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Post by elonfirefighter on Jan 2, 2013 13:36:30 GMT -5
Princeton heads to town this weekend, last year we pulled out a squeaker. This year we are undefeated against the ivy but have had some close calls. I think if we can keep our heads in the game it is ours to loose. The students back on campus should provide some needed support.
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Post by elonpride on Jan 2, 2013 14:09:54 GMT -5
This is a big game. Princeton has solid wins over Bucknell and Kent State and most of their losses have been close games.
Elon's RPI sits at 80 at the moment. They need a good win here to keep some momentum going in to the beef of the conference sked. The RPI currently projects the team to finish 20-8 on the year.
Loud crowd and the final tune up in the win over the D-III team should help.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 15:00:26 GMT -5
This is the best of the Ivy teams we play this year. They also have an unconventional offense - the "Princeton Offense" which is a lot of cutting and passing. This typically forces low scoring games. Samford runs a version of this too. We will need a strong game offensively to win this one.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 15:10:51 GMT -5
Incidentally, Pomeroy has Princeton at 88 and us at 155. I think that is primarily due to the VMI loss and no real signature wins. They beat Bucknell which is rated somewhere around 30 in RPI.
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Post by elonfirefighter on Jan 3, 2013 8:37:59 GMT -5
For those who are intrested here the Q/A I had with Princeton blogger again this year First of all, Happy New Year! What's new for Elon in 2012-13 and what's similar to the team Princeton saw win by one at Jadwin a year ago? We are pretty much the same core team. Excluding the loss of Spradlin, we have returned the top six players from last year. The only difference is that they are a little bit older and a little bit wiser. With our core 5 all JRs and one SO, I look for this team to continue to build momentum.At 8-5 and having four losses to teams in the Pomeroy Top 120, has Matt Matheny's squad taken a significant step forward in his fourth season at the helm? Matheny had a great mentor at Davidson College in Bob McKillop. Since coming to Elon he has tried to build the same type of program that has gained national attention at Davidson. It took a while for his recruits to learn the system and mesh as a team, but it appears that this season it is all coming together.I'm intrigued by the fact that the Phoenix don't seem to shoot the ball very well as a team (especially inside the arc) but take exceptionally good care of it. Is anything specific at the root of this dichotomy? I think this all comes back to the coach preaching ball security. I’ve seen fewer rushed shots and bad passes this year compared to last. It seems though that some games we just have an iron rim and can’t get one to fall. With Troutman grabbing a lot of the missed shots we are getting the second chance points, but are hurt in games like Duke where we were out rebounded on both sides of the ballCan you tell people about the problems Elon big Lucas Troutman has been causing as a junior? He had eight points and 11 boards when these two teams met a year ago but it appears that as his usage has risen his turnover rate has dropped and he's blocking more shots while also grabbing more steals. Troutman has been a real game changer this year. I think the intensity he plays with helps drive the rest of the team. He’s one that will fight for the ball and who’s not afraid to take a charge. Again it falls to ball security. Now that this group has been together 2 seasons, with significant playing time, they are not making the mental mistakes. This is evident in Lucas’s play.The leading scorer in last year's tilt was Drew Spradlin (13 points). He's the only starter the Phoenix lost. Who on the roster have stepped forward to fill his minutes and how have they done? I would have to say we have had two players step it up. Isenbarger has stepped his game up from beyond the arc, hitting multiple clutch 3’s to win a game or build our momentum. Troutman on the other hand has stepped up his inside game, getting rebounds and second chance points. There appears to be no “I” on this team and everyone is happy to share the spotlight.I haven't said word one about junior guard Jack Isenbarger, who is second on the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg and has made 37 threes in 13 games. Tell me more about his game below. Like I said last year, we live and die by the three. It appears that Matheny has given Isenbarger the green light to shoot the three. There have been a few games this year where he couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, but came out in the second like a storm raining threes. He has had a few game winners one of which is shown here www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAAX23O9004Fill in the blanks, please. Elon sweeps the home-and-home series with the Tigers if... The Phoenix will win this game if we don’t have a lid on our three point shots. The only thing that worries me is we tend to get a little sluggish around the holidays. It’s hard to gauge our team’s mindset right now. We played great against Duke for most of the game but ran out of gas near the end, against Columbia we needed a 3 pointer in the final seconds to take that win and Manchester is best described as a pickup game at the YMCA. With this being a Home game and the students back on campus I look for the Phoenix to win this one.Princeton exacts a modicum of revenge by winning on the Phoenix's floor if... Princeton can only get their revenge by locking us in our locker room for the entire game. Ok seriously if Princeton can out rebound us and prevent our second chance points and put the pressure on Isenbarger behind the arc, they could steal this game. The Princeton game plan needs to be ball protection and preventing Elon runs. While I don’t think it will be a blow out I think Princeton comes up short in this matchup.I'll be making my first visit to Alumni Gym on Saturday. What can I expect? It’s winter term at Elon, so the game atmosphere is hard to predict; there are lots of students who take this time to study abroad. With that said, the typical game atmosphere at the nest is hot. It’s a small gym by most standards but recent upgrades have made it far from under par. The fans are packed close to the court and it creates a great game atmosphere. Elon has always created a friendly environment around campus, so if you get there early take the opportunity to walk around.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 9:14:33 GMT -5
How do we get to his blog?
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Post by euphoenix99 on Jan 3, 2013 9:32:39 GMT -5
Nice job eff.
Looking at Princeton's roster they have several guys 6'10" or over, so it will be interesting to see how Troutman fares. Not sure if they are all getting big minutes or not.
Go Phoenix!
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Post by elonfirefighter on Jan 3, 2013 10:13:41 GMT -5
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fc97
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Post by fc97 on Jan 3, 2013 10:24:39 GMT -5
Good Q&A EFF
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 10:46:17 GMT -5
Yep. Bush league IMO. Certainly doesn't encourage opponents' visiting.
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Post by elonfirefighter on Jan 3, 2013 11:06:44 GMT -5
Its actually very well done, more of a professional site. He writes articles every day, and has photographers he uses. Not sure what his costs are, but its more then just your typical blog site.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 11:36:48 GMT -5
$30
BTW, not talking about the quality of the site. It's just that very few charge memberships to view a blog. I may look at it 2-3 times between now and the time we play if I was a member. Then, I wouldn't look at it again until the next time we played, at which time I would be charged another $30. It may be worth it if you are a Princeton fan. Just not as an opponent fan. They may get $5 if they were to charge a "game week" fee.
I also forgot to say good job eff. The Q&A was well done.
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Post by phoenixfc on Jan 3, 2013 11:42:01 GMT -5
I think one of the biggest keys for us on Saturday will be staying out of foul trouble...which means, a lot will depend on how the game is called. Have not yet been able to see a game live - hoping to be there on Saturday - but with the video feed, it looks like we are moving the ball well and not rushing shots. Sometimes, it may be better to get the shot off quicker, before defense gets set, and I really want to see us take the ball inside more (without commiting offensive foul or getting it blocked). This is a great group of young men - and I agree, they seem to play well as a team, with nobody trying to be the star.
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Post by elonfirefighter on Jan 4, 2013 15:02:25 GMT -5
What gets me is outside of a few teams the socon is not doing so well out of conference. It's been a while since I didn't have to close my eyes for the month of December and prey for conference time to come.
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