Must Win Tonight

I first would like to apologize for the lack of blog posts over the past couple weeks....midterms have hit hard and I have been very busy. With that, lets get back to business.

Tonight the struggling Red Foxes take on Iona at McCann in what is a desperation game for Marist. Losers 6 of their last 7, the Red Foxes are mired in a 3 game losing skid that includes a heartbreaking double overtime loss against Fairfield and an embarrassing Bracketbuster loss to Clevland State.

However, the Red Foxes return home to some good news. Louie McCroskey, the Foxes scoring-minded shooting guard will return tonight from a fractured right foot which has sidelined him since January 17 against Loyola.

Without McCroskey, the Red Foxes have lacked a go-to scorer and have had trouble filling his offensive void. Since going down, the Red Foxes MAAC dreams have as well, as they have gone 4-6 and have dropped in the standings from 1st to 6th.

McCroskey, since transferring from 'Cuse has been a bit of a disappointment. The highly talented senior guard has missed significant time this season with injury's and eligibility issues. However, his return is more then welcomed for the Foxes, as their MAAC tournament hopes hinge on his ability to be the consistent scoring threat he can be (see Holiday tournament at the Garden) and help rejuvenate a lifeless Marist team.

With two game left (Iona tonight and Loyola for Sunday's Senior Day) the 6th place Foxes need to win both. At the moment they are only 2/12 games out of first in the crowded MAAC, and while a first place finish is impossible, if the Red Foxes can win out they could end up with a 4 or 5 seed heading into the tournament.

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Under Review

Yeah its old news...but February 19 double overtime loss to was filled with terrible calls, including one that cost the Red Foxes the game. With 2.6 left and the game tied at 72, a Fairfield player called for what was an obvious time out and the official blew his whistle. The only problem was that Fairfield had no more time outs, and instead of the ref calling a technical foul, Chris Webber style, he decided to meet up with his fellow refs and come up with an alternate reason to why he blew the whistle...and he did, sending the game into OT.

If the right call is made on that play, the Red Foxes almost certainly win the game on a couple foul shots(like James Smith last season) which would have given then an all important MAAC win and certainly a boost of confidence which they have been lacking down the stretch of the season.

Also, the clocks stopped on a play in the final moments of the game, giving the Stags more time to score. On a another play, a foul was called agaisnt Stilfphen on a Han 3-point shot...the only problem was Stilf was the one who came away with a bloody nose.....Conspiracy anyone?

First Place Foxes..with Rider,Siena

The battle for the MAAC regular season championship is heating up as the Marist Red Foxes, following Sundays beat down of Canisius, are in a 3-way tie for 1st place along with Rider and Siena. All three teams are boasting a conference best 8-3 record at the moment, but the top should be a little less crowded by the end of next week.

There is no better time for the Red Foxes to make their case in the MAAC then right now. Facing Rider on Wednesday at McCann( where they are still unbeaten this season) and Siena for a home and home (Times Union on Monday and McCann on Friday), the Red Foxes are hitting stride for the harder portion of their schedule at the right time. Winners of 8 of their last 9, the Foxes are playing better basketball then anyone could have expected in the 'post-Jordan' era that has 9 new comers this season.

Sunday's beat down of weak Canisius saw the Red Foxes flex their muscles the way they have been during this winning streak. On the Offensive end the Foxes had 4 players score in double figures, featuring another solid performance from freshman Jay Gavin (MAAC rookie of the week, 5th time) and a breakout performance from my man Ryan Schiender (PoJo player of the game) who had a double-double off the bench. The Defense was again shut down, as the Red Foxes allowed only 44 points, their second lowest since 1985.

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Siena is Ready

The boys up in Albany say they are ready for next weeks big battle(s) between the two MAAC rivals, first at Times Union on Monday then back at McCann on Friday. Last weeks Times Union Siena hoops blog is apparently doing their homework on Red Fox Nation reporting on this writers previous entry titled "We Want Siena."

Marist students: “We want Siena!”
January 24, 2008 at 1:37 pm by Pete Iorizzo, Staff writer http://blogs.timesunion.com/collegesports/?p=564

The Marist students have spoken.

According to an item in the Poughkeepsie Journal blog, Marist students chanted “We want Siena” as the Red Foxes completed an 84-65 rout of Niagara on Monday.

The Saints enter tonight’s game against Loyola in first place in the MAAC, one game ahead of Marist and Rider.

The Saints and Red Foxes meet Feb. 4 in Albany and again Feb. 8 in Poughkeepsie, which figures to deliver one of the best college-basketball atmospheres you’ll see in the MAAC all season.

True. The energy at McCann is by far the most electric and intimidating atmosphere in the MAAC....part of the reason the Red Foxes are undefeated at home. The Feb. 8 match-up will hold true to this, it is an ESPNU game and is a "white-out McCann" game.

After being crushed and embarrassed by Loyola 85-65 the Siena Saints put up another poor performance against weak Iona, where they trailed at halftime and barley scraped away with a win. Against Loyola the Saints look flat-out out of it, shooting a season low 29 % from the field while looking undisciplined throughout.

Against Rider earlier in the season the Red Foxes came away with a thrilling one-point victory beating the Broncos 81-80 on a Ryan 'Steady' Stilphen 3-point play.

Prediction: The Red Foxes stay hot at home and win vs Rider on Wednesday in a dog fight. However, a home-and-home with Siena will be tough to sweep, and the Red Foxes will split, losing in Albany and winning yet another home game in what should be a thriller at McCann.

With Rider and Siena facing off on Saturday the picture in the MAAC should be a lot clearly come next week. Next weeks standings:
Rider 10-3 Marist 10-3 Siena 9-4

Stay Tuned....