Towson (home) - Pregame

Four games ago the Dragons hit a stretch where the matchups made anything possible, and they went 4-0.  Two games ago I said that the Dragons needed 3 wins in order to keep themselves out of playing on Friday Night in Baltimore.  No "Pillow Fight Friday" team has ever won the CAA Tourney, so this was an especially relevant goal.  Now, they're just one win away from "should be good" territory.  With a very tough matchup coming up on Saturday, followed by 3 of the final 4 games on the road, now would be a very good time to get that third win.

The Dragons already defeated Towson on the road this year, and they are just the type of team that DU likes to play.  Big, slow, and very weak on the offensive side of the ball.  The Tigers are last in the conference in 3pt field goal percentage and first in missed free throw percentage.  The Tigers lone shooter, Four McGlynn is an easy cover since he is the only guard worth paying attention to on the perimeter.  Drexel beat these guys on the road and the Dragons are even better now than they were then, so this game should be a walk in the park, no?

Well, no.  Coach Skerry has been finding ways to minimize how terrible his team is shooting the ball.  Namely, everyone meets at the basket.  The Tigers are 1st in the conference on the offensive glass, and first in the country at getting to the foul line.  If the Dragons start getting silly and go small, or run, then they will be doing TU a tremendous favor.  Looking at the first game - this is big - the Dragons played a half hour of four guard, but they also kept the pace to an absolute crawl.  With just 49 possessions, it was one of the slowest games in the entire country this year.  End result?  Dragons guards calmed down, the team only had 3 turnovers, and a turnover differential of +8 is how they won.

So that is what we want to see after this game tips at 6pm at the DAC.  Low and slow, like good barbecue.  Bru did mention how strong Towson's rebounding was after last game, so we know that is an area of concern to the staff and will hopefully lead to some more minutes for the big guys.  Towson is 3-3 in their last 6 and playing better basketball themselves, but when two teams play similar styles, it's always nice to be the more talented team, also playing at home.  The only concern on the books is that the players and staff have had exceptionally good press this week for a 9-14 basketball team, and could come out a little flat and overconfident.  Still, no excuse to lose this one.


Prediction:  Drexel 57 - Towson 45
Vegas Line:  Drexel -4


Alan Boston's Notes:  Towson is next up for Drexel. They last met in early January an easy 55-41 road win for Drexel. This happened pre Williams return, so with RW back, this should be easy. Towson has lost 2 in a row. Drexel has won 5 in a row, so this should be a cake walk. There is nothing Towson can do to hurt Drexel. There will be absolutely NO REASON for Bruiser to use that reprehensible 4 guard thing, so how can Drexel ever lose? Well, as easy as this looks and Drexel will be a decent fave for sure, danger still looms. Teams that lose at home, play to higher level in the road rematch, so Towson will be more than ready here. Drexel has played mostly great in their 5 game winning streak, but like the peaks they are at now, there are always valleys lurking. There is a good chance Drexel shows up flat for this game. Yes, I feel Towson will have more energy, more focus for the rematch. Is this enough to pull the upset? Well, again, it all depends on the number 4.  Since there is not a single good reason to go 4 guards vs Towson, I think Drexel superior talent will be enough to get by.

Drexel 58 Towson 56

College of Charleston - The Happy Recap

When the opposition shoots 29%, misses layups and open 3's (actually, all of their deep shots, they went 0-11 behind the arc) what more detail do you need?  Teams from lower divisions would have beaten Charleston on Saturday.  It's not about the game story this time, it's about what we've learned from this 4 game stretch, part of a 6-1, 7 game run the Dragons are on.

#DUBelieve

I made fun of that hashtag on twitter in mid January.  A week after I did, Athletics hung a billboard facing my office window with that hashtag on it.  And let me tell you something, if making fun of the Athletic Department means the basketball team starts winning games, then I'm about to lay down some smack.  Like a lot of smack.  Like Eric Zillmer's Ego is so big, it demands two psychologist at the same time - unless one of them is him - then one will do. But alas, I don't think my making fun of the Athletics Department is actually helping the team win, so I won't do that.

