RE: Game #6 - Marshall
Notes for the Marshall Game:
Marshall, coached by Dan D'Antoni, comes to Williamsburg with a 4-2 record on the season, averaging 90.0 ppg, while giving up 82.7 ppg. They have crossed the 100 point mark in two of their six contests, so far. They have four players averaging in double figures, led by 6'3" Jr. guard Jon Elmore at 24.2 ppg, 6'9" Jr. F/C Ajdin Penava 18.3 ppg and 6'4" Jr. guard CJ Burks at 17.2 ppg. They love the Three, putting up almost 30 three point shots per game. Elmore has shot 39 of them already, even though he makes only 25% of them. Their best threat from 3 is 5'11" Fr. guard Jarrod West, who has made 45% of his 33 three point attempts.
As has been said before, Marshall is 99th offensively per KenPom, 308th defensively, while W&M is 119th offensively, and 314th defensively. With The Herd averaging 90 ppg and the Tribe near 80 ppg, and neither team showing any proclivity toward defense, expect fireworks Wednesday night.
CAA NOTES:
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Mike Morsell • Towson
Sr., G, 6-5, 210 - Fort Washington, Md./St. John’s College HS
Morsell earned MVP honors at the Gulf Coast Showcase after averaging 14.0 ppg in Towson’s victories over FAU, Penn and previously unbeaten Georgia Southern. The senior guard shot 48% from the floor and added 3.7 rpg.
David Cohn • William & Mary
Sr., G, 6-2, 168 - Elmhurst, Ill./York
Cohn averaged 14.5 points and 10.0 assists for the week. The senior guard was sensational in a 79-77 victory over Old Dominion, scoring a career-high 25 points, dishing out nine assists and tying a career-high with four steals. He was 8-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-6 from three, vs. the Monarchs. Cohn also had 11 assists and no turnovers in just 19 minutes as W&M cruised past Shenandoah.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Matt Lewis • James Madison
Fr., G, 6-5, 180 - Arlington, Va./Bishop O’Connell
Lewis averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds as JMU split a pair of games last week. The freshman guard came off the bench to score a career-best 26 points and grab a career-high seven rebounds to help the Dukes rally past Appalachian State.
LEAGUE INFO:
GULF COAST SHOWCASE: Towson won the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., posting victories over FAU (76-52), Penn (79-71) and previously unbeaten Georgia Southern (70-67) last week. It was the first regular-season tournament title for the Tigers since 1990. Senior guard Mike Morsell earned MVP honors and was joined on the all-tournament team by backcourt mate Brian Starr. Towson is off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2014-15 and is riding a five-game winning streak.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: CAA teams are a combined 16-2 at home this season and also have 10 victories on neutral courts. After Monday night’s loss by Delaware at Yale, the CAA sits at 32-31 overall against non-conference competition.
THE STAT SHEET: Several CAA players rank in the top 15 nationally in various statistical categories. UNCW’s Devontae Cacok leads the nation in rebounding (13.2 ppg) and Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys is 10th (11.5 rpg). UNCW’s Jordon Talley ranks fifth in assists (8.0 apg), Drexel’s Austin Williams is 9th in blocked shots (3.3 bpg) and W&M’s Matt Milon is 11th in 3-point FG percentage (57.1%).
Hofstra senior Gustys became just the ninth player in CAA history to eclipse the 1,000 rebound mark in a career last Saturday. With 1,002 rebounds, Gustys needs just 85 more to vault to third on the CAA’s career caroms chart. He ranks second among all active Division I players in rebounds, trailing only Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado.
UNCW leads the CAA in scoring with an average of 84.4 points per game. Towson, who averages 77.2 ppg on offense, is the top defensive team, allowing only 60.7 ppg. They have the widest margin of difference, at a whopping 16.5 ppg better than their opponents. A comparison, Delaware is second best, outscoring their opponents by 5.5 ppg. W&M is averaging 79 ppg, third best in the league and id the leading Free Throw shooting team, at 78%.
Disa & Data:
• Guard Oliver Tot connected on his only field goal attempt of the game against ODU. It was Tot’s first made three-pointer this season. It allowed William & Mary to stretch it’s home non-conference winning streak to 21 games.
• Along with David Cohn’s grabbing of the Men’s POW (shared), W&M also grabbed the Women’s POW award as well, as Senior Abby Rendle took that honor, while becoming The Tribe’s all-time leader in blocks. Rendle averaged 17.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 8.5 blocks in the two Tribe victories. Congrats to both.
• Justin Pierce recorded his 2nd double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds vs. ODU. He’s averaging 15.0 ppg (13th in the CAA) and 8.6 rpg for the season while shooting 54.5% from the floor.
• Matt Milon averaged 14.0 ppg in the two wins last week and was 8-of-10 from 3-point range. He’s shooting a CAA-best 57.1% from the beyond the arc (16-28) for the year.
• Nathan Knight is averaging 17.2 ppg , which is 8th best in the CAA. He’s shooting 82% from the free throw line for the year, which is 5th best in the league.
• W&M made a school-record 20 threes vs. Shenandoah and was an incredible 35-of-57 (61.4%) from 3 for the last two games. The Tribe is shooting 44.1% for the year, tops in the CAA.
• The Tribe leads the CAA in blocked shots, with 29, averaging a league best 5.8 blocks per game.
My Take: Good defense, or at least better than the other team's defense, will probably be the deciding factor on Wednesday. Cause the other team to struggle a bit and make them play catch-up. They create about 16 turnovers per game and score well off those turnovers. The Tribe will have to not make unforced TO's and keep shooting at a high percentage, in what looks like may well be an entertaining up and down ball game.
Go Tribe!!
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