Northeastern Basketball

The Northeastern University men's basketball team may surprise some people this season. In the annual Red vs. Black game held on Monday, the Black team was able to pull away late for a 61-53 victory.

The Black team was led by junior point guard and co-captain Jon Lee. Kashief Edwards, Quincy Ford, Demetrius Pollard and Reggie Spencer also started for the Black team, while Alex Bates came off the bench.

The Red team was led by junior shooting guard and co-caption Joel Smith. Kauri Black, Alwayne Bigby, Ryan Pierson and Marco Banegas also started for the Red team, while walk-ons Chris Avenant and Devin Figueroa came off the bench.

Senior transfer Kashief Edwards was the best non-guard on the court. He led all scorers with 19 points and showed great athletic ability. Edwards finished strong at the rim with a series of one-handed and two-handed jams. He was also an active rebounder, and found his way into almost every play. 

Jon Lee was probably the best player on the court. In addition to his 16 points, he had some fantastic passes and several assists. Husky fans can look forward to Lee driving and dishing to a cutting Edwards from the short corner for a dunk. Lee showcased both his great driving ability and his long-range shooting. Lee got others involved early in the game before looking for his own shot more often in the second half.

Freshman guard Demetrius Pollard was impressive not just because of his 12 points, but because of his poise and decisiveness. He showed he can shoot it from deep as he knocked down a couple of threes. Pollard also showed he can put it on the floor and hit a nice runner. He even wowed the crowd with a block of a Ryan Pierson dunk attempt. 

Freshman forward Quincy Ford was hesitant to start the game but became more assertive later on. He likes to play out on the wing despite his height, though most of his 12 points came from inside the paint. His jump shots looked rushed. Nerves may have been an issue, but he will become more comfortable with experience. 

Freshman forward Reggie Spencer was largely a non-factor on the offensive end. However, he played solid defense and led both teams with 10 rebounds. His offensive game is still raw, but his defense and rebounding will warrant him playing time this year. 

Sophomore forward Alex Bates showed flashes of potential last season, but unfortunately Northeastern recruited two freshman forwards (Spencer and Ford) who seem to be ahead of him in the rotation.

Joel Smith had a solid outing but was far from spectacular. He seemed to lack intensity. This could be attributed to the fact that he is not competing for playing time and is comfortable with his spot on the team. He hit some threes, but it would be beneficial if he could put the ball on the floor and contribute on the boards this season.

Junior forward Kauri Black played well, showcasing the athleticism that fans saw last year. He grabbed a few rebounds and converted at the rim on his way to 13 points. Black seems to be healthy; last season he battled some injuries. 

Junior guard Alwayne Bigby is healthy this year, and that is going to be a big boost for Northeastern. He was all over the court in the scrimmage. He played great perimeter defense and showed off an improved offensive game. Bigby led the Red team with 16 points, and even hit a couple of threes. He also had a couple of steals.

Sophomore center Ryan Pierson had an unimpressive game. He clearly needs some more time to develop. He has the strength to play down low, but it seems that he may lack the quickness and athleticism. Pierson was largely a non-factor on the boards. One of the reasons NU struggled last season was because it lost the rebounding battle almost every game. As the starting center, Pierson averaged under four boards per game last season.

Freshman guard Marco Banegas did not stand out for any reason, good or bad. It looks like Pollard is better than him right now. He did hit a three early in the game, and jitters might have played a factor. He is unlikely to see much playing time with Lee, Smith, Bigby and probably Pollard all ahead of him in the rotation.

The starting lineup on Friday at Boston University will probably have Jon Lee at point guard, Joel Smith and Alwayne Bigby at the off-guard spots, and Kauri Black and Kashief Edwards at forward.

Pollard will most likely get some good minutes as the combo-guard off the bench. Ford and Spencer will get minutes at forward as the Huskies will mix in some more traditional two-guard sets. Pierson will also get playing time after playing pretty well for a freshman last season.

Before the season began, the Northeastern men’s basketball team appeared to be a team with an opportunity to make a run at winning the CAA.