What has been helping this team win?  Certainly the return of Rodney Williams.  Five straight games of over a point per possession efficiency from Sammy Mojica.  Turnovers are down, point guard Rashann London only has one game in conference play with more than 2, which is very strong for that position.  Damion Lee certainly has been a can't miss part of the success.

Better shooters are taking the shots too.  Freddie Wilson hasn't taken more than 3 shots in a game in the last month.  Tavon Allen is using his body much better and taking more contact, perhaps overcoming his injuries a bit.  In the last month he has taken 31 free throws.  In the month prior: 10.  Tyshawn Myles is the frontcourt answer to Sammy Mojica: High energy freshman that will make mistakes but will also make enough plays to more than justify his minutes on the floor.  Most importantly, as a team they're winning.  After collecting 3 wins in the first two months of the season, they have 6 in the last month.

Certainly scheduling has played into things.  After a challenging out of conference schedule, the CAA is much weaker.  The Dragons have only beaten two decent teams during this streak, and both of those were home games.  It took shooting 60% to win one of those as well, and lets not expect that to happen again.  The question then looms.  While there has been significant improvement, should you #DUBelieve quite yet?  Or has the shift just been from being one of the worst teams in Division I to a non-laughingstock, an improvement, but still not exactly a contender?

Regardless of whether you choose to be a cynic, or to #DUBelieve, the improvement in this team is unquestionable.  The coaches should get, and deserve, the plaudits that are coming their way.  On a personal level, how am I grading them out?  The same way I have been all year:

In the last 4 games since Rodney Williams return, the Dragons +/- vs opponents has been:

3 Guard:  +37
4 Guard:  -5

I would #DUBelieve that this team was a contender if this staff ran their stuff, their sweet spot, what they've run forever.  Right now, knowing they will look to go 4 guard against the top conference teams such as W&M or Hofstra, I can't buy in.  There has been improvement, and a team that many, including myself, had thought was lost has been found.  They can't defend or rebound in that set though, and continuing to watch them try is driving this fan mad.  They're close now, and we all can see a way for them to compete.  DUBelieve that they will though?

Comments section below.  Let me know what you believe.

College of Charleston (away) - Pregame

This game can be summarized in two terms:  Great Matchup and Bad Spot.

After back to back games against teams that want to go small and run, Drexel comes up against the slow, lumbering giant of the conference.  The first time around, this meant DU going three guard for as long as they could (They only had three available forwards and Tyshawn Myles was in quick foul trouble, limiting the #3Guard to 18 minutes).  That slow it down gameplan wasn't dominant against the Cougars, it was DOMINANT.  The Dragons played so clean that Charleston shot almost 70% (9/13) from 3 and still lost the game.  This is the best matchup in the conference for the Dragons.

Much like Elon, the Cougars are playing only one forward of significance, Senior Adjehi Baru.  They're 2-9 record shows that the guards haven't been up for the pressure that has been put on them. Canyon Barry is still trying to do much more than he is able to at this point in his development, and while Joe Chealey has impressed at times this year, his zero points in his first outing against Drexel showed that the lengthy DU guards can contain him.  The Cougars third guard, freshman Cameron Johnson has shown a shot from the perimeter and may very well develop into a very good CAA guard, but he still needs some time to develop.

It's not all bad news for the Cougars though.  They just got back Anthony Stitt.  Stitt had been struggling prior to getting hurt in early January but his return brings with it much needed depth and fresh legs for The College.  Keep in mind how much Rodney Williams had struggled prior to his injury, and look at the Dragons since he has come back.  Beyond Stitt's return, effort has never been in question for C of C, they fought hard at DU and have been in almost every game this year.  They've shown marked improvement of late, prior to their big upset win over William and Mary on Thursday, they had lost all four of their previous road games by less than 4 points, and took UNCW to OT in their sole home game in that stretch.  This is a better team than their record indicates.

