After a mediocre performance in this season's non-league slate, the Army basketball team has started out with a surprisingly strong 6-2 record in Patriot League play. Unfortunately one of the characteristic's of Army's sub-par history in the sport of basketball has been that even during the seasons when they have started strong, they tend to nose-dive in the second half of league play.
Yesterday's (Jan 26) Army win over Lafayette gives me some hope that fate may finally be breaking Army's way. They came back on the road from a 12-point early second half deficit, and won despite two of their leading players--Tommy Funk and Jordan Fox--shooting a combined 1-17 from the field, including 0-9 from 3 pt range. Yearling, Lonnie Grayson's 19 points and Firstie, John Emezie with 11 points took up the slack, and Cow, Matt Wilson continued to perform as the team's most consistent player with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Nonetheless, the Army team always seems to be just devastated by their opponents during the gloom period of late-January thru early March. During the past ten seasons during the final ten games of regular, non-tournament play in the Patriot League, Army's overall record is 35 wins against 65 losses. In only two of those seasons (2015-16 and 2012-13) did they win more than they lost over the final ten games. In 2008-09, they finished an even 5-5.
Tournament play has not worked out much better for Army, they've never won more than a single Patriot League tournament game in a season, meaning they've never reached the finals game in the tournament. Of course, Army remains one of four teams in the nation that have been playing Division 1 Basketball since the start of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, which have never played in the NCAA Tourney--the other three teams being William & Mary, Citadel, and St Francis NY.
Yesterday's (Jan 26) Army win over Lafayette gives me some hope that fate may finally be breaking Army's way. They came back on the road from a 12-point early second half deficit, and won despite two of their leading players--Tommy Funk and Jordan Fox--shooting a combined 1-17 from the field, including 0-9 from 3 pt range. Yearling, Lonnie Grayson's 19 points and Firstie, John Emezie with 11 points took up the slack, and Cow, Matt Wilson continued to perform as the team's most consistent player with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Nonetheless, the Army team always seems to be just devastated by their opponents during the gloom period of late-January thru early March. During the past ten seasons during the final ten games of regular, non-tournament play in the Patriot League, Army's overall record is 35 wins against 65 losses. In only two of those seasons (2015-16 and 2012-13) did they win more than they lost over the final ten games. In 2008-09, they finished an even 5-5.
Tournament play has not worked out much better for Army, they've never won more than a single Patriot League tournament game in a season, meaning they've never reached the finals game in the tournament. Of course, Army remains one of four teams in the nation that have been playing Division 1 Basketball since the start of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, which have never played in the NCAA Tourney--the other three teams being William & Mary, Citadel, and St Francis NY.
