The CAA released their 2013-14 television schedule today as part of their annual media day, and will you look at that, the Pantsless Griffins of William and Mary actually appear six times on said (conference) sked.
Sat., Jan. 18 James Madison at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
Sun., Feb. 2 William & Mary at James Madison NBCSN 2:30 PM
Sat., Feb. 15 Towson at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
Sat., Feb. 22 Northeastern at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS, SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
Sat., Mar. 1 William & Mary at Towson CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
Thu., Jan. 23 William & Mary at UNCW CAA-TV; CSN-MA+; TCN-P; CSN-NE; WECT 7:00 PM
There are high expectations for this edition of the Tribe, something rob or I are afraid to discuss in public (a 5th place finish, as predicted below, would be tremendously disappointing). But let's just say there aren't a lot of years where preseason accolades are thrown at not one, but two, Tribe hoopsters:
At the Colonial Athletic Association’s annual media day, the William and Mary men’s basketball team placed a pair of players on preseason all-league teams, while the Tribe was picked fifth in the preseason poll. Junior guard Marcus Thornton was selected Preseason First Team All-CAA, while senior forward Tim Rusthoven garnered second-team honors.
So, during William and Mary's almost victory over West Virginia on Saturday, I took to twitter to remind the college football viewing community that the Tribe's mascot is actually a horrific mythological creature who has lost his pants. All of his pants. Folks were both appalled and entertained, including Holly Anderson over at Grantland. She even noted that she would love to see the #PantslessGriffin hashtag become a thing, and who am I to object. Therefore, as part of the process, I've jazzed up the image below, just to get the ball rolling...
The William and Mary baseball team lost a tough one yesterday, falling 1-0 to No. 7 North Carolina State and star pitcher Carlos Rodon. The loss throws the Tribe into the losers bracket of the Raleigh Regional, meaning the Pantsless Griffins need to defeat Ole Miss at 1 pm today, then take down NC State at 6pm tonight. Oh yeah, W&M would then also need to defeat the Wolfpack again tomorrow. So, yeah, it's gonna be dicey.
I have no idea who is pitching for either team in the 1pm game, but first pitch occurs in 18 minutes so rather than do any research I will just toss this preview up as a Sunday open thread. Here's hoping the Tribesters take down Ole Miss for the second time in three days, at the bare minimum, and that they somehow pull a win out of their behinds against NC State tonight to force a game tomorrow as well.
Roll stupid colonial mythological creature thing...
HOLY SHIT, THEY DID IT. After scoring an at-large bid to the 2013 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the William and Mary Tribe defeated 23rd-ranked Ole Miss 4-2 in a first round regional game yesterday, earning the first tournament victory in school history. So, yeah, they're kind of a big deal (tho zman doesn't think so, because he's a zdick). The win also gave the team 38 victories on the year, setting a school record.
Jason Inghram (9-6) was huge on the hill for the Fightin' Tribesters, allowing just two runs and eight hits in eight innings of work, striking out three Rebels and walking one on the day. Senior lefty Matt Wainman (eventually) closed the door in the ninth, tying a Tribe record with his ninth save of the season.
The Pantsless Griffins scored all four of their runs against Ole Miss in the fifth inning, rather unconventionally I might add. To w(h)it:
That's four runs on zero hits, folks. Oh yeah - they did that all with two outs. Pretty freakin' hard to do. Anyhoo, as is the norm with Tribe sports teams, the Rebels eventually began to chip away at the 4-0 lead, and in fact had All American catcher Stuart Turner at the plate as the tying run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs before Wainman sealed the deal on the historic victory.
So, guess we need to briefly preview today's game, right? And we sure as hell aren't going to let rob write the preview, because for a guy that small he is a huge jinx. Which means you get a few more useless words from this guy.
I need to stop googling "Pantsless Griffins"
Tonight, 7pm at Doak Field, William and Mary will take on the top seed in the Raleigh Regional, N.C. State, on their home field. The Wolfpack are ranked seventh in the country entering the tournament, and probably got hosed out of being one of the top eight national seeds. (N.C. State head coach Elliott Avent certainly seems to think so)
Making matters even tougher for the Tribe, they will face N.C. State ace Carlos Rodon this evening. The All-American sophomore is 8-2 this season, and in the ACC tournament last weekend broke the single-season strikeout record (he now has 151 on the year). The Wolfpack defeated Binghamton yesterday 4-1 courtesy of home runs from Tarran Seanay and Trea Turner to set up Saturday's matchup with the Tribe. Also, if you have not seen the catch NC State's Jake Fincher made in yesterday's contest, enjoy it now.
The good news for the Pantsless Griffin faithful is the boys from the Burg will be sending their best pitcher to the hill tonight as well, in All-CAA performer John Farrell. (He is good. And stoic.) He has been discussed a fewtimes on GTB, and hopefully will keep the Wolfpack bats in check long enough for W&M to get a run or two across the plate against Rodon. Hell, the Tribe don't even need hits to score, so how hard can it be?
Earning a victory will be a tall order, Nordberg, but us FUTILE SUPERFANS have faith. In the immortal words of noted thespian Rob Schneider, YOU CAN DO IT.
