Daily Archives: February 9, 2013

Men’s Basketball 52 Davidson 87

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If this game is anything like the last matchup between Appalachian and Davidson, it will be over before it starts. Davidson executed a brilliant game, hitting over 50% of their shots for the game, and Appalachian played one of its poorest games of the season. This does not suggest that is the sole reason Davidson won two weeks ago. Davidson is a better team, but they have not been as good this season as they have been in the past. It is a beatable team, but only one team in conference play has been able to beat them this season. Somehow, Georgia Southern beat Davidson in Statesboro, while Appalachian is fresh off of a sweep of the Eagles on Saturday night.

The scheduling gods were not kind to Appalachian this season when they have had to face Davidson. Appalachian was in Statesboro on Thursday night for an overtime game, and luckily had the sense to fly to Statesboro for the game. Earlier this season, Appalachian was just a few days removed from the western swing of Samford and Chattanooga.

In their first meeting this season, Appalachian was concerned over the status of two of their starters. Jay Canty re-aggravated a thumb injury two days before Davidson and was basically ineffective. Mike Neal turned his ankle two days prior and was also equally unproductive. This time around, Neal and Canty appear to be healthy and Nathan Healy has played two great games in a row. Oddly enough, Appalachian always played Davidson tighter in Belk Arena versus in Boone. No team has beaten Davidson more times in the past few years in Mecklenburg County than Appalachian.

Davidson has now moved to a 17 point favorite over Appalachian, after opening at 16. The Wildcats have never been good against the spread, and that notion holds true this season as they are 8-11. Since beating Appalachian, Davidson has shot under 30% from three point land in every game. The ‘Cats are 3-3-1 in conference games against the spread, but I get this feeling that 17 is just way to big of a number. The first time around, these two teams played on the opposite end of the spectrum. I seriously doubt it happens again in the same matter. It will not take much for me to take Davidson, but I believe this line gets bigger before gametime, and my feeling, once again is that Appalachian will cover.

Postgame:

Our feeling was this game was perhaps going to a lot closer than the first meeting between the two rivals. We could not have been more wrong. Davidson buried Appalachian early and often en route to a thirty-five point win. There is no secret, Davidson is much better, and on defense, Appalachian remains terrible. Davidson had more assists than Appalachian had made field goals.  The Wildcats shot 65% in the first half. The score was never tied, and Davidson led the entire way.

Nathan Healy led the Mountaineers in scoring with 13 points but was only 4/11 from the field. Tevin Baskin chipped in twelve points in nineteen minutes. Mike Neal scored nine points, but was 3/12 from the field. Jay Canty also scored only four points, and was 1/10 from the field. The Mountaineers shot 30% from the field for the entire game.

Due to the nature of the game, Brian Okam was able to get a few minutes late and made the most of them. Okam played ten minutes, but had 4 rebounds and two blocked shots in the limited action. Normally one would insert a joke that says something about, you know the Mountaineers are in trouble when Brian Okam is a bright spot. Right now, I personally believe that Okam might be a better play than Michael Obacha right now. I have not seen much improvement in Obacha all season, and he and Okam are basically the same player. They are both foul prone and offensively limited. So why not start the guy who is four inches taller and three years older? Okam may be a better option in the short term as the season may have grown long on the freshman. Now is the time to use Okam more if there are any intentions of using him in the conference tournament.

Appalachian did not cover the spread, their worst ATS loss in over 40 games. There is not much more to talk about. Appalachian is 12-6 ATS the spread this season and our picks are 11-7.

Women’s Basketball 49 Davidson 56

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Just a little over a month ago, Appalachian and Davidson played a game exactly how most fans would see it, for one half. And suddenly, Davidson figured out the Mountaineers. The Wildcats went to a zone defense, and the Mountaineers were finished. Appalachian could not get in the paint, could not hit an outside shot, and allowed Davidson to run away from them. Not only did Davidson beat Appalachian, but they created a blueprint for the rest of the conference to follow. It was not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination. Davidson took away the strengths of the Mountaineer game. Appalachian’s strengths are getting open looks close to the basket, and hitting free throws when the defense gets overly aggressive. Appalachian is not a three-point shooting team. Statistics may show they shoot a high percentage from behind the arc, but the three is not a huge part of their offensive game plan.

Davidson took advantage of their size down low. Davidson is tall, but not extremely athletic. They can frusturate you as equally as their men’s team can. The Wildcats have been rolling through the SoCon, outside of a home loss to first place Chattanooga. Part of that is due to scheduling. Davidson has played the better teams in conference pla,y all at home thus far. Of their final nine games, five of them on the road are all against conference contending teams. Davidson not only visits Appalachian on Saturday, but also faces a three games in eight days road stretch against Chattanooga, Samford and Elon.

On the other hand, Appalachian’s three conference losses are all on the road. The Mountaineers spent January in a fog after losing to Davidson. They were beating teams they were supposed to, but it was not looking very pretty. The Mountaineers are buried in fourth place in the conference, three games behind Chattanooga, and two behind second place Davidson. Since losing back to back games at Samford and Chattanooga, Appalachian has won their last two games convincingly. They set the tone with tough defense which led to easy buckets. Look for more of that against Davidson. Anna Freeman has played much better the last two games than the previous ten or so and that is what this team needs to succeed.

Postgame:

Davidson can do something to Appalachian that no other team can in the conference. Their size can completely take Appalachian out of its game. The result all but eliminates Appalachian from regular season title contention. Davidson usually does not blow people out, and scores just enough points it seems to get away with a win. To say this game was poorly officiated does not describe the level of incompetence the officials showed. Outside of having zero control of the game from the start, two of the three looked overwhelmed from the start. Davidson was called for two fouls in the first half, and ten in the second half. The issue was that Davidson was called for five of those ten second half fouls in the final eight minutes of the game. Davidson was allowed to play with an aggressiveness that the Mountaineers were not afforded.

Complaining about 0fficiating usually is not very kosher in the blogosphere, but it was valid. Outside of inconsistent foul calls, there were timeouts granted to Davidson when they did not possess the ball, plenty of travelling violations that were called jumpballs and other inconsistencies. Davidson won the game getting to foul line eleven more times than the Mountaineers in a game that played sloppily on both sides.

Maryah Sydnor scored 18 points to lead the Mountaineers while Anna Freeman added 15 points. Anna Freeman was held to a season low three rebounds and was only 5/17 from the floor, including 3/12 from behind the arc. The twelve three point attempts were the most for Freeman on the season. Up next is Furman on Monday evening, a part of a double header with the men playing the Paladins following the women’s game at 5:30. Appalachian will now play for tournament seeding for the remainder of the season. Hopefully the Mountaineers can avoid Davidson until the final, if they can get there.