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Men’s Basketball 64 Georgia Southern 62 (OT)

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The most confusing team in the SoCon will make one of its longest road trips in conference play when Georgia Southern faces Appalachian on Thursday evening in Boone. The Eagles have struggled on the road this season, only posting two wins against Kennesaw State and Virginia Tech. Since the win at Virginia Tech, a team who the Mountaineers lost to three weeks prior to Southern’s win, the Eagles have gone winless on the road and have posted some pretty ugly losses. Southern has lost every true road game since and have averaged losing by 14.7 points per game. Southern has struggled when they have had trouble scoring this season. The Eagles have won all but one game where they have scored 62 points or more this season, and have lost all but one when they have scored 62 or fewer. That is a rather low magic number, while Appalachian has lost every game where the opponent has scored 72 points.

The Eagles feature three double figure scorers in Eric Ferguson (14.2), CJ Reed (11.7) and Tre Bussey (10.7), but beyond that, the productions falls off considerably. Their next three highest scoring players combine for 16.3 points per game. The Eagles are also a team that fouls a lot compared to their opponents, fouling the opponent close to eighteen times per game. That is an average good enough for a single bonus in both halves of play. In turn, the Eagles do not draw fouls well enough, and it shows as they are out-shot on the free throw line by over three percent.

Appalachian is a team that draws exactly nineteen fouls a game and shoots well from the free throw line, but can be streaky when they do not frequent the line enough in a game. Evidence is provided in their last two games, losses at Samford (11/18) and Chattanooga (16/23). Both games were decided by four points or fewer and another free throw here and there could have been huge in the closing minutes. Appalachian needs to own the glass on Thursday, as the Eagles only average just over thirty rebounds a game, while the Mountaineers average nearly thirty-six rebounds a game. The Mountaineers have out-rebounded Georgia Southern on the season by 21, in one less game.

Our first line we saw gave the Mountaineers an eight point advantage. Our first feeling was that eight was somewhat of a high number, until we started researching Georgia Southern. The Eagles are bad on the road, winning only two of nine games, and are coming off a terrible performance to the worst team in the league in The Citadel. That was coming off of beating Charleston and Davidson in back to back games. However, all those games came at home, and the Eagles are back on the road, and have to deal with a very chilly Boone climate off the court. History has shown that Georgia Southern teams have not fared well coming to the mountains, across all sports, when the weather outside is below 40 degrees. Appalachian has won five in a row over Georgia Southern at home. We are not confident about the eight points, despite Appalachian playing well this past weekend outside of a six minute stretch in Chattanooga. We would like to see a spread of 6.5 to be comfortable, but we are not likely to see it. I have a feeling the line might take off toward 9 once the day wears on. We will update throughout the day as usual, if the line does change.

12:38 PM UPDATE: Line has edged downward to -7.5 for the Apps. Leaning toward an Eagle cover.

5:16 PM UPDATE: Earlier this afternoon, the line dropped another whole point, all the way to -6.5, and that was the number we were looking for. It’s been a bore this year picking games, but we will ride the Apps at home.

Postgame:

For the second time in a week, Appalachian was forced to overtime by an inferior opponent by losing a double digit lead in the second half. This time around, Appalachian lost a 17 point lead with 8:44 to play before holding off Georgia Southern in overtime. Last week, Appalachian lost in overtime after losing a nineteen point lead on the road in Chattanooga. This time the Mountaineers managed to win, against one of the least talented teams in the conference.

When Appalachian took a 52-35 lead with 8:44 to play, the lead was large, but never seemed safe the entire game. This game was one where Georgia Southern was a couple of made shots away from making a run, and turning the game around. Over the next six minutes of play, Appalachian could not score, much less get the ball across halfcourt without having to work out of a trap. The Eagles managed to trim the lead slowly, as Appalachian could only manage five points in the last eight plus minutes of the game. In overtime, Appalachian “outscored”  Southern 7-5, which was good enough on this night.

