Albany Great Danes
America East (24-10, 9-7)
Albany saved their best for March. The Great Danes lost to Maine in February and then barely slipped past the Black Bears in their first game of the America East Conference Tournament. After that they beat Stony Brook by two points. Previously Albany lost twice to Stony Brook, including a 16 point home loss. And then they had to go to Vermont with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line. In January, the last time the Great Danes made the trip to Burlington, they came back with a 25 point loss. Vermont beat Albany in Albany later in the month. But March was different for Coach Wil Brown. His team did not just keep it close, they beat Vermont to earn a trip to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/13 at Washington (63-62), 3/10 vs Stony Brook (61-59), 3/16 at Vermont (53-49)
Bad Losses: 12/21 Quinnipiac (57-59), 1/23 Boston U (80-85), 2/9 at Maine (52-66)
Coach: Wil Brown (12 seasons at Albany)
Why They Can Surprise:
Albany has some shooters and they have to be knocking down their shots if the Great Danes have any chance of pulling off an upset. Mike Black, a 6-0 senior, leads the team with 14.9 points per game. He can knock down the long ball with consistency, but he is also very good at getting to the basket. Jacob Iati is more of a pure shooter. At 5-10 he can have trouble getting into the lane and finishing, but he shoots 41.0 percent from beyond the arc, so this team does not really need him to do anything but hit those shots. Peter Hooley is not as effective of a scorer or as prolific of an outside shooter, but he can pour in some points on occasion. Otherwise, he is a fine passer who will help set up Black and Iati.
Why They Can Disappoint:
However, for Black and Iati to be truly dangerous, they need Sam Rowley to be a consistent scorer in the paint. If the opposition has to double team Rowley, Black and Iati will get plenty of space to score. However, the rest of the frontcourt are not particularly good scorers. John Puk and Blake Metcalf will hit the glass effectively, but many times the Great Danes have to rely on Black and Iati to do a bulk of the scoring. And if Iati is having an off shooting day, that just leaves Black. Albany likes to keep the tempo slow and try and hang around. The defense is not as good as their 61.0 points per game allowed average would indicate. Despite plenty of size, there is not a shot blocking threat in the paint whatsoever and the pressure will be on the entire team to play tough, straight up defense and not allow the opposition to take high percentage shots.
Probable Starters:
Mike Black, Senior, Guard, 14.9 ppg, 2.5 apg
Jacob Iati, Senior, Guard, 12.1 ppg, 1.6 apg
Sam Rowley, Sophomore, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Gary Johnson, Junior, Forward, 3.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg
John Puk, Junior, Center, 5.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Luke Devlin, Junior, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Jayson Guerrier, Senior, Guard, 3.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg
Peter Hooley, Freshman, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 3.0 apg
Blake Metcalf, Senior, Center, 3.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 65.2 (234th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.0 (45, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.9 (135, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.1 (145, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.2 (164, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.5 (63, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.4 (43, 1)
Rebound Margin: 3.5 (75, 3)
Assists Per Game: 11.3 (277, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.5 (194, 5)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
2012 CIT First Round loss to Manhattan
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Virginia
2006 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Connecticut
*all team stats through 3/10
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
