Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

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Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Top 25 Media Poll
Week of January 12, 2009

1. North Carolina (11-2)
2. UCLA (14-1)
3. Duke (13-2)
4. Marquette (15-1)
5. UNLV (13-0)
6. Gonzaga (16-1)
7. Stanford (13-2)
8. Notre Dame (13-2)
9. Michigan St. (14-3)
10. Providence (14-2)
11. Arizona (12-4)
12. Louisville (12-4)
13. Arizona St. (14-2)
14. LSU (13-3)
15. Villanova (12-4)
16. Georgetown (11-4)
17. Syracuse (12-5)
18. West Virginia (13-3)
19. Texas (9-3)
20. Washington St. (14-2)
21. Connecticut (10-6)
22. Vanderbilt (14-2)
23. Alabama (12-4)
24. Tennessee (11-5)
25. Miami (FL) (14-3)

Notes
-Big East has 9 teams in top 25
-UNLV only team still undefeated

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Ospreys Blow Huge Lead, Game
”Collapse in 2nd half, no revenge."
January 16, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
North Florida	   59  26     85
E. Tennessee St.  40  54     94

North Florida came out smoking hot. Brent Wood scored 11 points the first 4 minutes of the game. The team shot 63% in the first half, including 8-10 3pt attempts. In the end that didn’t even matter as they couldn’t even hit air if they tried in the 2nd half. North Florida turned the ball over 17 times, 15 of those coming in the 2nd half. 10 of those turnovers came in the last 5 minutes of the game, preventing any chance of a comeback.

Just like last season, North Florida started on a tear in the Atlantic Sun. Just like last season, it ended when they had to travel to East Tennessee to play the Bucs.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“Oh no! We suck again! My team will be running non-stop until our next game for this one.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 30 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, (9-14 FG, 8-10 3pt)
Tom Hammonds – 20 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
Emerson Riley – 12 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl (fouled out)



East Tennessee St. Bucs Player Stats
Mike Smith – 14 pts, 1 reb (12 min off of bench)
Courtney Pigram – 21 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl
Isaiah Brown – 20 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl


Record: 11-5 (4-1)
Up Next: vs. Campbell (10-8, 4-1)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

North Florida Rebounds Nicely, Literally
”Undersized Campbell no match for Ospreys.."
January 22, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Campbell	  29  51     80
North Florida	  55  38     93

Don’t let the score fool you, North Florida controlled this game in every way from start to finish. The Ospreys outrebounded Campbell 46 to 21. It’s almost impossible to win a game with that much of a difference on the boards. Brent Wood and Tom Hammonds led the way again, putting up 24 points each despite playing a little more than 5 minutes less than they normally do.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“Now this is more like it. We need to beat up on these little teams like the bullies do in grade school.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 24 pts, 4 reb
Tom Hammonds – 24 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk
Junior Rivera – 11 pts, 11 ast, 2 reb, 1 blk



Campbell Fighting Camels Player Stats
Jonathan Rodriguez – 23 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast
Jose Cami – 25 pts, 1 reb, 2 stl
Junard Hartley – 7 pts, 12 ast, 2 stl, 1 reb


Record: 12-5 (5-1)
Up Next: vs. Lipscomb (9-11, 2-4)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Strong Finish Leads to Another Victory
”Bison can’t keep up with determined Ospreys."
January 24, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Lipscomb	  35  36     71
North Florida	  42  50     92

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“These guys suck, when does the NCAA tournament start?”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 16 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast
Tom Hammonds – 26 pts, 5 reb, 4 stl
Emerson Riley – 21 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl



Lipscomb Bisons Player Stats
Brandon Brown – 15 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast
John Slater – 12 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast
Michael Lusk – 3 pts, 2 ast, 5 TO


Record: 13-5 (6-1)
Up Next: at Florida Gulf Coast (2-15, 2-5)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Ospreys Win Battle of the Birds
”Wood scores career high 42, hits 11 threes."
January 29, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
North Florida    59  44     103
FGCU     	  37  39     76