So you ask, how did this lead evaporate? This game may be better explained than “The Chatty Collapse.” Jay Canty re-injured the same thumb he has had trouble with all season, and only played two minutes. Midway through the second half, Mike Neal suffered a foot injury, that was awkward to say the least. Neal took a contested three pointer and he drew contact from an Eagle defender, but no foul was called. Neal landed off balance, and tried to walk the injury off before crumbling to the floor in agony. Neal would not return to the game, and Appalachian’s lead would begin shrinking. Head Coach Jason Capel was forced to run with a lineup that included Chris Burgess, Tab Hamilton, Jamaal Trice, Nathan Healy, Tevin Baskin and Michael Obacha. Six players split minutes for the remainder of the game and overtime. This, after a long road trip that included another overtime game. We wrote a few days ago how this team was an injury away being run ragged as far as minutes played per player. Neal is considered on the plus side of questionable for Saturday against Davidson, while Canty is considered closer to doubtful than questionable for Saturday.

The spread came down to 6.5 points in favor of Appalachian, which would have worked out just fine had the Mountaineers not lost both Neal and Canty. So, after covering their first ten games, Appalachian has been figured out by Vegas and has dropped three straight covers. Two of those covers leave a sour taste in your mouth, as the Mountaineers had both games covered in the second half with ease, before falling apart and going to overtime. Appalachian is now 10-3 against the spread and our picks are 9-4. Depending on the injuries for the Mountaineers, I expect Davidson to be favored big time on Saturday, perhaps as many as 11 or 12 points. Davidson has not been a team that has ever played well against the spread, so this line will be especially intriguing on Saturday morning.

Men’s Basketball 68 Samford 72

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Samford and Appalachian were projected to finish tied for fourth in the SoCon by the media prior to the season. On Saturday afternoon, they will be playing for a share of first place. Samford has been especially hot of late, winning three in a row. Samford took care of Western Carolina on Thursday, after sweeping the Low-Country portion of the schedule on the road with wins over The Citadel and Charleston. Samford seems to be a team that plays up and down to its competition. Their win over The Citadel was a four point win, over a team that has now lost twelve straight games. Their victory over Charleston was a major upset as far as Southern Conference basketball is concerned. Samford lost their only SoCon game at home to Chattanooga, a team Appalachian dominated, but could not finish off down the stretch.

For the season, Samford has been outscored, outshot, outrebounded and overall, just plain outhustled by their opponents all season long. Similar to Wofford, they are led by a duo of underclassmen who have provided the bulk of their scoring. Raijon Kelly has scored in double figures in every game this season. The sophomore was named to the 2012 SoCon all-freshman team last season. Kelly has played thirty minutes or more in every game this season, but has been in a shooting slump of late. Kelly is shooting 42.4% from the floor this season, but has only made 12/40 (30%) his last three games. Kelly has been off after exploding for 27 points and six made three pointers, both season highs, against Chattanooga. Tim Williams is a freshman forward who comes in a 6’8″ and 210 pounds. Williams averages 14.4 points per game and 7.3 rebounds. Williams averages 5.5 field goals made per game. Samford features a rather short bench, as only six players have played in every game this season.

This a big game for Appalachian from a mental standpoint. Can the Mountaineers erase the nightmare that was the Chattanooga game? Even though Appalachian thoroughly dominated the Mocs for most of the game, those memories are all but forgotten. Appalachian has fared well in Alabama since Samford has joined the conference. In four games on the road, Appalachian is 3-1 at Samford, with three straight wins. Jason Capel is 3-1 all time against Samford, with the only loss coming last year in Boone in a one point game.

