The Hated Rockets

The Hated Rockets come next on the schedule, from the brand spanking new Savage Arena, apple of Charlie Coles' eye.

The Rockets are having a really tough year. It is hard to figure out how they got here...they weren't so bad last year and played a really tough schedule, and had a bunch of guys back, yet they are 4-19, with two of their wins against CMU and EMU and one against a non-D1 opponent. They did have a nice win over UMASS to open their season, but that's largely all they have been able to do. They have lost five straight and they are #312 in the RPI.

They have a deadly combination in that they are 11th in the conference in scoring and defense, and have nearly a 10 point deficit per game. They score less than .9 points per possession and allow well over 1.03. They turn the ball over on 26% of their possessions, among the 10 worst numbers in the MAC and are very average on both boards....

And so on. When you are 4-19, that's the way things look.

They are still drawing pretty well to the new facility, and Charlie Coles once said you don't want to play a team that has lost a bunch in a row on their home floor because they will do anything to win, and that's kind of where we are. If anyone still cares, this is a rivalry game.

They are led by two seniors, Tyrone Kent and Jonathan Amos, neither of whom is a bad player.

Of course, they have a new coach, too. They only won 11 games last year, but were 8-9 inside the conference and lost only (really) Jerrah Young, who was a minor contributor.

All, this, by way of saying that on paper this is a game we should win. But, winning streaks and losing streaks don't last forever....