mat1992

An offer to a relative of an assistant coach who played in the NFL doesn’t smack of desperation, especially if this young man is likely a PWO candidate https://www.hudl.com/profile/12245079

No Cam, no game. Plus all focus should be on CAA.

Can't really find a positive in this one. I can see him missing nine games until the 27tg against Delaware. I'm not really thinking about record because that wouldn't be fair to Juwan Gray or Terry Nolan or Radhir Hicks or Chris Biekeu or Darrick Jones Jr. Any of them could be asked to step with either an increased role or a role. Rebounding will be the biggest loss. CT, Gray, Timberlake and Nolan all need to crash the boards more than they have been. I can see why Navy was killing us on the boards in the second half. Holden was either not on the floor or was playing hurt. Can't rely on him now. I can also see more four guard lineups with Timberlake at the 4. The loss of Holden will also really impact the ball movement. He probably had 2-3 "hockey" assists per game. He helped get guys better shots by his unselfishness. That won't quite be there, though that doesn't mean guys can't still try and be more willing to make the extra pass. We'll also need more from CT on offense, because that will create better shots for the others. But the key guys now are Nolan and Gray. Not sure Gray is ready to play 30 mpg coming off an Achilles' injury last December. If he can play 25mpg, that would be great, but who gets the other 15mpg? Biekeu and CT just don't fit. Can Jones play some 4? Is Tyler Coleman ready to play any minutes? I don't even want to guess what happens if we have more injuries/COVID stuff.

He posted something yesterday about having the worst luck. I thought he meant it was this or Covid related. I wish it was Covid. Thanks Navy for that brutal foul, so he played the entire second half with a fractured jaw. Brutal.

Towson is averaging 13.5 assists per game. I don't remember the last time that happened. I think we've run a similar system the last few years, but you have to have willing passers and strong shooters. Fobbs was great but wasn't a willing passer. The 1990-92 ECC title teams averaged around 13 assists per game. The 1990 team with Kurk Lee as the top player averaged 15apg. They are also averaging 72.8 points and allowing 64.5 points per game. They are shooting 44% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc. Teams are shooting 40.5% from the field against TU and 31.9% from beyond the arc. Need to improve the FT shooting mark (70.3%). Outrebounding teams by 6.4 per game. Averaging 11.8 turnovers per game and forcing 13.1. Averaging 6.7 steals per game. Timberlake is averaging 14.5 points on 42.4% three-point shooting to lead the team on 43.6% shooting from the field. Shooting 77% from the line. Nick has gone from Sixth Man of the Year in 2019-20 to quality starter that could push for one of the three All-CAA teams if he continues this in league play. Last season, he averaged 12.1points and shot 81.5% from the line for a bad team, but shot just 31.6% from 3-point and 36% from the field. Holden, after a few poor offensive performances, is averaging 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds with 21 steals on 48% shooting (42% 3pt). Averaging 2.9 assists per game, which seems very low. He's made some of the best passes on the team all year (33 turnovers). Weird that all of a sudden he's stopped shooting 3s. Shooting 70.6% from the line. He's still the straw that stirs the drink as evidenced today by his +23. When he sat in the second half after picking up his third foul, Navy began to decrease the lead to single figures. Nolan is averaging 12ppg on 35.9% shooting and 24.2% 3pt shooting (64.8% FT). The shooting numbers are well below his averages at Bradley and GW. He was a little over 34% from 3 his last two seasons. He's 15-of-62 this season. Maybe that's pressing from trying to get to the next level and becoming a first-time father. But as a playmaker, he's averaging just under 5.0 assists per game (4.8) and leads the team in steal with 22. Has 58 assists to 21 turnovers. That's key. Gibson is averaging 10.6 points on 44.6% shooting and 43.6% from beyond the arc. That's after a poor shooting day in Annapolis. Has 19 assists and 12 turnovers in 10 games. Rizzuto is averaging 8.7 points on 40% shooting and 43.2% from beyond the arc. So Towson has Holden, Timberlake, Rizzuto and Gibson all shooting over 40% from three and you can add Gray (6-15), though a small sample size. Gray is averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.3mpg off the bench. Thompson adds 7.1 points an d4.8 rebounds with 20 blocks in 13 games. Shooting 54.5% from the field and 62.5% from the line. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/towson/1990.html https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/towson/1991.html https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/towson/1992.html

Yes. Great team. Just couldn't pull off the big win in the CAA Trny.

