WEB's Top 25 Ballot



#1 Seed - West

Hopefully everyone believed that I was sincere last week with my ballot and not just one of those "guys" who wants to believe in the little engine that could.  I truly and honestly believe, right now, that BYU is the best team in college basketball and has a very legit shot to win the national championship.  I believe they will not lose another game in the regular season, and will also win the Mountain West Conference Tournament and have a very real shot at getting a #1 Seed, and possibly, the #1 overall seed.  They are that d$mn good.  Start to take notice...please. 




1 - BYU
2 - Ohio State
3 - Kansas
4 - Purdue
5 - Texas
6 - Duke
7 - Notre Dame
8 - San Diego State
9 - Pittsburgh
10 - Wisconsin
11 - Louisville
12 - Syracuse
13 - Florida
14 - St. John's
15 - George Mason
16 - Arizona
17 - Xavier
18 - Vanderbilt
19 - North Carolina
20 - Georgetown
21 - UCONN
22 - Villanova
23 - Temple
24 - Texas A&M
25 - Kentucky

Providence Journal Beat Writer Paul Kenyon Previews Duquesne Game

By Michael Weber

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Ryan Center - Site of the 2011 - 5 v. 12 First Round A10 Tournament Game

It's time to move on as this Duquesne team still has a shot to finish near the top of the Atlantic 10.  Up next for the Dukes is a critical showdown with the URI Rams.  With Duquesne sitting at 9-3 and the Rhode Island Rams trailing at 7-5, this game becomes critical for the race to a bye in Atlantic City.  Joining me to talk about all things related to Rams basketball is Providence Journal Beat Writer, Paul Kenyon.  Paul was nice enough to answer some of my questions about the upcoming game in Pittsburgh.  I think you guys will appreciate some of things he has to say, including his perspective on the future of the A10 Tournament and the "hex" Jim Baron has on Ron Everhart.  If anyone out there knows of a website that shows how coaches perform against each other(career records wise) please forward that link to yukudukes@gmail.com.  Thanks!  Enjoy...

WEB's TOP 25 Ballot

By Yuku Dukes

You got Jimmer'd

I know.  How can you have BYU number one?  Hear me out.  The Cougars are for real.  They have to be right...Steve Young wasn't a direct descendant of, you know, Brigham Young, just for the sake of it.  He is one of the descendants so that I could put him my blog entry.  I knew it!  They have the number 2 RPI; the 21st toughest schedule; they're 24-2; they crushed San Diego State, the only real threat to their quest to a number one seed(and no the MWC isn't getting two number one seeds).  They crushed Arizona(23-4)...by 22.  I thought the UCLA loss was a blemish they may not be able to hide from, except that at 19-7, UCLA is no joke.  You want to laugh at their 9 point road loss at New Mexico?  The PIT?  Please.  That's no worse than Texas' road loss to Nebraska; Kansas' beatdown to K-State; Duke's ridiculous stomping at the hands of St.  John's.  Sure, St. John's is "back".  But they aren't "beat Duke by 15" back.  Ohio State?  They just got stomped on by Purdue after they stomped on Purdue 3 weeks ago.  There is something about Ohio State that makes me think they are "pretenders".  I can't wrap my head around it, but I'll bet you they aren't in the Final 4.  Shake it all up and based on this writer's two eyes, it's BYU's world, and everyone else is just living in it.  Oh and they have this kid named Jimmer Fredette.  Maybe you've heard of him?