And that is what is scary for the Dragons.  The Cougars represent as a bad team and one that can be taken lightly, and they aren't that.  They're playing their best basketball of the season right now, and they'll be fighting hard on their home court, on their Homecoming day.  In addition, with back to back road games with one day between, time is short for the Dragons to travel, rest and prepare for this contest.  A "lets just win and get home" mentality is how a team in Drexel's shoes goes home with a loss.

Before the Northeastern game, I posted this:

The first half of the conference season closes with a big one at the DAC, and it kicks off a stretch of games that will almost certainly determine the Dragons seeding when they head to Baltimore.  Consider that two of these four games will be played in the rockfight style that the Dragons have found favorable (Northeastern, Charleston), one is a revenge game at home against a good but not great UNCW squad and the final game is against an Elon team that is 1-4 in its last 5.  On the flip side, two of these four games are against teams tied for first in the conference, one is against an Elon team that destroyed the Dragons, and the final game is a Saturday road game that will involve short rest travel.  Storylines abound.  Lets just project a 2-2 split and call it a day shall we?

Regardless of what happens in Charleston, this has been a significant and successful stretch.  The chance to go 4-0 is in front of the team though, and doing so will make some real believers around this conference before a brutal stretch run.  If they want to be taken for real, they need to beat the 10th place team in the conference, no matter what circumstances may surround the game.  Anything else and they may avoid Friday, but they will be the same old "Bruiser's Dragons" - the team that every other CAA team hopes to play in Baltimore.


Prediction:  Drexel 60, Charleston 59
Vegas Line:  Charleston -4.5

Alan Boston's Notes:  Stitt returned for C of C to help upset William & Mary. He had 10 points 5 rebounds 5 assists off the bench. I was not sure Stitt's injury would hurt C of C but in fact their power rating dropped a half a point. I always felt that injured players who miss a good chunk of the year have a greater positive impact than the norm. Where others are wearing down, they have a ton of energy. This seems to permeate the team, so I expect underachieving C of C, to finish conference better than they began. 

C of C has been a major disappointment. WIth a Greg Marshall assistant as their new head coach, I thought it would be a huge upgrade. The program has always been strong, so talent is always good. But like most of my thoughts, I am wrong. They have struggled right from the git go. The start of conference did not change things, not at all. They did however, play their best game of the year last game. They recently blew a big lead up at Drexel. They were missing Stitt in that one. However, Drexel  was without Williams. Since his return Drexel has found a new gear or 2 or 3. Williams returned the game after Drexel's come back vs C Of C. They have won all 3 rather impressively. However, the battle rages on. Bruiser refuses to abandon his 4 guard set, that he began to help counter Williams loss. If Bruiser continues to try and make it work, Drexel will not make a deep run in the conference tournament. Sad, because they could potentially win it. There is no other team that will grind out a typical tournament half court slugfest as well as Drexel. Four guards takes Drexel away from that, which is their strength, their edge over others. This is a very tough spot for Drexel, playing with short rest, back to back on the road. They are also facing a team that will be super motivated after blowing the game at Drexel. They seem re-energized by Stitts return. However I would not count Drexel out. It comes down to the same sentence. If I knew for sure Bru would eliminate 4 guards, despite the tough circumstance, Drexel would be my pick here. But that does not seem to be happening, so with some regret

C of C 68 Drexel 61

Elon - The Happy Recap

Final:  Drexel 67, Elon 63

Player of the Game:  Mohamed Bah
Key to the game:  "Money" In The Paint (That's Mo and Rodney folks, work with me) go for 17 and 14

Next Game:  Thursday, February 5 @ Elon

We're going streaking!

