Sunday, January 2, 2011

VaTech, NSU, Longwood and CAA teams in action


Sunday's games

Georgia State (5-6) at George Mason (6-5), noon
The Patriots have been dominant at home (5-1) and won their last four games by an average of 23.7 points. But remember, they cleaned up during the non-conference season last year, too (7-4 overall 7-0) at home before falling off a cliff once CAA play began (lost their first 4 and 14 of their first 15 CAA games). Today we find out how much of Mason's success has been scheduling and how much is for real. George Mason 62, Georgia State 59

Longwood (3-9) at Morehead State (9-4), 2 p.m.
Last week's win over William and Mary made the Lancers a respectable 2-3 under new coach Bill Reinson. They are 0-2 under Reinson on the road, though (0-4 away on the season) and will be facing a Morehead State team that is 5-0 at home. By the way, not sure we mentioned this before, but kudos to the Lancers for making 20 of 21 free throws in the victory over William and Mary. Morehead State 79, Longwood 69

Virginia Commonwealth (5-5) at William and Mary (1-9), 2 p.m.
The return of Andrea Barbour makes VCU something of a wildcard as it remains to be seen how big of an impact she can make. Not to put any pressure on her, but we suspect it will be a substantial one. Meanwhile, the Tribe have been somewhat snakebitten as four of their last six losses have come by 5 points or less or in overtime. VCU 65, William and Mary 62

Northeastern (5-6) at James Madison (7-5), 2 p.m.
The Dukes are coming off their most efficient effort of the season (25 assists, 9 turnovers) in Thursday's rout of Western Carolina. The Huskies have received a boost from Christine Huber, a 6-4 Rutgers transfer who is averaging 9.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg since becoming eligible 3 games ago. Northeastern still loves the 3-point shot, though; they rank 2nd in Division I in 3-pointers made and nailed 12 of them while beating Holy Cross on Dec. 21. JMU 75, Northeastern 62

Old Dominion (6-5) at Towson (6-5), 2 p.m.
Ignore the fact that these teams have the same record, as ODU's strength of schedule ranks 15th among Division I teams while Towson's is at 291. So while the Lady Monarchs have yet to win a true road game this season, they have an excellent opportunity here to get their CAA campaign off to a winning start. ODU 61, Towson 48

Virginia Tech (9-4) at Charlotte (11-3), 3 p.m.
Was Tech's stunning win over Vanderbilt Thursday a defining moment for these Hokies? Only if they can follow it up. The Hokies prevailed 56-54 when these teams met last season in Blacksburg, but winning at Charlotte will be tough. They'll have almost no chance if they fall behind by double digits in the first half, something this Tech team has tended to do. Charlotte 58, Virginia Tech 55

Savannah State (7-7) at Norfolk State (5-4), 4 p.m.
The Spartans have dropped three of their last four games - all by at least 15 points - but are 2-0 at home this season and are in another winnable situation today. But while the Lady Tigers are far from a powerhouse, they're an excellent defensive team as they've held eight of their opponents to 47 points or less and surrendered only 51 to SEC member South Carolina. Norfolk State 48, Savannah State 43

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