Towson
Efficiency Rankings (kenpom.com)
UNCW
Adjusted Offense: # 175 (of 351)
Adjusted Defense: # 319
Overall: # 264
Towson
Adjusted Offense: # 156
Adjusted Defense: # 90
Overall: # 117
Projected Starters
PG: Brian Starr (Sr.): 8.9 ppg, 2.7 apg, .400 3-pt %)
SG: Mike Morsell (Sr.): 12.5 ppg, .338 3-pt %, 3.1 rpg)
G: Zane Martin (So.): 18.1 ppg, .394 3-pt %, .494 FG %)
F: Eddie Keith II (Sr.): 7.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.9 spg)
C: Alex Thomas (Jr.): 3.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Team Stats
Scoring
Towson: 74.5 points per game
Opponents: 65.1
Shooting
Towson: .462
Opponents: .390
3-Pt Shooting
Towson: .379
Opponents: .293
Rebounding
Towson: 38.9 per game
Opponents: 33.6
Turnovers
Towson: 13.1 per game
Opponents: 13.4
A/TO Ratio
Towson: 0.92
Opponents: 0.90
Towson started 0-2 in CAA play, but don't let that fool you. Tough road losses against Charleston and Elon does not portend doom for for the Tigers this season. Particularly not after a very successful non-conference slate, when Towson went 8-3 against D-I opponents, including a 5-0 record in neutral court tournaments. As a result, they are # 76 in the RPI.
And unlike Drexel, Towson has had remarkable continuity throughout the season. The starting lineup for Head Coach Pat Skerry has not changed through their first 14 contests.
But that's not a reflection of Towson lacking depth, either. 9 players have averaged 12+ minutes per contest, keeping the starters fresh. And it seems that every player on the roster are big and physical, capable of shooting from the perimeter, rebounding, and protecting the rim. As a team, the Tigers are shooting .379 from 3, compared to just .293 for opponents. They're out-rebounding opponents by a wide margin (38.9 to 33.6) and block a ton of shots (62, 4.4 per game) compared to opponents (43, 3.1).
The one area where Towson struggles is ball movement. They struggled in this area last season as well, which cost them in their semi-final loss against Charleston, when they put up just 59 points of offense. The Tigers have just a 0.92 A:TO ratio this season.
This will be a grind-it-out type of contest where we can't rightly expect to be the more physical team. But, we can still be the smarter team, better passing team, play the kind of defense we did against Delaware, and perhaps create some key turnovers. All of that will be a necessity on the road in this game against a team hungry for it's first conference win of the season.
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