Now The Real Fun Begins

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- Now that the Flyers have gotten the OOC portion of their slate out of the way, it is time, as the title of this piece indicates, for the real entertainment to begin -- the Atlantic 14 Regular Season Funfest! UD logged an 11-3 record vs. their non-con combatants, just one victory shy of the 12-2 total that “FTS” had crystal balled. The thinking here was that the Flyboys would go 2-1 in PR and lose to NMU at “The Pit”. Close, but no Macanudo. Who really cares anyway, it’s all water in the Greater Miami River now, right?

“FTS” has also perused the conference tea leaves and sees a 14-2 outcome for BG and the Boys in the A-10. Here is how I believe they will arrive there:

January 9 Duquesne

OOC Record: 9-5, including losses at Western Carolina, at Ooey-Pooey and at ODU by 9, a team that UD handled by 8.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Michael Talley III, a high scoring (29ppg) PG out of Detroit who is the son of the University of Michigan hoopster of the same name. Unfortunately for the Dukes, Talley doesn’t arrive until next season.

Comments: I hate to do this to my father-in-law (who attended Duquesne Prep, Duquesne and Duquesne Law School) but your boys are going down, Dad.

January 13 at Fordham

OOC Record: 2-10. Wins against Sacred Heart of the NEC and Stony Brook from the American East are all that the A-10 doormats have to show for themselves.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Jio Fontan. Oops.

Comments: It’s been awhile since the Flyers have played in what was once their home-away-from-home back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Madison Square Garden. With their best player (Fontan) gone to USC and their Head Coach (Dereck Whittenburg) toast, the Rams have successfully retired the annual “A-10 Train Wreck Award” trophy.

January 16 at Xavier

OOC Record: 8-5, with Florida yet to be faced on February 13th. Maybe Chandler Parsons can throw one of these babies in at the buzzer vs. X:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBs0P...layer_embedded

Losses include Baylor and the “Timex Game of the Year” vs. Butler. Those Mouskies take a licking and keep on ticking!

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: If you are a Dayton player defending an inbounds pass, keep one eye on Coach Chris Mack at all times. Otherwise, the Flyers should be on the lookout for Jordan Crawford. In case you hadn’t heard, he dunked on LeBron in a pickup game, which immediately made him one of the 5 best players in college basketball history.

Comments: Why in the world is this tilt being played at 11:00 in the morning? Is it so the Eggsavior students won’t get all liquored-up before the game? Dollars to donuts, they’ll just drink all night and show up at the Sphinctas Center totally ‘faced. Plus the Mouskie student section doesn’t have Sean Miller around to beg them to get “fired up” for the UD game this year. Regardless, our long (Flyer) National nightmare is over.

January 20 George Washington

OOC Record: 10-3. Victories over several hyphenated scools like UNCW and UMBC. Questionable losses to 6-7 Oregon State, Big Least also-ran Providence and Hahvahd.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Damian Hollis. The 6’8” senior is averaging 15 ppg, 5 rpg. 2 apg and 1 bpg. He’s the man in Karl Hobbs’ universe. BTW, don’t forget to count how many players you have on the floor, coach.

Comments: Karmatically speaking, having to play George Washington on President’s Day should somehow work in the Colonials’ favor, right? Nope.

January 23 at Saint Joseph's

OOC Record: A really disappointing 4-8, with Towson and Penn yet to come. How does any self-respecting A-10 school lose to an awful DePaul team, plus Rider, Cornell and Princeton? ‘Splain that to me, would ya.

Prediction: Win

Guys to watch out for: SJU has 4 players averaging double figures, including pesky freshman PG Carl Jones, the pride of Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Comments: This is a really good year to be facing Phil Martelli and company on the road in Philly. Not even Joe Lunardi stacking the Bracketology deck in their favor can help the Hawks this season.

January 26 Rhode Island

OOC Record: 12-1. A loss to Anthony Grant-less VCU is the only blemish on their schedule. Then again, wins vs. Brown, HC and my old UD philosophy professor John Lahey’s school -- Quinnipiac -- are not overly impressive. Rhody struggled in their most recent contest vs. Akron, too.

Lahey linky goodness: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x50.xml

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: The Rams feature Nikola Malesevic from Uzice…where the heck is that? Jimmy Baron is gone, right? Good. Book a Flyer victory.

Comments: Hopefully the ghost of Dustin Hellenga has been exorcised from UD Arena.

