Two 3-1 teams go at it in a crucial CAA contest up in Williamsburg.

The Tribe dominated in their first two CAA games, outscoring Charleston and Drexel by a combined 148-92. Their more recent games were much closer, falling in an upset to Elon and squeaking by JMU by 8. So who knows which version of the Tribe we'll see on Wednesday night.

W&M is led by Senior Marcus Thornton (19.6 ppg, .466 3-pt %) and Junior Terry Tarpey (9.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.5 apg). Tarpey recorded W&M's first ever triple double in school history against JMU.

The Tribe's perimeter shooting as a team has been extremely effective. Along with Thornton, four other Tribe players have knocked down 9 or more 3's this season, leading to a team 3-pt shooting clip of a ridiculous .393. Opponents are only hitting 3's at a .326 rate.

Turnovers, however, have given W&M trouble, averaging over 13 per game. This could be the area of weakness Keatts will likely look to exploit. W&M likes to keep games low-scoring, so we will likely need to make this a high-scoring affair without surrendering 3 after 3.

I think if we can keep our high speed game going it will be a lot closer than WM wants it to be. The more we run them the less legs they'll have for those triples. A good highlight is the turnovers. Our strong, athletic defense has done a good job so far this year forcing turnovers with their quickness.

We may see a lot of zone. Hope we are prepared for that.

We are 11.5 dogs against bill & the virgin.

(01-13-2015 07:33 PM)Proff Wrote:  We are 11.5 dogs against bill & the virgin.

I'd look for that line to come down a little before tip off, but not by much. Maybe to 8-8.5.

It was 10 and moved up.

(01-13-2015 09:10 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  It was 10 and moved up.

Odd. I mean, I guess it is played in Williamsburg so there's that. I feel like a lot of these spreads are based on last years version of UNCW and not what we've been producing over the last few games.

(01-13-2015 09:19 PM)CoastGuardHawk06 Wrote:  

(01-13-2015 09:10 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  It was 10 and moved up.

Odd. I mean, I guess it is played in Williamsburg so there's that. I feel like a lot of these spreads are based on last years version of UNCW and not what we've been producing over the last few games.

we are inconsistent and this is a road game. we should cover this spread and make it a competitive game but we could get blown out like we did against ohio. depends on which team shows up.

We need Dylan to have a big game to break their zone. Freddie is prone to jacking up 3's on occasion when he shouldn't so hopefully he focuses more on driving.

(01-13-2015 09:10 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  It was 10 and moved up.

The Mullet must have placed his bet.....

I don't see that WM has any really good wins.

They've beat up on a weak CoC, but lost to Elon and High Point.

Their best win appears to be against Wofford.

Thornton, Marcus 6'4", 190lb. Sr. G 19.8ppg
04 Prewitt, Omar 6'6" 190lb So. G/F 10.9ppg
00 Dixon, Daniel 6'5" 210 So. G 10.7ppg
25 Tarpey, Terry 6'5" 210lb. So. G/F 9.8ppg
31 Sheldon, Sean 6'9" 256lb Jr. F 7.3ppg

They average 13 TO's per game, and give up 8 steals per game. Their primary weapon is the 3 pointer, making an average of 9 per game on .393 shooting. Also average 14.6 assists.

They don't appear to have much beyond their starters, with their best bench player averaging 4.5 ppg.

We have trouble with talented scoring guards, so I expect Thornton to torch us. But nobody else on the roster scares me. With such a weak bench, Keatts should give Dylan and Pugh more PT, and really ratchet up the press against a turnover prone W&M squad.

Freddie and Spruill top 18 each. Dylan comes alive with 13 off the bench. I don't think they have enough size to stop our penetration even if they go zone. Chuck, CJ and Ced have a swat party and dominate the boards.

Starting 3 Sophmores, the pressure is too much and they cave in the old country, for their first home loss of the year.


UNCW 78 BM 69

I would be a little nervous predicting victory on the road.I do think it will be close but winning on the road is never easy even in the CAA.