The Will Ferrell clip above was the low hanging fruit that prevented me from posting some Hooked on a Feeling.  Who knows, a win in Charleston and maybe I'll start getting high on believing.  No one game should get anyone too high or low, much less when the opponent stinks up the joint all by themselves.  With that disclaimer out of the way, there were a ton of good signs from this game.

First and foremost, the Dragons played four guard, didn't shoot the lights out, and still won.  The four guard is very weak against teams that score in the interior and rebound.  Despite Elon's lone big man, Tony Sabato, only having 5 points on 6 shots (he was well looked after by Rodney Williams and Mohammed Bah) the Phoenix still had 26 points in the paint.  Elon guards had 21 points in the paint, and that's the problem with the lineup that Bru has been trotting out there, because when that is combined with a frontcourt scorer, that is just way too much to give up at the rim.  One only needs to go back to Iona's 38 points in the paint to see that.  

Where is the good sign that in that?  Well, early in the conference season, Drexel wasn't even slowing teams down in the paint.  UNCW and their mediocre frontcourt had 30 points in the paint against them.  It seems that the guys have adjusted and are figuring things out a bit, and the return of Rodney Williams makes the four guard slightly more palatable.  No longer is Drexel among the worst teams in division I when they run four guard.  They're showing right now that they can beat bad teams with it.  Expect them to still get smoked when they run this against Hofstra or William and Mary, but prior to these last two games there was no faith that this lineup could beat even the worst teams in Division I.  Now, we can comfortably say that we're passed that stage.

A largely unspoken concern this season was the significant decline in Mohamed Bah's rebounding numbers.  Quite frankly, Damion Lee had better per possession numbers than Bah this season, and Damion doesn't even spend that much time in the paint.  So seeing Mohamed well positioned, ready for the ball, rocking some dunks, on his way to 10 points and 9 rebounds in just 21 minutes is fantastic.  It's actually better than that:  He had a steal, and didn't have a single foul or turnover all night.  While there is still plenty of work to be done for the sophomore, this will go down as almost a perfect game for him, and it'll be close, wanting only one or two possessions back.  As noted above, Bah and Rodney Williams combined for 17/14 with just 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.  They combined for only 45 minutes.  That's like putting one All-CAA caliber forward on the court.  Again, don't get too excited here and remember the opposition, but that has to be great for the coaching staff to see and will hopefully lead to even more passes to the bigs from their guards.

Want more good signs?  We've got em.  Damion Lee scores only 4 points in the second half, but the Dragons still put up 36!  Not only did Tavon Allen have his second straight efficient game (27 points on 19 fg attempts in his last two outings) but Sammy Mojica is rising just as fast as that Bad Moon that Creedence Clearwater Revival is always talking about.  His 12 second half points (just 7 attempts) paced the Dragons when they needed to find that second scorer.  And find him they have, Sammy has now put up 9+ points in six straight games, providing the guard accompaniment to Damion Lee's opponent wrecking ball.  How big has Sammy been?  Check this out from kenpom.com:

As Sammy's offensive efficiency (O-Rating) goes, so do the Dragons, don't they?

So good signs at guard.  Good signs at forward.  Damion Lee.  If this team slows down and plays the three guard, maybe they can stay over .500 in conference play, despite a brutally challenging stretch run.  Just imagine this lineup out there:

London/Wilson
Sammy Mojica/Tavon Allen
Damion Lee
Tyshawn Myles/Austin Williams
Rodney Williams/Mohamed Bah

And before anyone jumps on this, yes Tavon Allen does a lot for this team.  But ball don't lie and the offensive efficiency drop from Sammy to him is statistically obscene.

That lineup features a true pg, two options to be the hot hand at SG, the best player in the league at the three, a guy who may turn into the best rebounder since Samme at the four and two guys who are totally reliable to compete with anyone in the conference, and provide some offense at the 5.  That team can compete in this league.  So don't read too much into one game, but read something into the streaking.  Improvement!

Elon (away) - Preview

In Drexel's first meeting with Elon, Damion Lee was 9-17 from the field en route to 29 points, along with 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and only 2 turnovers.  The Dragons lost by 10.

