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Tiger93

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Everything posted by Tiger93

  1. Tiger93

    CAA Men's Basketball Thread

    That is kind of sad, although I do think the responsibility is spread out throughout the team for better or worse this year. Last year, we kind lived and died with Charles, Cam and Nick. This year, there about 7-8 guys that we can distribute various responsibilities. Of course, as we said I am not sure anyone is as much of a go-to offensive player as Cam or Nick. Although, I do think based on the Hofstra game we are getting to the point where Williamson and May are becoming our go-to guys, and Tarke is willing to play aggressive offensively for better or for worse (and it as been a mix of both). I also think guys like Sulaiman, Lowery and Jones are cutting into Charles' rebounding (in conference play) totals in a good way. Last year, Charles was one of three double-figure scores (along with Cam and Nick). This year there are three double-figure scores (Tarke, May and Williamson). I do think that takes some of the onus off him, and he can focus more on locking in on the defensive end and trying to help those guys get into good scoring spots. Here is rundown of his stats in 18 conferences games last year and 10 conference games this year: 2023: 11.8 ppg, 53% FG, 8.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.9 steals per game and 1.7 blpg 2024: 8.6 ppg, 56.4%, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 steals per game and 1.5 blpg As a team in 18 conference games in 2023 we averaged: 72.94 ppg (gave up 66.28 ppg), shot 44.6% (opp. shot 42.3%), shot 40.5% from three (opp. shot 33.1%), had a rebound margin of 5.0 rpb (36.3-31.3) and blocked 3.33 shots per game As a team in 10 conference games in 2024 we are averaging: 67.7 ppg (giving up 62.5 ppg), shooting 40.9% (giving up 41.8%), shooting 36.4% from three (giving up 29.0%), have a rebounding margin of 3.3 rpg (37.1-33.8, I think this is partially because we are much worse shooting team and are giving people more def. rebounds because of it) and blocking 4.4 shots per game.
  2. Tiger93

    CAA Men's Basketball Thread

    I would agree. I know scoring is not the end-all-be-all of player assessment, but hard to imagine the 17th-ranked scorer in conference play being the race for Player of the Year. Also, even on that player breakdown they have him 14th on what appears to be a similar stat to WAR in baseball called PRPG (I find it interesting that Williamson is our highest ranked player on this at 21). He is first in what I believe is the average +/- per game. Although, I would guess that will change with trips to UNC-W and Charleston.
  3. Tiger93

    CAA Men's Basketball Thread

    Some of these analytics are not always the best as it relates to actual knowledge or information about the conference, but they are interesting reference points: Regular-season title odds - https://barttorvik.com/conodds.php?conf=CAA Player of the Year odds (again I have no idea what data set they use for this - https://barttorvik.com/poy.php?conlimit=CAA&year=2024&yr= Conference-only efficiency stats - https://barttorvik.com/teamstats.php?conyes=1&conlimit=CAA&year=2024&sort=2 Conference-only player ratings - https://barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&minGP=1&cvalue=CAA&year=2024&start=20240101&end=20240203
  4. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    Agreed, my only point on Charleston is I thought we showed up and played a solid game against them in the tournament last year they were just better than us. It wasn't like 2022, where we were the best team and didn't really show up. I am not saying either one is better than the other, because at the end of the day we didn't accomplish our goals either year. My main point is everything is more wide open this year. I am not sure if that is better or worse, it is just the state of the conference this year.
  5. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    Here is what I wrote earlier about this topic. We have had three good shooting halfs, six bad ones, and one fairly solid half. The good news is that a lot of teams have road struggles and no one is any more familiar with the conference tournament area then we are. I also don't think there is a team as good as Charleston was last year, so in that respect the conference seems more up for grabs. The bad news is our conference tournament karma and history, and it only takes on bad shooting half to sink a team in single elimination. On the road in conference play, we are now 103-277 (37.2%). If you take out the 30-58 performance at Charleston (which obviously shouldn't be taken out) it gets a lot worse. We have six bad halfs, one decent half and three good halfs. We shot 57% in the second half at Northeastern, 50% and 54% at Charleston, and a decent 43% in the first half at Delaware. We shot 33% in the first half against Hofstra and 27% in the second half, 24% in the first half at Northeastern, 35% in the second half at Delaware, and 23% and 31% at Monmouth. I love the effort and defense of this team, but this is one of the big reasons why as much as I like the talent and depth on this roster it gets very dicey come tournament play. Right now, in 10 halfs away from Towson in CAA play, six of the 10 have been 35% or worse shooting halfs. One half like that sinks you tournament play.
  6. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    Yeah, that is why polls don't really mean much. We have played as well as all those teams so far, but UNC-W and Charleston have much better overall recognition than our program does, and Drexel is still in first. The only way we can earn respect is on the court. The Delaware game worries me because they were so piss poor shooting in the earlier game. Of course, we weren't much better. Two years ago they came in on a mission to beat us at home, and they probably would have if the game didn't get stopped and continued later. We need to be ready for everything they will throw our way. Not that anything is a given, but if we beat Delaware we will be 8-3 going into three straight games teams in the bottom three of the standings. Of course, two of those are road games and our offense has been wildly inconsistent on the road.
  7. Tiger93

