olddog71

I cannot wait to hear reports from the UAlbany fans who attended today's game.

You might be very right there. In the last few games Siggers has come on strong. I hope other teams do not realize his recent contributions. The upcoming game against Stony Brook will be very tough. First, they are always tough against us. (Luckily, we can say the same thing.) Second, they have played much tougher against all teams lately, and the evidence for that is a 10-point win against UMBC today. Fourth, I am hoping our team will not suffer a letdown against the Seawolves against the physical and mental challenges of this afternoon.

Maybe this great victory will give the team a lot more confidence for the rest of the season. I think there are a few team members who need it especially right now. You guys did great! You won a hotly contested game on the road in the most hostile environment you will face. Best of luck against Stony Brook. It will be a tough game, but you guys should prevail.

Yesssss!!

Let's hope Lady Dane Pound can convalesce quickly. Let's hope a Dane victory can help and "bing back" the harmony that should exist between spouses.

Member schools apply for hosting the tournament. Then a selection committee goes over the application and evaluates factors such as athletic facilities and nearby hotel accommodations. Then it determines the host school. I was hoping UAlbany would have applied to host the tourney this year, but for some reason we did not even apply. Someone who is closer to the situation might be able to shed some light on the reason.

Amen!

If we sign Jacob, I hope this year's game between the two recruits is a good omen for the first crosstown game where they will be opposing each other again.

I don't take the Pomeroy predictions all that seriously, but I thought I would present you with the most current prognostications from the site for UAlbany. If you are not familiar with the site, Ken Pomeroy makes predictions for each remaining game on the schedule. With the losses of Vermont and UMBC yesterday, Pomeroy is predicting that UAlbany will win each of its remaining games. This information is presented in the rightmost column. For example, it is predicting that UAlbany will win on Wednesday in Burlington. It then backtracks somewhat on its predictions by giving an overall win-loss prediction in the column just to the left. Here we are predicted to have a conference record of 13-3. It just assumes that we will screw up or something to that effect. In any case, these scenarios certainly give UAlbany fans reason for cheer. What a difference from last season's 13-15 record and even earlier this season where we were predicted to barely break even. Now we just have to go out there and beat Vermont two days from now. Then we just have to look forward only to the game ahead and let every game come to us. Here's the site: http://kenpom.com/sked.php?y=2006&team=Albany&t=p

Game stories about Utah Valley State game: Story from Albany Times-Union: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story...sdate=1/15/2006 Story from the Troy Record: http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?ne...id=523732&rfi=6 Story from Deseret Morning News: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635176517,00.html UVSC's coach's view of his squad http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635176513,00.html

Three quick observations about UAlbany men's basketball this season: (1) It was wonderful to see the headline about the BU game on the home page of the Times-Union this morning. I'm not talking home page of the sports section; I'm talking home page of the whole edition. What an aboutface for that newspaper. Not that I am complaining about past coverage. I think it is a testimony to the progress the whole program has made in the last few years. (2) Yes, it was great that Brent and Zo could spend considerable time on the bench, and we still win. Just two short seasons ago, we finished a game with only four men on the floor. (Yeah, yeah, I've mentioned that before.) (3) Not only have the players learned their roles, but I think Coach Brown has added to his repertoire of strategies. I think this season has been a slow learning process for him as well. It's just wonderful that all these trends are coming together as the program advances into the second half of the season.

GODANESGO, I did not listen to the game. I may be superstitious about that. Thanks for supporting the Danes with your presence and your voice. I'll bet it was very much worth it.

Anyone have any idea at all about the total attendance at the Boston University game last night? I know that BU does not report attendance? Anyone have any idea how many UAlbany fans were in attendance at the game last night? Thanks also for the crowd estimates. Your report of total attendance, if accurate, is poor testimony to BU's support for their team at a very important game.

We did it! We beat the master and the last league team we had never defeated! Hurray, team! Hurray, Will Brown!

Anyone hear of any repercussions to Bofia for the incident last weekend?

Patch, Good comments about the minutes our players are expending on the floor. I am very glad that the team has an extra day to rest before the BU game. Coach Brown blames himself for scheduling the Cornell game when he did, but perhaps the team would suffer more from a longer break than from the physical exertion last night. Time will tell. As everyone knows, this next game is critical. I think it will be very similar to the game we had to play against Cornell. It will be low-scoring and concentrate on half-court offense/defense. It's interesting to read the comments made by BU players regarding their coach's philosophy on how he prepares the team. Thank goodness, we have learned somewhat how to play a more patient game. Dane Pound, Nice to meet you last night. Also glad your sweathshirt did not have much of an impact on our seating area last night. That being said, if it means the streak continues, so be it! And thanks again for monitoring this great forum.

