University of Delaware (17-7, 9-0)
College of Charleston (12-11, 4-4)
Acierno Arena
Tipoff at 7pm, live stream available here
After an up-and-down start to CAA play that has the Cougars resting right at .500 in league play and right in the middle of the standings, the next two games (at Delaware, at Towson) should offer a very good measuring stick of weather or not the Cougars have what it takes to move up the leaderboard.
First up is Delaware, the last remaining undefeated team in the Colonial and the only team to separate themselves from the flotsam of parity that is this conference. The Blue Hens are 9-0 versus their peers and execute the league's best offense. Fortunately for the Cougars, Delaware will be without recently suspended players Jarvis Threatt and Marvin King-Davis ("violations of separate athletics department policies"). Threat was second on the team with 18 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals - gaudy numbers. King-Davis is a forward who had started every game this season and was putting up 6 points and just over four rebounds each game. UD just snuck past winless UNCW in their last game so they are clearly vulnerable at this point.
Are the Fightin' Blue Hens any good?
Yes. Yes they are. Delaware is the clear-cut best team in the CAA right now, amassing the league's best record at a perfect 9-and-0. They have also defeated Towson, W&M, and Drexel just in case there was any argument to the contrary. They are ranked 25th nationally averaging 80.2 points per game behind recently crowned Delaware career scoring record holder Devon Saddler's 20.2 ppg. Along with 6-6 swingman Davon Usher and Threatt, the Hens have the best backcourt in the CAA. Throw in one last all-conference caliber player in big man Carl Baptiste and you have a very complete basketball team.
What do they do well?
Score. If you thought William & Mary's offense was deadly, know that it ranks third in the CAA behind Delaware and Drexel. The Cougars still have statistically the conference's best defense and they will get to test it Wednesday night.
What do they struggle with?
First up is Delaware, the last remaining undefeated team in the Colonial and the only team to separate themselves from the flotsam of parity that is this conference. The Blue Hens are 9-0 versus their peers and execute the league's best offense. Fortunately for the Cougars, Delaware will be without recently suspended players Jarvis Threatt and Marvin King-Davis ("violations of separate athletics department policies"). Threat was second on the team with 18 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals - gaudy numbers. King-Davis is a forward who had started every game this season and was putting up 6 points and just over four rebounds each game. UD just snuck past winless UNCW in their last game so they are clearly vulnerable at this point.
Are the Fightin' Blue Hens any good?
Yes. Yes they are. Delaware is the clear-cut best team in the CAA right now, amassing the league's best record at a perfect 9-and-0. They have also defeated Towson, W&M, and Drexel just in case there was any argument to the contrary. They are ranked 25th nationally averaging 80.2 points per game behind recently crowned Delaware career scoring record holder Devon Saddler's 20.2 ppg. Along with 6-6 swingman Davon Usher and Threatt, the Hens have the best backcourt in the CAA. Throw in one last all-conference caliber player in big man Carl Baptiste and you have a very complete basketball team.
What do they do well?
Score. If you thought William & Mary's offense was deadly, know that it ranks third in the CAA behind Delaware and Drexel. The Cougars still have statistically the conference's best defense and they will get to test it Wednesday night.
What do they struggle with?
It's hard to point out flaws on a team that has steamrolled the rest of competition in the CAA. The Blue Hens aren't a very good offensive rebounding team - which bodes well for CofC because giving up second-half points has been sort of a trend on the road. The real weakness during Threatt and King-Davis' suspensions will be lack of depth. Tonight will be Delaware's third game in five nights. All of their starters save for Baptiste (30 minutes), played over 35 in their game against The Dub on Saturday. The Hens are essentially running on fumes right now.
X-Factor
The Cougars three-point shooting. Nobody knows what to expect from CofC's outside shooters - game-to-game it's nearly impossible to predict if the shooting percentage is going to go up, down, left right, sideways. Against Hofstra, it was a big "up". Against JMU in Harrisonburg it was a big "down". Even if the Cougars hold Delaware well below their season point averages, CofC will still need to put up somewhere in the mid-to-upper 60's to win. Consider this - even though they rained 12 long-ball baskets against Hofstra, the Cougs still could not crack 70 points. Hope Nori, Stitt and Hall keep the outside shooting streak hot.
Matchup to watch for
Hall vs Baptiste. Wojcik has said that Carl Baptiste is the most over-looked player on Delaware's roster. All the attention is given to Saddler and the backcourt but CDW has favorably compared Baptiste to Northeastern's Scott Eatherton for their offensive repertoire in the paint. Even though he has struggled in 2 of the last 3 games with foul trouble, Baru can lock down opposing big men when he is engaged. The Cougar defense needs to show up in a big way and it's likely Saddler will still get his points just like the Tribe's Thornton did. Holding Baptiste to an inefficient game will go a long way in swinging the point total to Charleston's favor.
Will be a tough test but that's what we signed up for by switching conferences. Let's hope everybody shows up.
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