    Hofstra edges MBB 59-56

    We won't play anyone outside of our conference for the rest of the year unless we win the CAA Tournament, so I am judging our conference rankings being the most relevant for quality of defense the remainder of the way. Right now in 10 CAA games, we are fourth in opponent field goal percentage at .418, which is .07 off of second place. We lead the league in opponent 3pt-FG pct at .290 (two other teams are very closed at .294), although the fact that the top five at .321 or under shows part of that is this just isn't a very good league at the three-point shot. We have yielded the second-least free thrown attempts (160), we are third in turnovers per possession in conference play at 17.2% (Northeastern is 17.8% and Campbell is 17.4%), and we are first in defensive efficiency or points allowed per possession at .984 per possession is .026 (or 2.6 pts per 100 possessions) better than the next best defense of Stony Brook at 1.010 (third place is Drexel at 1.035). Even our defensive rebound percentage is sixth in the league. I know tempo helps all of that, but I do think it spells out that we are probably the best defense in this conference. That being said, there are some very ugly numbers on offense which make this a challenge. This link has some interesting ways to compare all those numbers. https://barttorvik.com/?sort=AdjOE&begin=20231101&end=20240501&conlimit=CAA&year=2024&top=0&venue=All&type=C&mingames=0&quad=5&rpi=#
  8. Tiger93

    Hofstra edges MBB 59-56

    Sure, the Delaware game was a disappointment and I think he would be the first to say that. However, all in all I didn't think he was terrible against Hofstra. Probably a little below standard, but he did enough to help us win if we could hit any shots. He was active defensively with a couple of key blocks and his key assists and bad turnovers probably canceled out into a net-neutral. Sure, you would like your 5th-year senior to exert his will on a game like that, but that probably isn't what he is giving us outside of the steals, blocks, rebounds and defensive plays he makes. Those are really valuable, but I can't blame anyone for wanting a little more offense. My only point is his offense does well when others are stretching out the opposing defenses and giving him room to make plays. When we can't hit a shot and things get congested he is not the place to look offensively.
  9. Tiger93

    Hofstra edges MBB 59-56

    Agreed somewhat on our pace dictating the defense. However, if you sort the numbers in conference vs. non-conference it is a very different story. Our defensive efficiency in non-conference was 1.035 points per possession, which was ranked 166th in the nation. Since conference play started, we are 57th in defensive efficiency (0.984 points per possessions). This probably supports the notion that our conference is a little weaker defensively, and most opponents play into our hands with a slower tempo. However, I would say our defense has definitely raised its level in conference play, with some of that being helped by familiarity of the opponent. Second through sixth is pretty similar in terms of opponent field goal percentage in conference play, and we have only played two games against the bottom part of our conference (of course one of those was the lost to Northeastern). Conversely, Drexel leads the team in opponent field goal percentage, but has played four of its 10 games against teams with losing records, and hasn't play Charleston, Hofstra or UNC-W yet. As for Charles, I really think it is about what is going on in the context of the game. We don't need him to shoot or score if any two of Tejada, May, Tarke or Williamson are shooting well. Those players all have a better offensive skillset than he does, and Charles isn't particularly great at getting easy looks unless it is playing off a two-man game on the roll with one of those players. It was very helpful when he got to the line and made his free throws in the second half against Northeastern last week. As for offensive rebounds, Lowery, Jones and Sulaiman are all pretty active in that category which limits his opportunities. He is probably the fourth best offensive rebounder on the team. To me, what we need more out of him is limiting other teams offensive rebounds (he is probably our best defensive rebounder), setting the tone for our switching defense (he has his lapses, but his quickness, toughness and versatility are the reason we can play this defense), guarding the best post player (he is third on the team in steals and first blocks, and generally makes it tough for the person he is defending), and bringing the energy to the team (he is still our heart and soul and everyone knows it). These are his strengths, and when he leans into them and other players do what they do well it generally works. When he is asked to play outside of this role, it can take us out of the offense because it takes him a while to make his move and get to the basket. I know he is the team leader, but I don't think scoring is what we need from him unless it is something the other team is giving us on a silver platter. I actually think him and Skerry know that. He looks to see what the other team givens him and capitalizes if he sees it.
  10. Tiger93

