The much Tweeted #3Bids4CAA campaign is looking to be in jeopardy as the first half of the 2011 CAA Tournament Championship wrapped. The big boys (Monarchs, if you will) of Old Dominion are taking it to Rams of VCU, leading 39-26 at halftime.
I pondered retitling this halftime update "Frank Hassell's Elbow 1, Ed Nixon's Face 0," but that frankly wouldn't be fair to the rest of Nixon's teammates, who have been equally steamrolled by Hassell in the first half of the CAA final. Hassell has a cool 14 points and five boards in the first half, leading into this expert analysis from CAA-lover and Gheorghe The Blog founder rob:
ODU is so, so tough and physical. They are beating on VCU – the Rams’ bigs are more the long type and ODU’s are the strong type. ODU rebounding edge is telling. The ODU zone is making VCU start their offense way too far from the basket.
That, folks, is why he gets paid the big bucks and wears the small shoes. Let's put it this way: VCU might want to shoot better than 38 percent in the second half AND prevent their opponent from shooting 64 percent. That's certainly a start. ODU has an 18 to 4 edge on the boards - I almost thought i mistyped that, but yes, VCU has four total rebounds. In the immortal words of Steve Buckhantz, that is a dagger.
The CAA has provide gripping ball for an entire regualar season and conference tournament - let's hope for the sake of all CAA fans (and hoops lovers alike) that VCU makes a run in the second half and we get a CAA Final befitting the season as a whole.
Also, pleasse, let Jimmy Dykes and Mike Patrick lose their voices somewhere during the second half.