First off, you can't start a review without the standings, so here you go, the up to the second NEC standings.
Last weekend, RMU defeated both Saint Francis PA (after blowing a 14 point lead) and went on the road an took down Mount St. Mary's. The two wins leave the Colonials as the only team left in the NEC that is unblemished in conference play, at 4-0.
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| Lucky Jones and the Colonials are 4-0 in NEC play. (p/c Matt Freed/Post-Gazette) |
St Francis Brooklyn and Bryant both went 2-0, keeping with in a game of RMU, and maintaining an all important top-4 spot. The Terriers beat CCSU and Sacred Heart, while the Bulldogs took down Sacred Heart and FDU.
Wagner split their two road games, beating St. Francis PA on the road Saturday, bouncing back from a loss at Mount (which was their first loss in NEC play).
FDU is a surprising two and two, beating LIU handily on the road Thursday, but the Knights aren't quite ready for the NEC elite, as Bryant handled them on Saturday.
Speaking of the defending champs, they won at CCSU Saturday avoiding an 0-4 start. That win is big for the banged up Blackbirds as they look to find their way.
St Francis PA, Sacred Heart, and Central Connecticut all went winless.
Got all that?
Oh yea, RMU freshman Jeremiah Worthem won his second Freshman of the Week award. I still think he's the front-runner for freshman of the year. Here's that story. Wayne Martin of St. Francis Brookyn is his biggest competition.
What does it all mean?
It can be understated just how big the Colonials win over Mount (and Braynt) was on Saturday. They now own a game lead on the conference through four games, three of which were on the road, and they beat two other "contenders" on their home court.
Now RMU needs to make their move.
The Colonials will play four straight at the Sewall Center, two of which will be against other contenders (Wagner, Bryant). The game against Bryant is another showcase game in the conference/program, as the game will be on ESPNU.
The other two games are "easy wins" (if there is such a thing) against Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut, two teams that are a combine 1-7 in NEC play.
If RMU goes 4-0 on this home-stand, they will be 8-0 with eight games to go. They would own a win over Mount on the road, two wins over Bryant, and a home win over Wagner. They would have at least a two game lead on everyone in the conference accept maybe SFNY, who they play twice in the second half.
The conference wouldn't be wrapped up by any means, but RMU would have quite a strangle hold on the league. Even a three-and-one home-stand sets the Colonials up for a nice run.
The biggest game has to be Wagner. The Colonials already have a road win over Bryant, so if they were to fall to the bulldogs, a season split would already have been achieved. RMU still has to travel to Staten Island to play Wagner in their home gym, so it's crucial RMU win their home matchup.
One other note, Wagner plays a much easier NEC schedule, playing Bryant only once (at home) and St. Francis Brooklyn just one (on the road). That's important, as RMU plays both twice, and plays CCSU and FDU just once.
So now that you have all that, let's look at this weekend's games, starting with Thursday night.
Thursday January 23rd:
While Saturday is loaded with big time match-ups, Thursday is not. The top five teams all play the bottom five teams. LIU is at Bryant, Sacred Heart at RMU, CCSU at Wagner, Mount at SFPA, and St Francis Brooklyn at FDU.
The Knights likely have the best shot at an upset, and that would be big for RMU. So Colonials fans should pull for FDU. As for the rest of the slate, there probably won't be too many surprises.
Saturday however, has some huge games.
Saturday January 25th:
The biggest game of the weekend will once again involve the RMU Colonials. This will be the third straight Saturday RMU plays in the game of the day.
As noted above, RMU really needs a win over Wagner, who is likely the biggest contender in terms if taking the number one seed away from RMU in the NEC tournament (Bryant and SFNY will have their say too). The Seahawks still get RMU at home (in the last game of the season) and have the easier schedule.
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| Cannon vs Francis will be good stuff. (p/c Rob Abruzzese) |
The other big time match-up is the high powered Bryant offense hosting the stingy defense of St. Francis Brooklyn. Jalen Cannon against Alex Francis will be a great matchup. They're the two best forwards in the league, and there really isn't a guy who can get their name in that conversation at the moment.
Bryant really needs the win. They can't afford to drop a second home game to a team they will battle with for a top-4 spot, they already lost one to RMU. They still have road games at RMU, at Wagner, at St Francis Brooklyn and at Mount left on the schedule.
This is a must win for the Bulldogs.
As for the rest of the league, Sacred Heart travels to SFPA in a game that could go a long way to deciding who makes the NEC tournament.
CCSU, who travels to Wagner two days before, will likely be looking for their first win in NEC play as they travel to FDU.
The final game, Mount St. Mary's at LIU Brooklyn, could feature a final score of 7326574236578324 to 58678457685497. Neither team plays any D, both have GREAT point guards, so look for a shoot-out in Brooklyn.
Looking forward to some great games in week three of NEC play, we're almost to the halfway point. Look for a Sacred Heart/RMU preview tomorrow.
--@Kunkel5
--Lee Kunkel
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