Tag: PCI
PCI: Who Will Win The NCAA Frozen Four?
by The Cowl Editor on April 4, 2019
PCI
Providence College
By Sam Scanlon ’19
Sports Staff
After patiently waiting to see if they had squeaked into the NCAA Tournament field, the Providence College Friars are headed back to the Frozen Four. The adversity that they have had to overcome this season, especially throughout the playoffs, is a large reason why no one is going to be able to take them down. They have gone through too much, they have an incredible amount of momentum, and soon they will have another championship trophy.
The explosive 10-goal regional weekend was led by the dynamic top line of Josh Wilkins ’20, Kasper Björkqvist ’20, and Jack Dugan ’22. With three important goals in the two regional contests, Wilkins was named Most Outstanding Player and continues to stay hot at the perfect time. He now has 10 goals and six assists in his last nine games entering the Frozen Four in Buffalo, New York. Not a bad time to be scoring at this rate. His offensive spark is going to be pivotal in putting the Friars past University of Minnesota Duluth and University of Massachusetts Amherst/University of Denver.
The offensive depth that the Friars provided this weekend is a great step toward a National Championship as well. Every line produced goals throughout the regional tournament, including the entire second line of Tyce Thompson ’22, Scott Conway ’19, and Brandon Duhaime ’20. Greg Printz ’21 and Vimal Sukumaran ’20, third and fourth liners, respectively, also joined in on the scoring parade. With every line producing at this point in the year, the Friars are becoming increasingly dangerous to opponents as they continue finding the back of the net and winning games.
However, everyone knows defense wins championships and it starts with goaltending. The Friars may have the best goalie remaining in the tournament in Hayden Hawkey ’19, who now leads the country in shutouts. He has not let in a goal since the first period against Minnesota State University in the opening round matchup. A solid goaltender who has recently found his rhythm will prove to be a key factor to the Friars’ championship run.
Lastly, the experience of the players and coaching staff will lead the charge to hoisting another trophy. Nate Leaman brought his team to glory in 2015, and each player on the current roster has played in the NCAA tournament. The senior class has been to four straight tournaments, so they and the coaching staff know what it takes to get the job done, and they will. The National Championship will come back to Friartown.
PCI: Who Will Win The NCAA Frozen Four?
by The Cowl Editor on April 4, 2019
PCI
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
By Eileen Flynn ’20
Sports Staff
This particular season of hockey has been very competitive; however, there is one team that has had a difficult season and has proven their talents. I believe the University of Massachusetts-Amherst hockey team will win this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. With a very tough schedule, UMass gained respect and attention throughout the season as they beat out teams like Providence College, Boston University, and the University of Maine. They have an impressive 30-9 record this season, making them a top four team in the nation all year. Maybe even more impressive is their 18-1 home record at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen came up short in the Hockey East semifinals against Boston College, and I believe this is exactly what they needed to push them harder in the weeks leading up to the NCAA tournament. This acted as a wake-up call to the Minutemen and helped them realize what needed to change before they took on stronger and more talented teams at the national level.
They have a star studded roster, with solid depth behind them that is ready to go the distance in the NCAA. The defensive end is held down by Hobey Baker Finalist and generational talent, Cale Makar. The sophomore captain was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft and has led the team with 48 points in 39 games so far this season. On the front end, the trio of Jacob Pritchard, Mitchell Chaffee, and John Leonard have put up a staggering 125 points combined this season. This is all tied together with the second-ranked keeper in the nation, Filip Lindberg, who has a remarkable save percentage of .939.
The team demonstrated their ambition to prove they are the best team in the nation when they dominated Notre Dame University in the West Regional game. UMass came out fast and furious, determined to get the first goal of the game. After one came another, and then the rest was history. Once UMass starts rolling, it is very hard for any team to stop them. In the games versus both Harvard and Notre Dame, UMass led in scoring opportunities and completely controlled the game. They outscored their opponents by a total of 8-0, while also outshooting them by a large margin of 70-30.
UMass is headed to face the University of Denver next. If UMass continues to play like they have been this entire year, they should secure a spot in the National Championship game. The tough schedule UMass faced throughout the season has prepared them to take on a strong team like Denver.
