The first news of the day is that the Riverheads at Bath County game scheduled for tonight has been postponed, no doubt due to the flash flood watch. No make-up date set that I have heard about.
So that means we can turn our attention, as we would have anyway, to Friday night's three-game slate and see what the six teams have in store for us THIS time. For those of you who have not followed, the entire season has been a roller coaster and each night you have no idea who is going to knock off who.
For example, last Friday the Wilson Hornets traveled to Riverheads, which is now in last place, and the Gladiators sent them back home with their stingers between their legs and a 22 point loss on their record. So what did Wilson do for an encore two nights ago..........they traveled to first-place Stuarts Draft and handed them their first district loss. So far the media has told us very little about that one, other than the fact that one player scored 47 points and the Hornets won 96-88.
So with craziness like that going on just about every Tuesday or Friday, it is very difficult for me or anybody else to second-guess what will happen any night. But since I am a glutton for punishment, I will try anyway.
With that idea in mind, tomorrow's games will consist of last-place Riverheads traveling to second-place Staunton, Fort Defiance (now part of a three-way tie for third) traveling to Stuarts Draft, and the other two parts of that three-way tie, Wilson and Buffalo Gap, meeting on the Bison hardwoods. If one were to apply traditional logic to those three games, and analyze what has happened so far this year, then the sensible thing to do would be to predict that the three home teams will come out on top.
But what in the world makes anyone think it will be that simple? Not with this crowd!!!
So just to prove that they have driven me crazy, and maybe some of the rest of you as well, I will "officially" predict those three home court victories, but at the same time, I will almost guarantee you that at least one of the visiting teams will find a way to pull the upset. I won't put any money on it, mind you, but take it to the bank.....all three home teams will NOT win those three games......somebody will knock at least one of them off. Here is a further analysis for your consideration....
Riverheads at Staunton: As reported earlier, the Gladiators may be without the services of big man Honor Robinson after he hobbled off the court Tuesday at Fort Defiance and eventually left on crutches. So that will mean the Big Red will be handicapped in terms of size and their guards will have to step up. Staunton won the first match in Greenville but only by three points after the Gladiators led for major stretches of the game. Not only that but RHS swept both games in the series last year and came within two points of the (then) Leemen a year or two before that when D-1 star Jarvis Vaughan was still in the picture. My point being that the Gladiators have to know inside that yes, they CAN play with Staunton. Also they know that Fort Defiance just proved last Friday that the Storm can be beaten in Paul Hatcher. So yes, RHS is most definitely capable of being the ones to pull off the above-mentioned upset special, and it certainly won't bother me if they are the team that keeps me from going 3-0 Friday.
Fort Defiance at Stuarts Draft: The Indians are arguably the hottest team in the district as they have won, by my calculations, four of their last five, which includes three straight district games. Not only that but I read someplace that when SD came to their place, even though the Cougars won by 13, it went into overtime. (It was not reported that way in the papers so can anyone verify that?) So the Fort will most certainly go into the Cougar Den feeling confident that they can even the score, especially now that Wilson paved the way Tuesday by winning there. So again I am not confident enough to predict it (heck the Cougars could still win by 30!) but if there is a second straight upset in the Den, it will not come as THAT big a surprise.
Wilson at Buffalo Gap: These two are tied in the standings, each one sitting at 3-4 in district play. So for that reason and a couple of others, this may be the hardest one to predict. First of all the Gap won by something like 26 when they played in the Hive. So good grief....how could anyone POSSIBLY think that Wilson will go out to the Gap and win? Well..........how about the fact that Wilson just pulled off the SD stunner, and how about the fact that the Bison are on a three-game losing streak? So now do you see what these teams are putting us through this year? So yes, Wilson could quite possibly win that one.
So there you have it......a prediction for three home court victories while at the same time almost promising you that it won't happen that way. Only in the Shenandoah................
So that means we can turn our attention, as we would have anyway, to Friday night's three-game slate and see what the six teams have in store for us THIS time. For those of you who have not followed, the entire season has been a roller coaster and each night you have no idea who is going to knock off who.
For example, last Friday the Wilson Hornets traveled to Riverheads, which is now in last place, and the Gladiators sent them back home with their stingers between their legs and a 22 point loss on their record. So what did Wilson do for an encore two nights ago..........they traveled to first-place Stuarts Draft and handed them their first district loss. So far the media has told us very little about that one, other than the fact that one player scored 47 points and the Hornets won 96-88.
So with craziness like that going on just about every Tuesday or Friday, it is very difficult for me or anybody else to second-guess what will happen any night. But since I am a glutton for punishment, I will try anyway.
With that idea in mind, tomorrow's games will consist of last-place Riverheads traveling to second-place Staunton, Fort Defiance (now part of a three-way tie for third) traveling to Stuarts Draft, and the other two parts of that three-way tie, Wilson and Buffalo Gap, meeting on the Bison hardwoods. If one were to apply traditional logic to those three games, and analyze what has happened so far this year, then the sensible thing to do would be to predict that the three home teams will come out on top.
But what in the world makes anyone think it will be that simple? Not with this crowd!!!
So just to prove that they have driven me crazy, and maybe some of the rest of you as well, I will "officially" predict those three home court victories, but at the same time, I will almost guarantee you that at least one of the visiting teams will find a way to pull the upset. I won't put any money on it, mind you, but take it to the bank.....all three home teams will NOT win those three games......somebody will knock at least one of them off. Here is a further analysis for your consideration....
Riverheads at Staunton: As reported earlier, the Gladiators may be without the services of big man Honor Robinson after he hobbled off the court Tuesday at Fort Defiance and eventually left on crutches. So that will mean the Big Red will be handicapped in terms of size and their guards will have to step up. Staunton won the first match in Greenville but only by three points after the Gladiators led for major stretches of the game. Not only that but RHS swept both games in the series last year and came within two points of the (then) Leemen a year or two before that when D-1 star Jarvis Vaughan was still in the picture. My point being that the Gladiators have to know inside that yes, they CAN play with Staunton. Also they know that Fort Defiance just proved last Friday that the Storm can be beaten in Paul Hatcher. So yes, RHS is most definitely capable of being the ones to pull off the above-mentioned upset special, and it certainly won't bother me if they are the team that keeps me from going 3-0 Friday.
Fort Defiance at Stuarts Draft: The Indians are arguably the hottest team in the district as they have won, by my calculations, four of their last five, which includes three straight district games. Not only that but I read someplace that when SD came to their place, even though the Cougars won by 13, it went into overtime. (It was not reported that way in the papers so can anyone verify that?) So the Fort will most certainly go into the Cougar Den feeling confident that they can even the score, especially now that Wilson paved the way Tuesday by winning there. So again I am not confident enough to predict it (heck the Cougars could still win by 30!) but if there is a second straight upset in the Den, it will not come as THAT big a surprise.
Wilson at Buffalo Gap: These two are tied in the standings, each one sitting at 3-4 in district play. So for that reason and a couple of others, this may be the hardest one to predict. First of all the Gap won by something like 26 when they played in the Hive. So good grief....how could anyone POSSIBLY think that Wilson will go out to the Gap and win? Well..........how about the fact that Wilson just pulled off the SD stunner, and how about the fact that the Bison are on a three-game losing streak? So now do you see what these teams are putting us through this year? So yes, Wilson could quite possibly win that one.
So there you have it......a prediction for three home court victories while at the same time almost promising you that it won't happen that way. Only in the Shenandoah................
