La Salle Explorers (Game 2)
Date: Saturday March 1st, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC) (Senior Night!)
TV: ESPN+
Analytic Ranks: 241st (KenPom), 236th (Bart Torvik), 248th (Haslametrics), 244th (EvanMiya)
NET Ranking: 230th
2024-25 Projected Record: 12-19, 4-14 (T-14th in A10)

Game 1 Result: LAS 73, GW 67 (Drumgoole 19 points, Hansen 11 points, Castro 10 points)
Team Preview: Link
La Salle Record Since Last Matchup: 0-6 (Losses @ VCU, vs. UMass, @ St. Joe's, @ URI, vs. Richmond, vs. Duquesne)

Offensive Efficiency: 244th (KenPom), 256th (Bart Torvik) 263rd (Haslametrics), 271st (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 219th (KenPom), 197th (Bart Torvik), 205th (Haslametrics), 202nd (EvanMiya)
Pace: 84th (KenPom), 76th (Bart Torvik), 101st (Haslametrics), 69th (EvanMiya)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#2 G Corey McKeithan (Graduate Student; Windsor, CT) - 14.8 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.6 apg; 41% FG, 34% 3-PT, 89% FT per 33.7 mpg/28 GP
     Game 1 @ La Salle: 19 points, 4 rebounds; 8-17 FG, 3-10 3-PT in 35 minutes.

#24 G Deuce Jones (Freshman; Trenton, NJ) - 12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 spg; 41% FG, 32% 3-PT, 72% FT per 27.5 mpg/28 GP
     Game 1 @ La Salle: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals; 6-15 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 5-5 FT in 36 minutes.

#13 G Daeshon Shepherd (Senior; Norristown, PA) - 10.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg; 40% FG, 24% 3-PT, 78% FT per 32 mpg/28 GP
      Game 1 @ La Salle: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; 4-11 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 31 minutes.

#1 G/F Jahlil White (Graduate Student; Whitesboro, NJ) - 9.7 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg, 1.6 spg; 42% FG, 36% 3-PT, 64% FT per 27.2 mpg/26 GP
       Game 1 @ La Salle: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; 5-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 1-2 FT in 34 minutes.

#21 F Mac Etienne (RS Junior; New York, NY) - 5 ppg, 4.8 rpg; 58% FG, 58% FT per 16.5 mpg/28 GP
       Game 1 @ La Salle: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks; 5-6 FG, 1-4 FT in 28 minutes.

Projected Bench:
#34 G/F Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (Sophomore; Stockholm, Sweden) - 5.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg; 44% FG, 35% 3-PT, 71% FT per 19 mpg/28 GP
      Game 1 @ La Salle: 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block; 0-4 FG, 0-4 3-PT in 15 minutes.

#14 F Demetrius Lilley (Junior; Philadelphia, PA) - 7.7 ppg, 6 rpg; 38% FG, 30% 3-PT, 74% FT per 19.5 mpg/25 GP
       Game 1 @ La Salle: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal; 0-2 FG, 2-2 FT in 12 minutes.

#3 G Eric Acker (Sophomore; East New York, NY) - 5.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 apg; 43% FG, 29% 3-PT, 44% FT per 16.1 mpg/17 GP
        Game 1 @ La Salle: 1 rebound, 1 assist; 0-2 FG in 9 minutes.

#0 G Andrés Marrero (RS Junior; Caracas, Venezuela) - 3.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 apg; 31% FG, 26% 3-PT, 85% FT per 15.4 mpg/24 GP
        Game 1 @ La Salle: DNP

#7 F Ryan Zan (RS Sophomore; Princeton, NJ) - 1.5 ppg; 46% FG, 50% 3-PT per 7.3 mpg/18 GP
        Game 1 @ La Salle: DNP

Conference Marks (A10 play only):
Turnovers Per Game: 10.3 TO/G (4th)
Team Offensive Rebounds: 11.4 ORPG (5th)
Blocked Shots Per Game: 3.8 BPG (6th)
Opponent Turnovers Per Game: 12.1 TO/G (6th)
Opponent FT Percentage: 72.2% (7th)
Assist Turnover Ratio: 1.08 AST/TO (8th)
Steals Per Game: 6.9 SPG (8th)
Team FT Percentage: 70.8% (9th)
Combined Team Rebounds: 34.3 RPG (10th)
Team Defensive Rebounds: 22.9 DRPG (12th)
3-Point FGs Made: 6 3PM/G (14th)
Assists Per Game: 11.1 APG (14th)
Opponent 3-Point FG Percentage: 35.1% (14th)
Opponent FG Percentage: 47% (14th)
Rebound Margin: -4.4 RPG (14th)
Scoring Defense: 76.7 PPG (14th)
Scoring Offense: 66.8 PPG (14th)
Team 3-Point FG Percentage: 29.7% (14th)
Combined Opponent Rebounds: 38.7 RPG (15th)
Scoring Margin: -9.9 PPG (15th) (by nearly 3 ppg worse than our final opponent, Fordham)
Team FG Percentage: 39% (15th) (only A10 team shooting under 40% in conference play)