1 - BYU
2 - Duke
3 - San Diego State
4 - Texas
5 - Ohio State
6 - Kansas
7 - Purdue
8 - Pittsburgh
9 - Notre Dame
10 - Arizona
11- Florida
12 - Wisconsin
13 - Syracuse
14 - Villanova
15 - Vanderbilt
16 - St. John's
17 - George Mason
18 - Georgetown
19 - Uconn
20 - Texas A&M
21 - Missouri
22 - Xavier
23 - Temple
24 - UCLA
25 - North Carolina

The State of the (Hot)lantic 10 - Week 7

By Michael Weber

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Queen City Sharpshooter

Well, that was fun.  We heard it all year.  "Xavier is going to be in big trouble."; "They don't have the depth"; "Injuries will catch up to this team."; "Towards the end of the season, just wait, they'll break down."  Yeah......right.  Xavier is now in the driver's seat(actually they were after they smothered Duquesne in the final 12 minutes of last week's game).  At 11-1, and their remaining games against LaSalle, @UD, Charlotte and @SLU, I'd say 15-1 is in the works.  Even at 14-2, they hold the tie-breaker over Temple.  Duquesne and Richmond faded into the sun and we are left with the two teams everyone originally thought would be competing for the championship.  I guess while we are at it, we'll give the Player of the Year Award to Terrell Tu Holloway.  He just recorded a ridiculous triple-double against a high school team Fordham on Saturday night...26 Points, 11 Rebounds and 10 Assists. Other than that though, he didn't do a whole lot.  Who wants to be Jim Baron this week?  They lost to UMASS, who was coming off defeats to SLU, SJU, GW and Duquesne...by 6...at home.  I have to hand it to Kellogg, he knows how to turn around a team coming off a blowout loss.  Well...he has a lot of attempts and experience at it too.  Then you have Duquesne, losing by one to Dayton in the world's most famous arena in Ohio.  Hey, at least it keeps Duquesne's streak alive.  Yup, that's right, all 17 wins are by double digits.  The Dukes can't win the close ones, but they can sure blow you out!...I don't want to do this, but it's time for the weekly, "Is is time for Martelli to go" discussion.  In danger of missing the campus site portion of the A10 tournament, Martelli needs to get this going, and in a hurry.  He should be around next year, but you never know in this crazy world of college hoops.  Oh, and circle March 5th at Charlotte, that's the play-in game for the 12 seed.  The winner gets a trip to(likely) Pittsburgh or Kingston, RI.  I hear Rhode Island is lovely in early March...

Dayton Preview

By A83

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Over-rated?

Duquesne Dukes (17-7, 9-2 A-10, 7-3 Away) @ Dayton Flyers (18-9, 6-6 A-10, 13-3 Home), UD Arena (13,455) 12pm

Dukes
Last game - @ UMass 81-63 W
Streak Won 1
Last Five 3-2
Last Ten 8-2
Best Win vs Temple Current RPI 33
Worst Loss @  Robert Morris Current RPI 130

Flyers
Last Game - @ Charlotte 69-51 W
Streak Won 1
Last Five 3-2
Last Ten 5-5
Best Win vs. George Mason RPI 20
Worst Loss @ UMass Current RPI 134

Dayton Q/A...Again

By Michael Weber

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Brian Gregory - Circa 1990

My new friends at The Blackburn Review recently sat down with me (ok we exchanged e-mails) and talked about some of the key points to this matchup between Duquesne and Dayton.  We also get into Chris Wright's overrated-ness, the A14 Tournament being at Consol and Brian Gregory's contract, which, gasp, runs until, 2018.  I think you'll enjoy this one...and if you can't figure it out, my questions are in bold...

The Q&A begins after the jump. Enjoy!

Umass Q + A

By Mike Weber 

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Minuteman

I recently participated in a Q/A Session with a UMASS Blogger.  His website can be found here.  See below for some very interesting information from UMASS.  Also it appears like UMASS could be missing Freddie Riley AND Sean Carter.  The Daily Hampshire Gazette has the story.

This game could present the opportunity for our Dukes to get back up off the mat after a heartbreaker at SBU and a tough loss to a very good Xavier team. This could especially be the case if the injury situation is what it appears to be for the Minutemen.

The entire Q/A takes place after the jump below.

