There are times when a lot of hard work that seems unrewarded finally does pay off. When it does, the feeling is pretty good, and sometimes it drives home a lesson learned. Such was the case with Bryant’s third Division I win, a 56-43 decision over visiting Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have had some bumps in the road in their first transition season to Division I, being on the short end of a string of blowouts in December.
Author: Phil Kasiecki
Marquette’s Experience made all the Difference Against Providence
There’s always a lot said about how much it helps when a team has winning experience, especially if that team goes up against one that lacks such experience. While it doesn’t always manifest itself in such a matchup, when it does it’s almost undeniably clear.
Bulldogs Come Alive at The Right Time
For a lot of non-league play, Yale didn’t look anything like an Ivy League contender. That’s what many thought prior to the season, given that the Bulldogs lost four full-time starters from last season’s team. They also spent a lot of time on the road, which contributed to it.
New Group, Same Results: Xavier Just Wins
Sometimes a team wins because it knows how to do it. Not from defense, not from offense, not from a physical advantage, but from knowing how to win. That’s how Xavier pulled out Thursday’s 67-65 win at Rhode Island, and it underlies the early success this team has had.
Wake Forest has Already Arrived
There was no question entering this season that Wake Forest has talent, a good deal of it in fact. A recruiting class as heralded as theirs, added to a nice young core that featured sophomores James Johnson and Jeff Teague, takes care of that. What wasn’t known was how quickly this group might bring the Demon Deacons back to being contenders in the ACC. We’ve already got our answer: very quickly. As in, right now.
Big Red More Than Ready For Attempt at Repeating
A year after running through the Ivy League without a loss, Cornell might enter league play in better shape than they were at the same time last year. That might sound hard to believe, especially considering most figure another undefeated run through the league isn’t likely. But it’s not hard to believe this might be the case, and if they ran through the league unscathed again, it wouldn’t be the most shocking thing to happen.
Reports of BU’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
They say that death and taxes are the only certainties in life. There are other things that are so virtually certain they could almost be added to that list, like college football being a joke as long as the BCS is around or a pleasant driving experience in Boston being elusive. Another possibility in that category is that Boston University will win at home against New Hampshire, and the latest exhibit for it came at just the right time for the Terriers.
Colonial Notebook: A Senior Struggles in Atlanta
A key opening stretch of four games in eight days for each team has just concluded. While there are still 13 CAA games left to play for each team, how a team starts can influence how they finish, especially if they start strong or in the hole.
BC Passes Up Its Chance at Local Relevance
That sound you just heard was Boston College’s chances at grabbing a little of the spotlight going right down the drain.
As is often the case, crowds at Conte Forum have been anemic all season. Boston is a notorious pro sports town, to the point where in January and February, sports fans would rather call talk radio and talk about hot stove baseball, who the Patriots might draft, or pitchers and catchers reporting than the college basketball games in town that actually count in the standings.
The Man Responsible For Harvard’s Success
When a team like Harvard knocks off a team like Boston College, an inevitable question is, “How did that happen?” The first instinct for many is to look at the favorites and find something that went wrong, but that won’t work here. For the answer to that question in regards to Harvard’s first-ever win over a ranked team, there’s one person that needs to be talked about: Jeremy Lin.
