Cougars Look for Second Straight W Against Sliding Northeastern

College of Charleston (13-13, 5-6)

Northeastern (8-18, 5-7)

TD Arena

Tipoff at 7pm on CSS

After a much-needed victory over Drexel on Thursday, the Cougars will look to pick up a second straight win during their three game home stand. Northeastern comes to town reeling; they've lost four of their last five and thanks to a postponed game in Wilmington they have one less day of prep for Charleston. You may remember Scott Eatherton from the matchup in Boston a month ago. One of the nation's leading double-double machines, Eatherton is an All-CAA big man averaging 16 and 10 per game. This is an important game in helping to separate the crowded middle seeds of the CAA with the postseason looming. Like the Cougars, NU isn't a scoring machine so we may see another final score in the 40's - you were warned.

What happened last time these teams met

The Cougars picked up their first (and only) CAA road win of the season in historic Matthews Arena. Eatherton quickly extended his double-double streak by schooling Adjehi in the first half and nearly accomplishing the feat in the first 20 minutes alone. Some halftime adjustments saw Adehi staying grounded defending Eatherton and the Husky offense faltered. Anthony Thomas was the star of the game - packing the stat sheet with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. His length and defensive ability in that game was reflective of the whole team - as the Cougars forced 9 steals and had 9 blocks to disrupt Northeastern in their home building. Charleston was victorious, 58-49.

Since then

Just like half this conference, both teams are fighting to separate themselves from the tightly contested middle of the conference and snag a 4 seed behind Delaware, Towson and William & Mary. Shortly after the Charleston loss, Northeastern was able to knock off Towson in Maryland (still the only team to do so this year) and take Delaware to the wire. However, they also have blowout losses to the Blue Hens in a rematch, a 12-point pounding by the Tribe and most recently a loss to The Dub in which the Huskies only amassed 45 points. If you regularly read this blog you know the story behind CofC's string of close losses prior to the Drexel game two days ago.

X-Factor

Demetrius Pollard is a guy to look out for in this game. He has the three main characteristics of a CofC Cougar-killer. 1) he's undersized at just 6'2. 2) He did not have a good game the last time these teams played (just 5 points and 4 turnovers in 32 minutes) and finally 3) he's capable of getting hot from outside the arc. He averages 9 points per contest but he also has games this season where he has lit it up from three for 27, 25 and 19 points(twice). Eatherton and David Walker are the headliners and the Cougars have a pretty good scouting report on them. In a low scoring game like this, a hot streak from either team can make a difference and that is why Pollard is an x-factor.

Willis Hall Delivers 2nd Game Winner of the Season as CofC Edges Drexel

Final Score: College of Charleston 47, Drexel University 46

Top Performers:

Willis Hall 9 pts, 11 rebs, go-ahead jumper with 3.8 seconds remaining
Frantz Massenat 16 pts, 5 rebs, 2 stls

Please check with your doctor to see if your heart is healthy enough to use CofC basketball. Side effects include shortness of breath, loss of hair, disenchantment with collegiate basketball and mood swings.

In another ugly, low-scoring affair it seemed as if the Cougars were in for another close loss. The script was the same as it had been in four of the last five games. In the final minutes the whole gang showed up for The College: turnovers, careless fouls, missed free throws. But a funny thing happened that swung the narrative of the entire evening. Down one with under 20 seconds to go, Anthony Stitt had his potential three blocked by Tavon Allen and the ball fell to Willis Hall - who turned and shot a rainbow jumper over his defender that swished through the basket with 3.8 seconds to go.

But the game was not over yet. And there was still plenty of time for Charleston to find a way to lose like they did against Delaware and Towson. The ball ended up in the hands of Drexel's best player - Chris Fouch - who dribbled untouched the length of the court and blew a lay-up after the C of Seas had parted. A miss that had Head Coach Bruiser Flint, already given a technical at the end of the first half, up in arms and bombastically calling for a goaltend or foul as his assistants restrained him.

It was a win the Cougars desperately, desperately needed to have fall their way. The mental weight of so many close losses takes it's toll on the players and the pressure to win must've been great on Wojcik. In the end it took two mini miracles but the Cougars picked up a W.

