UMBC
Record: 13-9 (5-2 America East)
Last 10: 7-3
Last Game: UMBC 59, New Hampshire 51 on 1/26/19
Last Game with SBU: Stony Brook 64, UMBC 57 on 2/21/18; Iroegbu team-high 20 off the bench
Checkmate Unofficial Line: UMBC -2.5
Net Ranking: Stony Brook 144, UMBC 232
KenPom RPI: Stony Brook 164, UMBC 221
KenPom Prediction: UMBC 63, Stony Brook 62
Yeboah Point Watch: 1,131
Division I: Currently 7th. Next up: Dave Coley (2010-14) 1,222
All-time: Currently T-15th. Next up: Scott Walker (1984-88) 1,131; Yves Simon (1987-91) 1,156
Listen/Watch:TV: TBD
Stony Brook radio:
http://bit.ly/WUSBSports_FMNotables:6-6/220 gr F Joe Sherburne 14.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .511 FG%, .921 FT%, .424 3-pt FG%
6-2/180 jr G KJ Jackson 11.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 spg
6-10/200 so F Brandon Horvath 10.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
6-5/235 jr F Arkel Lamar 9.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 spg
Yeah, I'm still sulking over Saturday's loss too. I mean, what the heck was that? An enormous spot for our guys and we couldn't have looked worse. I can't remember being more disgusted with a regular season loss the margin of defeat, the quality of play, the opportunity missed. Yet we can't lick our wounds for too long here. We have a massive week ahead of us if the loss turns into a slide, we find ourselves back in the middle of the pack.
It begins on Wednesday with a visit to streaking UMBC, which has ripped off four straight wins in conference after a 1-2 start. We will certainly have to play better than we did Saturday and better than we have over the past two to three weeks.
I was really surprised when Ryan Odom didn't capitalize on UMBC's moment in the spotlight to grab a bigger job a buzzer beater in Burlington to win the conference title, and then the well-documented 16-over-1 triumph over Virginia that won the hearts of college basketball fans everywhere. And then when you consider the heart and soul of that team, KJ Maura and Jairus Lyles, were moving on, it seemed like the obvious move. When they had an up-and-down fall, including blowout losses to Penn State, FGCU and Marquette, I thought their mojo was gone and Odom had truly squandered an opportunity. Maura was so so good, a nearly impossible cover. And Lyles had a voracious appetite for points and was a great leader. Yet here he is trying to make another run with a new-look squad.
Sherburne's started with them since he was a freshman, and this has been his opportunity to develop into more than just UMBC's Plan B on offense. Sherburne had zero Division I offers out of high school but went to Brewster Academy up in NH and finally ended up at UMBC. Typical kid from Wisconsin nothing flashy, hard worker, solid in the post, deadly from downtown. He's been one of those guys that you never worried about going into the game but is so steady. 12 and 6, 14 and 4, 15 and 5, over and over again. He's up over 1,400 points for his career.
I really marveled at how they moved the ball last year it seemed like they got any shot they wanted, and they could shoot it too. I'm curious what they have in their freshman class, particularly the kid Jose Placer, who played in international competition for Puerto Rico. Placer was Rookie of the Week in conference after dropping 22 on UA and 14 on Vermont, both wins. I think he's in for a big four years under Odom. He was looked at by places like Wake Forest and Wichita State but supposedly settled on UMBC after being stuck there for days when Hurricane Irma walloped Florida. Nifty passer, can penetrate or shoot it, and tough from what I can tell.
Some brutal injuries have forced a lot of guys into action. UMBC lost big man Daniel Akin to a torn meniscus. Another big man, Max Curran, is having surgery on his hand in a couple weeks. But they've found themselves the last couple weeks. Freshman RJ Eytle-Rock has stepped up and played some big minutes. KJ Jackson, who finished third in the country in scoring at the juco level, has fit right in, going for 21 most recently against New Hampshire. They're going to be all right.
We probably penciled this in as a loss in the pre-season and we might be right. But will the road warriors find a way to pull it out? It would be some rebound. UMBC is hosting Blackout Night at the Event Center Wednesday so it should be a decent crowd. I expected a bigger bounce from last year's historic win, but nope, just 1,275 fans per night in a 5,000 seat arena.