Gameday: Colgate
Ask and you shall receive.

Not knowing my small-conference east coast basketball that well, I sought out someone who did, in order to determine what to expect from these Colgate Raiders. My search ended quickly as Matt B of the Patriot League Hoops Blog obliged my request for assistance. Here are his thoughts on Colgate -

A bit of background on who Colgate is and what their past was. They are
most well known for their football and hockey programs, but produced an NBA
player in Adonal Foyle, who more or less went there only
because his parents were profs or something at the school. Since Foyle,
they haven't had a lot going on. The school is in Hamilton, NY, which is
actually one of the few places colder than Iowa during the winter. I have
been to Hamilton exactly once and almost died. It is in the middle of
nowhere, about 1.5 hrs south of Syracuse.

Last year, they finished
in the middle of the league, and didn't really beat anyone of special
note. Their biggest win was over my alma mater, American University, so
that ought to tell you something. They dropped their first round Patriot
League Tournament game to Lehigh.

They are probably the fourth or
fifth best program in the league, usually finishing between 9-7 and 7-9.
This year no one expects them to make the postseason, but it could be a
possibility since they have a lot of unknowns going on that could help them make
that push.

Their best offensive weapon, Kendall
Chones, sat out last year because of academic ineligibility, as did his
triplet brother Kyle. I think they have another brother
attending Princeton, but I could be wrong. Kendall and Kyle will get lots
of minutes up front and have the ability to push the ball as big men, something
that you don't see every day in the Patriot League. They also both do that
stupid Darius Miles head banging "in the zone" thing sometimes. Feel free
to boo them if they have continued that tradition.

They also have
a decent backcourt, with Alvin Reed and Kyle
Roemer anchoring. Neither one is spectacular, but they don't turn
the ball over much and have some slashing ability.

In all, if Iowa
can contain Roemer and Kendall Chones, there isn't a whole lot that Colgate will
be able to do on the scoring end. Iowa would probably be well served
to use their size down low to get some easy buckets as well. Fast breaks
might not be as successful, as Colgate is a decent athletic squad.

Iowa plays Colgate after the conclusion of Maryland-Eastern Shore vs Utah Valley State, which means tip off is set for about 7:30.
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