The Friars (4-2) are back in action Tuesday night as they play host to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (3-2). PC is coming off their best overall performance this past Saturday, as they beat the Iona Gaels 91-79 at the Dunk. Here are a few thoughts I have going into this contest against the Knights.
Lets Talk About NETs
No not the Brooklyn Nets–no one talks about them–but rather the new metric the NCAA has for rating college basketball teams. It made its grand debut on Monday and put the whole college basketball world in a frenzy with its bizarre results. It ranked the number one team in the country to be the Ohio St Buckeyes and had Loyola Marymount ranked ahead of AP #2 Kansas Jayhawks. In the case of the Friars, they were ranked 115th, which was good for dead last in the Big East. I realize it’s way too early to read into these rankings and it will end up sorting itself out but it does bring up an interesting point. The NET brings into account strength of schedule and margin of victory, which can explain why the Friars are so low. The Friars’ biggest margin of victory this season was their 12-point win on Saturday and outside of the Michigan Wolverines, PC really hasn’t played a team that we can expect to see come March. The game on Tuesday won’t help the Friars much in the NET department, as FDU came in at 297th.
Playing a Complete Game
As mentioned earlier the Friars biggest margin of victory so far this season in 12 points and Tuesday presents a great opportunity to change that. I could talk about how Darnell Edge leads FDU in scoring or how they’ve shot 40% from three so far this season but it’d be a waste of our time. FDU is a trash team! This game on Tuesday is about what the Friars can show us and I’m hoping it is a complete performance. Against Iona we got a glimpse of what this team can be but there were still defensive lapses that kept the Gaels within arm’s length. I can’t remember a season where we allow so many straight line-drives to the basket, you’d have to go back to the Keno days. I guess this is what you sign up for when you start three freshmen but the defense needs to be fixed. Offensively I liked what I saw from Maliek White the last game and I think he should eat into David Duke’s minutes. I know David Duke is the Prince of Providence and the Chosen One but at this point, White appears to run the offense better than Duke and he takes care of the basketball. I’m also not saying that Duke shouldn’t get good minutes either, I’m not an idiot, but l would like White to get more burn. The Friars should come out tomorrow night with that killer instinct and provide their first convincing victory of the year.
Prediction- PC 85 FDU 61
-The Crier