However, a 2-7 start to the season, which included a five-game losing streak, raised some questions about whether or not the Huskies would be able to compete come conference play.

One of their first seven losses included an early conference matchup on the road at Drexel, a game in which the Huskies lost 49-47.

With today’s victory over VCU, the Huskies improved to 8-1 within the conference, their only loss still being that game against Drexel.

Those eight consecutive conference wins are part of the team’s current 11-game winning streak, which started back on Christmas Day with a win over SMU in Hawaii.

At 13-7 overall, the Huskies know there is still a long way to go. After a hot start last season, Northeastern faltered down the stretch, finishing up with a disappointing ending to their season.

For head coach Bill Coen, his team seems to be finally heading in the right direction, and the good news for their fans is they might be peaking at just the right time.

For Northeastern, their offensive focus continues to surround their trio of double-figure scorers in Matt Janning, Chaisson Allen, and Manny Adako.

The most impressive of their 11 straight wins has to be the two victories over VCU, whose reign in the CAA might just come to a close to as March approaches.

George Mason, who sits at 7-1 in the conference entering Saturday, was embarrassed by Northeastern 71-46 back on January 7th.

The Huskies will look to avenge their only conference loss of the season when Drexel pays a visit to Matthews Arena this upcoming Wednesday, January 27th.

However, the biggest test for Northeastern will be when Old Dominion comes to Boston next Saturday, January 30th. Old Dominion, who entered the season as the favorite in the CAA, was tied with Northeastern and George Mason for first place in the conference entering Saturday.

The struggles that represent the beginning of the Huskies 2009-2010 season are virtually nonexistent to a team that has turned their season around in convincing fashion.

*Photo Credit: caasports.com

You had to know the Northeastern Huskies would not continue to amass losses. A 2-7 start was disappointing, surprising, confusing—whatever you want to call it—but the Huskies have figured things out.

Coach Bill Coen implements a starting lineup comprised of four seniors and one junior, and his team is finally playing like an experienced squad should.

Gone are the narrow losses of November and December. In are six consecutive double-digit victories—most recently, the Huskies acquired a five-point win at Virginia Commonwealth before returning to the Matthews Arena to rout George Mason by 25.

Seniors Matt Janning and Manny Adako have continued to perform at their typical levels, but Chaisson Allen's consistent offensive output and Nkem Ojougboh's dominant defensive presence have propelled the Huskies.

Throughout the streak, Allen has averaged 15.7 points and 3.3 treys per game. He poured in 20 points and drained six threes tonight against George Mason.

While Ojougboh has maintained his rebounding average of 8.3 per game, he has altered more shots during the streak, blocking 2.8 per contest.

As a team, the Huskies certainly don't suffocate opponents on defense, making Ojougboh's presence all the more valuable. Their 43 percent opponent field goal percentage ranks 10th in the CAA while their 37.3 percent opponent three-point percentage is the league's worst.

However, Northeastern wins by being more efficient than its foes, outscoring opponents by 0.29 points per shot in the last six games.

With the bulk of conference play remaining, the Huskies must develop a knack for winning games on the road, where they are 2-4. They have a must-win at Georgia State this Saturday before hosting Delaware and UNC-Wilmington.

Closing out January, Northeastern has a crucial three-game homestand. A tough VCU team will arrive at the Matthews Arena in search of revenge. Then, Drexel, who defeated the Huskies by two in early December, will travel to Boston on the 27th.

The anticipated showdown of the CAA's preseason No. 1 and No. 2 will occur on Jan. 30, when Old Dominion visits Northeastern. It will be the only regular season match between the two teams, and Northeastern should be relieved they will host the game—the Monarchs are currently 8-0 in their Constant Convocation Center.

Photo from gonu.com

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Northeastern basketball? What?

If you've forgotten that Northeastern has a basketball program, I don't blame you. But, if you looked at the CAA standings recently, you would have noticed that Northeastern leads the pack with a 9-1 conference record.

The Huskies, who returned every key player from a team that went 14-17 last year, were picked to finish second in the CAA in 2008-09. As their current standing shows, they are living up to the expectation.