Five Mountaineers continue to average in double figures. The play of Tevin Baskin of late has been a big boost on both ends of the court. Mike Neal has been great since his return to the team, although Neal had a rough outing on Thursday against Chattanooga. If Tab Hamilton can continue to shoot well, this Appalachian team will be on the rise, and they can hopefully forget about “The Chatty Collapse”

The Mountaineers opened as 1.5 point favorite against Samford on Saturday morning, and since, the line has ballooned to 3; Appalachian still considered a favorite. This has been an interesting trend  this season. Appalachian has done well against the spread this season, and it has drawn the interest from gamblers. We have never seen a line move  as much as it has this season. In the past, maybe one or two games, sees a line move during the course of an entire season. Now, it is almost a guarantee that the line will move. We liked the Mountaineers this morning at 1.5, which means you are basically picking a winner.  Three points makes things a little more interesting. We are going to give Appalachian a small benefit of the doubt. They had a rough half hour on Thursday, but everything had been rosy for most of the month. We’ll stick behind Appalachian and the points today, but will gladly take a ATS loss and straight up win.

Postgame:

Samford used its best game of the season to edge by Appalachian 72-68 on Saturday evening. The Bulldogs ripped the nets all night long, en route to shooting 54.5% for the game. Every time Appalachian made a push, Samford would put up another clutch shot. Appalachian was fortunate to only be down five points at halftime after Samford shot 63% in the first half. Appalachian remained in the game with eight made free throws in the first half and five three pointers.

Appalachian had several chances in the second half to take the lead or tie the game. In all, there were eighteen opportunities the Mountaineers had in the second half, where they were down by one possession, three points or fewer, and either turned the ball over, missed free throws, dunks or layups. Six such times in the second half, the Mountaineers were in the same situation only down one point. The Mountaineers were 3/8 from the free throw line in the second half. Would have been nice to have one or two of those back, to at least make the game a little more in reach down the stretch. However, this game did not boil down to what Appalachian did not do, but more of what Samford did. They hit every shot they needed to, and took care of the basketball by only committing nine turnovers. In college basketball, if you turn the ball over less than ten times and shoot over 50% from the field, you are going to win a lot of basketball games. We can manage a loss like this. The other team played lights out, but the sting of Thursday and “The Chatty Collapse” are still fresh in the minds of Mountaineer fans.

The Mountaineers have now fallen short of the spread in two straight games, moving them to 10-2 on the year, and our picks are now 9-3. It appears the conference schedule has now evened out to an extent. Appalachian has now played all of its Northern division opponents once. Wins over Elon and Greensboro and losses to Chattanooga, Samford and Western Carolina. Their record stands at 2-3 in the North, and quite simply, 2-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. The Mountaineers really should be 4-2 in conference play, but they will have to steal another game down the stretch to contend in the North.

When you consider the SoCon changed the seeding rules for the conference tournament, finishing second in the division is not good enough anymore. The Mountaineers are now two games behind first place Samford. The race for the third and fourth seeds in the tournament will be interesting down the stretch. I wonder if the conference had the smarts to create an inter-division tiebreaker formula with an unbalanced schedule for those coveted third and fourth seeds.

Currently if the tourney started today, this is how the seeds would be distributed. Interesting that the reason the SoCon implemented the new seeding porcess was so teams in the South, namely Wofford, would not finish with a 12-6 league record and be relegated to playing in the first round of the tournament. And now, the plan has backfired and three North teams hold down the top four spots.

Davidson    6-1

Samford    5-1

W. Carolina   5-2

Elon   4-2

 

Men’s Basketball 88 Chattanooga 91 (OT)

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The hottest team in the Southern Conference will face the “western” road trip this weekend when they play Chattanooga on Thursday and Samford on Saturday. First up is the Chattanooga Mocs (7-10, 2-2), who are returning from a four game road trip. The Mocs were 2-2 on the road trip, falling to Georgia Tech and Charleston while defeating Samford and The Citadel. If the Mocs have any true quality wins on the season, you can count the High Point team that Appalachian could not beat on their own home floor and most recently, a surprising Samford team that is 3-1 in SoCon play. The Mocs are a streaky team,with most of their wins coming with single digit margins, while their defeats are by double figures.

This is a big game for both Chattanooga and Appalachian. Not only does the game feature North Division opponents, which we knew mean so much as far as tiebreakers are concerned for the SoCon Tournament, but Appalachian currently holds a one game lead in the standings over Chattanooga. Appalachian (7-8, 3-1) is a half game out of first place behind Western Carolina who has one more win. Although Chattanooga is only a game out of second place in the North, they are only a half game out of the cellar in front of Greensboro, who defeated Wofford on Wednesday.