Brent Wood is at it again. The sophomore shooting guard for North Florida scored 42 points in just 30 minutes of play in tonight’s game against Florida Gulf Coast. He scored 22 points in the first half alone, pushing UNF to an early lead that wouldn’t disappear. Wood hit 11 of his 22 3-point attempts, which is good for a tie of the 4th most 3-pointers hit in a single game in NCAA history. Wood’s previous career high was 38 points, and he was averaging 19.7 points per game coming into tonight.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“Yeah, see this is another one of my genius coaching moves. The coach before me had this kid on the bench, and I have no idea why. Luckily I’m smart, and knew that he was going to be a special scorer for us.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 42 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl (14-27 FG, 11-22 3pt)
Tom Hammonds – 28 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast
Emerson Riley – 11 pts, 17 reb, 3 ast (21 min, fouled out)



Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Player Stats
Landon Adler – 25 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast
Mire Minnard (70 ovr, FR SG) – 19 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast
Janko Neverett (67 ovr, FR PF) – 8 pts, 12 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast


Record: 14-5 (7-1)
Up Next: at South Carolina Upstate (10-9, 5-3)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Dynamic Duo Powers Ospreys by Another Opponent
”Hammonds scores career high 36, Wood adds 33 more."
January 31, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
North Florida    54  41     95
SC Upstate	  44  35     79

Two days after Brent Wood’s record night, Tom Hammonds has one of his own. He beats his previous career high of 35 by one point, and helped lead North Florida to another easy victory. Brent Wood added 33 points of his own, and the combo combined for 69 of UNF’s 95 points.

North Florida’s standout freshman point guard Junior Rivera sprained his ankle just minutes into tonight’s game, and will miss at least a week until it is fully healed. Coach Matthews said that he plans to rest Rivera for next week’s game against Stetson, but hopes that he will be ready for the important matchup against Mercer later in the week.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“Seriously, playing these guys is getting really boring. I wish it was tournament time already so I can play some worthy opponents.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 33 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk
Tom Hammonds – 36 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl (8-14 3pt)
Ashton Jones – 5 pts, 10 ast, 2 reb, 4 stl, 2 blk



SC Upstate Spartans Player Stats
Nick Schneiders – 20 pts, 18 reb, 2 blk
Mezie Uzochukwu – 14 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl
Zac Rich – 20 pts, 3 reb


Record: 15-5 (8-1)
Up Next: vs. Stetson (7-13, 3-5)

[ARobb21]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

You're beastin'! Nice work.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Ospreys Win Despite Sloppy 1st Half
”Wood continues to lead the team in scoring."
February 5, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Stetson 	  32  31     63
North Florida	  30  47     77

North Florida fans were obviously a bit worried in the 1st half. They trailed by as many as 12 at one point, and despite going into the 2nd half with momentum they were still behind. That is the first time this season during conference play that the Ospreys went into halftime trailing. The last time that happened was in the loss to Coastal Carolina.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“So we were behind for once….who cares? We still wound up digging their grave in the long run.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 20 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl
Emerson Riley – 17 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, stl
Ka’ron Ellerbee – 11 pts, 5 reb, stl (19 min off bench)



Stetson Hatters Player Stats
Brandon Williams – 8 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 6 TO
Garfield Blair – 10 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast, 3 TO (2-9 FG) (75 ovr, best player on the floor)
Collins Okafor – 14 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl


Record: 16-5 (9-1)
Up Next: at Mercer (12-10, 5-4)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

I was getting bored with this so I went ahead and simulated the final 6 games. Here are the results.


UNF - 65
Mercer - 91

E. Tennessee St. - 64
UNF - 74

Gardner-Webb - 67
UNF - 75

Kennesaw St. - 77
UNF - 95

UNF - 68
Jacksonville - 63

UNF - 75
Belmont - 87


Conference Standings

Top 25 Media Poll
Week of March 2, 2009

1. Gonzaga (29-1)
2. UCLA (24-4)
3. Duke (22-5)
4. North Carolina (20-5)
5. Arizona (22-6)
6. Notre Dame (23-5)
7. Michigan St. (23-6)
8. UNLV (22-3)
9. LSU (23-6)
10. Florida (21-7)
11. Syracuse (20-9)
12. Providence (23-8)
13. UConn. (20-10)
14. Stanford (20-8)
15. Michigan (23-5)
16. Baylor (23-6)
17. Marquette (20-9)
18. Arizona St. (21-7)
19. Tennessee (20-9)
20. Louisville (18-10)
21. Georgetown (19-10)
22. Villanova (20-9)
23. San Diego (22-6)
24. USC (18-10)
25. Miami (FL) (21-9)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Preview
2009 Edition

