A Test of Mental Toughness: Cougars Look to Bounce Back Against Towson

Towson University (15-8, 6-2)

College of Charleston (12-12, 4-5)

SECU Arena

Tipoff at 2pm on Comcast SportsNet

I'm sure I'm speaking for most devoted Cougar fans when I report having still not gotten 100% over the meltdown against Delaware just days ago. I can't imagine how crushed the team was. The loss alone is tough, the way CofC gave the game away was excruciating and taking a step back and looking at the importance of that game on standings, record, reputation... the whole thing was just crushing.

But there's no time for feeling down or sorry for themselves. The Cougars face another tough road test against the next best team in the CAA: Towson. The Tigers have won 10 of 11 games inside their brand new arena and they bring the league's premier player and glass-cleaning crew to the game against the Cougars. Was the Delaware loss so hurtful to team morale that this mentally fragile team folds against the competition? Or will they come out with a chip on their shoulder and manage to overcome whatever adversity they come across?

What happened the last time these teams met

Nori Johnson (0-7) and the Cougar offense came to a grinding halt against one of the CAA's premier defenses. The jump shots stopped falling and despite a valiant effort from Willis Hall (20 and 12), the Cougars only posted 57 points and lost inside TD Arena to the pre-season favorites. Adjehi and Benimon were the headliners and fans got the one-on-one battles they wanted. Benimon was cold for much of the first half before he started draining long jumpers over Baru and Wishon. CofC had just 10 turnovers but Towson was able to accumulate 18 points from the giveaways and also collected 14 offensive rebounds to pad their point totals. The loss dropped the Cougars to 2-2 in conference.   

Since then

Three days after taking on Charleston, Towson suffered their lone home defeat of the season against Northeastern, 57-54. Then, in a battle for CAA supremacy, they lost at Delaware to cement themselves relatively firmly as the second best team in this conference. They have since won three in a row against Hofstra, Drexel and JMU. Meanwhile the Cougars have blown leads in three of their last four games to drop to a losing record in the CAA. Canyon Barry, who was out with a broken finger the last time these teams met, has since returned to the team in limited minutes.

X-Factor

And speaking of Canyon, he is this game's x-factor. Against Delaware, CB still looked like he had a ways to go before he was in game shape but any unexpected contributions he can pour in off the bench with Towson unprepared for his play would be welcome. Shades of his 28-point game earlier this season please? The bench duo of Joe Chealey and David Wishon was one of the few positives from the Delaware Disaster, factoring Canyon into the fold could take some additional pressure off the starters if they still show signs of lifelessness or get in foul trouble.