I know it's been over a month, but life sometimes gets in the way. And who wouldn't be excited to recap a 4-7 team? I can't speak for anybody about expectations, but I certainly didn't envision 4-7. Even the worse critics of head coach Rob Ambrose were looking at 5-6 or 6-5, After not playing in the 2021 spring season, there was a prevailing thought that there could be some early rust, but eventually the team would be able to outlast the competition and have more depth, especially on the defensive side than they had in years. The optimism came because they brought in legitimate D1 transfers, who played some quality minutes on FBS squads. CB Mark Collins Jr. (South Dakota) was one of the FCS transfers, who had a spectacular 2018 season. CB DJ Pratt (Virginia) had some athletic gifts at 6-3 and could play corner or safety. CB Makai Self walked on at Penn State, but there was hope that he defend the slot and had some speed. S Keyvon Bruton (Temple) had some key moments in the AAC and was going to move to OLB. Could he make the transition at 5-11, 215? The biggest additions were literally and figuratively on the defensive line: Mason Chowela (6-7, 310) played a lot at JMU and UCF. Tramar Reece (6-4, 280) flashed at Indiana. Elorm Lumor (6-3, 248) was one of Rutgers' best pass rushers, before they moved him around. Oly Okombi (6-1, 270) was a key part of the defensive line at Kent State in the spring and was just a redshirt freshman. Add a healthy Jesus Gibbs (6-4, 290) to the mix along with Bryce Lauer, Marcus Bowman, Sam Gyeni and Vinnie Shaffer, the depth on the D-line should have been a tremendous advantage. But the whole season, despite the overestimation on my part about the personnel and how maybe they didn't fit in the scheme, it was about one position. It's always about one position-the quarterback. I didn't think Chris Ferguson had a bad camp. I didn't love him, but in the last practice, I thought he was good enough to at least manage the game and make enough throws to win. I was hoping to not see the quarterback that played at Maine in 2019 for about half the season due to injury and threw four interceptions at home against Towson. The addition of Jerry Howard from Georgia Tech would allow them to run more "power" and just smash it down people's throats. Having Sabias Folley to back him up would help along with a hopefully healthy Kobe Young and a transfer in speedy Curtis Murray from Main. Unfortunately, the 2019 version of Ferguson showed up in most of the seven losses. What happened? After a very offensively uninspiring 31-0 win over Morgan State to start the season, the Tigers fell at UNH 26-14. So, while the schedule was an absolute monster, the last thing this team could afford to do was start out 0-1 in the CAA before facing North Dakota State and San Diego State. Ferguson completed 6 of 16 for 51 yards with two INTs and was sacked three times. He looked indecisive, but his backup Jeff Miller wasn't much better, going 12-of-27 for 147 yards with one TD and two picks. Howard was a bright spot with 97 yards rushing and freshman Devin Matthews added two TDs. It wasn't all on the quarterbacks as the secondary allowed Sean Coyne to catch nine passes for 113 yards and one TD including a 54-yard reception where Brandon Shuman had a shoe issue. Shuman was not the starter at the beginning of the game, but he replaced Collins, who left shortly after the first possession. They followed that loss with two predictable blowout defeats to North Dakota State (35-7) at home and San Diego State (48-21) on the road, where they simply manhandled. About the only positive came in the fact where Towson outdrew San Diego State 9,109 to 7,619. Now there is an extenuating circumstance because San Diego State was playing at Carson because they are building a new stadium. The Tigers had a bye after the SD State loss on Sept. 25 and bounced back with a 21-14 home win over Stony Brook on Oct. 9. Howard was held to just 31 yards on 13 carries and Matthews ran for 61 yards and a TD. Ferguson had a solid game with 177 yards passing with two TDs and no picks. Jabari Allen and Darian Street both caught TD passes. Christian Dixon led the way on defense with seven tackles and one sack. The following week at home, Towson played their best game of the season. They rolled over a 5-0 and ranked Rhode Island team 28-7 before 3,375 at the U on a rainy day. Ferguson threw for 191 yards with a TD and Howard ran for 106 yards and a score. This was a real defensive gem with the TIgers holding former Maryland QB Kasim Hill to 7 of 26 for 89 yards and a pick. Hill was sacked five times, including two by Dixon, while Darien Reynolds had two QB hurries. This was expected from Reynolds and Dixon, but became a rarity. Reynolds was a Gardner-Webb transfer, who led the team in tackles over the last two seasons, but once again, whether it was poor fit, scheme or talent, he wasn't able to duplicate what he did in the Big South. The Turning point in the season came at William & Mary on Oct. 23. They could have won their third straight and taken that momentum against a bad Albany team, but instead, they were demolished 40-14. There was nothing fancy about the Tribe. They were going to run it down your throats with some trickery in the option offense and Towson never adjusted defensively as W&M ran for 339 yards. Ferguson threw three more picks and Miller threw one and that was that. Towson didn't have the offense to come back from big deficits, but it also made you wonder. Darius Wilson was an athletic freshman, who threw for 164 yards and a TD and ran for 36 yards. Having a dual-threat quarterback gives you options. Towson had Miller and Ferguson with dual-threat Vincent Amendola sitting on the sidelines. Why not use Amendola in wildcat situations where he could throw in some cases? The Tigers did beat Albany, as expected, 38-24 and unfortunately, that would become their last win of the season. Highlights included an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown from Collins and a 43-yard run from WR/RB D'Ago Hunter. Howard rushed for 145 yards and a TD, while Ferguson managed the game with 128 yards and no picks. If W&M was the turning point, Richmond was the dagger. The Tigers jumped out to a 10-0 lead on the road and