Critics questioned Bill Coen's team after they struggled to a 3-4 record to open the season. A four-point victory at Providence was not as impressive at the time because the Friars were not a favorite to make the Big East Tournament.

Losses by 20 at Michigan, who was also not expected to be anything special, eight to Boston, 18 at South Florida, and 13 against Rhode Island left CAA coaches thinking that they put the wrong team as the preseason No. 2.

However, the Huskies have won 11 of their last 13 games, including recent defeats of George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth.

So, what lit the Huskies' tails on fire?

In truth, the answer is not provided by available statistics. Maybe Coen gave a couple of motivational speeches, or maybe the team realized that they were talented enough to top the Colonial Athletic Association.

Talent. Yes, that is something they have. However, Coen does not recruit superstars.

Junior Matt Janning leads the team with 15.5 points-per-game and his classmate, Manny Adako, adds 11.4 of his own. Everyone else contributes, but a team that scores a meager 62.8 points-per-game won't flaunt too many scorers.

The fact is that Northeastern does not need to score 70 or more points-per-game. Their goals are to slow the game down, to look for good shots on offense, and to play suffocating defense.

The defense doesn't force an outlandish amount of turnovers, but 15 turnovers forced per game is nothing to be scoffed at. Northeastern plays tight defense and forces tough shots. Opponents are shooting 41.8 percent against the Huskies' defense, which only allows 59.5 points-per-game.

If Northeastern is the last CAA team standing, which seems far-fetched as long as Eric Maynor is at VCU, they will not have an easy time in the Tournament.

Generally, the more talented team wins a slow-paced battle. Odds are that Northeastern will not be the more talented team. However, as the upset of Providence proved, the Huskies have the ability to beat bigger teams. In the Tournament, it'll depend on the luck of the draw.

After an "off" year, the Colonial Athletic Association is once again a threat to send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Commonwealth is currently the favorite to win the conference title, but George Mason, Northeastern, Old Dominion, Hofstra, and James Madison have also caught the eye of the college basketball world with their impressive records.

James Madison, who was picked to finish ninth according to a preseason coaches' poll, and Hofstra, picked seventh, are most likely to slip.

The Dukes, under first-year coach Matt Brady, have a scorer in Juwann James, but they also have too many freshmen with big roles. Freshman Julius Wells is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game on 41.3 percent from long range.

Devon Moore scores 10.1 points per night, and Andrey Semenov adds 7.5 per game. 

The good news for James Madison is that their top two scorers are seniors. James drops 16.3 points per game, and Kyle Swanston adds 10.4. However, you can expect the combination of having a new coach and so many freshmen will lose a handful of games down the road.

After suffering a 98-69 loss to Clemson to open the season, Hofstra won eight games in a row before losing by 16 to UMass. During the eight-game winning streak, the Pride's only win against a team with a reputable record came by one point against Eastern Tennessee State (10-4, 4-0 Atlantic Sun). 

Charles Jenkins has declared himself as the leader of this Hofstra team, which suffered last year while Antoine Agudio was hurt and was expected to continue to lose after his graduation.

Without Agudio, who is now playing in Turkey, Tom Pecora's squad is 10-5 and is second in the nation with 44.2 rebounds per game—Greg Washington, Dane Johnson, and Miklos Szabo are three big, in every meaning of the word, reasons why. 

Rebounding is required to win games, but it won't win games by itself. Hofstra has shot 35.1 percent from the field during losses and is shooting 38 percent on the season. Their free-throw shooting is poor and so is their three-point percentage at 30.6 percent. 

By the end of the season, Hofstra won't be considered for the at-large bid that was spoken about during the eight game winning streak, but they have potential to be a tough team in the conference tournament and maybe, just maybe, find a way to sneak into the NCAA Tournament by winning the CAA championship. 

Old Dominion is always dangerous. They were picked to finish third, but with the help of All-CAA junior Gerald Lee, the Monarchs can compete with anyone in the conference. 