    Hofstra edges MBB 59-56

    That was the first time since the Monmouth game that we have been under a point per possession in a game (.933 points per game in 60 possession) and it was not pretty. I think to some extent Skerry is right that it is make or miss game, and we missed a lot. If we have a couple more shots we win that game, but (and I am not saying this to be critical Skerry, just in genera) it is bad habit to think that way. On the road in conference play, we are now 103-277 (37.2%). If you take out the 30-58 performance at Charleston (which obviously shouldn't be taken out) it gets a lot worse. We have six bad halfs, one decent half and three good halfs. We shot 57% in the second half at Northeastern, 50% and 54% at Charleston, and a decent 43% in the first half at Delaware. We shot 33% in the first half against Hofstra and 27% in the second half, 24% in the first half at Northeastern, 35% in the second half at Delaware, and 23% and 31% at Monmouth. I love the effort and defense of this team, but this is one of the big reasons why as much as I like the talent and depth on this roster it gets very dicey come tournament play. Right now, in 10 halfs away from Towson in CAA play, six of the 10 have been 35% or worse shooting halfs. One half like that sinks you tournament play. Tip your cap to Thomas who made some tough shots. One thing that has been brought up on this board is how good Lowery plays on defense, but what a liability he can be on offense. There was a 4-5 possession stretch where Lowery was covering Thomas. One time Thomas just got the angle on him and hit a jumper, but the other 3-4 times Lowery forced him to him pass it or miss the shot. I think if we played Hofstra again, I would probably use Lowery in that matchup more. The stretch where Lowery was guarding Thomas is where we made our run at the end to tie it at 54 (I am pretty sure). Mat mentioned some good defense by Tarke, and Tarke did make a great block on Carlos with the game tied at 54 to give us a chance to take the lead late. Unfortunately, he had one of his several really bad possession when he committed an offensive charge. I honestly think you guys are being a little hard on Charles. The only reason he was a good offensive player at times in 2021-22 was because there were so many options on offense that things came easy to him and Timberlake. When either of those guys are a clear-cut second option on offense things won't come easy. Charles had some bad turnovers, but he had the assist on May's game-tying three late, and also had a couple of key blocks. I like when he scores, but I would rather see this then him force up a bunch of ill-advised shots. Honestly, this offense seems at its best when May and Williamson are scoring. They combined for 37 against Northeastern and 39 at Delaware. Yesterday they had 10 points combined. It was probably he 21 bench points, 17 of which came from Sulaiman (10) and Jones (7). Those two had 11 offensive rebounds combined. Unfortunately, Jones, who had been making his shots at a high clip recently, was only 1-6 and missed 3-4 layups in traffic. The team was 10-22 on layups. One positive trend I would love to see this team keep up is the free-throw shooting lately. We are 59-70 (84.3%) the last three games and an impossible to replicate 40-44 (90.9%) in the last two. Hofstra still hosts Drexel, but UNC-W misses out on traveling there. That will be a tough place to win, and only Charleston has beaten them at home. We have four home and four road games left. Nothing can really be assumed, but I would guess 5-3 is the worst we can go to get a top 4 seed. I know it is early for this nonsense, but I will start it. Here are the top 6 teams remaining games: Drexel - at UNC-W, at Charleston, vs. Hofstra, vs. Campbell, at Hofstra, at Delaware, vs. Stony Brook, vs. Northeastern Towson - vs. Delaware, vs. Elon, at William & Mary (who almost beat Charleston yesterday), at Hampton, vs. Monmouth, vs. Charleston, at NC A&T, at UNC-W UNC-W - vs. Drexel, at Hampton, vs. NC A&T, vs. Elon, at William & Mary, at Campbell, vs. Hofstra, vs. Towson Charleston - vs. NC A&T, vs. Drexel, at Northeastern, vs. William & Mary, at Delaware, at Towson, vs. Campbell, vs. Hofstra Hofstra - at Hampton, at NC &T (I think they lose there last year), at Drexel, vs. Northeastern, at Hofstra, vs. Elon, at UNC-W, at Charleston Delaware - at Towson, vs. William & Mary, at Elon, at NC A&T, vs. Charleston, vs. Drexel, at Stony Brook
  11. Tiger93

