Mason Takes CAA Tourney Crown

George Mason will look to re-create some of the magic they made a couple years back as they go dancin' with the CAA automatic bid. I had higher hopes for the Hens after handling Drexel in the first round. But a beat down at the hands of UNCW ended any hopes for a miracle run, and ended the season. But overall, I believe we'll look back and say this was the season that turned this program around. Monte has his kids believing in themselves and more importantly going out and competing at a high level every single night.

Let's compare some numbers:
2006-07 Final Overall Record: 5-26
2007-08 Final Overall Record: 14-17

2006-07 Final CAA Record: 3-15
2007-08 Final CAA Record: 9-9

9 more wins overall is a great effort. I was really hoping for 10, but I'll take it.

So I want to congratulate this team for righting the ship. Next year we move into the upper echelon of the CAA...I hope.

BracketBuster Win

Great road win for the Hens against Toledo for the annual BracketBuster game. Toledo is a real tough place to earn a road victory. Solid effort to end the two game skid and improve to 12-15 overall. Hofstra up next.

Check the game recap here: UDel Sports

Mason Exacts Revenge

After letting a 19 point second half lead slip away to the Hens earlier in the season, the Patriots would not allow Delaware to climb back into last night's game. Mason defeated UD 70-58 to bring their record to 19-8 overall and 11-5 in league play. Delaware on the other hand dropped to 11-15 overall and 8-8 in the CAA. At this point it's going to be very difficult to get to that .500 mark. But first things first. A tough BracketBusters matchup against Toledo on Saturday.

Check out the recap of the Mason game here: UDel Sports

Photo Credit: University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Official Athletics Website

Dragons Down Hens

Well the up and down season continues for the men's hoops team. The Hens were beaten at home by the Drexel Dragons by a score of 62-60. This was a hard fought game, but one in which the Hens were constantly digging themselves out of holes. That and some poor shooting ultimately doomed UD. That .500 record is still achievable. Next up is a real tough test at George Mason.

Check out the game recap here: UDel Sports

Photo Credit: Mark Campbell

Big Comeback Earns Road Win

These are the kind of games you have to win to join the CAA elite. It might not have been pretty. It might have taken a while for them to get going. But in the end, Monte's boys got it done against a team that they should beat regularly. After trailing by 10 at the half, the Hens came back to defeat Georgia State in Atlanta by a score of 51-48. UD now sits at 11-13 overall and 8-6 in league play. With five regular season games remaining, the goal now is to keep gaining momentum leading into the CAA Tourney. Personally, I think Monte should also be preaching the importance of finishing up with a .500 record or better. If we can go 4-1 in these last five, that's exactly what will be achieved. That is a huge feat psychologically considering where this program has been the last few years. The magic number of 15 wins also represents a 10-win improvement from last year. That is a major accomplishment.

Check the game recap here: delaware online

Dawson Earns Another Rookie of the Week

For the fourth time this season, Alphonso Dawson earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors. That is the most by any Blue Hen in school history. As Dawson continues with his stellar rookie season, the future looks brighter and brighter for Blue Hens Hoops.

Check out the link: UDel Sports
Photo Credit: University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Official Athletics Website

Hoops Falls to VCU

In a gutsy effort the Blue Hens were eventually worn down by VCU at The Bob on Saturday afternoon. The Hens actually led around the thirteen minute mark of the second half, but a 16-0 run by the Rams ended any hopes of an upset. But folks, the bottom line is, this team is showing up and competing night in and night out. You never know come the CAA tournament. Crazier things have happened.

Link to the game recap: UDel Sports
Photo Credit: Mark Campbell

Finally...

The Hens Men's Hoops team gets a win. After losing three straight and 5 of 6, the bleeding has stopped. At least for now. It's not going to be much fun when Eric Maynor and VCU pay us a visit on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully this dramatic W will give us some momentum in what will be definitely be a tough test against the Rams. I kept seeing the ESPN bottom line updating while I was watching Duke/UNC last night. Every update was bad. The last one I saw, they had pulled to within 5. I then went to the computer to see the final score and did not expect the little arrow to be next to the word "Delaware". A Herb Courtney 3-ball with 1.2 seconds left to win it! You gotta be kidding me and you gotta love it. One thing you cannot accuse this team of is having no heart. These kids DO NOT give up. Let's keep it going this weekend.