After making the NCAA Tournament in 2007, the Monarchs declined to finish 18-16 last year. Now, they are 9-5, but three of their losses were by less than five points and four were by less than eight. Their only double-digit loss was by 15 against a revered UAB team, which is expected to give Memphis a run for its money in Conference USA. 

Old Dominion's production is created by a handful of sophomores, two juniors, and a senior. Only Gerald Lee, Jonathan Adams, and Marcus Neely experienced the run to the Tournament, but that could be all the experience that is needed to will this team to the top of the conference. 

Despite slightly worse play from All-CAA First Team member Matt Janning, Northeastern is living up to its conference expectations. The Huskies were chosen to finish directly behind Virginia Commonwealth, and they are currently 4-0 in the CAA. 

There were, without a doubt, some rough losses—20 points at Michigan, 32 at Memphis—and some bad losses—eight points against Boston and 18 at South Florida—but the Huskies have found their stroke. They have won six out of their last seven, including a 13 point victory at Indiana and a blowout against Hofstra. 

Here's why Northeastern was picked to finish second: They returned every key player from a team that went 14-17 with a 9-9 CAA record in 2007-'08, Matt Janning is one of the best players in the CAA, and the team is well-rounded. They have some talented big men, they shoot 42.4 percent from the field, 33 percent from deep, and 70.7 percent from the charity stripe. 

Excluding the early-season blowouts, the Huskies defense has been superb—opponents are averaging a meager 59.8 points per game.

Northeastern is tough and has the ability to defeat VCU. Unfortunately for the Huskies, their only contest with the Rams is in Virginia. 

Critics did not expect George Mason to be 11-3 this far into the season primarily because no one could believe that they would be able to respond to the losses of Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell.

However, the losses allowed the Patriots to assemble a very balanced scoring effort. Cam Long leads the team with 11.8 points per game, but six other Patriots score over seven points per game. 

The Patriots have not lost by more than six and are still undefeated at home. The only inexcusable loss was by six at Hampton, but a three-point overtime loss to Seth Curry and the Liberty Flames and a four-point loss at Dayton shouldn't undermine GMU's chances of earning an at-large bid. 

As a team, the Patriots can shoot and rebound very well. Thirty-seven rebounds per game, a field goal percentage of 45.4 percent, and 34 percent success rate from deep are stats that cannot be scoffed at. Averaging 70 points per game is better than most CAA teams, and with the balanced scoring attack, the Patriots will put up a consistent high-60s, low 70s score. 

Other than VCU, the Patriots are the only team in the CAA with a legitimate chance of obtaining an at-large bid at season's end. The only road block that would direct them to the NIT would be unacceptable conference losses to anyone other than the top four teams.

If they manage to go 14-4 in the CAA, which is entirely possible, and advance to the CAA championship, they will have a legitimate case for earning an at-large bid.

Now for the league's best team, Virginia Commonwealth.

Every one remembers that sophomore named Eric Maynor who hit a jump shot that defeated Duke in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Well, Maynor is a senior now and is averaging 22.1 points and 5.9 assists per game. If that isn't enough, he is also shooting 40.7 percent from deep.

If his three-point percentage is not impressive enough for you, take a look at sophomore Joey Rodriguez's three-point percentage of 49.3 percent. Yep, 49.3 percent from deep! As a team, the Rams shoot 40.3 percent from long range.

Rodriguez is not the three-point shooter who only comes off the bench to launch a couple of threes; He also averages 11.5 points per game. 

Last year's CAA Freshman of the Year Larry Sanders is averaging 9.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and three blocks per game.

Freshman Bradford Burgess may win the award that Sanders received last year. He's scoring 8.7 points per game on 50.6 percent field-goal shooting and 45.7 percent three-point shooting.

The Rams are yet to defeat a high-profile team, but they've come close. Losses by six at Rhode Island, five against Vandy, and 11 against Oklahoma proved that the Rams can compete with top competition.

Anthony Grant is a great coach, and you can expect the Rams to win the CAA. However, the path won't be too easy because of teams like GMU, ODU, Hofstra, James Madison, and Northeastern, but VCU is still the favorite. 

Anything can happen...