January 30 at St. Bonaventure

OOC Record: They should be “the Bakers” instead of “the Bonnies.” Bona is 7-6 vs. a cupcake-laden schedule featuring the likes of Lemoyne, Binghamton, Norfolk State and Savannah State.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: If you are CW, JB, KH or DS you’re gonna want to know where Andrew Nicholson is at all times…the dude can block the sun. He leads the Bonnies in ppg, rpg, bpg and ft %. Too bad he doesn’t have any supporting cast.

Comments: Ahhh, Olean, NY in late January…getting there is half the fun! Most years this road game would strike fear in the hearts of Flyer fans. Thankfully, this isn’t ‘most years.’

February 6 Xavier

OOC Record: 8-5, with a 2/13 date vs. Florida. X opened their season vs. YSU, BGSU and Sacred Heart, while UD faced Creighton, G-Tech and Villanova. Yeah, that’s about equal.

Prediction: Win

Guys to watch out for: If I’m the UD Arena timekeeper, Terrell Holloway; if you are a water fountain in the hallway outside of the X locker room, the whole **** Mouskie squad, coaches and walk-ons included.

Comments: 12:00 PM ain’t much better than 11:00AM, is it? At least the UD students get an extra hour of quality pre-game shuteye. Like last year, this one won’t be close.

February 10 Charlotte

OOC Record: 10-3 with UT coming up tonight. Talk about a bi-polar scheduling job: the 49ers played games against pushovers like Elon, UNC-Asheville, Hofstra, Yale and Winston-Salem State but also faced Duke, Louisville, G-Tech and Tennessee. Yowza.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Shamari Spears (late of BC) is the leading scorer and rebounder for Bobby Lootz.

Comments: The 22 point thumping of Slick Rick and Lullville is muy deceiving, as three top players for the Cards were injured and didn’t suit up vs. Charlotte. In spite of that fact, it’s still fun to watch Pitino lose.

February 13 at Saint Louis

OOC Record: 9-5. Lotta hyphenated and directional schools on the OOC slate here: Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Eastern Illinois and UM-KC.

Prediction: Win

Guys to watch out for: You’re kidding me…Tommy Liddell and Kevin Lisch actually ran out of eligibility? I thought for sure that the two of them had been granted a perpetual senior year or something.

Comments: Majerus inked Chicago hotshot guard Mike McCall from Foreman HS, but he won’t be able to help until next season. Ricky does have Femi John on the roster this year, however. That's his name, not an adjective.

February 18 La Salle

OOC Record: 7-6, with Penn planned for the 20th. Head-scratching losses to Cornell and Binghamton, but the Frenchies did beat Davidson at Davidson. Go figure.

Prediction: Win

Guys to watch out for: Senior Rodney Green is the Explorers’ scoring leader. If ABC college football announcer Keith Jackson did college hoops, he would say of Freshman Aaric Murray “He’s a hoss.”

Comments: The ‘Splorers open the A-10 portion of their schedule tomorrow night at home with Eggsavior. That tilt should tell the rest of the league a lot about John Giannini’s team right away.

February 21 at Duquesne

OOC Record: 9-5, which includes a 75-72 overtime squeaker on the road vs. D-II Arkansas-Monticello.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Eric Evans. I saw him brick 3 or 4 consecutive three-pointers in the Michigan HS All Star Game and then turn around and nail 3 of ‘em in a row. Let’s hope he does more of the former rather than the latter.

Comments: I think I smell a road trip for Mrs. Swampy and me to her hometown. Hello, Danny’s Hoagies on Route 51!

February 24 at Temple

OOC Record: 11-3, with Penn still to come on January 11th. Only losses are to Georgetown, St. John’s and by 32 to Kansas. The Owls looked a helluva lot worse vs. the Jayhawks than the Flyers did in the NCAAs last year. Fran Dunphy and company did, however, beat Villanova and UD obviously didn’t.

Prediction: Loss

Guys to watch out for: Senior Ryan Brooks is good for 15 ppg. Junior Lavoy Allen averages 10 ppg and 10 rpg…your basic double-double.

Comments: You can’t win ‘em all and the Flyers come close to running the A-10 table, but unfortunately the streak ends here.

February 27 Massachusetts

OOC Record: 6-7, with Baylor yet to come on the 23rd. WH is saying WTF. Consecutive losses to Central Florida and Cornell to open the year will prompt such a response. UMass did, however, bury Arkansas-Ft. Smith 94-68, so they have that going for them….which is nice.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: Ricky Harris. He’s already launched 84 three pointers but also manages to turn the ball over 4 times a game.

Comments: The UMass roster features 5’11” PG Lee Mongo. He’s just a pawn in the game of life. There is nothing like some home cookin’ to help the Flyers recover from a tough road loss at Temple.