Chattanooga is led by a man named Z Mason, who leads the team in scoring (13.2)s and rebounding (7.1). Backing up Mason is Gee McGhee (9.6) and Ronrico White (9.4). Without a doubt, Chattanooga gets the award for having the all name team in the SoCon. I doubt there is another trio in the conference with such unique and repetitive names. As a team, Chattanooga shoots poorly from every area on the floor. Their three point shooting is last in the conference at 29.6%, while their field goal shooting stands at 41%, barely good enough for 10th in the twelve team SoCon. The Mocs are 11th in the conference shooting free throws at 65.6%.

In a matter of a few days, Appalachian has five players averaging double figures on the season: Jay Canty 15.3, Nathan Healy 14.3, Mike Neal 10.6, Tevin Baskin 10.3, and Tab Hamilton 10.2. The return of Mike Neal has been a huge lift. His absence at the beginning of the season was extremely undervalued. Neal has been a decent distributor, while adding the ability to get to the rim when needed. Tevin Baskin has also played better, becoming a valuable sixth man that can come off the bench and play thirty minutes if needed. Nathan Healy has been especially solid, creating mismatches on the perimeter for just about every one who defends him. Appalachian has started slow the last couple games, but has finished the first half of those games very strongly and carried it over into the second half to close out wins.

We are having a hard time not gushing over the Mountaineers and their unbelievable covers streak that have going this season. Appalachian is the only team that is perfect against the spread in the NCAA with a minimum of ten lines games at 10-0. On Tuesday, we hypothesized the spread for Thursday, and noted that a pick’em was possible. The first line we have seen is Appalachian being favored by one point. That is just about as good as a guess you can ask for. I would not be surprised if the line snuck up toward to -2 for Appalachian tomorrow. At this point, our hands are tied, and we are going to stick with Appalachian until it burns us. We are 9-1 this season, with our only miss coming in the opening game against East Carolina.

7:05 AM UPDATE: Line opened as a pick’em on our regular book. App stills looks solid here.

12:43 PM UPDATE: Line is now spotting the Mountaineers two points. Appalachian actually plays well at Chattanooga. I do not understand the movement. Everyone must be expecting Appalachian to lose eventually.

Postgame:

For thirty-four minutes, Appalachian looked like the team Mountaineers fans had seen for close to a month. Whatever happened in the final six minutes would be the most embarrassing moments to date this season if it were not for an infamous free throw attempt, which has only garnered 17.9 million YouTube hits. The Mountaineers managed to lose a nineteen point lead in the final 6:36 of the game. Chattanooga scored fifteen points in the first thirteen minutes and change of the second half, which is just over a point a minute. In the final third of the second half, the Mocs scored 33 points. They doubled their point total in the second half, in only half the time. This was an utter collapse of epic proportions.

Once Appalachian gained the nineteen point lead, at the 6:36 mark of the second half, the Mountaineers only grabbed one rebound for the rest of regulation. That was a rebound by Nathan Healy with 5:56 to play. Over the same period of time, the final 6:36 of regulation, Chattanooga grabbed 11 rebounds, six offensive and five defensive. Those six offensive rebounds led to ten second chance points for the Mocs. Ten of their twelve second half points came in the final 6:36. That is inexcusable.

Four Mountaineers scored in double figures. Most importantly, Tab Hamilton scored 21 points and may have broken out of his slump. Although the Roundhouse has been a horror house for Appalachian as a team over the years, it has been a place where Mountaineer shooting guards have had some of their best games. Nathan Cranford hit ten three pointers in a game there in 2007, and Noah Brown hit nine threes in a game in Chattanooga in 2004. Hamilton hit five threes on the night. Nathan Healy added 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jay Canty scored 19 points and Tevin Baskin scored 11 with 7 rebounds.