PCI: Who Will Win the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player?
by The Cowl Editor on March 21, 2019
PCI
Kyle Guy of Virginia Will Take the Award
by Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
One obvious frontrunner to win this year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player, is certainly Duke University’s Zion Williamson. The 6’7”, 285-pound player attracted the eyes of basketball fans nationwide when videos of his athletic dunks in high school games went viral. In his first season at Duke, Williamson has averaged 22.1 points per game along with 8.9 rebounds per game.
While Williamson has excelled in his first season of collegiate basketball, he has shown some signs of immaturity as well as inconsistency. The same goes for the rather young Duke basketball team as a whole.
However, one experienced player who has been a consistent leader for his team is University of Virginia’s Kyle Guy, a veteran guard who has been truly playing up to his full potential this year. With his experience and excellent ability to score points, Guy will ultimately be named the 2019 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
In the 2018-19 season, Guy has averaged 15.6 points per game, which is the highest on his team. While this figure may not be as impressive as Williamson’s 22.1 points per game, Guy’s presence has arguably had a larger impact on his team’s overall success. Virginia sits atop the leaderboard of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a record of 29-3 overall and 16-2 in conference. Behind Virginia on the leaderboard is the University of North Carolina and Duke. Virginia is currently ranked as the #2 team in the country, and despite a 59-69 loss to Florida State University in the ACC Tournament, they have shown no signs of slowing down heading into the NCAA Tournament. Virginia has been selected as the #1 seed in the South Region for the NCAA Tournament, and they are scheduled to play 16-seed Gardner-Webb on March 22 in Columbia, South Carolina. The question remains, what is guard Kyle Guy capable of doing that could not only lead his team to an NCAA Tournament victory, but will earn him the title of the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player?
PCI: Who Will Win the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player?
by The Cowl Editor on March 21, 2019
PCI
R.J. Barrett Will Lead to Duke to the Finals and Secure the Award
by Cam Smith ’21
Sports Staff
The name Zion Williamson has ruled over national headlines for the past two years, as the basketball prodigy went from dominating high school gymnasiums to hushing hostile crowds in the NCAA. With his top-seeded Duke University Blue Devils poised to make a run at the National Championship, it would seem reasonable to pencil in Williamson as the tournament’s most outstanding player. The only issue is that Williamson already shares the court with the man who will win the Most Outstanding Player award, and his name is R.J. Barrett.
Barrett entered his collegiate career as a number one recruit, and he lived up to that billing even in a season where he was often overshadowed by the high-flying antics of his Blue Devil teammate. Barrett led Duke in scoring, averaging 22.9 points per game while grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game, second only to Williamson. Barrett set an ACC record for 20-or-more-point games, compiling a whopping 23 of them while also being the only player in a power conference to average more than 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
His regular season dominance was capped off with a stretch of jaw-dropping performances to end the ACC schedule, games that were played without Williamson, who was out due to a knee injury. Barrett dropped 33 points on the University of North Carolina on Feb. 20, and three days later, he followed that up with a 30-point performance in a win against Syracuse University. He would go on to average 26.1 points in the six games without Williamson.
In the tournament, teams will likely focus in on Williamson, sending double teams his way, allowing Barrett to use his off-ball ability to get open lanes to the basket where he is a talented finisher. The return of Williamson will also take the pressure off Barrett on the boards, permitting him to get out in transition quicker, which will play to his strengths as a masterful runner of the fast break. All of these factors will likely contribute to some tremendous performances by Barrett, even though he has already proven he can put up big numbers without the presence of his esteemed teammate.
Barrett led Duke in scoring a team high 19 times, and on the best team in the country, he is going to have plenty of chances to continue to do just that as Duke plans on making a deep run. Everything considered, Barrett will add yet another accolade to his résumé after winning the NCCA Tournament Most Outstanding Player award.
Who Will Win the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament?
by The Cowl Editor on March 7, 2019
PCI
Marquette University
By Jack Belanger ’21
Sports Co-Editor
Marquette University will win the Big East Tournament next week due to the simple fact that it is nearly impossible to stop this team on offense. The Golden Eagles have too many weapons for any team to take away for an entire game.
A perfect example of the team’s depth on offense is when Marquette beat Providence College on Feb. 23. They had five players score in double-figures, with forward Sacar Anim (fourth on the team in scoring), who was tied with Sam Hauser for the team lead in points that day with 18.