(1) North Florida vs. (8) Gardner-Webb
Season Matchup Results: UNF beat Gardner-Webb both times
Insight: North Florida comes into the tournament as the favorite to win it all this season. Gardner-Webb comes in trying to prove that they are better than how they've played. The Bulldogs will be without Nate Blank, who was averaging 9.7 ppg and 7 rpg this year. UNF has the size advantage, so we think they win this one easy because they can stop the 3-point shooters of Gardner-Webb.
Prediction: North Florida

(4) Stetson vs. (5) E. Tennessee St.
Season Matchup Results: Stetson beat ETSU at home, 78-65
Insight: Stetson won the only match-up between these two teams this season. The Hatters had a remarkable turnaround after not even making the tournament last year, but this E. Tennessee St. team won it all as a 3 seed last year and went on to upset Stephen Curry and Davidson in the big dance. This team is very dangerous, and we think Courtney Pigram will lead ETSU to at least one victory. He's been known to beat UNF as well.
Prediction: E. Tennessee St.

(3) Campbell vs. (6) Jacksonville
Season Matchup Results: Campbell beat Jacksonville at Jacksonville
Insight: This will possibly be the best first round game. It features the A-Sun's leading scorer in Jonathan Rodriguez (25 ppg) and a really good Jacksonville team who struggled in the conference play. Campbell is missing two key players to injuries, so it will be all on Rodriguez's shoulders to carry his team to victory. Jacksonville on the other hand is missing two starters as well, but they have more depth than Campbell does. We think Rodriguez can get it done and lead the Camels to victory.
Prediction: Campbell

(2) Belmont vs. (7) Mercer
Season Matchup ResultsBelmont destroyed Mercer at Mercer
Insight: Belmont will have to go through this tournament without it's leading scorer in Andy Wicke. Mercer has the leagues 2nd leading scorer in James Florence. Belmont comes into this game winning 9 of their last 10, including a win over #1 seed UNF. Despite missing Wicke, on paper they still have a team that could easily win this tournament.
Prediction: Belmont

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Riley, Ospreys Run Past Runnin’ Bulldogs
”Gardner-Webb can’t stop 7-footer."
March 4, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Gardner-Webb	  47  33     80
North Florida	  46  44     90

The North Florida Ospreys are moving on to the 2nd round of the Atlantic Sun conference tournament. They got off to a quick start, but struggled in the last minutes of the 1st half and allowed Gardner-Webb to take the lead going into halftime thanks to a 4-point play with only one second left. Coach Matthews had the Ospreys fired up in the 2nd half, as freshman center Emerson Riley scored 15 points to allow UNF to pull away and seal the victory.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“We only beat them by 10!?! Are you serious? My team better beat the next team by 20 points, or else.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Emerson Riley – 27 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk
Brent Wood – 18 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
Tom Hammonds – 18 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl



Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Player Stats
Aaron Lin – 20 pts, 8 ast
Grayson Flittner – 21 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl
Takayo Saddle – 10 pts, 4 ast, 1 reb off bench


Record: 21-7 (13-3)
Up Next: vs. Stetson (14-15, 9-7)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

North Florida Pulls Off Unlikely Comeback
”Riley’s career day pushes Ospreys past slow start."
March 5, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Stetson 	  47  36     83
North Florida	  36  56     92

Stetson came out hotter than the sun in today’s A-Sun semifinals game. North Florida on the other hand couldn’t hit the bright side of the barn if they tried. The Ospreys leading scorer Brent Wood only scored 6 points in the game, shooting just 1-11 from the floor and 0-5 from long range. Luckily for Coach Matthews, he has a guy by the name of Emerson Riley that is 7’2”.

North Florida went into halftime down by 11 points. With 15:00 to go in the game, the Hatters held a 16 point lead. Led by big men Emerson Riley and Ka’Ron Ellerbee, the Ospreys went on a 16-2 run to make it a one possession game. Riley scored 23 points in the 2nd half to lead UNF to coming back from 16 down to winning by 9. Riley also topped his previous career high of 27 points, scoring 33 in tonight’s game. Junior college transfer Ellerbee also topped his career high of 11 by putting up 15 important points for the Ospreys.

