Sunday, September 26, 2010

A Look at Canisius's Non-League Schedule

Here's another installment in the series looking at non-league games for men's conference teams.

Up now, Canisius.

The Golden Griffins will play home games on Nov. 12 (St. Bonaventure), Nov. 20 (Eastern Michigan), Nov. 23 (Buffalo), Dec. 10 (St. Francis of N.Y.), and Dec. 29 (Northwestern State).

Canisius plays away games on Nov. 14 (at Syracuse), Nov. 30 (at Binghamton), Dec. 19 (at Northwestern State), Dec. 22 (at Lamar), and Feb. 19 (in a to-be determined BracketBusters game).

Here's a game-by-game look at Canisius' non-league opponents:

- St. Bonaventure: Picked for 14th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. Finished 15-16 last season. Best player: 6-9 junior forward Andrew Nicholson (16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds).

- Syracuse: Picked to win the 16-team Big East Conference. Finished 30-5 last season, but lost forward Wesley Johnson to the NBA. Top Players: 6-7 junior forward Kris Joseph (10.8 points, 5.5 rebounds), who was the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year last season. Also, 6-9 senior forward Rick Jackson (9.7 points, 8.0 rebounds) and 6-4 sophomore Brandon Triche (8.1 points).

- Eastern Michigan: Picked for third in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. Finished 17-15 last season. Best player: 6-6 senior forward Brandon Bowdry (16.3 points, 10. rebounds).

- Buffalo: Picked for 6th in the 6-team East Division of the Mid American Conference. Finished 18-12 last season. Lost all five starters and top six scorers from last season. Top player: 6-7 junior forward Titus Robinson (5.8 points).

-Binghamton: Picked for 6th in the 9-team America East Conference. Finished 11-17 last season. Best player: 6-7 senior forward Greer Wright (15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds).

- St. Francis (N.Y.): Picked for 5th in the 12-team Northeast Conference. Finished 11-18 last season. Best players: 6-2 senior guard Ricky Caldell (15.9 points), 6-3 senior guard/forward Akeem Bennett (15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists). Former Canisius standout Clive Bentick (1997-2001) is an assistant coach at St. Francis.

- Northwestern State: Picked for 4th in the 6-team East Division of the Southland Conference. Best players: 6-1 senior guard Devon Baker (14.0 points), 6-5 senior forward Will pratt (13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds). In a relatively unusual arrangement, the Griffs play a home-and-home series with Northwestern State.

- Lamar: Picked for 3rd in the 6-team East Division of the Southland Conference. Finished 14-18 last season. Best player: 6-1 senior guard Anthony Miles (14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists).

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