The Season in Three Games

By Steven DiMiceli
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If the 2010-2011 Duquesne men's basketball season were a roller coaster at Kennywood, you'd have to wait 45 minutes to an hour to ride it on a Saturday afternoon.There have been exhilarating highs like the winning streak and a couple of unexpectedly lopsided road victories early in the season and devastating lows like the Penn St/WVU  losing streak and the Bona buzzer beater. The question on a lot of people's minds right now is will assent on the other side of the huge 11 game winning streak be deceptively small, a giant pitfall or just the beginning of a bumpy ride the rest of the way.

A83's Preview v. UMASS

By A83

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Mullins Center

Duquesne Dukes (16-7, 8-2 A-10, 6-3 Away) @ UMass Minutemen (13-10, 5-5 A-10, 8-5 Home), Mullins Center (9,493) 7p,


Dukes
Last game - vs Xavier 63-71 L
Streak Lost 2
Last Five 3-2
Last Ten 8-2
Best Win vs Temple Current RPI 33
Worst Lost @  Robert Morris Current RPI 133

Minutemen
Last Game - vs  GW 51-59 L
Streak Lost 3
Last Five 2-3
Last Ten 4-6
Best Win vs Dayton Current RPI 62
Worst Lost vs Maine Current RPI 203

Common Out of Conference Opponents
None

The State of the (Hot)lantic 10 - Week 6

By Michael Weber

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Wood

Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....It what was maybe Duquesne's biggest game since like 1977, A10 finals aside in 2009, the Dukes came out flat, stayed flat, took a 1 point halftime lead, and then...proceeded to get their doors blown off by the class of the league, the Musketeers of Xavier.  It was up until this point in the season, the biggest conference of the season.  But it hardly lived up to that.  Even though Duquesne held a brief 2nd half lead, you never felt like Xavier was going to lose.  I've been on record as suggesting I have no issue with Duquesne playing an OOC opponent in the CEC every year.  I am totally against moving conference games...like totally.  Make no mistake, this game is probably not any different in the AJ Palumbo Center.  Xavier derserved to win this one.  Duquesne managed(somehow) to shoot 13-27 from the foul line in losing by 8 to the Muskies.  That's close to, if not the main reason, as to why they lost this one.  But don't tell Ron Everhart this one.  He told Ray Goss after the game  that free throws had nothing to do with the loss.  Yeah - Right.  The Dukes have now lost two straight and head into a matchup in Amherst, MA.  Good Luck.  I guess a lot of the same can be said for Brian Gregory's Flyers.  But, apparently expectations were to high for the Flyers...according to BG.  If you don't believe me, ask The Blackburn Review.  It's becoming more clear to me that this is a 3 team race for the top.  Xavier, Temple and Richmond are the class of this league as of right now.  Xavier has a one game lead on the Owls and Spiders and has beaten them both.  I suspect they run away and hide, winning every single one of their remaining games.  Take it to the bank.  I really thought Fordham had a shot to win their first league game in what seems like 25 years, but they blew a huge first half lead.  Oh well...

TEAM OF THE WEEK:  Rhode Island Rams - Winners of 2 games; Sent UD into a spiral and got a somewhayt lucky bounce to defeat Charlotte.  At 7-4, Jim Baron's team is still in the race for a first round bye in the A10 Tournament.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  For my money, it was Justin Harper.  Scored 20 and 22 points in his team's wins this week.  Richmond is starting to hit their "stride" and Harper is a big reason as to why. 

GAME OF THE WEEK:  URI's one point overtime win against Charlotte is something that always gets my attention in league play(overtime that is).  A very thrilling ending as a long trey was missed put back in at the buzzer to send the Rams into a "frenzy"

DUD OF THE WEEK:  In front of a sold out crowd of 10,509, the Dukes never really felt comfortable, losing 71-63.  In what was their biggest game in quite some time, Duquesne let Xavier push them around, up and down, and all over the floor.  Don't be fooled by a brief 2nd half lead.  X was in control for much of this one, including the final 10 minutes. 

SURPRISE TEAM OF THE WEEK:  Last week, UMASS lost at St. Joe's.  This week they lost at home home to GW.  Ouch.

WEB's DUQUESNE FLAVOR OF THE WEEK:  You have to beat Umass, at Umass.  If not, season = over, in my humble opinion of course.

