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#Post#: 46359--------------------------------------------------
Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: Checkmate Date: December 30, 2025, 9:56 am
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WILLIAM & MARY (10-3, 1-0 CAA)
Last Game: William & Mary 84, Towson 70 on 12/29/25
Last Game vs SBU: William & Mary 83, Stony Brook 76 on 1/4/25;
W&M 38-11 bench points; Luster game-high 22
Last 10: 8-2
Checkmate Guess the Line: William & Mary -11.5
NET Ranking: William & Mary 71, Stony Brook 241
KenPom Rating: William & Mary 115, Stony Brook 248
KenPom Prediction: William & Mary 84, Stony Brook 72
Watch: CBS Sports Network or
HTML https://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/
Listen:
HTML https://tideradio.com/
Notables
6-9/235 jr F Kilian Brockhoff 11.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.1 spg, 1.0
bpg, .469 FG%, .786 FT%
6-4/190 sr G Kyle Pulliam 11.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 spg, .507 FG%
6-4/180 jr G Reese Miller 11.2 ppg, .372 3-pt FG%, .821 FT%
6-7/205 jr F Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi 10.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 spg
6-5/205 sr G Chase Lowe 9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.0 spg, .627
FG%, .769 FT%
2pm tip. Brace yourselves for this one.
Earl has really turned it around in Williamsburg. After abysmal
5-27, 13-20 and 10-23 seasons under still-unemployed Dane
Fischer, the Tribe very well may be the team to beat in the CAA.
They're certainly on the short list. Yesterday they absolutely
worked Towson, rotating in guy after guy, seemingly all of them
able to knock down shots (or at least be a threat offensively)
and defend. Finn Lally, 12 minutes a night, three huge threes.
Jhei-R Jones, transfer from Winona State, quick with the ball
and a nuisance defensively for 94 feet. Jo'el Emanuel, a
two-year starter and three-year contributor at FDU, doing a
little bit of everything off the bench for W&M. They have seven
guys who average nine points or more, from places like Winona,
Blinn CC, STAC, Belmont Abbey, Trinidad State, etc. At no point
in tomorrow's game will you be able to discern whether it's the
starters or the bench on the floor. It's impressive.
And a tip of the cap to Lowe, who I thought would have graduated
already, but he's the rare player who started as a freshman and
stuck around for four years at a mid-major. 569 career shot
attempts, only 12 from three. It just isn't his thing. His
thing: Everything else. And it's great to see his FT numbers up
after three years in the 60s.
The pace is unlike anything you'll see this year – KenPom has
them fifth nationally in tempo and first in average possession
length, more than a half second quicker than the second fastest
team. One of their guys jacked up a long three in transition,
nobody under the hoop, and I thought "oh man, bad shot" ... and
the color commentator said "some coaches might say that wasn't a
good shot but Coach Earl will get upset if you don't take it."
And they will defend. Everybody switches, double teams, traps,
anything to make you uncomfortable. It results in oftentimes
rushed possessions, rushed shots, poor shots, etc.
I have to think the players love it. They play freely, they play
together (note the nearly 20 assists per game), it's a good home
court advantage too – they're 17-5 at home under Earl. The style
and success are good selling points for current and prospective
players.
We really wilted against Hampton. We had a 93 percent chance to
win, up 10 with eight minutes left, and then got outscored 17-4,
with only two free throws and a layup from Simmon on the ledger,
and three turnovers in the final 30 seconds, two on just
insanely dangerous crosscourt passes. William & Mary is going to
really make us work, and make us pay for our mistakes (they're
+6 per game in points off turnovers). We have to maintain our
poise, value the basketball, get back in transition and in
shooters' faces in general. I am skeptical. They're really good.
This is a tough, tough stretch in general: W&M, home to a
competitive A&T team, at Drexel and then UNCW, Hofstra and
Charleston all in a row. As Shaggy would say, zoinks.
Lastly, some news that even I would want Newsday to ignore
entirely ... this is going to be my last post in this
"position." With the new year on the way, I'm really going to
make it a point to use my time a little more wisely,
specifically with screen time and such. Too much time on the
laptop, too much phone time, not enough productivity and
definitely not enough exercise. So I'm going to take a step
back. It was back on November 23, 2015, when I nervously
wondered if the new guy could create a game thread. It became
some semblance of the now longstanding format that January, and
however many games later, here we are. It's time to get a little
time back though. No need for any thanks. It's been my pleasure.
I'll be around.
Go SB.
-30-
#Post#: 46360--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: Moveitfred Date: December 30, 2025, 10:19 am
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Checkmate, I will offer a thank you! Your previews and
additional insights have been a pleasure to read for years.
Believe me, I get the desire to step away from screen time to
live a bit more in the world. I have been trying to do the same.
Cheers to you in the new year!
#Post#: 46361--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: Chairman of the Board Date: December 30, 2025, 1:09 pm
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bravo, checkie, bravo.
none have contributed as much value as you have here. thank you
for all your efforts!
#Post#: 46362--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: OldSeawolf Date: December 30, 2025, 4:53 pm
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Sorry to see you go, Checkmate. Always appreciated your insight
over the years. Family and self always take precedence. Best of
luck!
#Post#: 46364--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: sbupatriots Date: December 30, 2025, 11:58 pm
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Really sorry to see the game previews come to an end Checkmate,
they were one of my favorite parts of the basketball season. I
think I've read every one since you started in 2015. Best of
luck with your new years resolution. Promise us if this team
turns it around and makes a run somehow you’ll post some playoff
previews for posterity sake!
#Post#: 46366--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: ecasadoSBU Date: December 31, 2025, 1:41 pm
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After a 9-0 W&M start to the game this has turned out to be a
fun game to watch.
Seawolves on fire the last few mins and now lead 29-27.
Happy New Years Eve everyone. Lets see if the Seawolves give us
a nice win to close the year
#Post#: 46367--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: Moveitfred Date: December 31, 2025, 3:21 pm
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Appeared to me that SBU simply did not have the players to
compete with W&M in the second half. The Tribe's energy,
pressure, movement and roster was just superior, and I guess
that's the result you get.
At this moment feels difficult to imagine where SBU can get some
CAA wins. Only the start of conference and no doubt they'll get
a few, but they just don't look very good right now.
Maybe it all starts with the missing steady hand of O'Connor and
sort of a domino struggle down the line?
#Post#: 46368--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 15: at William & Mary, 12/31 2pm
By: Checkmate Date: December 31, 2025, 4:32 pm
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We’re pretty easy to defend at the moment. Who are the real
threats besides Pratt and an occasionally hot Brown III? 34
points from them. 23 from the other eight. Early on, I thought
we had more firepower than that.
And 38 threes. I didn’t look it up. Is that a program record?
Just so easy to defend.
I like that you can hear Earl or the assistants yelling “keep
moving!” on the broadcasts. 19 more assists for them.
A&T is no cinch.
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