Here's a full recap from the official Hens site: UDel Hoops

Photo Credit: The News Journal/WILLIAM BRETZGER

Men's Hoops Free Fall Continues

Things have gotten plain ugly for Monte and Co. In control most of the way against lowly Hofstra, the Hens connected on just 2 of their last 17 shots. Come on guys. It's time to buckle down and get a win. It doesn't have to be pretty. We just need a W. It's that simple.

So here are the latest numbers:
Overall: 9-12
CAA: 6-5 (after starting 5-0)
Lost 5 of 6.

Next up is UNCW at home on Wednesday night. I'll be listening.

Here's the story: UDel Recap

The Katz Jinx

We got a quick mention in Andy Katz's college hoops chat on ESPN earlier today. I always like to get some ink, but this was not because of anything we're doing well.

Here is the question & answer:

Hugh (Wilmington, DE): Andy, please never call Delaware your mid-major team of the week ever again. They're a missed Marc Egerson last-second miracle away from being 0-5 since you gave them the above award two and a half weeks ago.

SportsNation Andy Katz: I know. The Katz jinx is on.

Uh oh.

Here is the link to the full chat wrap (Insider content): Andy Katz Chat Wrap

Hens Hoops Struggling

This is officially a skid. The Hens have lost 4 of 5 and seemingly cannot find the bottom of the bucket. They have shot a percentage in the low 30s the last two games and from all accounts look like they've run out of steam. Considering we're only about half way through the conference schedule, this is not a good sign. Monte needs to settle these kids down and build up their confidence. We need to start making some shots and stop the bleeding at Hofstra this weekend. We need a W in that game real bad.

Here's the link to the game recap: UDel Recap
Photo Credit: The News Journal/William Bretzger

VCU @ George Mason

Had a chance to watch a great game between the two best teams in the CAA last night on ESPN2. This was a rare treat for a New Yorker to enjoy a great CAA tilt. It might be tough for us to get two teams in the tourney this year but I think both of these teams are deserving of a bid. I also think both could easily knock off a team or two if given the opportunity to dance. But, and you knew there was a but with this being a Blue Hens site, there are several teams in this league that are capable of running the table in March in Richmond, and I'm happy to say that the Hens are definitely one of those teams. All it takes is getting hot at the right time.

Here's a recap of the game from CAA.com: VCU @ Mason Recap

One more quick note about this game. I was feeling some serious conference pride at seeing and hearing and feeling the atmosphere at the Patriot Center. The crowd was absolutely rocking. And I hope a bunch of people flipped back and forth between ESPN and ESPN2 during this game. ESPN had Ohio St. @ Penn St., and the atmosphere was tomblike at Penn St. Now I know Penn St. is not exactly known for hoops, but it's still a nationally televised Big Ten game. It felt great that the CAA atmosphere just blew away the Big Ten atmosphere.

Men's Hoops Gets Bit by Panthers

See, this can't happen. Not when you're making statements in a very tough league. After a very rough road trip, that was salvaged by a last second win at James Madison, you can't come home and get beat by a bottom dwelling Georgia State squad. I know, I know. We were picked to finish down at the bottom of the league. We've almost doubled last years wins total already. But those things aren't relevant anymore. We're right in the middle of this thing. We have a chance to make some real noise in the CAA, and making noise in the CAA is heard on a national level. The bottom line is this. We need to beat who we're supposed to beat. And we're supposed to beat Georgia State. We'll keep fightin'. I think Monte will have the boys ready for Northeastern.

Here's the ESPN recap: Link

Blue Hens Men's Hoops on ESPN Weekly Watch

What better way to get things rollin' on Blue Hen Country than to highlight Monte' Ross' upstart hoops team getting some nice pub. on ESPN.com's Weekly watch for two straight weeks. Granted, the first week was the good kind of pub. This week, not so good. But hey, the way things have gone on the hardwood the last few years, I'm just happy to be in the conversation. In case you missed it, the Blue Hens were the Weekly Watch's "Team of the Week" last week after huge home wins over George Mason and ODU. This week the mention brings us down to earth a bit, after being whipped by VCU and a tough OT loss at Northeastern. But again, I'll take the national press for this program any way I can get it. This week's Weekly Watch we're mentioned in the "Erratic Week" list. Can't really argue with that. Since then though, we ended the tough road trip with a last second win at James Madison which has us at 6-2 in the conference. One game behind VCU and right in the thick of things. Keep it up Monte.