What this game means for Duquesne and for Xavier

By Steve DiMiceli
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It's been widely discussed on our board that this might be the biggest regular season game at Duquesne since the 1970's. It might also be the biggest contest decided between two unranked team's this year. It will certainly be the most anticipated in the A-10 regular season. There is national buzz surrounding this game though not as much as their would've been had both teams come in undefeated. There should be great atmosphere at the CEC and some increased traffic on I - 71 and I - 70 with a strong contingent  of  fans from the Queen City on their way up the Ohio today. This game should have NCAA tournament atmosphere because there will be NCAA implications.

Conversation with Dana and Victory

By:  Michael Weber
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The Freak - Damian Saunders

It's almost here...A HUGE home game at the AJ Palumbo Center quasi-home-game at the Consol Energy Center.  It's 8-1 Xavier v. 8-1 Duquesne for first place in the A10.  In trying to break down this matchup a little closer, I decided to have a little chat with "Dana and Victory" about the Xavier Musketeers.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to elaborate on whether some snuggies will be in attendance on Sunday.  But, apparently George Clooney is a Xavier fan now.  Who knew?  Eh, who needs Clooney when we have the professor, John Clayton from ESPN, on our side?  Enough chit-chat...and onto the convo: 

Join us after the jump for the questions/answers!

Xavier Preview

By:  A83
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X marks which spot?

Xavier Musketeers (17-6, 8-1 A10, 4-4 Road) @  Duquesne Dukes (16-6, 8-1 A-10, 10-2 Home), Consol Energy Center, 2pm


Dukes
Last game - @ Bona  62-64 L
Streak Lost 1
Last Five 4-1
Last Ten 9-1
Best Win vs Temple Current RPI 36
Worst Lost @  Robert Morris Current RPI 138

Musketeers - @ Georgia 65-57 W
Streak Won 2
Last Five 4-1
Last Ten 8-2
Best Win vs Temple Current RPI 36
Worst Lost @ Charlotte RPI 186

Common Out of Conference Opponents
None

Leaders
Dukes - Bill Clark (17.5 pts), Damian Saunders (12.9 pts & 7.8 rebounds)
Musketeers  - Tu Holloway (20.7 pts), Mark Lyons(13.8 pts), Kenny Frease (6.7 rebounds)

The Dukes shoot 47% from the floor, 38% from three, 63% from the free throw line and average 13 turnovers per game.
The Musketeers shoot 45% from the floor, 33% from three, 74% from the free throw line and average 12 turnovers per game.

Ratings
Dukes - RPI 77, Sagarin 45
Musketeers - RPI 28, Sagarin 32

By A83
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Duquesne Dukes (20-4, 7-2, A-10, 12-1 Away) @ St. Bonaventure Bonnies (15-10, 5-5 A-10, 8-4 Home) Reilly Center (5,200) , 1:30


Last game - Vs St. Louis 67-41 W
Streak Won 1
Last Five 4-1
Last Ten 8-2

Bonnies
Last Game - Vs. Temple 38-54 L
Streak Lost 3
Last Five 2-3
Last Ten 8-2

Common Opponents
Dukes lost @ WVU by 11
Bonnies lost vs. WVU by 9

Leaders
Dukes - Alex Gensler (12.9 pts), Samantha Pollino (12.3 pts) & Wumi Agunbiade (7.7 rebounds)
Bonnies - Megan Van Tatenhove (15.2 pts & 5.7 rebounds), Jessica Jenkins (12.5 pts)

The Dukes shoot 42% from the floor, 36% from three, 69% from the free throw line and average 19 turnovers per game.
The Bonnies shoot 40% from the floor, 37% from three, 75% from the free throw line and average14 turnovers per game.

Ratings
Dukes - RPI 23, Sagarin 29
Bonnies - RPI 64, Sagarin 91

Game Notes

Rematch of the A10 opener for both squads in which the Dukes overcame a 16 point second half deficit to win 60-54.