The two reasons the Dragons lost by 10 were named Elijah Bryant and Tanner Samson.  Bryant had 32 points on 20 field goal attempts in his third most efficient game of the season, while Tanner Samson did what he do.  11 shot attempts, 10 of those were from deep.  He went 40% from long range.  Take note for this time around:  In two of Elon's three CAA wins, Samson has double digit attempts from long range.

Put simply, if he gets that many looks from three, your team is playing shit defense.

The Dragons were playing very shitty defense that day, while turning the ball over 19 times.  Add that up, and it equals out to a home double digit loss to one of the three worst teams in the league.

So why will things be different this time?  Elon is a running team, so Drexel can be expected to go four guard again.  I was asked on twitter by @jonpoet if the problem wasn't the four guard lineup, but rather who was in it.  That deserves its own post, but in short, the four guard puts a ton of pressure on the forwards.  Since Damion Lee plays the four in that set and is a non-factor on the offensive boards (he's often on the perimeter on offense, or shooting the ball himself), this lineup requires a big man that is exceptional at crashing the boards, and at the other end positions himself to help on defense while still shutting down his own man one on one.  With forwards like Mohamed Bah (rebounding has been disappointing), Austin Williams (not ready for prime time), and Tyshawn Myles (coaches don't seem to want to play him despite elite rebounding rates) this wasn't a good fit.

The bizarre part about this is the only guy who could even have a chance of making this work is Rodney Williams.  That's only bizarre because the Drexel staff installed this lineup as a response to Rodney getting hurt, they hadn't run it this year until he went down.  Personally, I think that the Drexel defense and rebounding has been so amazingly poor in this set that the return of Rodney will be akin to sticking a band aid on a sucking chest wound.  It may save a few points, but it will still be pretty terrible.  And that's the problem with this Elon matchup.  Elon runs and runs and runs, and instead of trying to dictate the game and slow it down, Drexel will go with the speed lineup themselves, just as they did the first time.  And that's troublesome.

This game is a big game for the Dragons.  As I wrote yesterday, the magic number to avoid friday is 3.  They follow this game up with a short rest roadie at Charleston which will be a challenging game, and coming off a three game winning streak, back to back losses to conference bottom dwellers would really take the wind out of the Dragons sails.  While this is a much better edition of the Drexel team, with the return of Rodney and the guards turning the ball over much less, I still don't believe that DU can overcome how poor they are defensively when they put in the four guard.  Elon will have to beat themselves for the Dragons to win tonight.


Prediction:  Elon 68, Drexel 60
Vegas Line:  Elon -2


Alan Boston's Notes: Elon began their conference play with what then was a surprising win at Drexel. Since then, it has been a mixed bag, not surprising, given the youth on Elon's roster. They somehow beat the best in the conference, William and Mary 85-79 but also lost to both College of Charleston and Towson at home.  Elon returns home after getting blown out at both Wilmington and Northeastern. Unfortunately for them, they are catching Drexel at the absolute wrong time. Drexel is coming off a home run win over red hot UNCW. Since Williams returned, Drexel has become a different team, a better team, one that is a threat to do some damage in the conference tournament. Williams return has given Drexel some much needed depth. It has given Bruiser options. He no longer needs to use 4 guards. I can only hope for Drexel's sake that Bru continued with that nonsense to counter pressing UNCW. Four guards has been a complete disaster. Sure vs UNCW it helped vs the press, but Drexel shot the lights out, which turned out to be a necessity, given that they were outrebounded 35-31.  It has been beaten to death, but it deserves to be. Bruiser can not coach 4 guards. He does not recruit to play 4 guards. Four guards is not Bruiser and it showed on the court, with results that were seemingly not possible. Drexel fans should hope it is in the past, for good. If so, Drexel should win this game. They are the better team. They will have that extra bit of focus, that comes when you lose to a team at home and get to play them on their court. I know there is a chance for Drexel to be a bit flat off such a terrific effort, but I think as Williams plays more and more, the team gets better and better. Drexel continues to roll, that is, unless Bruiser puts 4 guards on the court.