then completely got unglued in the second quarter, allowing 21 points. That wasn't on the defense. Ferguson fumbled in the end zone and threw a pick six with 23 seconds left and season over. Amendola came in for the second half of threw a 37-yard TD to Caleb Smith, but also threw a pick. He did have a 22-yard rush and Howard ran for 85 yards, but they couldn't get over the hump and fell 28-17. Just when we thought it couldn't get worse, the Tigers fell to Elon 37-14 at home where Ambrose decided to use all three quarterbacks in the first quarter. Amendola played most of the way and completed 10 of 24 for 89 yards with a TD. Howard ran for 126 yards and Amendola ran for 52 and a score, but it wasn't enough. Davis Cheek looked like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady against the Tigers' completing 16 of 27 for 251 yards and a TD and ran for 26 yards. On playing Three QBs to start the game. "The turnovers issues were so bad that something had to be done. Using every weapon we had imaginable to try and be successful and not letting them not be able to gameplan to tee off on a QB who was mobile or not mobile. Tried to mix it up for a little bit but after awhile..." After Elon, the Tigers had to travel to Harrisonburg for the finale and were predictably throttled by the Dukes 56-10 in their last-ever CAA game. Towson gave up a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the game and it was rout on. Amendola was not healthy, so Ferguson got the start and threw two more picks. He was lifted for freshman Nathan Kent, a dual-threat quarterback from Liberty HS, who threw for 61 yards and an INT and did complete five passes against the nation's top FCS defense. Thought they were some telling comments after the JMU loss from RA A disappointing loss to a very good football team. I don't care how good they are. Never put up in losing like...the majority of our team fought their butts off and cared greatly. That's all I'm going to say." There were offensive and defensive problems along with injuries in the 2021 season. There weren't as many key injuries as 2019 when they lost six starters due to ACLs. Gibbs was one of those guys lost early in the season and that was a pretty big loss. Towson wound up allowing 28.6 points per game and 163.5 rushing yards per game with 4.6 yards per carry. Part of that is playing North Dakota State, San Diego State and the poor performance against W&M. But the pass defense allowed 210 yards per game, which was not great, but not horrible. The problem as usual was getting a consistent pass rush. The Tigers had 22 sacks but not one player had more than four. Dixon led with four. How in the world does Lumor, who missed three games with injuries, wind up with just one sack? He had nine sacks in his career at Rutgers. Gibbs had no sacks in four games. Reece had no sacks and just two hurries, though he was playing outside linebacker, a position he was unfamiliar with at Indiana. Something is wrong when you can’t create pressure with all that depth. The bottom line was that the defense wasn't aggressive enough. That goes beyond the players. They had just seven interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. You're not going to go to the playoffs when you are -6 in the turnover ratio column. More from the overall 2021 season from Ambrose: I was impressed with the relationships between our guys, the coaches and the players. This has been two years of borderline hell to be a college athlete and doing what we do. There are more injuries the last two years on teams in America because of what happened to these kids. They have to live with this forever. I'm thoroughly impressed with how hard they worked for each other. Relatively pleased with O-line play. I thought the running game got better. Missed Kobe Young, missed AP (Platt). Did a pretty good job of working with who we had. Jerry (Howard) knocked some rust off as the year went on and he got better and better. Disappointed in the passing game. In the quarterbacks. Turned the ball over too many times. Dumb turnovers that led to points that put us in holes that made us lose games. Encouraged by the defensive front on occasion but we were very inconsistent. Very disappointed in the back end of the passing game and today really showed it. We weren't fast. We weren't smart. It was disappointing. The best player on the offense all year was Howard, who ran for 932 yards, averaged 4.9 yards per carry and scored three rushing TDs against a mostly stacked box since the Tigers were not much of a passing threat. Matthews added 271 yards rushing with eight TDs (3.2ypc) as he became the short-yardage back. Ferguson completed 57.2% of his passes for 1,547 yards with 11 TDs and nine picks. Miller completed 55% of his passes for 301 yards with one TD and four picks. Amendola threw for 182 yards with two TDs and a pick. Amendola is expected back along with Kent. Ferguson graduates and Miller is expected to follow. Caleb Smith led the Tigers with 52 catches for 614 yards with five TDs. Street added 24 catches for 336 yards and two TDs. Allen caught 29 passes for 263 yards and three TDs. Defensively, Towson will lose their top five tacklers. Safety SJ Brown led the team with 76 tackles, adding two picks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one forced fumble. He graduates after a strong senior campaign. Dixon, who is in the transfer portal, added 68 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, four QB hurries, four forced fumbles and two pass break ups. Reynolds was third in tackles with just 43, had 6.0 TFLs and also had one sack with four QB hurries. Bruton added 41 tackles, one sack, 2.5 TFLs and one fumble recovery. So, it's basically impossible to do a preview for 2022 because the Tigers have way too many holes. The only official transfer they've brought in officially is Maykye Smith, an outside linebacker/defensive end in the 4-3 who had five sacks and 10 TFLs with 42 tackles and six QB hurries for Stony Brook last season. The sacks and QB hurries would have led the Tigers this season. The ironic part was that he did not play against Towson, but you have to wonder. Does Towson, with basically zero experienced linebackers returning aside from part-time starter Ryan Kearney, stick with