I was told to write a Tribe NCAA baseball tourney game preview. Well, here you go...(warning, this post is going to be a disaster)
For only the third time in school history, and the first as an at-large bid, the William and Mary Tribe have made the NCAA baseball tournament, despite a lackluster showing in last weekend's CAASe7en tourney (went 2-2, losing to academic bastion Towson in the championship round). The Tribe take the field today at 2pm as the #3 seed in The Raleigh Regional, facing #2 seed Ole Miss. You know what they say, throw our the records when these two get together (no one in their right mind says this). Also in this regional: top-seed NC State and soon-to-be-CAA member Binghamton (I think. conference realignment scares and frightens me. much like an elliptical machine). Regional play is double-elimination, with the pod winner advancing to the Super-Regional. For the hell of it, here's who the Tribe will face after they win the pod (FUTILE SUPERFANS UNITE):
Fun fact: William and Mary has ZERO wins in the NCAA baseball tourney. ZERO. I even checked with twitter to confirm what I think I thought I already knew (I sound like FUPA Peter King now). But hey, unlike the Burg hardcourt denizens, at least these guys have made the dance...
The Pantsless Griffins have made the NCAA tourney two times prior to the 2013 at-large selection, in 2001 as CAA champions and in 1983 as ECAC South champs (now you're just making up conferences). In 2001, Clemson and South Alabama took down the Tribesters. In '83, North Carolina destroyed W&M 11-0 in the first game and then the Tribe lost 13-8 to the scholars of JMU.
Quick aside: You might have heard the (god awful) mascot for William and Mary is a Griffin, a Griffin who lacks a particular piece of clothing. Well, today I learned there is an actual f'ing website called "Dress The Griffin". Seriously. It even has an app. Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?
Killer chain, bro
Please keep the mythological Greek creature away from the children.
Game preview: Oh, right, the actual contest at hand. W&M enters the game with a record of 37-22, one victory shy of the school record for wins (their 17 CAA victories did set a record). Ole Miss, after beginning the season 19-1, also enters the game with a 37-22 mark. At their highwater mark this season, the Rebels were ranked No. 6 in the nation.
The Tribe will send sophomore Jason Inghram (8-6, 3.46 ERA) to the mound this afternoon, opposed by Ole Miss junior Mike Mayers (5-5, 2.98 ERA). W&M star pitcher John Farrell, a 1st team all-CAA performer, is the likely regional Game 2 starter. I think rob delved a bit into Farrell's outstanding season in a previous post, but since I don't read anything on here, I'll add a few nuggets on the best pitcher the Burg has seen since before WWII. Farrell was 11-2 on the year, with a 2.80 ERA and 86 strikeouts against just 13 walks. The kid is a neuroscience major, and three grafs into this profile of Farrell we get a Marcus Aurelius name drop. Stoicism, for the win.
Moving on...at the dish, the non-pants-wearing Griffins are led by 1B Michael Katz, who is hitting .365 with 5 HRs and 47 RBI entering Friday's action. His plate work is complemented by 2B Ryan Lindemuth, who has a nearly identical offensive line (.363, 4 HR, 47 RBI). As a team, the Tribe hit .296 on the year with 17 home runs, 330 runs batted in and 367 runs scored.
Not to be ignored, Ole Miss has a hitting superstar as well, catcher Stuart Turner. The junior backstop is hitting .381 with five dingers, 44 runs scored and 50 RBI. On Thursday Turner was named to the Collegiate Baseball's All-American team.
TJ, how do I follow along with the action, you may (not) be asking? Hunker down in your cube with TribeAthletics.com (@TribeAthletics) open in your non-porn browser window for live stats and audio, provided by Wes Kempton and new FOG:TB Kris Sears (@kasear). It seems ESPN3 will also be streaming action from all 16 regionals this season, so hit that up if you get it.
Important youtube clip inclusion:
Are you pointing to the sky? Are you #1? Or do you just want everyone to watch the Lloyd Christmas clip again?
@batogato says something about the quality of this team that I'm pissed we are going to lose. No moral victories.
— T Marls (@KingmanKong) December 29, 2012
I received that Tweet in the waning moments of the Tribe's 73-66 loss at Purdue. It encapsulates perfectly my feeling about both the game and the 2012-13 edition of the Green and Gold.
W&M led Purdue, 40-39, at halftime, and only several difficult makes by the Boilers in the half's final possessions made it that close. The Tribe overcame a sloppy start to outplay the bigger, more acclaimed Big Ten foe, shooting 60% from the floor and making half of their 10 three-point attempts. Junior forward Kyle Gaillard was unstoppable, alternately driving for lefty floaters and making triples. Gaillard's 12 led all scorers at the break, followed closely by teammates Brandon Britt and Marcus Thornton with 11 and 10 respectively.
While the Wrens couldn't keep up the offensive pace in the second frame, they still battled the Boilers tooth and nail. Tim Rusthoven's mid-lane jumper tied the game at 58 with 8:31 left. Later, Thornton's two-pointer from the wing drew the Tribe to within 66-64 with 2:21 on the Mackey Arena clock. From there, Julian Boatner and Thornton missed three-pointers on consecutive possessions, and Purdue escaped with a home win. And dozens of Futile Superfans were left to once again lament what might have, what absolutely could have and perhaps should have been.