    Hofstra preview

    I still think the main goal is to win the conference, but it is too early to go there and top four is the first step in that conversation. No doubt this is a very difficult matchup for Towson. We played great up there two years ago and were playing well last year in the first half until they shredded our defense in the second half. Hitting a shot at the buzzer to win after trailing by 13 to Stony Brook last game has to give them so momentum heading into tonight's game. Northeastern feels like the one team so far in this conference that has found a way to get a lot of good looks against our defense, but give Towson credit for really clamping down in that second half. I still wonder if there is anything on the Northeastern film that other teams can use. Although, their style and personnel seems a lot different than others teams in the conference. I have only watched small parts of Hofstra games this year, but the few times I have watched they seem like a really talented team that isn't getting the most collectively out of that talent. Hopefully that spark doesn't go off tonight. Would be nice to be tied for first at the end of the day.
  12. Tiger93

    Hofstra preview

    I was thinking bigger, but I get your point about the top four. A win on the road at Hofstra would give us some good separation from one of the major threats to be a top four team. That UNCW sweep of Charleston is going to loom large in the conference title race. Drexel is off this Saturday and goes to UNC-W and Charleston in their next two, followed by playing two of three against Hofstra in their following three. Something tells me if we can win at Hofstra we can start credibly putting ourselves at the UNC-W/Charleston level of the conference conversation. Still too far away to start talking about conference titles, but if Towson wins this weekend it would be tied for first with Drexel with no more road games against Drexel, Delaware, Charleston or Monmouth (they haven't lost at home in conference play yet). There are still a lot of landmines and it is way too early to assume wins, but we have set ourselves up well so far.
  13. I believe the 51 second-half points were a season-high for points in a half. I could 10 half this year where we have scored 40 points (51 vs. Northeastern, 50 vs. Arcadia, 47 vs. Arcadia, 46 at UMBC, 45 vs. UMass, 44 at Charleston, 44 vs. Campbell, 43 vs. UMBC, 42 at Northeastern, 41 vs. Morgan State). What an odd trend that in first halfs against Northeastern this year we have scored 49 points in 58 possession (0.845 points per possession) and shot 14-47 from the field (29/7%). However in the two second halfs, we have scored 93 points in 62 possessions (1.5 points per possession) and shot 27-49 (55%). This was the fifth time a Towson player scored 20 this year I believe. May did it the previous four times with 27 vs. UMass, 24 at UMBC, 23 at Delaware and 20 at Charleston. May's 19 points in a half was the most this year before last night when Williamson went for 23 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 3pt FG, 5-5 FT) in the second half. I can't remember the last time a Towson played dropped 20 in a half, but I didn't know May almost did it earlier this year. I am sure it has happened more recently then I can remember, but it still impressive. In the last two games, Willamson has dropped 37 points in the second half and shot 13-16 from the field. It was a really awful first 22 minutes of the game. With Towson trailing 45-38 at the 16:49 mark Sulaiman was subbed in. He had five points and three steals 3:52, and when he was subbed out at the the 12:42 mark Towson led 49-47. The guy has had a knack during this stretch to come up with a big steal or offensive rebound at some point in the game to spark us, and he kind of just took over this game defensively for three minutes or so to flip the momentum. Sulaiman finished 8 points , 4 steals and was a +15 on the court (only Williamson's +18 was higher). He did all that in 19 impactful minutes. This was one of those games where Charles Thompson also puts his imprint on everything. Thompson had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals, and as was mentioned he was a mind-boggling 8-8 from the free-throw line. I like that the only guy to shoot double-figure shots from the field was the player who was hot with Williamson scoring 26 on 8-13 FG (5-9 from three). Nendah Tarke ended up with three blocks and five assists on the night, and he continues to exert his physical will on the game even when he doesn't score. Tarke and May each had a Towson-high 35 minutes. For the third time this year, Towson made more than 20 free throws in a game. Our season-high was 27 against Bryant, but it took us two overtimes and 43 attempts to get there. We also had 23 against UMass in 34 attempts. Towson made 26 in a tidy 29 attempts last night (89.7%). It was only the fifth time this year we have shot over 70% from the free throw line, and two of those have come in the last two games. The 89.7% was a season-high eclipsing 13-16 (81.3%) against Wake Forest. Last night was also the second time we hit double-figure steals. The first came against Arcadia. I said a week or so ago that we owned two of the best wins in the conference with our victories at Charleston and against Drexel. Well, UNC-W joined us by winning Charleston last night and Monmouth also did by winning against Drexel. Stony Brook and Charleston join us as the only teams to beat UNC-W. My point is that the more tough wins against good teams we get the more we can raise our expectations. We are still the only CAA team to win at Delaware, and we are 4-0 against the combination of Drexel, UNC-W, Charleston and Delaware so far. UNC-W getting season sweep against Charleston is a big feather in their cap, and they join Towson as the only two teams who are undefeated for the whole season at home. Hofstra's only loss at home in conference play is Charleston, and as has been stated a win in Hempstead would be a huge statement by Towson that we are ready to not just be near the top of the pack, but take over and try to lead the way.
  14. Tiger93