a 3-4 scheme or will they go back to a 4-3? The 4-3 makes sense because they have Gibbs, Cholewa, Reece, Okombi, Shaffer and Lauer all expected to return along with Smith from Stony Brook, who can play defensive end if he's next to the 6-7 Choewa and 6-4 Gibbs or Gibbs can move outside with Shaffer back at the nose. They also have a talented 3* freshman in Kenjuan Manuel (6-1, 290), who redshirted but also was injured. They could still probably use one more outside pass rusher, but who couldn't? This is where the unknown part comes in. At linebacker. Kearney should have two seasons left and tallied 27 tackles and a sack. The fact that they are offering CAA linebackers like Dan D'amico, a prototype Mike man at 6-0, 247, who had 77 tackles with two forced fumbles in 10 game, might mean they are veering back to a 4-3 or that they want an experienced inside backer who can play the run. He had 14 tackles against the Tigers and was also offered by Villanova. Bruton is gone and probably never fit as an outside linebacker, while Lumor just didn't work out. There were obviously be a bunch of transfers here. Daniel Raymond (6-0, 200) an undersized but fast freshman showed a lot of potential in both spots but has to gain weight. Another 'backer to look out for in the future is Mason Woods (6-0, 220), who got a redshirt year and is a 3* from Virginia. They should be interesting to check out in the spring. Expect at least two transfer linebackers, but probably three. In the secondary, they have some options at safety with Robert Topps (20 tackles), Jamal Gay (25 tackles), and Ubayd Steed (28 tackles) all back. But they have to get better play there, whether it could be solved by moving Pratt to free safety or Gay just getting better with more experience coming off the ACL in 2019. Cornerback is the bigger issue (not by much) with Charles Peoples (who struggled) as the only regular returner. The good news is that Self is back off an injury and true freshman Shafeek Smith (5-10, 175) is also back. He was a 4* corner from PA, who needs to get stronger. Expect at least one transfer at that position. DB Najee Jones is a possibility from Rutgers. On offense, it starts with finding a quarterback. They need an experienced guy who is a dual-threat quarterback. Said the same thing in 2019, writing the last recap because Tom Flacco had graduated. They picked up the well-traveled Jake Constantine, but with no fall for the CAA, he wound up at Rice this past season. Juwon Pass was a pass in the spring and he wound up at Prairie View. One of the players being mentioned early on is Jordan Yates, a 6-0, 195 pound dual-threat signal-caller from Georgia Tech, who has had some success, throwing for over 900 yards last season with six TDs and three picks. The second-biggest need on offense is on the line where the Tigers los All-CAA guard Aaron Gryzmkowski, LT Andrew Garnett and RT DeMarcus Gilmore. C Cole Cheripko is back along with RG Jean Germain (6-6, 355), who can also play tackle. RT Darrian Bryant (6-6, 330) is also expected to return along with G Alex Desire (6-4, 310), who missed most of the season due to injury. I would assume he starts at one of the guard spots and Germain could move to LT. RT/RG Roman Warheit (6-6, 335) is also expected back and could start if needed. But there's no doubt they need to add a couple of tackles and a guard and center for depth purposes. It appears they are looking for height and length as tackles are getting taller, but not necessarily wider. They had enough weight last season, but could use more athletes. Case in point was the 2011-13 offensive line, where Doug Shaw was around 6-0, 260 at center and both tackles were barely around the 300 pound mark with Eric Pike and Randall Harris, but both could really run and so could guard Anthony Davis, who was around 300 pounds. They need more athletes on the line, no doubt. Not just size. At running back, they need more explosion and a dynamic back similar to Shane Simpson. They don't have that on the roster. Folley has the potential to do what Howard did this season. He's about 10-15 pounds heavier, but maybe could lose a few to get quicker. Again, they should add at least two backs and one with speed. You don't want to continue to use D'Ago Hunter as a running back because he's tiny (5-5?, 175) and is such a good returner. Curtis Murray could see a lot of time in the spring. Matthews is fine a role player, but he's mainly a north-south back and runs extremely hard. At receiver, most the top guys are back led by Jabari Allen and Darrian Street. Daniel Thompson (6-3, 210) is going to be a very good intermediate receiver when they get a more consistent passer and Ty'shaun Granger (6-1, 195) has potential. They could have used FAU transfer Matthew Akuchie (6-3, 195), who was never healthy. He could be one of those deep threats that could replace Caleb Smith. They could also a Shane Leatherbury-type. A 5-10 speedster with 4.4 speed with burst and some YAC ability who can ctch a short pass and turn it into a long one. They basically have to start over at tight end. Jason Epps and Marcus Joyner are both gone. TE Robert Schwob didn't play much and Griffin Patterson is just a freshman who redshirted. Once again, two transfers are needed. Shane McDonough is gone so they need a punter and kick-off specialist. The bottom line is that many of these transfers will be arriving after the spring. But while the defense maybe an issue again, the offense could be interesting if they find the right quarterback. The best Ambrose teams had a great running back (T-West) and great O-lines or a mobile QB that could make plays with his arm or legs (Flacco). They had some talent on defense (Tye Smith, Dangerfield, Delaire, Love, T. Clark, Gaddis, Barr, etc), but the offense was the defense. That has to happen because you can't expect a mostly new defense to come together by September. Fortunately, there will be no North Dakota State on the schedule. That's replaced by Bucknell. West Virginia is the FBS opponent and no FCS and most FBS teams are not beating them in Morgantown. So, it's about going 2-1 in non-conference play and going 6-2 in the CAA. Can't do it without a very good QB, who has to be close to or equal to Flacco. If not, the decision will be easy.

