleston will visit Samford on Saturday in the only other game of interest for the rest of the week.

Women’s Basketball 49 Davidson 65

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For the Appalachian women, this game is hard to consider a must win, since it is only the second conference game of the season, but this game means plenty for the team and coaches. Davidson was a favorite to win the conference this season after having a big season last year and sweeping the series with the Mountaineers last year. However Davidson has played a tough schedule outside of the conference and has struggled while playing many of their games on the road. Appalachian has won every game it has supposed to while falling only twice this season, on the road against teams from power conferences.

Both teams have defeated Georiga Southern at home to start conference play. Davidson knocked off the Eagles by twelve while Appalachian cruised to a thirty-two point win. Davidson (4-7, 1-0) was won both of its home games, but none by a convincing fashion. Davidson has scored 63 points once this season. That is the game they prefer to play, a possession oriented style. In fact, the Wildcats have managed sixty or more points in only three games this season. The way to beat Davidson is with Appalachian’s pressure, something they were unable to establish last year. Sophia Alexandravicious leads the team in points and rebounding and was a favorite for conference player of the year. Laura Murray is a capable guard, but Appalachian should be too much for Davidson tomorrow. Appalachian has been scoring points in bunches, and are a better team than last year at this point. Davidson is missing some pieces so I expect a Mountaineer win, which will be huge in the race for the conference title and conference championship seeding implications.

Postgame:

Appalachian allowed Davidson to creep back into the game one too many times in first half on Saturday, and it eventually led to their demise as the Wildcats rallied from a tied game at halftime, to win going away, 65-49. It was the fewest points Appalachian scored all season, with their previous low coming last weekend on the road at West Virginia.

Generally, when an officiating crew allows the teams to play, especially for Appalachian, it has been a good thing. On Saturday, against a Davidson team with slightly more size, a game with fewer fouls calls actually hurt the Mountaineers. It allowed Davidson to be more physical, and kept Appalachian off the free throw line. Appalachian leads the country in free throw percentage, which is a huge advantage, except when the Mountaineers only get to the line eight times like on Saturday. If you keep Appalachian off the line, you have neutralized a strength.

Davidson also switched to zone defense, which aided the fewer foul calls. Appalachian could not shoot out of the zone. The Mountaineers were 4/25 from behind the arc, and 2/16 in the second half, where Davidson switched to the zone defense exclusively. Not many teams can play zone against Appalachian, as most of the other teams in the conference do not have the size on the perimeter, to keep Appalachian out of its high post offense. Even in the zone, Davidson was able outrebound Appalachian by ten, which is another huge advantage. Davidson executed a great game plan and it worked. I do not think Davidson is more talented, but was able weaken the strengths of Appalachian. For the record, the Mountaineers shot 32% for the game, and commited 20 turnovers.

For the rest of the season, the Mountaineers will be chasing. They are the first contender in the conference with a loss in the SoCon play. Luckily Appalachian has some very winnable games until the run into the back to back games against Chattanooga and Samford. It has been a long time since Appalachian has lost two games in a row, and with class starting back in a week, I think the Mountaineers will get back into a groove. The holiday break in Boone can be tough on student athletes without many friends in town, the weather turning, and nothing but practice and once a week games on their schedules. This team thrives on repitition and games. It’s a dark spot for the season, but this team will it around.