    Northeastern II Preview

    Doing a quick scan the 1.243 points per possession that Northeastern put up against Towson was the best by any Tiger opponent this year. It looks like we have only given up 1.2 points per possession three times all year (Charleston and Wake). It is weird, usually we try to drag teams into a our slow pace, but when we played Northeastern they dragged us into a slow gave even by our standards. We are averaging 61.7 possessions, and both teams only had 54 possession in the first meeting. I think that was our lowest total. It really was the tale of two halfs. In the first half, we had 4 FG, 9 TO, 17 points and averaged 0.680 points per possession. Hopefully, we can avoid a half like that the rest of the season. In the second half, we had 42 points, went 13-23 FGs, 5-10 3pt FG and averaged 1.556 points per possession in 27 possession (same as the first half). That still might be our most efficient half of the season, but they were also really efficient we dug too big a hole in the first half. It reminded me of some of the tournament games we have lost where we start slow, begin to heat up, can't quite stop the other team enough, and run out of possession eventually. Chris Doherty was good as usual in that game, but I thought the player who controlled everything was Luka Sakota. He had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. What is every more odd is that Sakota is 3-22 with 7 points in three game since, and it looks like he missed the last game. Nendah Tarke had all 17 of his points in the second half in this matchup. I am hopping the offense can pick up where it left off in the second half against Northeastern last time.
  15. Tiger93

    CAA Men's Basketball Thread

    It is a very random stat, but although I don't love our switching defense at times it really feels like we have good depth and personnel for it this year. Last year's team seemed like a bad fit for it. I agree it will even out a little, but I still think it can be a strength. We will find out this week because Bill Coen often figures out ways to match up well against our defense and they had one of the most efficient offensive games anyone has had against us earlier this year. Hofstra also tore our defense apart in the second half at their place last year.
  16. Tiger93