Which is even more relieving given that losing on your home floor in a game in which both teams score in the 40's would've really had the townspeople of Charleston reaching for the torches and pitchforks. Both teams played good to great defensively but there was a lid on the basket all night. The boxscore is hard to look at but a few things stand out - 0 for 9 from behind the arc for Drexel, 0 for 7 at the free throw line for Adjehi Baru. Neither team shot above 33% from the field and both hovered around 50% from the charity stripe.

The offense for Drexel was made up of getting out in transition, passing the ball ahead on outlets after long defensive rebounds, and attacking Canyon Barry in the half court. Allen was the main offender, mostly in the second half as he was able to take advantage of Charleston's porous north-to-south defense.

CofC's points came by committee as well. Even as the team's sole double-digit scorer, Barry got his points mostly at the line. Then there were big baskets down the stretch by Stitt (a three) and Hall (an old-fashioned three point play and the game winner).

But I must reiterate a point I made at the conclusion of the game. It's way better to win having only scored 47 than to hold your opponent to 46 points and not be able to close the door on them at home. No matter how offensively averse or rage-inducing the Cougars were in this game, they took a big step in getting the monkey off their back by picking up a much-needed W. That should help us all sleep at night and have a Happy Valentines day. #KKandWH4Ever

CofC Begins Homestand with Drexel

College of Charleston (12-13, 4-6)

Drexel University (13-10, 5-5)

TD Arena

Tipoff at 7pm on NBC Sports Network

The Cougars need a win bad. After an epic collapse against Delaware and a less epic, but equally painful, inability to close out Towson the Cougars are falling precipitously lower in the CAA standings with just 6 games to go. Like 77% of this conference, Drexel is also in the quagmire that is the middle of the Colonial standings. Thanks to a scheduling quirk the Cougars are facing the Dragons for the first time this season in mid February. It's a blackout (snow-out?) down in Charleston and Wojcik and the gang need to get back on the horse during a 3 game home stand. Will it come tonight on national TV? Let's take a look at Drexel.

Are the Drexel Dragons any good?

Like CofC, the Dragons are having trouble living up to their preseason expectations. Many anticipated Towson, Drexel and Charleston to be battling for CAA supremacy but it has been hard going for all three. At 5-5 in conference the Dragons are about even with the Cougs. Bruiser Flint's squad is led by a trio of seniors - backcourt mates Chris Fouch and Frantz Massenat along with big man Dartay Ruffin. Fouch and Massenat drive the offense, each averaging over 17 points per game, while Ruffin leads the team in rebounding. For the most part the Dragons have lost to the CAA's premier teams (Towson twice, W&M, Delaware) and have handled the likes of UNCW, Hofstra and JMU. They have a pretty strict rotation of about seven guys.

What do they do well?

Drexel is one of the top teams in the nation in not turning the ball over. In fact they are the best team in the country in this department with barely 8 per contest. The Cougars aren't one to force turnovers anyway but if they are going to win this game they can't bank on getting any additional free possessions from their opponent. With two stud guards in Fouch and Massenat, the Dragons put a lot of pressure on a defense (Oh god I'm turning into Wojcik). But seriously, we all know containing guards from the perimeter and into the paint has been a major struggle all year. It's why Baru has fouled out in so many conference games and why the free throw disparity almost never favors the Cougars (more on this later). But sag off either one and they can hit a jumper (Mike Burwell smiles and nods). 

What do they struggle with?

Like many guard-centric teams in the CAA and elsewhere, Drexel can occasionally fall victim to bad shots and inefficient offense. They also have a bad habit of fouling, especially from their forwards. As the blog Dragons Speak has dubbed it, this game could be Foulapalooza 2014. I would not be surprised to see Baru and Wishon hack mindlessly at Drexel's penetrators and I can totally see the Drexel bigs having to bump Baru and Willis Hall in the paint in order to contain the Cougar's interior. Did I mention both teams rank at the bottom of the league's free throw shooting percentages? This game could get ugly so I hope the tough lessons learned from being unable to close out Delaware and Towson has the guys shooting free throws inside TD Arena even after the lights have been turned out.

