Another dominant night from No. 1 NYU
The Violets hit 18 3s, dished out 35 assists, and went to 6-0 in Friday's 119-55 win over SUNY-Cobleskill
When NYU hit the 100-point mark on Friday night, two seconds remained. No, not two seconds in the game. Two seconds in the third quarter. That’s right. The Violets crossed the century mark against SUNY-Cobleskill, and there were still 10 minutes left to play.
That’s a snapshot of the sort of dominance seen night in and night out from this NYU team, a squad that lost three starters from last season’s 31-0 title team, yet hasn’t missed a beat in the first six games of this season. The target on their back only great, but so does, it seems, the margins by which they’re winning by.
Friday’s 119-55 beatdown of Cobleskill was by far the most significant thus far, a game in which the final stats hardly look real. When you consider that Cobleskill is the favorite to win the North Atlantic Conference and is certainly a Top 100 team nationally, the “wow factor” of the 64-point victory becomes that much bigger.
16 different players scored. NYU’s 35 assists tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Their 119 points are the second-most ever scored by NYU, just four shy of the program record of 123, set against John Jay in the 2019-20 season. How about the 18 3-pointers that fell through the net? A new NYU record, surpassing the previous high mark of 17, first set in 2020. And yet they did it on just 36 attempts.
It wasn’t only the starters putting up those numbers, either. No starter played more than 20 minutes and 12 players saw at least nine minutes of action. The depth of this team is unmatched, and their No. 1 ranking is more than earned. Cobleskill isn’t a Top 25 team, but they were 8-1 coming into the matchup, and a quality opponent. Yet, NYU had the game won by the first several minutes of the second quarter, when the Violets went ahead, 39-8.
All I know is that tomorrow’s duel in Medford, Massachusetts, with Tufts hosting NYU, is going to be a must-watch. Will Tufts keep pace with the Violets? I think there’s a good chance they do. In all actuality, it might be our best chance to full evaluate NYU before UAA play starts in a game where the starters all play at least 25 minutes and the Violets are pushed a little bit, even if it’s in the first half. That’ll be a noon tip-off from Cousens Gymnasium.
Around the Nation
In a somewhat surprising Liberty League opener, Ithaca took down Vassar, 75-69. While Vassar went up 19-10 in the first quarter, the Ithaca outscored the Brewers in each of the next three quarters, notching its second win of the season. The Bombers scored 21 points off 15 turnovers, and Elizabeth Majka put up 22 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes. Both of Ithaca’s wins have now come against teams in the Top 25 “receiving votes” category at the time of the game.
In a 101-26 beatdown of Marathana Baptist, Crown College set a new program record for points in a game, surpassing the 100-point mark for the first time ever. In the process, the Polar Bears snapped a seven-game losing skid, led by 24 points in 22 minutes from Brayli Reimer.
Lewis & Clark trailed 54-42 entering the fourth quarter of Friday’s NWC duel at Willamette. But L&C put up a fight down the stretch, outscoring Willamette, 23-11, over the final 10 minutes. That included a dramatic finish to regulation, starting with a fast-break layup with 32 seconds left for L&C’s first lead of the game, completing the comeback. When Willamette turned it over with 11.0 seconds left, L&C’s Lauryn Frederickson was fouled and sent to the FT line, where she extended the lead to 64-62. But Gio Horner countered in a massive 3-pointer for Willamette, as her shot fell through the net with 0.7 left, with the Bearcat bench—and home crowd—erupting as they went back in front, 65-64. But before L&C even inbounded the ball for one last play, Willamette’s Kaitlin Imai was whistled for an off-ball foul. Frederickson went back to the FT line, missed the first, made the second, and tied the score. Overtime followed, with Willamette outscoring L&C, 11-7, including a 6-0 run, as the Bearcats took a 76-72 win. (The video of Horner’s go-ahead 3-pointer is below, courtesy of the Willamette broadcast)
On the Rise
RPI definitely seems to be on the rise as the Engineers have started the season 6-1, including a big 73-65 road win at St. Lawrence on Friday night in the Liberty League opener. St. Lawrence was 6-0 entering the contest, but RPI, who scored 42 of its 73 points in the paint, overcame a seven-point second quarter deficit and never trailed in the second half. The Engineers also have a 53-50 win over Coast Guard (#85 in Massey Ratings) on their resume.
Rivier is also trending up. Friday’s 79-57 win over Salve Regina was the Raiders’ third-straight after going 0-5 to start the year, as they now hold victories over Plymouth State and Framingham State as well. It marks Rivier’s first three-game win streak since a three-game span from Feb. 2-11, 2023. They’ll go for win #4 today against Utica.
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
No. 12 Gettysburg (8-0) at Franklin & Marshall (7-1), 1:00 p.m.
Ohio Northern (3-3) at John Carroll (6-0), 1:00 p.m.
No. 13 Mass-Dartmouth (6-0) at Bridgewater State (6-0), 2:00 p.m.
No. 25 Elizabethtown (6-1) at Susquehanna (4-2), 2:00 p.m.
No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan at Carroll, 3:00 p.m.
Concordia-Moorhead (3-3) at No. 10 Gustavus Adolphus (6-0), 4:00 p.m.
Bethel (5-1) at Hamline (4-2), 4:00 p.m.
Texas Lutheran (5-1) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (5-1), 5:00 p.m.