Hartford Hawks (0-11)
Preseason quote: “Results won’t be at the forefront of my mind. It’s going to be a long haul here. This is a daunting task to say the least.” Head coach John Gallagher
The one that got away: The Hawks have dropped five games by single digit margins. The most recent was a double-overtime heartbreaker to Marist. Hartford hit a three on their final possession of regulation to force overtime. Down three with a second to play in the first overtime, Hawks guard Andres Torres was fouled attempting a three and made all the FTs. But there was no miracle in the 2nd OT. Down 1 with the ball, the Hawks turned it over and lost by three.
The brokiest part: Hartford’s offense is ranked 340th nationally, which matches their ability to defend the three.
Reason for hope: Freshman Mark Nwakamma is not only #1 on the roster, but is also #1 in offensive efficiency. And though he doesn’t average double figures, two of the three players who do are also freshmen.
Meaningless tidbit: 48.8% of the Hawks shot attempts are threes, which is the 2nd most in the nation.
Northern Illinois Huskies (0-11)
Message on the wall: “Tough times don’t last long, but tough people do.” Hanging behind the desk of 1st-year head coach Mark Montgomery
The one that got away: In their 2nd game of the season they hung with an excellent Milwaukee team, but came up short in a 59-57 loss.
Circled on the schedule: Their next action comes January 2nd against NAIA foe Roosevelt Lakers. The Lakers are 3-8, including a 31 point beatdown by Grace College.
Reason for hope: There are only five teams in the nation which shoot the ball worse than the Huskies, but somehow NIU is 74th at grabbing their own misses.
Meaningless tidbit: NIU has players named Marquavese, Stian and Aksel.
Binghamton Bearcats (0-10)
Preseason quote: “My whole thing is not to have any expectations. I don’t want to have any high hopes or anything.” 3rd year head coach Mark Macon
The one that got away: On opening night Binghamton dropped a 78-74 game against the Colgate Raiders. Since then every loss has been by at least 14.
Balanced badness: Both the Bearcats offense and defense rank 336th in the nation.
Trio of black holes: Binghamton has three players who attempt more than 25% of the shots when they’re on the floor. Freshman Chris Longoria (25.7%), sophomore Robert Mansell (28.8%) and freshman Ben Dickinson (30%). None have an offensive rating above 88.
Reason for hope: Binghamton plays in the American East Conference, which features Hartford (0-11) and Maryland Baltimore County (1-10).
Meaningless tidbit: In 11 Division I seasons their fewest wins is 8. That was last year.
Towson Tigers (0-12)
Preseason quote: “I don’t care if a player is a freshman or a senior, the guys who bring that hard-hat mentality are the ones that are going to play.”
The one that got away: The Tigers have one single digit loss: a 4-point game which gave Maryland Baltimore County their only win of the season.
Turnovers: Towson is the only team in the nation that turns it over on more than 30% of their possessions (30.8%).
Free throws aren’t free: The Tigers make 55.4% of their free throws, which is 2nd to last nationally. In their 4-point loss to MDBC the Tigers shot 8-25 from the line.
Reason for hope: The highest offensive rating among the regulars belongs to 6’7 sophomore Marcus Damas.
Meaningless tidbit: Dating back to last season the Tigers have now lost 31 straight games.
Chicago State Cougars (0-13)
Preseason quote: “Anything under a winning season this year is underachieving.” 1st year head coach Tracy Dildy
The one that got away: The Cougars only single digit loss was by 6 to Campbell, and even in that game they trailed by 12 with 0:46 left.
Thank God for Grambling: Chicago State has the 2nd worst offense in the nation, and it won’t ever be ranked the worst (see Grambling, offense).
Schedule’s are hard: According to Ken Pomeroy, the Cougars have played the 25th toughest schedule in the nation. It gets easier later when they play two NAIA teams.
Meaningless tidbit: The Cougars have had a winning record once in the past 25 years.
Grambling State Tigers (0-9)
Preseason quote: “I actually think that even without Justin Patton we’ll have a more talented team than last year.” Head coach Bobby Washington
The one(s) that got away: The Tigers have had two 28-point losses, which is their closest margin.
345th: Grambling is last in the nation in offense, 2-pt% and eFG%. They are the only team averaging under 0.80 points per possession, and it’s not even close (0.705).
Reason for hope: They’re playing, which considering the Henry White tragedy, is saying something.
Meaningless tidbit: Grambling has the smallest starting backcourt in the nation, led by 5’8 Xavier Rogers and 5’10 Rondale Livas.
