Game Thread: Mason (9-1) vs. American (3-4), Saturday, Dec. 7th, 7:00 PM

[dr. gunnie]

Must get revenge from last year. They just beat down UMBC 85-61 on Tuesday. They are led by Sa'eed Nelson who averages 18.7 a game, but have 3 others that average double digits.

That's all I got. Looking forward to being at my first game at EBA since 2016!

 

[Patriotsince81]

Schedule -https://aueagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster - https://aueagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://aueagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats

 

[Patriotsince81]

They beat us 78 - 75 in OT last year. Hopefully our guys will be reminded of that and come out ready to kick some a$$. Three of the four players that killed us last year return. Sa'eed Nelson scored 24 last year. Mark Casperini scored 14, and Marvin Bragg scored 16. So, Captain Obvious would say let's start with those 3 and move on. My heart says we beat them down 75 - 60. Common sense says it will require 8 blocks by AJ in the last two minutes to survive with a 65 - 64 win.

 

[Herndon]

This is going to be a super tight game, and there is no chance we blow them out, and none of our backups are going to get valuable minutes that will help us in a couple years.

 

[GMUgemini]

AJ had 3 blocks in 18 minutes last year against them. 8 wouldn't surprise me...

 

[GMUgemini]

This is going to be a super tight game, and there is no chance we blow them out, and none of our backups are going to get valuable minutes that will help us in a couple years.

This seems like a bad take to me. We had 9 players play against JV St. in a tight game. Oduro played 15 minutes, XJ played 24, and Haidara is injured and so isn't available. That's your three freshmen right there. Of the 12 scholarship players we have, 2 of them are out with injury (Boyd and Haidara), so that leaves 10 players for Paulsen to select, which means the only one stuck to the bench right now is JDS and at this point I'd be surprised if he sticks around after this season.

 

[mkaufman1]

This is going to be a super tight game, and there is no chance we blow them out, and none of our backups are going to get valuable minutes that will help us in a couple years.

Lol I like that you went with this approach after what happened from the last game.

 

[MasonSAE4]

This seems like a bad take to me. We had 9 players play against JV St. in a tight game. Oduro played 15 minutes, XJ played 24, and Haidara is injured and so isn't available. That's your three freshmen right there. Of the 12 scholarship players we have, 2 of them are out with injury (Boyd and Haidara), so that leaves 10 players for Paulsen to select, which means the only one stuck to the bench right now is JDS and at this point I'd be surprised if he sticks around after this season.

This is sarcasm because of his post pre-JSU

 

[ephoops]

This will be a close game. American is a better team than their record indicates.

Sa'eed Nelson is a tough cover who is talented enough to start on any team in the A-10. Gasperini is a 6'10 center who is a load in the post with some crafty post moves.

American plays a version of the Princeton offense that can cause problems for a defense. Mason will need to bring their "A" game on Saturday night, particularly on defense.

 

[Five Two]

Sa'eed Nelson is the real deal and everything runs through him. Make him ineffective and we will win. Easier said than done. Thats not a knock on the rest of the team, but Nelson makes everyone better.

If we play this straight up and dont have a plan that impacts Nelson, then we deserve the result

 

[GMUgemini]

This is sarcasm because of his post pre-JSU

Ah, that one blew past me. Didn’t make the connection.

 

[PoorManProfit]

All this stroking of AU is ridiculous. They stink. This will be tight.

AU 70
G Mas 73

 

[sleeperpick]

I also agree that American isn’t good. Saeed Nelson is good but nothing compared to teams we will face soon enough. Matt Lewis still got his versus us and so will Saeed. We just need to do our best to not have anyone else beat us.

 

[GreenLantern]

Us - 82
Them - 72
OT

 

[psyclone]

Kenpom: Mason favored by 8. Mason is now #5 on kenpom "Luck" factor while American is at #322.

American strengths:

• effective fg% (53rd
• low turnover % (54th)

AU weaknesses:

• defending effective fg% (283rd), especially 3 fg% (332rd)
• offensive rebounding% (269) nor are they particularly good at defending against OR% (225). However Mason is 25th in off rebounding %.

 

[psyclone]

Kenpom: Mason favored by 8. Mason is now #5 on kenpom "Luck" factor while American is at #322.

American strengths:

• effective fg% (53rd
• low turnover % (54th)

AU weaknesses:

• defending effective fg% (283rd), especially 3 fg% (332rd)
• offensive rebounding% (269) nor are they particularly good at defending against OR% (225). However Mason is 25th in off rebounding %.

On offensive efficiency, both teams are pretty even. Mason has a significant advantage in defensive efficiency

 

[mkaufman1]

Kenpom: Mason favored by 8. Mason is now #5 on kenpom "Luck" factor while American is at #322.

American strengths:

• effective fg% (53rd
• low turnover % (54th)

AU weaknesses:

• defending effective fg% (283rd), especially 3 fg% (332rd)
• offensive rebounding% (269) nor are they particularly good at defending against OR% (225). However Mason is 25th in off rebounding %.

Thanks for posting this stuff. I'd have to think that Mason will have to continue to out rebound them and be efficient on defense to win. I felt like the other night they got out rebounded and a lot of "out effort" plays. They kept looking for the 10 point play instead of locking in for 5-6 possessions. Hopefully Mason comes ready to play and looks better than the other night.

 

[gmutom]

I'm thinking we come out more focused Saturday and play more cohesively. A lot of our issues against Jacksonville State seemed to have to do with the altered starting lineup and how that affected the bench and subsequent chemistry. We've gotten by surprisingly well with Kier out, but our issues got magnified with Calixte and AJ not starting, and then it just seemed like we never gelled with our rotations.

Hopefully, everybody will be healthy by the time conference play starts, so Dave can come up with a solid starting 5 and bench rotation.

 

[Pablo]

American U. Men's Basketball

@AU_MBasketball
·
Dec 4

Do you know how many guys in Division I have 8 steals in a game this season?

ONE.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1202340106662797312

 

[tblack33]

Another one that’s way closer than it should be and will leave a lot of us still wondering what kinda team we’ve got this year going into TCU/league play.

Mason 69 American Eagle 65