Thornton finished with 21, and looked entirely comfortable against power conference competition. Tim Rusthoven tallied 16 and grabbed 7 rebounds despite giving away significant size to Purdue's interior defenders. The telling story of the second half, though, was the combined zero points scored by Gaillard and Britt in the final frame. The aggression both showed in the first half paid off repeatedly - its absence in the second was glaring. This completely impartial and obviously qualified observer thinks that Tony Shaver needs to sit both down in a room and show the first half film on a loop for several hours in advance of each Tribe game. Because when Britt and Gaillard were aggressive, W&M's offense was very, very hard to stop.
More of that, please, tonight, when the Wrens travel to Nashville to play their final non-conference game against Vanderbilt. Though the Commodores have beaten Xavier this season, they've also lost by 17 to Marist, and are licking their wounds after getting curbstomped by Butler. Kevin Stallings' team is looking at an 11-day break after this contest before they start their conference schedule against Kentucky. If ever W&M sized up an SEC opponent and expected to win, it'd be this game.
I think they do expect to win. W&M's now played three major conference opponents in 2012. (For the purposes of this argument, we're counting the Atlantic 10 as a hoops major. Sue us. Or report us to Mid-Majority, whichever.) The Tribe was within two points in the final 2:30 of each of those contests. Yes, we're unrepentant Pollyannas. Yes, Vanderbilt will likely be more athletic (once again, see, Gaillard, Kyle and Britt, Brandon for keys to W&M's chances and an counter-argument to the athleticism point), and probably bigger. But the 'Dores are young - they've only got one junior and no seniors on their roster - they don't shoot very well (41.8% on the year), and they're coming off back to back humbling losses (they fell to Middle Tennessee State before being drilled by Butler).
So the Tribe should expect to win.
And I think they will.
One of these days, I'll be right about something. Why not now?
Through seven games, William and Mary leads the CAA in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage defense, assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, and defensive rebounding. Not all of these are tempo-free stats, so take some with a grain of salt. And the CAA is having a historically bad season, which is most certainly relevant.
Setting those caveats aside, though, the Tribe's comprehensively solid statistics (they're also second in field goal percentage defense, defensive rebound percentage, and three-point shooting percentage) tell the story of a team that's much, much improved. And one that's an increasingly legitimate threat in a very mediocre league.
W&M drilled traditional nemesis Old Dominion, 71-62, on Saturday, building a 15-point second-half lead before coasting to their first win in 10 tries against the Monarchs. The victory came on the heels of back-to-back close losses - W&M fell by six at both Wake Forest and Richmond. The latter loss came in double overtime in a game the Wrens led by 5 with less than two minutes to play. With a few decent bounces, W&M would be no worse than 5-2.
The fact that we're quibbling over a 4-3 start says something about how we view this team. They should have a better record.
Sophmore guard Marcus Thornton earned CAA Player of the Week honors, despite the Tribe's 1-2 record, on the strength of his 22.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg week. Thornton's second in the CAA in scoring to Delaware's Jamelle Hagins, tallying 19.0 points per game on a cool .500 shooting percentage. He's rapidly developing into one of the league's top guards, and a clear candidate for All-CAA honors.
Brandon Britt's cut down on his turnovers and connected on more than 52% of his shots in averaging 15.1 points per game. Kyle Gaillard continues to return to full strength after a year away, but showed glimpses against Richmond when he scored 13 in the first half. Frosh Terry Tarpey's giving the Tribe good minutes, and averaging nearly 5 rebounds a game. Matt Rum can't hit the broad side of a barn thus far in 2012-13, but he leads the team with 25 assists, and sports a league-leading 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.
But by at least one measure, junior post player Tim Rusthoven has been the Tribe's best player. Beasthoven's 113.4 offensive rating leads the CAA, and his 15.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg place him in the league's top 7 in both categories. His game's not pretty - it's been described as a cross between Kevin McHale and that awkward kid you hated to play against at the rec center - but it's extremely efficient.
The interaction between Thornton, Britt, and Rusthoven is the key to the Tribe's success. The frontcourt's athleticism and ability to shoot from outside keep opponents from being able to collapse on Rusthoven, while the latter's court savvy and inside presence leads to a lot of open looks and layups from hard cuts in Tony Shaver's offense. Thus far, it's been a reasonably lethal combination, at least by W&M standards.
Yes, Virginia, the CAA is a dumpster fire.
The Tribe hosts Howard tonight before traveling to Radford for an afternoon game on Saturday. W&M gets 13 days off before taking on D-III Salisbury on December 21, and then close out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a pair of measuring stick games at Purdue and Vanderbilt. We told you in our season preview that anything better than 6-6 at that point would be noteworthy. Now, that 6-6 mark would be really disappointing.
As the calendar turns, and we look at league in disarray, the futile superfans may well have reason to keep the hope fires burning. Can't ask for much more than that.
Until 2013-14, when we might really have something.
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