Female Bonnies are trying to match their male counterparts by putting an end to a long DU winning streak.  The Dukes have won 12 straight road games most in Division 1 this season.

Dukes need to win this game to further make their case for an NCAA at-large tournament bid.  Currently the Dukes have 5 quality wins (wins vs teams with RPI's of 100 or better) and no questionable losses (losses vs RPI's of 100 or worse).    A win vs. the Bonnies could give them their 6th quality win. 
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The State of the (Hot)lantic 10 - Week 5 - Late Edition

By Michael Weber

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What were the Bonnies fans thinking?

Another week of games and another week of me scratching my head wondering if what happens in this league, happens in other leagues.  Let me do the honors of resetting the scenario.  Duquesne at St. Bonaventure; 9.1 seconds remaining; Dukes by 1; Bonnies in-bound the ball and its stolen by TJ McConnell; TJ is shoved out of bounds and in an effort to throw it off the Bonnies player's foot, he stepped out of bounds; Bonnies in-bound the ball and Michael Davenport hits a game-winning 3 point shot; Bonnies fan storm the floor.  Say what?  They rushed the floor?  You have to be kidding me.  This wasn't Duke...it was Duquesne.  There has to some set of rules that we need to discuss about rushing the floor.  I found a good blog entry about this and I tend to agree with it.  Check it out here.  I honestly think the Bonnies fans were out of their minds to rush the floor.  Again, you beat DUQUESNE.  Or...maybe it's a sign Duquesne has finally arrived.  They better take it serious because it's about to come and go when Saunders and Clark graduate.  Anyone who watched the game realizes that this is the window for Duquesne to make the NCAA Tournament.  Lost in all of this, however, was Everhart's decision to argue with the officials about how much time should be on the clock when BJ Monteiro hit a lay-up with 9.1 seconds left.  The Bonnies had no timeouts remaining, and as a result of Everhart's inexplicable decision to ask the officials to look at the clock again, Mark Schmidt drew up a play during the "timeout" that ultimately cost Duquesne the game.  Argue all you want, but the little things matter.  The way the Bonnies were turning it over in the 2nd half, they had a chance somewhere between slim and none to set up a play on their own.  Ron Everhart lost Duquesne this game.  Plain and simple.  He isn't alone though, Xavier lost a real clunker at UNCC, excuse me, Charlotte.  That sets up a "less than anticipated" matchup at the  AJ Palumbo Center Consol Energy Center between the teams tied for first in the A10/14.  Good luck trying to predict that one.  You had the Dayton Flyers march back into relevance by crushing St. Bonaventure and LaSalle by 2 and 4 points respectively.  Even Jerry Palm thinks the Flyers are for real.  Excuse me?  Dayton in the NCAA Tournament?  Dear Jerry - Um...No.  The top 4 teams have either 1 or 2 losses.  5th place has 4 losses.  That's called separation.  I won't be shocked if someone implodes and URI, Dayton or UMass snatches a bye in Atlantic City.  With that, let's get to the awards(abbreviated version):

Weekly Ballot - Blogger Poll

By Michael Weber

1 - Ohio State
2 - Texas
3 - Kansas
4 - BYU
5 - San Diego State
6 - Duke
7 - Pittsburgh
8 - Notre Dame
9 - Villanova
10 - Georgetown
11 - Syracuse
12 - Uconn
13 - Wisconsin
14 - Louisville
15 - Flordia
16 - Purdue
17 - Arizona
18 - Kentucky
19 - Missouri
20 - Texas A&M
21 - North Carolina
22 - George Mason
23 - Temple
24 - Vanderbilt
25 - UCLA

Temple Women's Preview - Courtesy of A83

By A83
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One Eye-Ball

Temple Owls (16-6, 7-0 A-10, 7-5 Away) @ Duquesne Dukes (19-3, 6-1, A-10, 7-2 Home) , AJP Center (4,400), 2pm Saturday

Dukes
Last game - @ Umass 84-79 W (OT)
Streak Won 4
Last Five 4-1
Last Ten 9-1
Best Win @ Ohio State Current RPI 17.
Worst Loss vs. Richmond Current RPI of 57.

