Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: A Quick Recap of Morehead State & Richmond

by Ray Floriani

LYNDHURST, NJ - On to the sweet Sixteen. Richmond set the tempo and was in command from the start en route to a 65-48 victory over Morehead state. The Spiders advance to face the Kansas-Illinois winner in San Antonio. The numbers:

		Off.
Team	Poss.	Off.
Morehead State	52	92
Richmond	59	110

* The story as it's been the past few weeks was Richmond's defense. They do not force many turnovers (Morehead's TO rate was 15%) but they defend very well in half court. Morehead shot a paltry 40% eFG percentage. Ken Faried, the Eagles 6-8 senior center scored 11 points and had 7 offensive boards, as much as Richmond combined. No one else was able to step up. On Chris Mooney's side Justin Harper scored 19 points shooting 57% (8 of 14) from two point range. Dan Geriot added a very important 13 point 7 rebound performance. While the defense was they key, Richmond's offense was none too shabby. Their eFG mark was 51% and the TO rate, a superlative 9%.

greyCat Note -- Two years running in the Atlantic 10 Tournament I have come away extremely impressed with the Richmond team. Coach Chris Mooney has done a fantastic job with the Spiders. I was suprised when they were eliminated by St. Mary's in the 2010 Tournament, and very happy to see them advance to the Sweet Sixteen this time around. Dan Geriot has healed and was back in game shape this season. And the results are there on the court.

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Celebrating the Madness

by Ray Floriani

HACKENSACK, NJ - 'March Madness' needs no explanation. Hooters needs little introduction. The famed eating, drinking, casual establishment with the world famous dance team style attired 'Hooters Girls' is a natural for sports fans. In March the establishment literally 'takes it up a notch'.

Knowing very well the appeal of the NCAA will attract an added customer base, Hooters is running two promotions. One, a fund-raiser, is run in conjunction with the V Foundation for cancer research. For every 'like' they receive on their Facebook page between February 22 and April 6, Hooters will donate $1 to the V.

Hard at work watching games and writing
as Crystal (l) and Lauren (r) pay a visit.

The second promotion is a 'National Hooky Day', set for March 17th and 18th, the two days opening the NCAA Tournament in full force. The company or individual Hooters 'stores' were not condoning a fake absence from work or class, however. Rather, you can download a 'note' from 'Nurse Ashleigh' excusing you for your absence and allowing a free appetizer (cheese sticks, onion rings or pickles). The only stipulation was getting to Hooters when a tournament game was telecast which basically covered noon until midnight. And did not interfere with work or class schedules.

With their lineup of available TVs, all games aired at a particular time were available. Stopping in (after a walking workout) on Thursday, the games were closely followed with the Louisville, Temple and Kentucky drawing the most attention.

The only people I noticed in need of medical attention were those who had Louisville headed to the Final Four in their office pools. Shortly after Morehead State's Demonte Harper's trey found nothing but net, there were a few groans. Nurse Ashleigh would have had a few 'patients'.

(l-r) Heather, Crystal, Lauren and Nadia
and an advertisement featuring the ubiquitous Dick Vitale