The Battle of the First State. The Route 1 Rivalry. On Monday, December 16, the two Division 1 schools from the State of Delaware squared off at the 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware for bragging rights within the state. And HoopsHD was there!
Thanks must first be made to the University of Delaware for the media pass to the game and a great seat on press row right near center court. I was seated directly behind the Instant Replay screen..which gave me a great view of the screens, and not that bad of a view of the game at all!
This game marked the first game of the season for players from both team. For the Fightin’ Blue Hens, Dylan Painter, a transfer from Villanova, made his season debut now that the first semester has concluded. Painter certainly came ready to play, as he was a dominant force off the bench. Painter finished the game with a team-high 19 points. Given that Delaware had four players already averaging in double digits, his addition could make this team the favorites to win the Colonial this year. The Hornets of Delaware State welcomed Trey Gross to his first game of the year as well. Gross was a starting wide receiver on the football team this season, but has now turned his attention to the basketball court with the football season over. Gross scored 2 points and pulled down 2 rebounds in his short time on the court.
At the end of the day, it was Dylan Painter and the Blue Hens that picked up the 86-78 win, a game that they led pretty much wire-to-wire. Nate Darling, the team’s leading scorer entering the game, did finish with 18 points, although most of those points came late in the game as the Hornets had done a strong job containing him. In fact, more than midway through the first half, Darling had as many points (2) as turnovers. The depth of this Delaware team was shown, however, as Painter, Ryan Allen (14 points) and Collin Goss (9 points and 10 rebounds) more than made up for the early lack of offense from Darling.
Delaware State may have lost the game, but the Hornets were able to stay within striking distance the whole way thanks to John Crosby and Ameer Bennett. Crosby was the game’s top scorer, dropping 30 point before fouling out late. Bennett picked up a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. The Hornets may be only 1-10 on the season now, but there is no reason that this team will not be competitive in the MEAC this season if players like Crosby and Bennett can continue to lead the way.
Delaware is now 15-5 all time in matchups against their in-state rivals. However, this rivalry is alive and well, and proved to be a great game between two teams that clearly wanted to win. The fan turnout was strong, and the decision to play this game at a neutral location did not take anything away form the game. In the end, the Blue Hens may have won, but it was the guy pictured below, who seemed to have the most fun!
Bracket Projection – Hoops HD Staff Bracket
This week, it is staff member John Stalica’s turn to do the weekly staff bracket. This is not an ultimate projection of what the bracket will be (as that is the expertise of our colleague Jon Teitel), but rather a checkpoint of where we stand through games of Sunday the 15th of December. And here is the bracket:
First Four Out: Xavier, Utah State, LSU, Seton Hall
COMMENTS FROM JOHN
– Once again, there is no clear cut team for the #1 overall slot. I was set to put Ohio State in that spot after what they did to Cincinnati, Villanova, North Carolina and Penn State. Losing at Minnesota stings, but it’s very odd that home teams are a perfect 13-0 in the B1G so far this season.
– Gonzaga is once again looking like a team that will be seeded #1 in the West Region. The Bulldogs have beaten two of the top teams in the Pac-12 all on the road and also beat Oregon down in Atlantis last month. If they finish noncon play without any further slipups, there’s a very good chance of Gonzaga running the table the remainder of the season.
– Memphis is also showing that they can win games of significance without James Wiseman. Winning at Tennessee is not only good for the profile, it’s a big boost for the fanbase that hasn’t had a team this solid since the days of Calipari (even if the NCAA insists on a “Vacant” entry or two in the record books.
– There is a team from the Keystone State that is a protected seed this week not named Villanova. Penn State has shown that they can win games of significance both home and away, and beating Maryland had to be a feather in their cap. The Nittany Lions are now ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the 1990s.
– Northern Iowa is a team that can potentially get above the First Four later on in the season. Their best wins are against South Carolina down in Cancun and at Colorado. Their only loss is against West Virginia, and it’s possible they could have an at-large case depending on whether or not they’re able to win the regular season crown in the Missouri Valley.
COMMENTS FROM THE STAFF
FROM DAVID -I agree that it is tough to pick the overall #1, but I also think that Stalica got it right in Kansas. A rarity! He did something right! Kansas played Duke in their first game and turned it over about once a minute, which is bad. But, they still nearly won the game despite not playing well, and they haven’t lost since. They also have a really nice win against Dayton (more on them in a second), and a profile that looks pretty good.
I’m also really impressed with what Gonzaga has done, and agree that they should be on the #1 line. I could see putting them even a little higher up than 4th on the seedlist.
I like Dayton a lot more than Stalica. I know that their profile shows no wins over ranked teams, so if you’re going strictly off of merit one could argue that the #5 line is where they belong. But, this is a team that’s only loss to Kansas is in overtime, and that has blown everyone else they have played off of the floor. I think they are easily one of the best 15 teams in the country, and perhaps even one of the 10 best teams in the country. I’d have them as a protected seed.
Rutgers makes the field!! An argument can definitely be made. I’d like to see them win at least one game away from home, though.
I like Penn State, but not THAT much!!! Sheesh Stalica!!
Something I don’t understand. Butler has one loss, by one point, at Baylor, who Stalica has up on the #2 line. He has Butler down on the #5 line. How does a team that loses by just a point on the road, IN THEIR ONLY LOSS, MIND YOU!, end up seeded three lines below the team that barely beat them?