Coach Matthews’ Minute
“Thank God. Only one more game until we get to go dancing.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Emerson Riley – 33 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl (only 26 minutes)
Tom Hammonds – 24 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
Ka’Ron Ellerbee – 15 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk (18 minutes off bench)



Stetson Hatters Player Stats
Kris Thomas – 28 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
Brandon Williams – 9 pts, 7 ast, 3 reb, 1 stl, 7 TO (0-6 3pt)
Tim Lang – 8 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast (only 13 minutes, fouled out)


Record: 22-7 (13-3)
Up Next: vs. Campbell (19-13, 10-6)

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
2009 Conference Championship Preview





The Matchup
vs.

These two teams only met once this season, and that was in Jacksonville. North Florida came on top in that game, winning 93-80. Campbell comes in with the conference's leading scorer and rebounder in SF Jonathan Rodriguez. If North Florida can shut him down, Campbell doesn't really have a back-up option that can step up and score. The Ospreys on the other hand have 3 players that can all score 20+ points if necessary. The 3rd seeded Bucs of ETSU beat UNF last year, Campbell hopes to repeat that feat. Both teams love a fast paced, high scoring game so this one should be entertaining.

Players to Watch
Junior SF Jonathan Rodriguez has by far been the best player in the ASun this season. He is averaging 25.7 ppg and 11.0 rpg (3rd in nation in scoring, 1st in rebounds). He is the sure fire conference player of the year, especially after this tournament. Rodriguez put up 27 points and 16 rebounds against Jacksonville, and a stunning 36 points and 20 rebounds to lead his team past Mercer. He scored 23 points in the meeting with UNF earlier this season, and will need to put up at least that if Campbell plans on winning this game.

North Florida has too many players to talk about. They have the conferences #3 scorer, Tom Hammonds (19.9 ppg), the #4 scorer in Brent Wood (19.6 ppg), and the #6 scorer in freshman Emerson Riley (16 ppg). Riley is also 2nd in rebounding averaging just under 9 a game. Just when you think that was enough, they also have the nation's assist leading in Junior Rivera, who is averaging an amazing 9.3 per game. Last year against ETSU, we said that Brent Wood had to have a big game to win, and they didn't. This year, with Tom Hammonds starting, and Emerson Riley down low, UNF comes in as the favorites. If two of those three players score 20 points, Campbell has no chance.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Lopsided Championship Game Ends With Ospreys Dancing
”North Florida going to NCAA Tournament for first time."
March 6, 2009

                 1st 2nd   Total
Campbell	  24  34     58
North Florida	  55  50    105

Brent Wood came into this game with something to prove. Last year people put the blame on him after only scoring 11 points against ETSU. This year he wanted to make everyone eat their words about him not stepping it up in big games. He had 11 points not even 5 minutes into tonight’s championship game, scoring 11 of UNF’s first 15 points. It was clear North Florida came out read from the get-go. They jumped out to an early 27-9 lead just 8 minutes into the game. Things just kept going wrong for Campbell. Emerson Riley had a double-double with 7:00 to go in the first half, pushing the UNF lead to 39-15.

The score at halftime… 55-24 North Florida. Brent Wood almost outscored Campbell himself, scoring 19 points in the half. Jonathan Rodriguez had 3 points at halftime, but they were all free throws. He was 0-6 from the floor, and the Camels as a team were 0-10 from long range. Not much else to say about the first half. North Florida led by more than 30 points for the entire thing.


Coach Matthews’ Minute
“WOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We’re going dancing!!! Some team better watch out, because I’m going to have them wishing they didn’t have to play me. My team will win against whoever we play.”


North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Brent Wood – 31 pts, 2 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast
Emerson Riley – 17 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast (24 min)
Tom Hammonds – 15 pts, 9 reb, 6 stl
Ka’Ron Ellerbee – 12 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl (29 min off bench)



Campbell Fighting Camels Player Stats
Jonathan Rodriguez – 11 pts, 5 reb , 3 ast, 3 TO (4-16 FG, 0-7 3pt)
Eddie Brown – 12 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast
Oldapo Fagbenle – 10 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk


Record: 23-7 (13-3)
Up Next: NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday Preview