Three of the team’s starters are shooting over 39.8 percent from the three point-line, including Joey and Sam Hauser who are shooting 45.5 and 40.1 percent, respectively. The team overall is shooting 40.7 percent from behind the arc, which is the eighth in the country.
It is also helpful to have one of the top candidates for Big East Player of the Year in guard Markus Howard. Howard has led the conference in scoring for most of the season and, with three games of 40 or more points, is certainly capable of taking control of a game. Having a guy who can create his own shot in games coming down to the wire can prove to be the difference in the final possessions.
While Villanova University is certainly also a contender to win the tournament, the Wildcats simply are not as dangerous as they were last season. The team lost its top four scorers to the NBA draft and has suffered through some inconsistent play this year, losing to weaker teams such as Furman University as well as University of Pennsylvania, and suffering through a three-game losing streak in the Big East.
These two teams have the best point differentials in the Big East with the Golden Eagles having the best at +9.2 with Villanova second at +7.9. While these have been the two best teams in the Big East, they are trending in opposite directions going into the final weeks. Since Jan. 28, Marquette has been ranked #11 or better. Meanwhile, in the same timeframe, Villanova has gone from #14 to being unranked.
While every team in the Big East will be a tough opponent come tournament time, regardless of how they finish in the standings, Marquette is playing at their best which will give them momentum over other teams. While Villanova has won three of the last four Big East Tournaments, this year, the Golden Eagles will outshoot and defend well enough to be the last team standing at Madison Square Garden.
Who Will Win the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament?
by The Cowl Editor on March 7, 2019
PCI
Xavier University
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
The Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden is consistently one of the most exciting and unpredictable conference tournaments in all of college basketball. Any given Big East team is capable of making a run and getting to the championship game. Providence College’s performance at the 2018 Big East Tournament was a prime example of this. PC entered the tournament as the #5 seed and was matched up against #4 Creighton University in the quarterfinals. The Friars went on to beat Creighton in overtime, then faced the #1 seed Xavier University in a semifinal matchup.
PC was behind the entire game but went on to overcome a 17 point deficit and beat Xavier in overtime. PC would go on to play Villanova University in the championship game, where PC ultimately lost in yet another overtime thriller. PC’s run in last year’s Big East Tournament demonstrated that lower seeds are capable of making surprise runs in the tournament, given the conference’s lack of disparity between the best and worst teams. That is why there is good reason to believe that Xavier will be the team that wins the 2019 Big East Tournament.
Xavier currently has a record of 16-14 overall and 8-9 in conference play. While these numbers do not reflect a team that has had much success, Xavier has shown sparks late this season that show the team is ready for postseason play. With the departure of previous head coach Chris Mack, it took some time for the Musketeers to adjust to the new play style brought forth by new coach Travis Steele. Through the first 11 Big East games, Xavier had a conference record of 3-8 and looked like a team that had given up. But since then, Xavier has gone on to win five straight Big East games, including a 66-54 win over Villanova and an 84-73 win at St. John’s University.
Xavier’s final regular season game, following a road loss to Butler University and home wins against Seton Hall University and St. John’s University, will be a home game against St. John’s. What is the leading force behind Xavier’s sudden winning streak? A big part of it can be attributed to the steady stream of quality performances by forward Naji Marshall. During the team’s winning streak, Marshall scored 28 points against Seton Hall University and most recently 31 points against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. If Marshall can continue his stellar play through the final regular season game and into the Big East Tournament, Xavier will be the team holding the Big East Championship trophy on March 16.
Who Will Win the Men’s Hockey East Tournament
by The Cowl Editor on February 28, 2019
PCI
Providence College
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
As the regular season comes to a close, the race for the top spot in Hockey East is beginning to heat up. As it currently stands, University of Massachusetts-Amherst leads the league with a conference record of 16-5, followed by Providence College with a record of 13-7-2 in conference play. Following those two are University Massachusetts-Lowell and Northeastern University who are tied for third, only one point behind the Friars.
While the Minutemen lead both UMass-Lowell and Northeastern by five points and PC by four points, they are far from being locked in to win the 2019 Hockey East title. In order to win Hockey East, a team must be in one of the top eight spots in the standings, then win three consecutive games in the Hockey East tournament.