X-Factor

Defenders playing offense and shooters playing defense. If Drexel had a springy and athletic small forward who likes to shoot threes, or a heady big man to throw it down low to, I would feel better about CofC's chances. Anthony Thomas can shut down opposing wings (except Davon Usher apparently) and the Baru/Wishon combo is a stout 1-2 defensive punch. Unfortunately, Stitt and Johnson will be tasked with containing Drexel's backcourt and Baru/Hall need to play like All-CAA selections going up against the foul-prone Dragons. Nori has been doing a remarkably solid job guarding opposing 2's since he began starting games but Stitt and Chealey really need to turn up the pressure when they get screened. Conversely, Baru needs to stay on the court and be able to finish the looks he will get inside and especially at the line.

Matchup to watch for

Nori Johnson versus Chris Fouch. Two talented shooting guards, both capable of pouring on the points - but in different ways. Nori is a shooter while Fouch is the scorer. Both have the green light and one of them having a better-than-average game could be the difference in a dead even game. They will also likely be defending each other just to add to the entertainment factor. 

Cougars Can't Close in Regulation, Lose in OT

Final score: Towson 68, Charleston 61

Top Performers:

Jerrelle Benimon 20 pts, 7 rebs

Willis Hall 13 pts, 8 rebs

Before I begin recapping another Cougar road loss I must first give praise to those who helped organize the latest stop on the Cougar Trail. The Baltimore/Annapolis and Washington alumni chapters put together a great event for alumni, accepted students and their families and the turn out was quite strong. Props to the alumni chapter leaders and maybe Joe Hull a little bit for giving me a taste of Charleston up here in the Mid-Atlantic. Now on to the game.

Unfortunately this contest had many of the same bad characteristics that have plagued the Cougars in their last 4 conference losses. Poor late game execution, compounded by foul issues and an inability to ice the game with free throws. 

The game started as you would expect the two best defensive teams in the CAA to look. The Cougars were having a number of easy looks rim out but were able to piece together some points by holding an edge on the glass and putting back their own misses. Towson's first half offense was almost entirely thanks to free throws - 13 of their 24 first half points came at the line. The Cougars once again fell victim to unnecessary fouling. In my opinion it's about a 40-60 split respectively between the increased physicality of the Colonial and the guards getting beat on the perimeter. 

The thorn in CofC's side once again was Rafriel Guthrie coming off the bench. Just like last time these teams played, so much attention was given to Bennimon, Damas and McGlynn that Guthrie was able to flourish and get to the rim at will (usually ending in free throws). Benimon was able to go at Baru a couple times (his hooking elbow and hop-step are even more apparent in person) but Anthony Thomas did a great job defending him when he took over defensive duties. 

Leading the way for CofC was Willis Hall and today's X-factor, Canyon Barry. In a chippy, muddy game like this one, Willis is able to do his usual lunch pail duties and clean up the mess. He also fell victim to foul trouble trying to guard Benimon, who is too fast for Willis to contain, but the 5th year senior was also all over the court to snatch rebounds and hit some reverse lay-ins.

It was really good to see Canyon make a difference. He's gotten a little better in each game after coming back from that finger injury and even though his shooting percentage was nothing pretty (4-11), he gave the Cougars his own mini-boost of 5 straight points to put them on top late in the first half. He also gave us all a brief sliver of hope in overtime with a putback and a three. 

Sadly, the end of the game saw the Cougars fall into the same bad habits. With CofC up four with 2:15 to go the following plays occurred in order: 

2:00 Benimon layup

1:07 Anthony Stitt turnover

0:44 Nori fouls Benimon who misses two free throws

0:39 Stitt fouled by Burwell, Stitt misses front end of a one-plus-one

0:20 Cougars switch to a zone coming out of the timeout and Burwell nails a mid-range jumper

Then, tied at 53 all and the ball in their hands, it was JMU all over again. The Cougars didn't get their first (or possibly second option) and Nori hoisted up a long three with a second to go that was off the mark. Then to give everyone another Cougar cardiac arrest, Towson drew up a play with 1.1 seconds and a full court to go that resulted in a wide open shot for sharp-shooter Four McGlynn that rimmed out.

In OT Adjehi promptly picked up his final foul and with a lineup of Wishon, Hall, Barry, Stitt, and Nori Johnson the Cougars were not able to make enough plays to keep up with Towson. Benimon had 7 points in overtime. 