Drexel 68 Elon 57

Conference Play: Where Does Drexel Stand?

Five and five.

After leaving out of conference play at 2-8, then losing Rodney Williams to a stress fracture for the first half of conference play, the joy in Mudville was less than full.  Getting out of the opening 10 games of conference play at .500 with Rodney Williams back seems like stealing.  And while the back end of the season is a bit of a loaded schedule (only 3 of the final 8 games are at home, and one of those home games are against Drexel's worst matchup: Hofstra) it looks like 3 wins down the stretch will get them out of playing on Friday night.  With Rodney back and favorable headwinds going into the final 8 games, that seems a very attainable goal.  Coincidentally, that would also crack 10 wins for this seasons edition of the Dragons, taking the season from "Disaster" to "Disappointing".

Looking at the eight remaining games, here's a quick rundown of each opponent:

2/5 - Elon - They shot the ball well to beat W&M early in the year, their only top 200 win all season.  A very high paced team that tries to force teams to turn the ball over on defense (DU had 19 in the first meeting).  On offense, might be the one team in the league with worse shot selection than the Dragons.  Tanner Samson, a spot up shooter is the only efficient guy on the team.  Elijah Bryant "makes the team go" but he's their answer to Tavon Allen on shot selection, except he shoots it almost 50% more often than Tay.  More on this tomorrow.

2/7 - College of Charleston - Very tough game.  Quick turnaround back to back road games for the Dragons.  They had to squeak out a win against C of C at home, and if they're tired and sloppy, they will pay dearly for that in a low possession game where each bucket is worth a little more than normal.  This is the game that fans will expect as a win, but is right smack in the middle of the Danger Zone for the Dragons.

2/10 - Towson - Mark it down as a must win.  They play a style that Drexel prefers, they don't have a point guard, Four McGlynn is overwhelmed with his workload and with apologies to John Davis, they don't have a guy that can create their own shot.  All the Dragons need to do in this home game is play composed, run their sets, and the final score will be there.

2/15 - Hofstra - The league finally found out what Hofstra was.  Specifically, the Pride have no pride in their defense.  This allows the better offensive teams in the conference to outscore them (W&M put up 100, Northeastern 91!).  The problem with that is that the Dragon offense doesn't force opposing defenses to work.  Bruiser himself will tell you that his offense takes what the other team gives, it doesn't create.  Drexel wants no part of a scorefest, and even less so against a running team like Hofstra.  This is a miserable matchup for DU.

2/18 - JMU - As anticipated in this space, JMU looks better without Nation and currently resides as the surprise of the conference.  Having already played Northeastern and W&M 4 times (0-4), their remaiing schedule is soft and they may cruise to a top 4 seed.  On the road in Harrisonburg, this game should give Drexel fans a good barometer on Bruiser.  His team was totally embarrassed as they were unable to solve the JMU zones for 40 minutes, en route to the worst offensive output in Flint's career.  Have they learned and adjusted since then?

2/21 - Northeastern - Harrisonburg to Philly to Boston in 3 days in mid February.  Thanks schedule makers!  Bit of a revenge game for Northeastern, but if they continue to slow it down, we should continue to like DU.  In a slow paced game, Drexel simply takes care of the ball better than U does.  In the first matchup, the Dragons ended up with 11 more field goal attempts along with 2 more free throw attempts than the Huskies did.  When the game is going to be low scoring, that many extra shots will win it almost every time.  The coaching edge is obviously in Coen's corner the second time around, and it's in Boston, so no one get ahead of yourself, but with Eatherton and Co looking a bit soft, this game is there for the taking.  Northeastern needs a leader almost as badly as Hofstra needs a defense.  They don't seem to have it.