With the Hockey East being one of the most competitive leagues in the nation, it is no simple feat for even the best team to complete a clean sweep in the tournament. Despite currently being in second place, Providence College hockey will come out on top of the tournament as the 2019 Hockey East champions.
PC has been a consistently dominant presence in Hockey East throughout the 2018-2019 campaign. Currently ranked #8 in the United States College Hockey Online.com polls, the Friars have proved themselves a force to be reckoned with.
The team has been consistent overall, currently posting a record of 19-9-5 and 13-7-2 in Hockey East play. The Friars have also been able to get the job done at home, posting a record of 7-3-3 at Schneider Arena this season. Also, the team boasts a number of wins over highly-ranked opponents. Some of the Friars’ impressive victories include a win over #16 Miami (OH), back-to-back wins over #8 Northeastern, back-to-back wins over #10/11 UMass-Lowell, and most recently, a thrilling 3-2 victory over #2 UMass-Amherst on home ice. PC is currently on a three-game winning streak, which it is certainly capable of extending through the remainder of the regular season and into the Hockey East tournament.
Hayden Hawkey ’19 has been an outstanding presence in net for PC and just recently became the all-time wins leader at PC with 65. His consistency, along with the return of forward Vimal Sukumaran ’20 to the lineup, and widely distributed goal-scoring throughout the season make PC a team that nobody in the Hockey East will want to play come tournament time. For these reasons, PC will be the team that claims the title of 2019 Hockey East champion.
Who Will Win the Men’s Hockey East Tournament
by The Cowl Editor on February 28, 2019
PCI
UMass-Amherst
By Meaghan Cahill
Sports Co-Editor
The 2019 Hockey East tournament is right around the corner with the men’s teams’ seasons coming to a close. And this year, in what can be considered a Cinderella season no matter the outcome, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst is my pick to win it all in the Hockey East tournament.
In their first winning season since 2007, UMass-Amherst shocked the nation back in December when, for the first time in their hockey program’s history, they were ranked the #1 team in the nation. Currently second in the nation, UMass-Amherst sits comfortably at the top of Hockey East rankings with their 16-5-0 record.
The team, which consists of mostly freshmen and sophomore players, has solid defensive play that is the contributing factor to the overall team success.
“You have to limit time and space especially in the defensive end,” said sophomore defenseman and alternate captain Mario Ferraro. “Defense always leads to good offense.”
UMass-Amherst has a strong offense, which is another factor that will contribute to them winning Hockey East.
In Hockey East’s overall point-scoring rankings, UMass-Amherst players take the top five spots. Jacob Pritchard, Cale Makar, Mitchell Chaffee, John Leonard, and Mitchell Fossier all average more than one point per game. On top of that, Chaffee is also tied for second place for goals scored with 15 goals this season, three less than the leading 18 goals. Pritchard is currently tied at fifth with 14 goals while Leonard is tied for eighth with 13. Sophomore defenseman Cale Makar is the top scoring defenseman in all of Hockey East as well.
Going 2-1 against PC, who holds the number two seed in Hockey East (eighth nationally), UMass-Amherst has had some pretty big wins and upsets this season that bolster their chances of dominating playoffs. They went 2-1 against #9 Northeastern University. They also split a series against Quinnipiac University, who holds the #5 spot on the national level.
Winning six of their last 10 games, the team is one win away from clinching first place for the Hockey East regular season standings, a feat that captain Niko Hildenbrand said would “mean the world” to the team.
If the Hockey East playoffs were to start today, UMass-Amherst, with the no. 1 seed, would face off against the no. 8 seed University of New Hampshire, which is a team that they have swept this season, beating them 5-1 and 4-2.
With their solid defense, league-leading offense, and the fact that the team is having one of the best seasons in the program’s history, I predict that UMass-Amherst will win the Hockey East tournament.
If the Big East Could Add One Team, Who Should It Be?
by The Cowl Editor on February 14, 2019
PCI
Boston College
By Gavin Woods ’22
Sports Staff
The Big East conference has produced nail-biting matchups between rival schools along the east coast since 1979. It is hard to imagine the conference with any other teams, as the current teams have long been associated with one another. However, if the Big East were to add another team to their list, who would it be?