    CAA Men's Basketball Thread

    I know 3-pt shooting percentage can be random and there is an element of make or miss luck, but I still think our opponents 3-pt shooting percentage of .246 (35-142) in conference play is the most impressive stat of the year so far. It is especially impressive since we have faced four of the best 3-pt shooting teams in conference play so far, and we are No. 2 on that list. We have the best differential in 3-pt pct (.368) to 3-pt pct against (.246) in conference play at +.122. Another way to translate it is we have scored 180 points in conference play off three-points and our opponents have scored 105, which puts us at +75. I am still working on the full conference breakdown, but I would have never predicted what a huge advantage this would be for us. Attached is our opponent's game-by-game 3pt FG pct. breakdown.
  17. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    There is no doubt that postseason in American sports is the end all be all and the bottom line for your how your results are measured. However, it is about 10% (if that) of what you watch as a real fan during the year. While it controls the whole narrative, there has to be some enjoyment of the journey and it can't all be wiped out by the postseason results. Yes, I realize I am making a statement that will rehash the same old tired arguments we always have here. For our particular program, we are all in agreement the NCAA Tournament is the thing, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy smacking Charleston and grabbing a win at their place, ending Drexel's unbeaten run, taking down UNC-W, or completing the first half of sweeping the chickens out of this conference. To me it is about staying in the present and seeing what this interesting mix of young and more experienced players can do, and then hoping and praying when we get to March that we can get it right finally.
  18. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    I did a quick scan and our Rookie of the Week history was not very plentiful before this year. It looked like our last Rookie of the Week before this season was Jason Gibson on January 27, 2020. Prior to that it was Mike Morsell on February 2, 2016. Jerome Hairston won it four times in 2012-13. On December 31, 2012, Jerelle Benimon was named Player of the Week and Hairston claimed Rookie of the Week honors. It also happened on January 16, 2006 when Gary Neal won Player of the Week and Tim Crossin won Rookie of the Week. Other Rookie of the Week honorees included Troy Franklin November 24 & December 8, 2009, Tim Crossin December 5, 2005, January 16 & February 20, 2006. Trevan Jackson on December 1, 2003, and Lawrence Hamm on December 16, 2002, January 20 & February 3, 2003. This year and 2012-13 are the only times we have had four Rookie of the Week selections. It looks like Hairston (4), Crossin (3), Hamm (3) and Tejada (3) are the only ones to win it three or more times. This year, I believe is also the first time we have had two different players named Rookie of the Week in the same season. This was a quick scan so I may have missed some on my scanning. https://caasports.com/documents/2023/4/6/recordbook23mbask.pdf
  19. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    You might be right as I haven't checked for a good part of the year, but from a quick check on Twitter it looks like on January 12, 2024 he had Drexel after the week where Drexel and Towson both beat UNC-W. I think Drexel has been there ever since. The last week I saw UNC-W there was December 29, but I couldn't find one for the next week.
  20. Tiger93

    General MBB 2023-24 thread

    I think Lunardi just puts whoever is in first place in one-bid conference leagues during the regular-season. You might be giving him too much credit for following what is truly going on at a mid-major level.
  21. Tiger93

    May leads MBB over Delaware 67-56

    This was one of those games that felt like it was closer than it should have been throughout the entirety of the contest. It felt like we should have been leading by double-figures for much of the second half, but from the 1:37 mark of the first half at 28-24 all the way until Sulaiman hit his final two free throws at the 15-second mark this game lived in a 4-to-9 point margin window the whole time. As much criticism as I will give for not winning by more, I will give credit for never letting Delaware getting it any closed than four on the road. This was another one of those offensive efforts that makes you worried about when this team gets in big games, but it was also an excellent defensive effort on the road. Delaware's previous low for points in a game was 65 against Air Force, and we held them to nine points below that total. This was also the first time all year they did not reach double digit assists with only 8 for the game. It also tied for the third-highest turnover total at 14. Their only two losses at home were by three in OT to Rider and by two against Princeton, so winning by 11 there is a big deal. At least for now until we see what others teams do there. Individually, it was another game where guys stepped in and made plays to fill their roles. Christian May was great for the first 2/3rds of the game scoring 23 points in the first 29+ minutes. For the second straight game, he led the team in rebounds (eight boards). He also was a game-high +16 today. May did not score the final 10:35 and Williamson was there to pick up where he left off. Williamson only had three points until the 7:56 mark of the second half. With Towson on nearly a 3-minute scoring drought, he scored the next nine Tigers points between the 7:56 and 4:05 mark (3:51 game time). He had 13 points in the final 7:56 including an awesome stop-on-a-dime playground crossover that looked like it was part of the And-One Mix Tour. Outside of May and Williamson, the rest of the team shot 8-36. However, there were players that filled roles in another way. Even though Tarke was 2-17 from the field and 0-6 from 3ptFg, he did grab six boards and two steals. The best supporting performance came from Chase Paar who stepped up and played good defense against Davis after Thompson's ejection. Paar finished with four points, five rebounds and two steals, but the boxscore doesn't fully show his contribution. Paar, Tarke and Messiah Jones all had two steals, and tied Towson's high steal total in a D-1 game with the nine they had against Colorado. Jones is now 13-16 (81%) and is +50 in 71 minutes over the last four games. The Jones-Sulaiman combo has been interesting one. Sulaiman hasn't scored much, but he has grabbed 21 rebounds (6 vs. Delaware) in his last 60 minutes of play. He only had three rebounds against College of Charleston, but had three steals in that game. I know +/- can be a random useless stat, but our top +/- guys in conference have been Tejada (+49 in 22.3 minutes per game), Jones (+45 in 16.6 mpg), May (+43 in 31.8 mpg), Williamson (+32 in 23.5 mpg), Thompson (+32 in 27.6 mpg) and Tarke (+27 in 30.6 mpg). Towson averaged 1.00 points per possession in what I believe was a season-high for D-1 of possessions per game in regulation (they had 92 in 2OT against Bryant). They held Delaware to 0.872 points per possession in 65 possessions, which is three below their average. We probably played closer to their pace today, but our defense and both teams shooting percentages (37.3% for Towson and 39.1% for Delaware) had a great deal to do with the lack of offense on both ends. It was also good to see Stony Brook take down UNC-W yesterday. I think this win makes me feel like we can be a top 3-4 team in the conference. The Monmouth and Northeastern losses make it tough to think about being a top two team with what our remaining schedule looks like. Although, the Charleston road win is probably one not many others will have. Charleston has only lost to us at home and UNC-W on the road, while Drexel lost to us on the road. Neither really has what you would call a bad loss. We can't really afford to lose to anyone outside of the top 4-5 teams (Hofstra is probably rounding its way to this list) on the road or at home if we want to really think about being at the top of this conference. I like the way this team is playing on defense, and it will be interesting to see if we can keep having these quality role player performance on the road. I would say to this point we probably have two of the four best conference wins with the Charleston road win and the Drexel home win. Charleston at Hofstra and UNC-W at home against Charleston are probably the other two. I might be missing the others, but for right now this Delaware win is probably close behind those wins.
  22. Tiger93

