Who would have thought?
When Massachusetts finally pulled away for an 86-79 victory against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass., the Minutemen had toppled the last team undefeated in Atlantic 10 play – three games into the conference season!
Even more striking is the fact the battle of top teams was taking place between UMass and Charlotte – teams picked to finish eighth and 10th, respectively, in the conference’s preseason poll.
And what of the A-10’s nationally ranked teams – No. 14 Dayton, No. 20 Xavier and No. 23 Rhode Island? They all lost last week. Charlotte, which finished 14-16 overall and 7-9 in the league last season, was the last one without a loss.
The number of ranked teams, the quality of most teams’ nonconference schedules and the solid Ratings Percentage Index rankings of so many teams bode well for the conference.
This is going to be an exciting season of A-10 basketball. Home games will become all that more important. The teams that are able to pull win on the road likely will rise to the top.
In the past, some of Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz’s most successful teams have been those that performed well on the road. This group of 49ers got off to a shaky start away from Halton Arena, but the Jan. 9 win at then-No. 18 Clemson seemed to turn the tide.
The 49ers made a good accounting of themselves Saturday. Could they have done some things better? Of course. But this was not the same team that played Hofstra and Tulsa, and that can only mean good things ahead.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Maybe 49ers' surprises aren't over
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6 comments:
This might just be an excuse, but if the 49ers had been able to have a shoot around before the game, I think the outcome would have been different. Nonetheless, this was a gret A-10 battle. - Dave Exum
The 49ers played a greatr tempo and did a decent job on Forbes and Lowe, however it is always someone who does nothing all year and then kills us. Milligan shoots 46% from the line and after missing his first 1, knocks down 11 of his next 13. Damn. Plus, Lee, who is a hero, must learn not to force shots. It would help if lamont could stay on the court and stop accumulating touch fouls. He's too important for us not to be out there, especially on the road.
Sean Phaler had a great game!
We were a Mack foul away from winning that game I think. But credit to the Minutemen, they created a lot of those situations that resulted in baskets and fouls by pushing the tempo.
If someone would teach our post and wing players to step into defenders cutting through the lane,that beat Lee to a spot on the perimeter, he wouldn't have to take so many contested shots. And he could certainly do a better job of reversing and losing defenders. He also can drive the ball a well as anyone. He could score more and draw more fouls if he'd continue to do it more consistantly.
Its time for the team to step up and take it to another level. The "young" should be off our team now. The school should step up, sing Bobby and be done with it so we can move on to bigger and better thing !!! Go Niners !
Regardless of the loss, we have still come a long way for being a young team. You couldn't have made me believe we would be at 11-6 and 2-1 in conference play after last years downfall. I am really proud of this team and the job that Lutz has put forth this year. We also have to look at the fact that we really had some bad luck in the timing of this game. We had bad weather andIan Anderson was injured. I can't wait to see the rest of the conference season unfold. We will be there at the end of the season. GO NINERS!
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