March 4 at Richmond

OOC Record: 11-4. What I want to know is how did the Arachnids get to schedule 15 OOC games when the rest of the world only played 13 or 14? I know Bill & Mary is supposedly a decent team this year, but that is a “bad loss” for the Spideys, RPI be ****ed.

Prediction: Loss

Guy to watch out for: I love Kevin Anderson’s game. He’s got that silent assassin vibe going for him, as he showed in last year’s A-10 Tournament vs. the Flyers. And he does it with a smile on his face, which is really disheartening.

Comments: This will set up a steel cage, grudge-game re-match in Atlantic City.

March 6 Saint Louis

OOC Record: 9-5. I’m sure Billikens’ fans are extremely proud of their team’s victory over Rockhurst. The only thing that the D-II Hawks have going for them is that Lee Boddie (HS teammate of CW’s at Trotwood-Madison) is on their roster.

Prediction: Win

Guy to watch out for: If I’m the Hickory BBQ on Brown Street, I would go out of my way to welcome the arrival of Rick Majerus, the self-proclaimed “BBQ sauce guy.” Here are some other interesting quotes from Thick Rick:

http://www.activejoints.com/majerus/majquotes.html

Comments: The Flyers head to Atlantic City with a regular season-ending victory, a 25-5 overall record and a bye into the 2nd round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. Keep your calendars open for 1:00PM the afternoon of Sunday, March 14th.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com

	Temple TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple College became Temple University in 1907. Located in Philadelphia, Temple is a comprehensive public research university with 34,000 students, 8 campuses, and 300 academic degree programs. Notable alumni include Bill Cosby and Daryl Hall. Temple's nickname is the Owls and are fellow A10 Conference members.

	St Bonaventure SAINT BONAVENTURE Founded in 1858, St. Bonaventure University is a liberal arts college located on 500 acres in southwestern New York state. SBU offers 43 undergraduate majors, the most popular of which are elementary education, journalism, psychology, accounting, marketing, finance, and management. Total undergraduate enrollment is 2,000. Virtually all freshmen and most undergraduates live on campus. A founding member of the A10 Conference. Famous athletes include Bob Lanier. Historical nickname was the Brown Indians, but later changed to the Bonnies. Their mascot is a wolf.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

	St Joseph's ST. JOSEPH'S Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's University advances the professional and personal ambitions of men and women by providing a demanding, yet supportive educational experience. One of only 139 schools nationwide with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and AACSB business school accreditation, Saint Joseph's is home to 4,200 full-time undergraduates and 3,100 graduate, part-time and doctoral candidates. Located in urban Philadelphia, SJU is a fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Hawks. Athletic claim to fame is is the Hawk mascot, a university student on full scholarship who wears a Hawk uniform and flaps his wings continuously for an entire athletic event. School spirit slogan is "The Hawk Will Never Die."

	Duquesne DUQUESNE Duquesne University is a private, coeducational university, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located on 48 secluded acres, on a bluff above downtown. Founded in 1878 as a Catholic college by the Order of the Holy Spirit. It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world. Duquesne offers 10 schools of study and 100 degree programs to 6,000 undergraduates and 3,800 graduate students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Dukes.

	LaSalle LA SALLE In 1863, La Salle University was established through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Christian Brothers teaching order, which De La Salle founded 300 years ago. Located in Philadelphia, La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values. La Salle's main campus is an ideal place for students to pursue an education. The 130-acre park-like setting includes 54 buildings and is located approximately six miles from Center City Philadelphia. The University can accommodate 2,114 resident students in its 12 residence halls, two apartment complexes, and 75 townhouses. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Explorers. Notable athletes include Tom Gola and Lionel Simmons.

	George Washington GEORGE WASHINGTON Students choose from two distinct GW campuses — Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon. Both are located in historic and prestigious Northwest Washington, DC residential neighborhoods. With 9,700 undergraduate students, GW was founded almost 200 years ago and is named after the first President of the United States. GW stands as one of the nation's premier academic institutions with dozens of famous political, social, science, liberal arts, medical and professional graduates to its credit. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Colonials.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

	Charlotte CHARLOTTE UNC Charlotte is one of a generation of universities founded in metropolitan areas of the United States immediately after World War II in response to rising education demands generated by the war and its technology. Now a research intensive university, UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest of the 16 institutions within the University of North Carolina system and the largest institution in the Charlotte region. The university comprises seven professional colleges and currently offers 18 doctoral programs, 62 master’s degree programs and 90 bachelor’s degrees. More than 900 full-time faculty comprise the university’s academic departments and the 2007 fall enrollment exceeded 22,300 students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the 49ers.