The 2013-14 team, which won 25 games, and probably will go down as the best Towson team never to go to the NCAA Tournament, had no point guard.It certainly wasn't a great passing team by any means. Benimon was the de-facto point guard, who led the team with 3.6 assists and Mike Burwell was second with 2.4 assists. So they combined for 6 assists and the entire team averaged 8.1 assists per game. Everyone else was looking to shoot. Looking at the three-point shooting, it was that bad. Burwell, Marcus Damas and Ralph Guthrie all shot 35%. Four McGlynn shot 41%. The problem other than lack of passing? Basically no depth. It was a six-man team with John Davis and Walter Foster getting around 10mpg off the bench. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/towson/2014.html

Coppin State/LIU/Albany are 8-29 combined. That explains the blah OOC record I really don't have time to eliminate all the non-D1 teams they played. Beating a decent Navy team, crushing a pretty talented New Mexico team without three key players, beating up on 8-4 UNCG, beating up on now 5-5 Kent State on the road without Nolan. That's impressive and something that few on this board thought we could do. Are we perfect? Hell no. We have holes as do all in the CAA. But I think our chances, as long as we have no major injury issues and COVID, are pretty damn good and a lot better than we all thought before the season began. To win a CAA title, you have to put three great games together in March. Relying on the three-point shot is foreign to us and some key guys are going to have off nights. Yes, getting back to tougher D, less fouling, getting to the cup and finishing, stronger post play could be the ultimate difference throughout conference play and when it matters in D.C. I also think that Nolan getting back to his career shooting numbers is crucial. He doesn't have to shoot 46% like Gibson, but over 30% from 3 and over 40% from 2pt along with his strong game-managing skills. BTW, Nolan is 33rd in the nation right now with a 2.76 assist-to-turnover ratio https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/473