For the first time all season, Appalachian lost against the spread. The line closed at +2, and of course the the Mountaineers (10-1 ATS) lost by three in overtime. We are not quite sure if this collapse was an anomaly, or a sign of things to come. This was a game that Appalachian had in hand, and literally gave it away. Our record falls to 9-2 on the year. This one stung, which is also why we needed a day to “cool off” before writing about it. Appalachian should still be favored over Samford on Saturday evening, but it will not be by many points. Every home team in the SoCon won on Thursday night, including Davidson and Western Carolina losing on the road in very winnable games.

North
Samford 4-1 .800 2-1 2-0 0-0 W3 6-12 .333 3-4 3-6 0-2 W3
Western Carolina 4-2 .667 2-1 2-1 0-0 L2 7-11 .389 4-2 2-8 1-1 L2
Elon 3-2 .600 1-1 2-1 0-0 W2 10-7 .588 6-2 4-5 0-0 W2
Chattanooga 3-2 .600 1-1 2-1 0-0 W1 8-10 .444 5-6 3-4 0-0 W1
Appalachian State 3-2 .600 2-0 1-2 0-0 L1 7-9 .438 5-2 2-7 0-0 L1
UNCG 2-3 .400 2-0 0-3 0-0 W1 4-12 .250 4-4 0-8 0-0 W1

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.

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

Men’s Basketball 71 Milligan 51

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Pregame:

This afternoon’s game will be the final tune up of the season for the Mountaineers when they take on Milligan. From here on out, seventeen conference games will prepare Appalachian for the conference tournament. In the meantime, Millgan brings in a team that is over halfway through their season, with eight wins and seven losses. Milligan’s schedule consists of bunch of schools you have never heard of. Their Division I slate includes Liberty, and East Tennessee State, both which were lopsided losses. Montreat is the only common opponent as Milligan was able to win by by eleven points at home, while the Mountaineers claimed a thirty point win in their season opening exhibition game.

Appalachian should win this game easily, but don’t be surprised if Milligan keeps it close. Milligan held off Appalachian for a good portion of the game last year before falling by 23 points on Thanksgiving weekend. Milligan is a team that loves the three pointer and will take the shot when its there. Four players on their roster have hit twelve three pointers or more, with sixth man Scott Blake hitting 28 threes despite only averaging 16 minutes a game.

There is no spread for this game.

Postgame:

Appalachian opened up an eleven point halftime lead and eventually cruised pasts Milligan by twenty points. It was an uneasy win as Appalachian shot poorly in all aspects of the game. Chalk it up to the midseason blues if you want, but this was a game that was ugly to watch. Appalachian managed only 38% shooting for the game. Even worse, the Mountaineers were under 50% from the free throw line.

Somehow, Nathan Healy pulled in a massive double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Jay Canty had a thumb taped up and that forced him to struggle shooting the ball, missing all six free throw attempts. In an odd twist, Mike Neal managed to get disciplined to only play seven minutes. Because of this, it’s time for some soapbox. It was later learned that Neal was late for a morning practice on gameday. So Neal, who missed nine games due to academic issues in the classroom, during his incredibly challenging freshman year of classes, has now been late to a team meeting. When is he going to understand the team means more than himself. At what point does he understand what his basketball scholarship means? It is obviously the only thing keeping him in school, considering his situation. (Hopping off the soapbox.) 

 

 

Men’s Basketball 78, Presbyterian 70

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Appalachian took care of Presbyterian on Saturday as they should have, but the game was closer in the closing minutes. After the Mountaineers opened up a fifteen point halftime lead, the Blue Hose used every opportunity they had in the first eight minutes of the second half to stymie any type of Appalachian run. Presbyterian called three time outs before the second media timeout to keep Appalachian from establishing a rhythm.