    Delaware Preview

    To your point, Delaware is averaging 74.4 ppg in conference play and giving up an average of 70.7. They are 3-0 at home and averaging a little over 80 ppg at home in conference play against NC A&T (90), Stony Brook (71), Hampton (80). Delaware is also shooting 46.2% FG in conference play and 35.9% from 3pt FG. Road teams are 18-32 in conference play. When you look at the winning teams right now (Drexel 7-1, Charleston 5-2, Towson 5-2, UNC-W 5-2, Delaware 4-3, Hofstra 4-3, Campbell 4-3, NC A&T 4-3), that group has 4 of the 18 home losses. Charleston beat Hofstra, Drexel beat NC A&T, Delaware beat Campbell and Towson beat Charleston. We have lost two of the last three at Newark since 2020, but we also won four straight there before that stretch. Towson is also 12-4 against Delaware in the last 16 meetings (which I didn't remember). They are middle of the road in pace at 171 (68.1 possessions per game). We moved up two spots to 360 (61.5 possessions per game). I was wondering what our conference looks like overall. Here is the list of possessions per game/tempo for the whole CAA: Hampton (35), Charleston (36), NC A&T (100), Elon (140), Delaware (171), Monmouth (185), Stony Brook (220), Hofstra (235), William and Mary (246), UNC-W (257), Northeastern (296), Campbell (316), Drexel (348), Towson (360). To the point on Davis, we did a decent job against him at home and in the CAA Tournament last year. He scored 16 points and was 8-13 in Newark, but averaged 10.7 ppg and was 16-33 from the field in three games. He has obviously been great this year at 18.6 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Last year Christian Ray averaged 15.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg and was 19-26 from the field. I am seeing Delaware -1.5 and a 133.5 over-under. Getting this win, would make me a believer that we can be a top 3-4 team in this conference. It would also be a nice statement to win two straight tough road games.
  23. Tiger93

    2023 Volleyball thread

    That is a very interesting list of transfers with a variety of paths to find themselves in the Black and Gold. I have all the confidence in the world in this coaching staff to retool with these players and continue to uphold the high level we become accustomed to with this program.
  24. Tiger93