Moved up to 62nd in Net Rankings https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=369977 Nicolas Timberlake scored 24 points in 37 minutes to lead Towson to a 69-52 win over Navy from Annapolis on Wednesday afternoon from Alumni Hall. This was an ugly, foul-prone affair and the TIgers wound up shooting just 31% (9-29) in the second half after shooting 15-of-27 in the first half. They also turned the ball over 14 times with four apiece from Jason Gibson and Cam Holden. Gibson, coming off a CAA Player of the Week, shot just 2-of-11 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Holden played 30 minutes due to foul trouble and scored eight points, while grabbing eight rebounds but was a +23 for the game to lead Towson. Timberlake was an impressive 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from long range as the Tigers shot 50% (9-18) from beyond the arc. Charles Thompson was the only other Tigers in double figures with 10 and also had eight boards with five blocks. Terry Nolan scored just five points on 2-of-9 shooting, but dished out eight assists and had no zero turnovers. Towson did have 19 assists on the game, but they were outrebounded by 11. Towson is 9-4 going into their first CAA game on Dec. 31 at 2pmET at SECU. Navy was also 62 in the Net Rankings and Towson was 80. Some comments from PS after the game on the broadcast: "Proud of our guys. Sloppy with a lot of fouls. Very physical. The play on Cam Holden was bad. Good win against well-coached team. 17 point win on the road. Timberlake was sensational. Thompson was big in the second half. "Nolan 8 assists and no turnovers. Rebounding wasn't good. Wild shots. Take the win. Hopefully, everyone stays healthy on break and gets ready for tough schedule in CAA. All going home and coming back on 26th." "(Team is going home for Christmas) It's hard not being around families and friends. Proud of our group. People should get on board and support them." "Juwan is playing smart and tough. Some inconsistencies with the whistles. Tony couldn't stay on the floor. Take the win." HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone! Have a great Christmas Day and let's get ready for (hopefully with some good health) a strong 2022.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy/ac-cs-towson-navy-mens-basketball-20211222-2jinqp637nfv7kt7ttwgw2dwuq-story.html