Several factors are involved when deciding a conference configuration. Perhaps the most important of these factors is the school size. Roughly all schools in the Big East are categorized as medium-sized schools, ranging from 4,000 to 16,000 undergraduate students.
Another variable in this decision is location. This factor, however, does not hold as much value as the size, as Marquette University is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yet still participates in the Big East. Nonetheless, the majority of Big East schools are located relatively close to the east coast region.
One school that satisfies both of these requisites is Boston College. With an undergraduate class of roughly 9,300, as well as its location just outside of the city of Boston, the Eagles would be an appropriate addition to the Big East conference.
While size and location help to categorize colleges and universities in their respective conferences, it is ultimately the caliber of the program that will determine whom they should play. The overall ambition of a conference is to produce a highly competitive tournament for the conference title. This begs the question, “Can Boston College compete with the Big East powerhouses?”
The answer to this question is complicated, as it is difficult to compare the teams in the Big East to Boston College, which is included in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). However, it helps to look at non-conference games between Boston College and some of the Big East teams to see their compatibility. An example of this can be seen in the most recent meeting of Providence College and Boston College in basketball.
This game took place on Tuesday, December 4, and it proved to be an exciting match-up. The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout the game, yet BC seemed to have a slight edge with a lead of four points at the half. Boston College continued their success in the second half, but the Friars were right behind them. Towards the end of the second half, Boston College led by three with one PC possession left in the game. If it were not for A.J. Reeves ’22 scoring the last-second deep three point shot to take the Friars into overtime, Boston College would have walked away with the win.
If nothing else, this meeting proved that Boston College has the potential to compete with the best the Big East has to offer.
Who Should Win the Naismith College Player of the Year?
by The Cowl Editor on February 7, 2019
PCI
Ja Morant will Win the Naismith Award
by Thomas Zinzarella ’21
Winning a national championship is always a top achievement for a college basketball player. But being named the best player in the country? That accolade may be even more special. The reigning award-winner is Jalen Brunson from Villanova University who was able to achieve both.
Every year it is a challenge to predict who will be the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year because there are so many intriguing candidates. On this year’s list, players such as Zion Williamson, Grant Williams, Markus Howard, and Rui Hachimura are all vying to be the best player in all of college basketball.
A player who may not be known to many casual college basketball fans but is well-known to hardcore fans is a 6’3” sophomore guard from Dalzell, South Carolina. Ja Morant plays for the Murray State University Racers, a team in the Ohio Valley Conference that has strong history of being one of the best mid-major teams in the country.
Murray State has had its success with strong guard play with Cameron Payne and Isaiah Canaan being the most recent NBA draftees. This season, Morant is averaging 24.1 points per game, 10.3 assists per game, and 5.6 rebounds ber game. Morant was not unknown coming into this year. CBS Sports writer Matt Norlander had Morant in his pre-season top 101 college basketball players.
His number really started to buzz when he dropped 25 points and 7 assists against a ranked Auburn University Tigers squad. Morant also put on a show against University of Alabama, where he scored 38 points on 16-29 shooting and tallied nine rebounds and five assists. Morant’s legacy really started to come full circle when he made a Vince Carter-esque dunk earlier in the year on a defender that surfaced on social media.
And yet, many college basketball fans are wondering why such a talented sophomore guard chose Murray State. In fact, his recruiting story is an interesting one. As a high school sophomore, Morant was playing with freshman Zion Williamson on a local South Carolina AAU team. Williamson’s fame took off when he went to the more prestigious Adidas circuit and Morant would stay with his local AAU team. Murray State “accidentally” fell upon Morant when they were recruiting another player. Before Murray State finally offered a scholarship, the only other schools involved in his recruiting were South Carolina State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Duquesne University. After Murray State offered him, more schools began to take a look at Morant. Soon in-state rivals Clemson University and University of South Carolina began recruiting him. In the end, a total of 13 schools were actively recruiting Morant, and for good reason.
Murray State head coach Matt McMahon raves about his athleticism and explosiveness but also praised his basketball IQ. Morant leads the country with 10.3 assist per game. Morant has rocketed up NBA mock drafts where many have him as a lottery draft pick, even just behind his former AAU teammate.