Wofford is the only top 50 RPI win for the CAA this year. I'd call that a quality win. Right now if I were a betting man I'd say W&M is my pick to win the regular season crown. They're well-coached and definitely not a 1-player team either. Tarpey is very scary.

This will be a highly difficult game on the road.

Love your enthusiasm '82, but Vegas strongly disagrees. "Playoffs, playoffs, don't talk about playoffs, I just want to win a game".

I have a good feeling about this team right now. We're back to driving to the bucket instead of settling for 3's and jumpers. Dylan is working his way back on to the court after some ankle issues. W&M likes to score at a high pace, but they rely on the 3. If they aren't hitting, we should have the opportunity for some long rebounds and outlets on the break. Then, they won't have enough size to stop Freddie and Spruill on the break. If they slow it down, I think Dylan and Ponder will make them pay, and CJ will hurt them in the post.

Neither team is a dynamo on defense, so I picture this being a high scoring game. That's our pace and to our advantage.

(01-14-2015 10:36 AM)82hawk Wrote:  I have a good feeling about this team right now. We're back to driving to the bucket instead of settling for 3's and jumpers. Dylan is working his way back on to the court after some ankle issues. W&M likes to score at a high pace, but they rely on the 3. If they aren't hitting, we should have the opportunity for some long rebounds and outlets on the break. Then, they won't have enough size to stop Freddie and Spruill on the break. If they slow it down, I think Dylan and Ponder will make them pay, and CJ will hurt them in the post.

Neither team is a dynamo on defense, so I picture this being a high scoring game. That's our pace and to our advantage.

I know a win is a win, but we barely beat two horrid teams at home. Much room for improvement. This is a tough tough game.

I agree Hoops. This is going to be a tough one. Final score could be most anything.
We are now 11 point dogs.

Some good posts and discussion in this thread. I would offer a few points/counters regarding this year's WM squad.

We are an improved defensive squad from last year. We have a lot of length and overall athleticism. Zone defense has been particularly effective. We held both Drexel and CoC to under 50 points.

We have struggled to find consistent play and scoring from the bench.

We look to run and score in transition more than in the past. Offense will look to shoot in the first 10 or final 10 seconds of the shot clock.

Terry Tarpey has been sensational in league play and was named POTW for last week. In addition to WMs first ever triple double against JMU, he's averaging a double double in league play, leads the CAA in rebounding at 6'5" and generally plays like a man possessed.

Marcus has been amazing in recent weeks as well. Taken his game to yet another level on offense. Tribe fans are savoring his final season and beginning to miss him already.

Weaknesses are post depth and traditional post scoring, offensive rebounding, and finishing off close games (see record in close games thus far). Turnovers have been an issue in certain games, but not every game. Teams that have tried pressing us have had mixed results.

(01-14-2015 10:36 AM)82hawk Wrote:  I have a good feeling about this team right now.

Don't say that. Unfortunately, sometimes that's when we have played at our worst this season, haha. I do think we can come to expect a strong effort and close game tonight. We already proved we can win a tough road game so we certainly have the ability to pull it off again.

(01-14-2015 01:46 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  Some good posts and discussion in this thread. I would offer a few points/counters regarding this year's WM squad.

We are an improved defensive squad from last year. We have a lot of length and overall athleticism. Zone defense has been particularly effective. We held both Drexel and CoC to under 50 points.

We have struggled to find consistent play and scoring from the bench.

We look to run and score in transition more than in the past. Offense will look to shoot in the first 10 or final 10 seconds of the shot clock.

Terry Tarpey has been sensational in league play and was named POTW for last week. In addition to WMs first ever triple double against JMU, he's averaging a double double in league play, leads the CAA in rebounding at 6'5" and generally plays like a man possessed.

Marcus has been amazing in recent weeks as well. Taken his game to yet another level on offense. Tribe fans are savoring his final season and beginning to miss him already.

Weaknesses are post depth and traditional post scoring, offensive rebounding, and finishing off close games (see record in close games thus far). Turnovers have been an issue in certain games, but not every game. Teams that have tried pressing us have had mixed results.

Nice information, thanks! Should be a fun contest with both teams pushing the tempo.