Appalachian held a fourteen point lead just under three minutes to play in the second half before the Blue Hose went on a 13-3 run over the next 2:31 to pull within four points. However, Tevin Baskin iced the game with four made free throws in the final half minute to secure the final margin. Appalachian outrebounded Presbyterian by ten for the game, buoyed mostly by an 11-2 edge on the offensive glass. Leading scorer Jay Canty was held in check, as he has been recently by teams since being named conference player of the week. However, Appalachian received plenty of help from the bench. Baskin (16), Chris Burgess (9) and Jamaal Trice (12) combined for 37 points, compared to the Presbyterian bench which only produced 16 points. Baskin added eight rebounds and hit 9/10 from the free throw line. Nathan Healy also added 16 points and 8 rebounds, four which were offensive rebounds.

 

Chris Burgess appeared to play with more confidence as he gambled on defense on several occasions and it paid off, despite not getting credit for a single steal, he did force several turnovers. I still wonder why Michael Obacha continues to start, as he can barely play twenty minutes due to foul trouble, and has little offensive skill. Tab Hamilton has struggled with his shot for some time. Hamilton’s typical game of late looks something like the one he played Saturday afternoon. Hamilton was 2/6 from the field and 1/5 from behind the arc, and only hit two of his four free throws.

C-Notes: There was no line for the game, which is what we expected. It will be interesting to see how the lines start shaping once conference play beings…Appalachian has improved its free shooting dramatically in the past few games, as they are 71.5% on the season, up over 5% in the just the last four games…The Mountaineers gave up 10 three pointers to Presbyterian, a season high.

Men’s Basketball 69 South Carolina 74

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Appalachian looks to build on its win over UMKC when it faces off against South Carolina (RPI #196) on Wednesday evening. The Gamecocks (6-3) are an interesting team thus far in the season. They really do not own a quality win, but have had some questionable losses. The obvious one is their twelve point home loss to Elon. Another questionable loss is the nine point home loss to Clemson and thirdly, a twenty-four point loss to St. John’s in Queens, NY. This South Carolina team has the look of a very inconsistent team.

First year head coach Frank Martin, formerly of Kansas State is working through a lineup that has yet to find a true leading scorer. Four ‘Cocks are averaging in double figures, but the leading scorer, Brenton Williams who leads the team with 13.2 points per contest has only started in four games. Only three players on Martin’s roster have started all nine games, and they average a combined 19.4 points per game. As a team, the ‘Cocks average a riduculous 19 turnovers a game, but are outrebounding their opponents by over ten rebounds per game. This will be South Carolina’s first game since December 7th.

Appalachian benefited greatly from Mike Neal being eligible for the first time this season in their win over UMKC. Even though Neal’s numbers didn’t show it, you could almost hear it on the radio how this team has come together. I am trying not to get ahead of myself, as I believe this team could contend in the North Division . Only Davidson has separated itself from rest of the conference and the Mountaineers could be getting things together at the right time. Jay Canty continues to lead the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds. The Mountaineers feature three regular players shooting over 40% from behind the arc in Tab Hamilton, Nathan Healy and Jamaal Trice.

The spread has been set at nine points by one Vegas book, but we will wait until tomorrow for a more official line. South Carolina has been up and down against the line, while the Mountaineers are on fire, covering every lined game this season. If the number stays around nine points we will likely stick with the Mountaineers, and especially so if it creeps into the double digits. Currenty we are 5-1 on the season.

UPDATE: As of 1:15, spread has jumped up to 10.5 points in favor of South Carolina. This movement even garnered interest from twitter in this tweet.

@statmyles: Appalachian St 2-7, but a perfect 6-0 ATS, they are +10 road dogs (move from +9.5) vs S.Carolina, 5PM tip

Postgame:

Appalachian rallied from a double digit deficit twice in the first half before eventually falling at South Carolina. The Mountaineers trailed most of the game, but battled back from several occasions where South Carolina could have pulled away. Appalachian trailed by 7 points with 1:47, 1:34 and 0:37 remaining in the second half but still managed an opportunity to tie the game with a three pointer on their final possession. South Carolina missed several key free throws down the stretch, which gave Appalachian a chance at tying the game at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, some misplaced passes on their final possession hurried a three point attempt from Nathan Healy that fell well short. South Carolina iced the game with two made free throws after the missed shot from Appalachian and subsequent foul.