2/26 - Delaware - Senior night at the DAC against a team the Dragons led wire to wire against on the road.  They have a fluke win against William and Mary when the Tribe fell asleep, but otherwise haven't shown themselves as any good all year long.  With a loaded schedule in front of them, I expect 1, maybe 2 wins the rest of the way for the Hens.  The Dragons need to ensure that they aren't on that list.

2/28 - Short rest game against a William and Mary team that is a bad match upon Marcus Thornton's senior night?  As mentioned in the season preview, this will be ugly.  Like, I may not even cover this game because it will be that kind of ugly, ugly.  Note:  The only other game this year the Blog didn't cover was the U Sciences game.  


As things stand, four, maybe five of these games look winnable.  To avoid Friday night, and get to 10 wins, the Dragons need to win three of those.  It starts tomorrow at Elon.

Buckle up, it'll be a fun ride.

UNCW - The Happy Recap

Final:  Drexel 85, UNCW 76

Player of the Game:  Bruiser Flint
Key to the game:  Preparation

Next Game:  Thursday, February 5 @ Elon

Lets start off here:  This was a great win for the team, in the fastest paced game they played in this year.  Alan and I may have come close with predicting a considerable win, but the way the game played out was so unlike what we predicted, you have to put us down as more lucky than good on that one.  And it wasn't just us who were more lucky than good.  Before reading further, consider this:

The worst shooting team in the conference was severely out-rebounded, was minus 5 in turnovers and gave up 42 points in the paint.

That team was the Drexel Dragons on Saturday.  That plan is not a sustainable path to success.  I think - hope - everyone recognizes that.  Damion Lee had 32 points, the team shot over 60% from the field, and this was only a 6 point game with 1:50 to go.  Had the team shot their season average 39%, they would have scored 63 points and lost this one by double digits.  These Dragons should want no part in playing a game with scores in the 70's.  And with Elon, another running team, next on the schedule, Drexel fans have every right to be highly concerned that the Dragon coaches roll out a similar "run with the opponent" gameplan.  

Pushing all of that aside for a minute, there's a reason that Bruiser was named Player of the Game on this one.  Despite the horrific running/ 4 guard gameplan, and brutal inbounding with a lead late, he had a better than ok day.  For the vast majority of the game, UNCW's press was worth much more to the Dragons than the Dub.  Drexel came out prepared for the pressure and answered with layup after dunk after layup - a big reason that they were able to show such a high percentage shooting - with apologies to Rodney Williams missed dunk - dunking and layups are usually high percentage shots.  

Also, while Bru did not go with offense/defense subs down the stretch featuring 2 forwards on defense and 1 on offense (while the DU offense was going to be fouled), he did introduce a tweak where Mohamed Bah would play the offensive leg and Rodney Williams played D.  This worked to perfection the first time it was run, with Bah hitting both foul shots (he is now shooting 79% from the line this year), Rodney Williams getting in position to take a charge, and then Bah slamming down a dunk with authority.  

The run and gun strategy was horrendously, almost hilariously, wrong.  In this era of Whole Food like sustainability, the idea of winning with this gameplan is totally unsustainable, so maybe Player of the Game is a bit much.  But when it came to the smaller games within the game, Bru and his Dragons came out winners.  So we tip our hat today.

And pray he never tries it again.

Damion Lee Player of the Year Watch (this will be a postgame section going fwd, with CAA play only statistics:

Kenpom O-Rating: 119.5 (4th, 3rd amongst guards)

PPG:  23.9 (1st)

FG%: 49% (8th, 3rd amongst guards)

3pt FG%: 43% (5th)

FT%: 91% (2nd)

RBP: 7.2 (4th)

APG: 2.5 (13th)

Steals/G: 1.4 (6th)

Min: 38.5 (1st)

Current Kenpom.com all conference team:

1. Terry Tarpey

2. Marcus Thornton

3. Damion Lee

4. Scott Eatherton

5. Juan'ya Green