Hofstra edges MBB 59-56

[mat1992 2,237]

Williamson has to cook, but they need to allow him to get going by giving him screens and pushing the pace because he’s outstanding in the open floor as shown in the second half against Northeastern. One of the few players in the Skerry that has the speed but also creativity to score and create in transition.

Charles needs to score more than 2 points for Towson to succeed. Are teams doubling him more this season? Without a doubt as the only returning starter but he’s been ineffective when getting mano a mano. 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

11 hours ago, Moleman1 said:

Playing against Hofstra, a usually quick Williamson who's been scoring well recently was blunted by the "speedy" defense of Hofstra's guards.. As for others on the Tiger's offense who might penetrate in to score, they too were often stymied by double and triple defenders who collapsed on our ball handlers; ie I think maybe what's needed is improvement with our drive-and-dish plays.. We've got a team that has remarkable talent in rebounding, decent defending, 10 man depth, and now remarkable FT skill. Just some flaws on offense that need straightening out, incl Tejada's scoring slump. He had the magic, so he can get it back; just hope it happens soon. 

Hofstra is better defensively than in years past but 56 points against them isn’t enough. 

12 hours ago, Tiger93 said:

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 

Our defense is average and it’s bolstered by playing slow. Hofstra shot 45.1 and 47.8% from deep. We turned them over 10 times which is good on the number of possessions. 

 Would have liked lowery on Thomas more than May. He looked tired and that affected his offense. We need him to score.  
Charles  isn’t an offensive player but he needs more than 2 points, 3 shots and 1 offensive rebound against a small pride team  chase had better numbers in half the minutes. 

[Tiger93 299]

1 hour ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Hofstra is better defensively than in years past but 56 points against them isn’t enough. 

Our defense is average and it’s bolstered by playing slow. Hofstra shot 45.1 and 47.8% from deep. We turned them over 10 times which is good on the number of possessions. 

 Would have liked lowery on Thomas more than May. He looked tired and that affected his offense. We need him to score.  
Charles  isn’t an offensive player but he needs more than 2 points, 3 shots and 1 offensive rebound against a small pride team  chase had better numbers in half the minutes. 

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. 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

6 minutes ago, Tiger93 said:

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. 

Agree and wasn’t saying our defense was awful. It’s not elite. It’s above average and a lot of that is due to pace, that masks a lot of things. Until Saturday we had done a good job at defending the three. 
 

that is fine and all but he’s a 5th year senior and capable of giving more than 2 points 1 offensive rebound. Not asking for him to be wilt or Kareem, or even last years charles but we need just a bit more from him especially against teams with no front court.  We also need him to stay on the court thrusts against Jyaire 

[Tiger93 299]

5 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Agree and wasn’t saying our defense was awful. It’s not elite. It’s above average and a lot of that is due to pace, that masks a lot of things. Until Saturday we had done a good job at defending the three. 
 

that is fine and all but he’s a 5th year senior and capable of giving more than 2 points 1 offensive rebound. Not asking for him to be wilt or Kareem, or even last years charles but we need just a bit more from him especially against teams with no front court.  We also need him to stay on the court thrusts against Jyaire 

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. 

[mat1992 2,237]

Our defense is not average. That’s ridiculous and an over reaction to Saturday’s performance against good shooting team who got too many open looks. Pace has something to do with it, but by using that logic you can also say Virginia is average defensively, and they are 5th in Defensive Efficiency 

 We’re 111th in Adjusted Deficiency  and 98th in Effective Field Goal% defense. We’re 53 in Opponent Three pointers made per game at 6.1. We’re 111th in two point defense. We’re 103 in three point defense at 32.4% Not great but the national average is around 33,7%.

Could we be better? Sure, play a lineup of Sulaiman, Lowery, May, CT and Tarke all the time. We will give up 60 or less but will score 55. Play more Tejada, Williamson, and Jones and D % goes down.

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

6th in fg %. 4th in 3%. 6th in d rebounding %. Middle of pack in turnovers.  ABOVE average. And that’s helped by playing slow

[Tiger93 299]

1 hour ago, TuTigers2012 said:

6th in fg %. 4th in 3%. 6th in d rebounding %. Middle of pack in turnovers.  ABOVE average. And that’s helped by playing slow

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=#
 

[mat1992 2,237]

Houston sucked on defense against Kansas on Saturday. It happens. Guys, get open and make shots and it’s not always due to bad defense. It’s good offense with skilled players executing the plays from good coaches.