Appalachian mostly used a seven man rotation even though Chris Burgess logged four minutes. Every other player that saw action played at least twenty minutes. Three Mountaineers led all scorers with sixteen points. Jay Canty added eight rebounds to his sixteen points. Mike Neal, starting in his first game of the season, finished with sixteen points and grabbed seven rebounds while assisting on seven made baskets. Tevin Baskin added four rebounds and four blocks to his team leading point total. 

Appalachian’s streak of covering spreads will eventually end, but  here is hoping the Vegas sharks are making some money on the Mountaineers. For the seventh straight game this season, the Mountaineers covered the spread. Despite a 2-8 record, the Mountaineers are 7-0 in lined games. We made the right call, and moved our record to 6-1 on the season. There is a high likelihood that Presbyterian will not draw interest on a Saturday to deserve a spread, but we will keep our eyes peeled. More likely, is that Milligan will not garner a spread either in the next game. Once the conference season starts, the lines will have had time to reset themselves, and we will probably see more challenging picks during the conference season.

Men’s Basketball 81 UMKC 71

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Appalachian arguable played its best team game of the season in its first win of the season over a Division I opponent. The Mountaineers used an eight man rotation with half of them scoring in double figures. Tevin Basking poured in a game high 18 points off the bench. The game featured the sophomore debut of Mike Neal from academic suspension. Neal played 31 minutes and only scored four points, dished out a team high four assists. Appalachian assisted on fifteen of their twenty-six made field goals.

Appalachian held a one point halftime lead in a back and forth first half. In the second half, both teams shot over 60% from the field, but the difference was at the free throw line. Appalachian was 18/20 in the second half at the free throw line, gaining an eight point advantage over UMKC. The Mountaineers finished the game with outstanding shooting percentages, hitting 55% of their field goals, 55% of their three points attempts and 77% of their free throws. Tab Hamilton finished with 17 points, Jamaal Trice had 16 points and Jay Canty chipped in with twelve points.

The spread opened up with Appalachian being three point underdogs and eventually moved to four points. When the line moves like that, it generally means that money was heading toward the homestanding Kangaroos. The Mountaineers have been the underdog in every game this season and have covered the spread every time. Eventually they will be favored in a game, most likely against Presbyterian in six days. In the meantime, Appalachian will visit South Carolina during the week. We kept hot on the Mountaineers side and took them to cover and that improved our record to 5-1 on the season. We are on fire right now, and the Mountaineers season has made it somewhat easy. We will ride this streak as long as we can. I imagine South Carolina will be at least a ten point favorite on Wednesday Night. Our pick is already made barring a very odd line.

In case you missed it

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This is terribly sad. So far this season, we have had the unfortunate misspelled basketball uniform. And now we have the six foot free throw, which is being called worldwide, the “Worst Free Throw Ever”. When I was listening to the Appalachian State broadcast, and heard Voice of the Mountaineers David Jackson explain the situation, I thought nothing of it. Jackson can sometimes stretch the truth, and I just assumed the it was bad air ball. Then I saw it early Sunday morning, and couldn’t believe what I saw. Brian Okam has been picked on plenty in this corner of the internet. From his lack of coordination to his inability to play more than 15 minutes in a game without fouling out. On this night, Okam hit one of his four free throw attempts, but none missed worse than this one.

I wish I could tell you what happened. There is no way the ball slipped out of his hand. A slip would have looked even more awkward. Take away the fact that there was a rim and backboard to aim at, it was a well arched toss of the ball. The only thing that I can imagine is that the ball was shot with way to much fingertip and not enough fingers and palm. Regardless of what happened, this is a microcosm of what this program has become, which is an absolute joke. Don’t get us wrong, there are pieces of this team that are doing things the right way, and unfortunately, they have been caught up in this. However, it is not even January yet, and this season cannot end soon enough. Luckily, we have the Women’s team to get behind, and baseball season is just a little over two months away.