McFan, My sentiments exactly. I did not know that the Baumans were at the game. What a shame. I hope we do not lose their son. I don't care how relatively poor a player that he is (and I'm in no way saying that he is poor), but you never know when someone who has not been playing will be called up to play. The Hartford game this week made me realize that two years ago when we played them, Albany had only 4 players on the court for the end of the game.

Dane Pound, You did not tell me about that sweatshirt. I'm concerned because I sit in the same row as Statefan. I guess I want our streak to continue, but it will be at the cost of the streaks on your sweatshirt. Thanks, however, for indicating Statefan's version of what happened. He has the most accurate and comprehensive view of what actually transpired. I know I certainly had questions as we left the RACC. Thanks for helping to clear some of them up.

I have two questions about the game: (1) What did Bofia do to get ejected from the game at the end? What are the rules about playing in the next game after an ejection? (2) What did Brent Wilson do to earn the technical? (3) Rhetorical question: What is the definition of goaltending?

Iowa has now become my favorite state. (Except for NYS, of course.)

I see that you, like I, were unable to find a story from the Seawolves' point of view. Hurray, that is now not only 2 victories in a row, but also two close games in a row. (Better be careful what you wish for.) I like Brown's quote: "But the good thing about that it [sic] is, we have plenty of room to continue to improve." Some notable stats about the game. - Jamar does not score a field goal, Lucious does not score a field goa. We win. - We can only 23 of 38 free throws, and Zoellner makes only 2 of 9. What has happened to the team's free throw percentage this season? Without Zoellner's contribution, we rise to 21 out of 29. - Brown pulls Zoellner from the game because he cannot shoot FT's. - We have 38 free throw opportunities, compared to only 10 for Stony Brook. - Lillis is beginning to get points, in addition to running the floor show and snag rebounds. Good to have him back! - Siggers made major contributions in the first half, but Brown pulled him in the second half when Siggers was not so effective. - Albany shoots less than 30% in the second half and still snares the victory. - As someone else (in this case, Levine) indicated, a different person stepped up and enabled us to win. This team does not have a single or double go-to-guy this season, but we can still win. Great win, guys. Now have a great holiday!

GODANESGO, Pomeroy sets up individual game predictions for exactly the reason why you like to look at their prognostications: they interest people. I think the prediction for a lower win-loss record is based on the fact that we won the Binghamton game by less than the prediction (12-point victory versus the actual 5-point win). By the way, great turnout by students although classes were already done, and I think the students deserve a lot of credit for getting the whole crowd into the game. Several other posters have already remarked on how well the crowd performed. Have a great holiday!

The Pomeroy rankings are out again this morning, just like every morning during the season. The predicted schedule has UAlbany with a projected losing schedule, for the first time this season. That projection puts UAlbany in its usual position of low expectations. This situation may actually be good for the team because it may motivate the team to perform better than expected.

Good observation on the foul shooting. Usually, UAlbany is much better at the line. Last year, Jamar was one of the best in the country, but not last night. Last night, Binghamton was better, although in several games this season, their free throw shooting was abominable. Hopefully, this discrepancy will even itself out in the game at Binghamton, and we will have an advantage down there. Yes, Lillis's 11 rebounds were great. You could just see the wheels in his head turning as he anticipated where the missed shot was going to land. He got into good position. It may be one of the reasons why Brown thinks he is a smart player.

Dane Pound, You are absolutely correct on Walker and the refs. I am surprised that none of the articles mentioned those questionable calls at the end of the game which were critical to whether UAlbany would remain in control of the game or allow it to go down to the wire. Now some other points: (1) Albany finally won a close game. It's about time. Congratulations to the team for remaining composed in the face of adversity. (2) When Jamar fouled out, part of me was thinking this situation could actually be good for the team. It is not good when the entire prospects for us depend on only one player. We were able to get it done without him. I hope he realized the same point while sitting on the bench. He no longer has to do everything, which inevitably sometimes leads to poor decisions. His perception could go a long way to make this team even better. (3) Coach Brown utilized different strategies in this game - plans which proved successful. Starting Lillis at the point and using Zoellner when he was most effective were two strategies that worked. Brown has had to learn a lot this season. He has begun to use his players much more effectively. First, he had to learn to use more weapons; until this season he had a small bench. Now, he has begun to use his players according to how they fit best into a successul pattern. Let's give this young coach some credit for these lessons. I am sure that he is much more relieved about his team and his future. (4) UAlbany played better this game. While we did fall behind early in the first half, we did not do so in the second half. When was the last time we did not start either half on a weak note? (5) It was good to see the size crowd we had. With the students gone and the terrible losses to Sacred Heart and Harvard, it was good to see over 2,000 people in attendance - more than last Saturday. Not every UAlbany fan is a fair-weather follower. (6) What's with Walker? I have watched many basketball games, but this game was the first I ever saw a coach get a T and the call. Yes, I know he's Walker, but . . . ? It's great to win again, and it was great to win a close game.