ALBANY
Record: 12-5
Last Game: L, 64-61, at New Hampshire 1/6
Last 10: 6-4
Last Meeting: Albany 63-56 on 3/6/17 in AE semis; Lucas Woodhouse game-high 25; Woodhouse 3-5 from three, rest of team 1-16
CM Unofficial Line: Albany -5.5
KenPom RPI: Stony Brook 210, Albany 151
KenPom Prediction: Albany 75, Stony Brook 67
Listen/Watch:TV:
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3244899/stony-brook-vs-albany-m-basketballAlbany radio:
http://1045theteam.com/listen-liveStony Brook radio:
http://www.943theshark.com/listenlive.aspxNotables:6-4/185 jr G Joe Cremo 18.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, .480 FG%, .863 FT%, .513 3-pt FG%
6-0/190 jr G David Nichols 15.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg, .298 3-pt FG%
6-6/235 gs F Travis Charles 14.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, .609 FG%, .790 FT%
6-6/220 jr F Devonte Campbell 7.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
6-7/255 sr F Greig Stire 7.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .552 FG%
As dynamic as the backcourt has been for UA, a lot of its success can be attributed to Brown's philosophy. They're always going to be tough, physical and relentless on the glass (+7.5 for the year). And they'll kill teams by getting to the line over and over and over (359-267 advantage on attempts).
Their schedule to this point has been pretty soft, but they did with it what a good team is supposed to. As mentioned in a previous thread, their highest quality win is a two-point squeaker at home over Iona (120), and all but one opponent has been outside the top 150 – that exception being Louisville, which held off a UA surge to win 70-68 a few weeks ago. The last two losses have been head-scratchers. Albany came from 20 down to tie Hartford, only to have the Hawks ice it from the line. UNH rained threes on UA to open up a sizable second-half lead, and they held on late.
A year ago today (1/8), you may recall an incredible meltdown by the Danes at our place. We trailed 70-51 with under six minutes to go only to rattle off the next 21 points, fueled by mind-boggling carelessness with the ball from UA. The guards are the same, but I think Nyama was really a nuisance then, and we haven't applied that kind of pressure yet this year.
Albany flat-out doesn't take or make many threes. They're averaging fewer than six makes a game – compare with a nation-best 12 for UMBC – in part because they're putting up just 16 a night – compare with more than 29 for the Retrievers. The attempts basically come from two guys – Cremo and Nichols – who are plenty deadly from deep.
This just feels like a game that UA comes out hard and never lets up. They need it bad, and we're very very lucky to have escaped our first two games.