Individual Leaders (A10 play only):
Scoring:
Deuce Jones - 13.9 PPG (19th)
Corey McKeithan - 13.1 PPG (25th)

Rebounding:
Jahlil White - 5.9 RPG (15th)

Free Throw Percentage:
Daeshon Shepherd - 76.2% (22nd)
Deuce Jones - 74% (23rd)

3-PT Field Goals Per Game:
Corey McKeithan - 1.9 3PM/G (20th)

Assists Per Game:
Deuce Jones - 3 APG (17th)
Corey McKeithan - 2.4 APG (24th)

Assist/Turnover Ratio:
Deuce Jones - 1 AST/TO (16th)

Blocks Per Game:
Mac Etienne - 1.2 BPG (12th)

Steals Per Game:
Deuce Jones - 2.1 SPG (1st) (funnily enough CJ is right behind him)
Jahlil White - 1.6 SPG (9th)

Minutes Per Game:
Corey McKeithan - 35.2 MPG (10th)
Daeshon Shepherd - 33.9 MPG (16th)

Keys/Trends:
- Following Wednesday's game, GW has now leapt into 13th in three point shooting percentage during conference play, overtaking La Salle. The Explorers have struggled shooting the three since the last time the two teams met. Outside of a good shooting day against URI (the only time they've hit 70 points since the GW game) the Explorers have averaged just 4.4 three point makes per game in the other five games in February (24%).

- La Salle has performed worse on the road compared to at home in the last six games. They fell to VCU by 30, St. Joe's by 12, and Rhody by 15 away from Glazer. Their two games last week against Richmond and Duquesne were closer, but both were at home. As you can see above though their last win was against GW.

- When you look at La Salle's conference marks in various categories above, the first four stand out from a GW perspective, and perhaps explain why the Revs struggled at times in February's contest (a game that they truly let slip away). The #1 priority after the Loyola game is to show some pride on the glass. La Salle out-rebounded GW by 10 when the two teams met a month ago. Since that game, La Salle has not won the rebound battle against anyone else (they've broken even in a couple times).

- Outside of rebounding, the other thing that stands out is La Salle's ability to take care of the ball while doing a decent job of forcing miscues as well as their blocks per game number. It's one thing if GW cannot force as many turnovers tomorrow, however they cannot cough the ball up as much as they have lately. They aren't even playing as fast as they did during OOC to excuse it.

- It may sound silly to talk about "must win" games given where GW is in the standings, but these final two games really should be won. La Salle and Fordham are the two worst defensive teams in conference play but GW's offense has been a major question mark all of A10 play. Looking at the Explorers specifically, how do they adjust when facing another team that's decent at blocking shots if the threes aren't falling? The Revs only shot 31% from deep in the last meeting, leading to a long scoring drought at the end.

- Mac Etienne has only shot above 40% from the floor in one of his last six games. In his last three, he's been kept off the FT line entirely. As alluded to above in the rebound discussion, he had six offensive boards in the last game against GW. He's averaged just two per game since. In the last four games, Etienne has been held either scoreless or scored in double digits. Maybe just Fran riding the hot hand between him and Lilley?

- Deuce Jones has picked up at least two fouls in every conference game, except against GW when he had zero. He's been pretty streaky lately - in their last nine games, he's either made exactly two FGs or six plus. He enters Saturday's game having scored in double figures in four straight.

- Daeshon Shepherd has shot below 40% in 5 of the last 6 games. During this stretch, he's just 3/20 (15%) from distance. That hasn't impacted his performance from the line, where he's made 13 of his last 14 attempts (93%). He's not much of a creator on offense, with just two total assists in the last three weeks. As a scorer, he's alternated single/double digit scoring performances since the GW game. The good news is that he finished in double figures the last game against Duquesne so hopefully the pattern keeps up. La Salle has not won in conference play when Shepherd has finished under 10 points.