    MBB holds on to beat Drexel 70-67

    The one thing I have really liked to see from this team lately is role players stepping in and contributing effectively in a variety of ways. Messiah Jones is averaging 7.3 ppg, shooting 10-12 (83%) and is a +41 in an average of a little over 17 minutes over the last three games. Toniya Sulaiman had 4 offensive rebounds (8 overall), has contributed 9 offensive rebounds in the last two games and leads the team with 15 offensive rebounds in conference play. Chaase Paar chipped in 6 pts, was 3-4, and was a +9 on the floor in 14 minutes. Dylan Williamson didn't have a great game and only played 18 minutes, but knocked down the last two free throws, which we desperately needed and was a +8 on the floor. Skerry has figured out the Tarke, May and Thompson are the only guys he trusts playing 30 minutes per game. May led the way with 34 minutes, and it was good to see him score 15 points on only nine FGs while also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds (only one less than Williams). Tarke continues to be our alpha player, and is not scared of any moment. Sometimes that doesn't lead to the greatest shot selection, but he had a couple of great hesitation shot fakes to score over Williams. Even though it took him 14 shots to get 18 points it is helpful to have his aggressiveness, because it opens up offensive rebounding and other opportunities. Charles fouled out in 25 minutes, but I thought he played really well defensively when he is in the game. It might not look like it statistically, but I feel like he gets the better of Williams in these matchups. He scored 12 points in 25 minutes has to be one of most explosive outputs, and he had a couple of key blocks. He is shooting 61.5% from the field in conference play. He does not qualify, but that would be second behind Williams if he did. Charles leads the team in conference play in rebounding, FG%, steals, blocks and is only two behind the lead in assists. One of the interesting things when you look at the conference-only stats is that of the top four teams (Drexel, Charleston, Towson and UNC-W) they only have three players in the top 25 of minutes played. White is 18th, May is 20th, Tarke is 22nd and Charleston and Drexel have no one on that list. The rotations of those teams and how they evolve throughout the year (probably not much) will be interesting to track. Going back to my original point I feel like Skerry has been doing a solid job rotating players and having them understand strengths when they get in the game. This might be the deepest Towson team from an athletic standpoint I can remember, so it is good he is doing that well because it was one of my primary criticism of him heading into conference play. Now it is time to send Delaware off to their new conference with a couple of Ls the next couple of weeks.
  25. Tiger93

    Drexel Preview

    Two trends I would love to keep up in conference play that I think are a mix of good defense by Towson and a little bit of luck is our three-point shooting compared to opponent's three-point shooting and our assist-to-turnover ratio compared to opponents. We are currently second in CAA Play in 3pt-FG pct. at .394 (52-132). In our first six games we are 6-28 (Monmouth), 9-18 (UNC-W), 10-25 (Stony Brook), 6-16 (Northeastern), 10-19 (Charleston) and 11-26 (Campbell). Of course the team in front of us is Drexel, who is shooting .427 (56-131) in seven conference games. Conversely, we are holding a opponents to a .229 3pt-FG pct. at 24-105, which is .59 lower than anyone else (NC A&T is second at .288). Not only that, but we have allowed the second-lowest attempts in conference play as well. This seems to be a mix of quality defense and the slow pace I often criticize. I don't have anything to back this up, but Skerry's demanding switch defense which looked awful at times last year seems like it is a lot tighter this year. We seem to overall have more players capable of doing it, and more athleticism. In our first six games opponents are 1-15 (Monmouth) 4-17 (UNC-W), 4-19 (Stony Brook), 4-10 (Northeastern, who was on fire with 2pt-FGs), 8-28 (Charleston) and 3-16 (Campbell). Another thing is that our opponents have 45 assists while committing 67 turnovers. That is an average of 7.5 assist per game. We are going to the line 17 times more than opponents 109 to 92, but only making two more free throws. In conference play, we are averaging 1.084 points per possession on an average of 61.6 possessions per game (we are 9-0 when we get to 1.1 on the year). That is slightly above our overall pace (61.1 possessions per game). We are limiting our opponents to 0.957 points per possession on 62.5 possessions per game. Drexel is averaging 1.307 points per possession on 62.7 possession per game. They are also limiting opponents to .903 points per possession on 63.1 possession per game. They are shooting 51% in conference play too. I will say so far their tough games against Monmouth, UNCW and Delaware have all been at home. They have played NC A&T, Hampton, Elon and William & Mary on the road, while we have player College of Charleston, Northeastern and Monmouth. This will obviously still be a very difficult game.

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