NEXT GAME
FRI 11/29
@ Boise State (9PM)
CURRENT D1 RECORD 2-3
CURRENT PLACE IN STANDINGS
VIDEO STREAM
MWC Digital Network (FREE - Stadium Website or App)
https://watchstadium.com/live/unc-wilmin...ise-state/
CHROMECAST, AMAZON FIRE, OR APPLE NEEDED FOR TV VIEWING - NO ROKU OR ANDROID STADIUM APP
AUDIO FEED
W240AS 95.9 FM The Breeze & WKXB HD2 99.9 FM
http://v6.player.abacast.net/6995
OPPONENTS AUDIO FEED
KBOI 670 AM
TuneIn -
http://tun.in/pjBXH
LIVE STATS
http://UNCWstats.com
http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/stat...1&gid=ncwi
Boise State Broncos
Record vs. D-I: 2-2
After opening their season with a pair of tough losses to # 11 Oregon and UC Irvine, the Broncos enter Friday's game having won 2 straight Overtime contests against BYU and Pacific, with the latter game requiring 3 Overtime periods.
The Broncos are looking to improve coming off a 2018-19 season where they finished 13-20 (7-11), tied for 7th in the Mountain West. The coaches agreed that Boise St. would be better this year, as they were picked 5th in the league in the preseason coaches poll.
The Broncos are led by 6-9 redshirt junior shooting guard
Derrick Alston, Jr.. Alston is tied for # 24 in the nation in scoring (with Grant Riller of Charleston), at 21.4 points per game. He's posting solid numbers across the stat sheet, with 5.6 rebounds, a team-leading 2 blocks and a .394 % from three-point range.
3 other Broncos are scoring in double figures. 6-7 senior forward
RJ Williams is nearly averaging a double-double, ranking second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and first in rebounding (9.2 rpg). He's also averaging 1.6 steals per contest. 6-7 senior guard
Justinian Jessup is averaging 14.0 ppg, 2.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds and leads the team in steals at 1.8 spg. Running the point is 6-4 senior
Alex Hobbs, averaging 10.6 ppg, 2.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Rounding out the starting 5 is 6-1 senior
Marcus Dickinson (7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg).
The Broncos are highly dependent on their starting 5. Jessup rarely sees the bench, as he averages 38.8 minutes. Alston and Hobbs are next at 35.2 minutes, and Dickinson sees 30.6 minutes. This makes sense given that their starting lineup is made up of 4 seniors and a redshirt junior. 2 of their key bench players are freshmen, and there's a significant drop-off in play when any of the starting 5 comes off the court.
Boise State's 4-guard lineup works well because they have height and length at 4 of their 5 spots on the court. As such, they're only getting out-rebounded by a slight margin, 37.4 to 36.4. They also play good defense without fouling, averaging just 15.0 team fouls per contest. They're also forcing 16.2 turnovers to contest, which helps make up for their subpar shooting (.439 FG %, .350 3-pt %) with a higher volume of shots from the field. They also do a great job of drawing fouls and making their freebies, with 27.2 free throw attempts per game and a team .721 free throw %.
Expect a very tough game on the road, just 2 days prior to the "headliner" against Stanford.
Stanford Cardinal
Record vs. D-I: 7-1
Despite losing KZ Okpala to the NBA (Miami Heat) following the 2018-19 season, where Stanford went 15-16 (8-10), it seems the Cardinal haven't missed a beat and are off to a tremendous start to the 2019-20 campaign. They clearly appear to be an improved team from the one that beat UNCW 72-59 in Trask last season.
Stanford reeled off 7 straight wins to begin their busy campaign, including an 81-50 victory over fellow CAA foe William & Mary and a 73-54 victory over Oklahoma (6-1), before finally losing to Butler, 68-67, on Tuesday night at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, MO. It was their 2nd game in 2 days and 3rd game in 6 days against a Butler squad that is now 7-0 against D-I teams. Stanford hasn't received any votes in the AP or USA Today polls yet, but despite the loss to Butler, expect that to change next week IF they beat us on Sunday.
The Cardinal are led by 2 primary scorers, 6-1 freshman guard
Tyrell Terry and 6-9 junior forward
Oscar da Silva. Terry leads the team with 16.5 ppg, and despite his small stature, is 2nd on the team in rebounding at 5.0 rpg. Terry is also second on the team in assists (3.0 apg) and first in steals (2.4 spg). Da Silva, who operates as the 5 in Stanford's lineup, has 15.4 ppg with a team-best 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 apg, and leads the team in field goal % at .595.
Joining Terry and da Silva in the starting 5 are 6-7 freshman forward
Spencer Jones, 6-3 junior point guard
Daejon Davis and 6-6 sophomore guard
Bryce Wills. All 5 of their starters have started all 8 games, with the exception of Jones, who has started 7. Jones is 3rd on the team in scoring, at 10.3 ppg, and is easily the best perimeter shooter, at 24-45 (.533) from three on the season. He's a nice blend of "3 and D", as evidenced by his team-leading 7 blocks on the 2019-20 season. Davis is averaging 8.5 ppg and leads the team in assists at 3.6 apg. He's also very effective in his relatively low number of three point attempts, at 9-16 (.563). Wills is averaging 6.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 2.8 apg.
Much like Boise State, Stanford is dependent on their starting 5, with only their 6th man, 6-9 sophomore forward
Jaiden Delaire seeing significant minutes (18.6 mpg). Everyone else on the team outside of these 6 receives less than 12 minutes per contest. Delaire is a pure inside scorer, with 8.6 ppg on 24-42 shooting (.571). He's also 2nd on the team in blocks, with 5. Stanford's relative lack of depth may explain why they couldn't pull out the win over Butler on short rest. That won't help the Seahawks, however, as Stanford will be hosting us on 4 full days of rest.
Also much like Boise State, the Cardinal have been able to rebound effectively despite a smallish lineup with no true Center, outrebounding opponents 35.5 to 31.3. In addition, the Cardinal may not have one primary ballhandler, with 3 players racking up at least 20 assists and another with 19, but that only means their ball movement has been effective.
However, with a young lineup featuring no seniors, a pair of freshman and two sophomores in their top 6, turnovers have been a problem, as the Cardinal have committed 14.3 per game. On the positive side, they've forced 16.3 turnovers per game out of their opponents.
While Stanford does turn the ball over, they're not likely to give teams a lot of long rebounds. As a team, the Cardinal are shooting .428 from three, which ranks t-9th in the nation. That will be by far the biggest problem for a Seahawk defense that tends to allow a lot of good looks from the perimeter. This will be the area Coach McGrath will need to tighten up as much as possible. With just 2 days between the Boise State and Stanford game, that will be a huge challenge.