Juniata to Host Carnegie Mellon in Regional Matchup
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Off to a 4-1 start, the Juniata College men’s basketball team will host the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) tomorrow, Tuesday Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. CMU is 4-0 on the year and recently won the CMU DoubleTree Invitational with a 68-62 upset win over No. 8 Hampden-Sydney.
By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Christopher Shannon
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Off to a 4-1 start, the Juniata College men's basketball team will host the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) tomorrow, Tuesday Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. CMU is 4-0 on the year and recently won the CMU DoubleTree Invitational with a 68-62 upset win over No. 8 Hampden-Sydney.
"Right now on paper, and watching them play over the weekend, they're the best team, by far, we've faced," said head coach Greg Curley. "They just beat a top-10 team in the nation yesterday in Hampden-Sydney. They are playing with as much confidence of any team we've seen. A lot of times, when you schedule an opponent; it's not so much who you play, but when you play them."
The Eagles have won four straight games after dropping the opening contest of the season and scored a season-high 77 points last Saturday in a win over Saint Vincent College. Juniata is averaging 71.2 points per game from a 48.3 shooting percentage. The Eagles have come away with an average six steals per game and are pulling down 32.6 rebounds in a contest. CMU is averaging 85 points per game and was held to a season low 68 in its win over Hampden-Sydney. The Tartans are shooting 45.2 percent from behind the arc and are notching 18.2 assists per game.
"This is an incredibly big challenge for us," said Curley. "They're a very good time. They've struggled a little bit the past couple of years, but they were young. These guys are all veterans now, they have great backcourt leadership, Christian Manoli is as good an all around player as we'll see. They are deep. They are very well coached and they have a lot to play for. They want to get back to where they were a few years ago. I'm sure the trip out here for them is another chance to keep that going. It's hard to play a team with a lot of momentum. We're going to have to play our best game of the year."
The two teams last met during the 2012-13 season when Juniata made the trip out to Pittsburgh. The Eagles came away with a 76-70 victory in overtime and hold the slight edge, 14-12, in the all-time series.
"We're a different team this year and they are a different team," said Curley. "As in all things, we're trying to use this game to make ourselves better. Tomorrow night's game will only be as good as what we get out of it moving forward. As long as we get out of that game what we're supposed to, it improves us and makes us better particularly for Saturday. Our focus here is on league play and how we do in the Landmark. These games are opportunities for us to get better. For regional, Pennsylvania, standings, and to play a really hot, very successful team, this is a heck of an opportunity for us as a team and we need to go out there and play our best."
This is the final non-conference game for Juniata before the Eagles open Landmark Conference play against Moravian on Saturday. Juniata will then host two non-conference tournaments over the holiday break before returning to league action Jan. 11.
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