A major positive from this game: the Cougars had just 5 turnovers. CofC needs to have some threes fall in order to score enough points to win and even with Hall and Barry drawing three free throws apiece on two separate occasions, Towson once again closed out on our shooters. Remember they held Nori scoreless last time. The Cougars out-rebounded the Tigers by 9, took 31 more shots and had less turnovers. Once again it just came down to a handful of tiny little details that separate wins from losses - and the Cougars have been on the receiving end in 3 of their last 4 conference losses. 

The loss drops the Cougars to 4-6 in the CAA. On the plus side they've played the two best teams on the road already. Now they have a big three game home stand in which they need to win at least 2 to stay in the middle of the CAA pack.  

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.

Cougars Travel to Delaware to Take on 9-0 Blue Hens

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?

 

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.

Cougars Respond to Disappointing Road Trip with Big Win Over Hofstra

Even Wojcik couldn't believe last nights hot shooting

Final Score: College of Charleston 67, Hofstra 49

Top Performers:

Willis Hall 18 pts (4-8 3pt), 11 rebs, 2 assts

Zeke Upshaw 14 pts (5-14 FG), 1 reb

Maybe it was a measure of revenge for the loss to Hofstra in Hempstead. Maybe it was the Homecoming atmosphere or the need to get back on the court and perform well after the disappointing 0-2 Virginia road trip. Whatever it was, the Cougars looked like they were venting some pent up frustration at TD Arena last night in holding the Pride to just 49 points and 27% shooting (both opponent season lows) and firing three pointers at a 50% clip (12 for 24). It all amounted to a huge one-sided victory for the Cougars on Homecoming night - just when dropping to sub .500 in the CAA seemed to painting things most dark.

You wouldn't have known the Cougars were in store for a 20+ point lead in the second half after the start they had. Hofstra came out of the gates on a 7-0 run, forcing some geriatric Cougar fans to painfully stay on their feet until nearly the first media timeout when the home team finally scored. Two things to watch in this game would be the rebounding and personal foul numbers. Hofstra is one of the few CAA teams, actually one of few teams nationally, who you can reasonably expect to beat CofC on the boards. They did it the last time these two teams met. And we all know about the free throw disparity last time. The Cougars got the jump on the battle of the boards early and would go on to out-rebound their opponent handsomely, 51-38.

Even though Adjehi was on his way to fouling out against Hofstra once again (he finished the night with 6 points and 6 assists in 19 minutes), the dreadful free throw shooting of the Pride never gave them a boost to get back into the game once CofC started pulling away. Hofstra shot less than 50% from the line (13-27) and seemed to miss at the most inopportune times.

With the rebounding and free throw numbers back in favor of the Cougars, their ability to widen the gap with three point shooting and defense was readily apparent at home. Anthony Thomas, who didn't do much offensively, deserves credit for holding Zeke Upshaw to an inefficient game and collecting nine rebounds. Willis, Anthony Stitt and Nori all finished on the "hot" side of the daily "CofC Hot or Not Three-Point Shooting Poll" - all of them finishing with 4 treys.

It's true that if you live by the three, you die by the three (CofC fans who attended SoCon Tournaments from '07 to '11 nod accordingly), but the shots taken last night were within the flow of the offense. Wojcik and company mentioned post game that after creating a more detailed scouting report on Hofstra the second time around they found themselves stepping into a number of easy three-point shots.

Willis: "We have been working on a couple of plays, where we’re moving in-and-out through the lane, giving each other those angles to drive and then dish out for just step-in jumpers. When you make it easy for guys like me, Anthony (Stitt) and Nori (Johnson), who just have to step-in and shoot the three, it’s a lot easier to make. Today, I would say our ball movement helped us be more consistent from the three-point line rather than begging for the ball to go in.”

No one knows better than Charleston fans that as easy as the shooting gods can giveth, they can taketh away. But the fact that the Cougars were shooting threes as a second or third option and not as a last resort after failing to make progress getting the ball inside is a good sign. Rebounding was there, shots were falling, Sedric Webber is in the CofC Hall of Fame and the students/fans got an entertaining and much needed victory: good night for the Cougars. 

*Oh and Canyon Barry is back after a month nursing a broken finger to provide some outside shooting and drives to the basket!