Navy is usually physical under Ed DeChellis. They did beat Virginia. They can't really outleap you so they have to play that way and yes, they got away with a ton of fouls. Especially No. 55 Njoku, who had two fouls. TWO! He's 6-7, 235 and literally just threw Holden out of bounds after a made FT and no call. Beat a bad W&M team by 19. I also though because we had so many cheap fouls on the perimeter and was in foul trouble most of the game, we played a little softer in the paint off a miss.

Very physical team. We got crushed on the boards by 11 and still won by 17. Yes, Navy's top scorer was injured and that helped in the spread. I do think the fact that we played some very physical teams in Pitt, Navy, New Mexico, San Francisco, Ohio State, Monmouth, even LIU with Kante and UNCG will allow us to get ready for the CAA. We're not the same team that had Tunstall and Sanders up front so we have a 6-5, 205-pound power forward in Holden, who is an incredible rebounder for his size, but was also pushed around today. Same with Gray at 6-8, 220, who is more finesse. We missed a ton of makeable shots and you could say Navy did as well. But Navy lives on defense and they are allowing around 39% shooting per game so they are no joke. They average 28.2% on 3-point defense and we shot 9 of 18. Again, different team. Not going to dominate everybody on the boards as in the past. We're going to trap and pressure the ball. When you break the press, there will be people open. Not a big team when you basically play four guards.

https://towsontigers.com/news/2021/12/20/mens-basketball-maryland-teams-collide-in-annapolis-as-towson-mens-basketball-visits-navy.aspx

I’ll be chatting for those who can watch ESPN+ and talk at same time

There's a 100% chance we will have a game or multiple games ppd in the CAA. Hopefully, there is a new rule that teams do not have to forfeit, because this new strain is incredibly contagious. I had to work from home this week due to four people testing positive in my office. I hate working from home but have done that on three separate occasions for at least a week-to-a-month in 2021 due to my own issues. Covid is no joke. I just got my booster shot yesterday, waiting in line for an hour with an appt. But I had it in March of 2020 and early this fall. Was a lot worse the second time after I was double vaxxed. Wasn't going to many places without a mask other than work and my gym. Maybe grocery store, but now putting a mask on and will this afternoon. Everyone is getting it from Gov. Hogan to Johnny O. so it doesn't care who you are, who you vote for, what race or ethnicity you are. Be careful. https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bs-sp-college-basketball-coronavirus-20211221-fcghy7ngznfsfe6cjszceqq75i-story.html Just look at life or the sports world. I get notifications for every NBA player that is out or college games or key players out. It's by the dozens. Should they be out a long time with no symptoms or mild symptoms? That's for another thread and another board, but yes, it's going to happen to us at some point, but hopefully not the case where we lose weeks worth of games and practices.