Owls
Last Game - vs St Louis 82-48 W
Streak Won 9
Last Five 5-0
Last Ten 9-1
Best Win vs Rutger Current RPI 36
Worst Lost @ Setoh Hall Current RPI of 176

St. Bonaventure Preview - Courtesy of A83

By A83
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Bonnie

Duquesne Dukes (16-5, 8-0 A-10, 6-2 Away) @ St. Bonaventure Bonnies (11-10, 3-5 A-10, 5-4 Home), Reilly Center (5,780)

Dukes
Last game - vs GW 84-59 W
Streak Won 11
Last Five 5-0
Last Ten 10-1
Best Win vs Temple Current RPI 37
Worst Lost @  Robert Morris Current RPI 128

Bonnies
Last Game - @ Dayton 61-63 L
Streak Lost 1
Last Five 2-3
Last Ten 3-7
Best Win vs St Johns Current RPI 20
Worst Lost vs Niagara Current RPI 302

Why I'm Worried about St. Bonaventure

By Michael Weber
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Hornet's Nest

Call me crazy, call me a pessimist, call me whatever you'd like, but I'm very, very worried about this weekend's game against St. Bonaventure. 

WEB:  I'll take "Best Player's in the A10" for $1,000" Alex. 

ALEX:  Answer, Daily Double.  How much would you like to wager?

WEB:  Let's go for the gusto; all of it; I'm feeling lucky!

ALEX:  This player has scored, 18, 29, 29, 21 and 25 points in his 5 career games against Duquesne.  He also will be a member of the first team all A10 to be announced at the end of the year in Atlantic City.  He also stands 6-9, towering over any of Duquesne's players and has added a smooth 17 foot, J, to his game this year?

WEB:  (Thinking in his head...I've got this baby, yeah).  The GREAT Andrew Nicholson.

ALEX:  Sorry WEB, the answer must be in the form of a question.

WEB:  Ugh...

Why I'm not worried about the Bonnies

By Steven DiMiceli
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Let me make one thing clear, I don't want the Dukes to look past this St Bonaventure team. We just became their biggest home game of the year and they already don't like us. Their fans and players alike will be up for this game. That being said and in spite of their best efforts, I don't think the Bonnies have what it takes to beat the Dukes.

GW Preview

By Steven DiMiceli
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The Dukes will be looking to run it to 11 wins in row at home Wednesday night against the George Washington Colonials who will be looking to snap the streak and continue a surprising start of their own. The Colonials(11-10, 4-3) have however dropped 4 of 5 after running off 3 wins in a row to begin conference play including a loss to Harvard. Tony Taylor is the only GW player averaging double figures due in part to the rest of the lineup sharing minutes. Taylor is also the only player averaging more than 27 minutes a game. Serbian guard Nemanja Mikic, presents as a dangerous three point shooter currently 4th in the league in 3 point shooting and 2nd in 3 pointers made. Three Colonials average more than 5 boards a game and as a unit, they make up one of the best offensive rebounding front courts in the league. However, the Colonials find themselves outside of the top 10 in scoring and field goal % defending. The Colonials are the 2nd to last place team in defending the 3.

Duquesne (15-5, 7-0)  RPI 75  W10
George Washington (11-10, 4-3) RPI 197 W1


Best Win
Duquesne (Temple 41)
George Washington (East Carolina 125)

Worst Loss
Duquesne (Stupid Robert Morris 126)
George Washington (Navy 301)

Leader
Duquesne
Scoring- Bill Clark 17.3 (Conf 7)
REB --- Damian Saunders  7.6 (Conf 8)
Assists - TJ McConnell 4.7  (Conf 3)

George Washington
Scoring- Tony Taylor 14.0  (Conf 14)
REB ---Joseph Katuka 5.6
Assists -Tony Taylor 4.3 (Conf 6)

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