RE: Official Game Thread: Western Carolina
The Catamounts turned things around in conference where they have gone 4-2 with wins on the road over Chattanooga (75-63) and Citadel (81-79), and at home over Mercer (58-56) and over VMI (65-58). Their best win out of conference was on the road at UNC Asheville (76-72). They have lost on the road at Samford (71-85) and at home to UNCG (55-66).
Larry Hunter has finally got them looking like one of his tough, scrappy, rebound big and win ugly Catamount squads.
Their conference games have a slow tempo, averaging 67.8 for Western and 67.5 for their opponents. They average a second worst in conference .405 shooting percentage and make fewer 3’s in conference than anyone with 5.7 on a second lowest percentage of .301.
But they lead the conference in steals with 10.3. And they are third in turnover margin, just above ETSU with +1.17. They have a strong +2.8 rebounding margin, just behind the Bucs. They defend the 3 well, with a second best in conference .319.
In other words, with good defense and rebounding they are plenty competitive and capable of beating the Bucs if they are not ready.
6-7 210 JUCO Junior Mike Amius is a tough physical player a little like Jordon Varnado leading the team with 12.5 points and second with 5.5 rebounds. He will be a tough matchup for us. 6-7 205 Frenchman Marc Gosselin is another solid all around player leading the team with 5.9 rebounds and adding 8.2 points. They will be tough to defend - bigger than Bo and Burrell; quicker than Peter and Mladen. Freshman guards Matt Halvorsen and Desmond Johnson have made themselves major parts of the rotation.
Most of the time the biggest man they have on the floor will be either 6-7 210 Mike Amius or 6-7 205 Marc Gosselin. That's a big size advantage to Jurkin and Armus. It also means that Western doesn’t have basket protectors to stop Bo Hodges or David Burrell inside.
Play tough and take care of business like the Bucs have been doing in most games, and it should be a win. But these guys have a way of making it a painful slog.
Guards:
#13 6-5 155 Rs-Sr Deriece Parks, 29.1 minutes, 10.1 ppg, .342 from 3 (2.2 makes), 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.2 t.o.'s, 1.5 steals
#2 6-1 170 Fr Matt Halvorsen, 22.7 minutes, 8.8 ppg, .349 from 3 (2.1 makes), 1.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s
#5 6-1 175 Sr Devin Peterson, 22.1 minutes, 7.6 ppg, .278 from 3 (0.3 makes), 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s, 0.8 steals
#1 5-11 170 Fr Desmond Johnson, 16.2 minutes, 4.9 ppg, .385 from 3 (0.3 makes), 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.1 t.o.’s, 1.6 steals
#11 6-5 190 Rs-Sr Haboubacar Mutombo, 16.3 minutes, 3.2 ppg, .278 from 3 (0.3 makes), 2.8 rebounds
#0 6-6 215 So Maurice Smith, 12.8 minutes, 2.6 ppg, 4-10 .400 from 3, 3.7 rebounds
Front Court:
#23 6-7 210 Jr Mike Amius, 22.4 minutes, 12.5 ppg, 0 three's, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 t.o.'s, 0.7 blocks, 1.1 steals
#12 6-7 205 Jr Marc Gosselin, 25.9 minutes, 8.2 ppg, .366 from 3 (0.9 makes), 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.0 t.o.’s, 1.0 steals
#33 6-5 205 So Onno Steger, 11.3 minutes, 2.9 ppg, .389 from 3 (0.7 makes), 1.0 rebounds
#44 6-8 220 So Adam Sledd, 7.5 minutes, 1.7 ppg, 0 three's, 1.4 rebounds
(This post was last modified: 01-19-2018 05:08 PM by swvabucsfan.)
|