- Despite leading the team in three point makes in conference play, Corey McKeithan is just 8/35 (23%) from downtown since the last matchup. He's still put up double figures in eight of the last nine games, which has been much needed for this team. In their last three games, McKeithan has sat out just two minutes total.

- Jahlil White is averaging 9.5 rpg and 4 apg in the last week of games, although he's found himself in foul trouble lately, finishing with 3+ fouls in the last three games. He's scored in double figures in five of the last seven games that he's appeared in. Before that, he had just seven such performances for the season. The production has come on somewhat high volume though, as White is 5/19 (26%) in the last two games.

- Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi has been a feast-or-famine player for the Explorers over the past month. In five of their last eight contests he's made zero shots from the field (including the last matchup against GW).

- Somewhat like Etienne, Demetrius Lilley has struggled with his shooting efficiency lately (although compared to the DePaul transfer, Lilley is a bit more perimeter-inclined). The former Penn State big man is under 40% from the field in four of his last five. He hilariously took five threes in just eight minutes against rival St. Joe's. Lilley isn't rebounding particularly great, and has just one assist in the last five games so sending double teams his way may not be a bad idea. He's attempted no free throws in the last two weeks, perhaps an indication that he's become a bit too jumper happy. He's also not hit double figures this season without making multiple 3s in a game.

- After a brief scoring explosion in La Salle's first two conference games against Dayton and Loyola, Eric Acker is just 11/38 (29%) from the field in the last 12 games. He put up 32 total points against the Flyers and Ramblers, but has scored just 28 points total since. In the last week, he played just nine minutes. In general, he doesn't take many threes (just 0/4 in the last 11 matches).

- Andrés Marrero has played sporadically in conference play. He's had just four total field goal makes since January. Marrero has been an above average rebounder in the last three games that he has appeared in (7 boards in last 34 minutes played).

- Ryan Zan has shot the 3 ball well in his limited chances (3/6). Not that he has the ball in his hands a lot, but he's incredibly had no turnovers in the last 116 minutes that he's played. Zan's last turnover came against Lafayette back on 11/9.

- To wrap it up, I just want to wish Fran Dunphy all the best in his retirement. A fantastic coach who is just a class act in general. Seeing GW lose to La Salle a lot recently has sucked, but with Dunphy as coach it has somehow been a bit more tolerable than it would have otherwise.

- Having said that, as you can see above La Salle is either second to last or dead last in so many areas that if GW loses (on senior night no less) that would be a major disappointment. Despite some frustrations at times, thanks to Gerald, Sean, Keegan, and Laziz for some great moments this season (and previous). Wish them all the best in their post-GW endeavors. Funnily enough, Gerald and Sean led GW in scoring the last time these two teams met. Wouldn't be against another solid performance tomorrow. Hope all seniors can get some action tomorrow (unclear whether Keegan is healthy or not).

Projected Score: GW 77, La Salle 67. 82% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik predicts an 84% GW victory. ESPN gives the Revs a 76.6% chance at a W.
 

I hope that the seniors feel some love tonight, regardlees of their time and contribution to Geedubs. Thanks to those of you attending. It's a fun, albeit anxiety and agata producing group of players and coaches. Lets get it done tonight and then build at Rose Hill on Wednesday.

Hoping to make that Fordham game here in NYC to add my voice.

Big game to hope to win today - need at least 1 of the last 2 to stay out out the bottom 6 - first day of the tournament. 

Winning both will get us a better seed but at least 1 would keep us out of the 1st day

Class act by Coach and GW.  Honoring Fran Dunphy before game and all players going over to shake his hand.  Well done

Great defensive effort

Offense has been bad - 3 points in 8 minutes

DC Native wrote:

Wow, this board sure is quiet! It was an ugly second half, but I’ll take a double digit conference win anytime. We’ve got a very good chance to finish the A10 slate without a losing record, and to get to 20 wins overall.

 
I was waiting for someone to crow about a 20 win season. Sorry, not buying it. You don’t brag about getting to 20 wins with that OOC.

And I guess 9-9 in conference is just about what we’ve come down to expectation wise.  I had ‘em for 5 wins in Conference so this is an upside result based on that.

Good win, excellent 1st half, Castro was a BEAST

With at least 2 games remaining and 30 games in the books, we have a pretty good idea of where this team is at.  Sure, it would be nice if foul shots and three pointers went in at a higher rate, but they haven't.  It's frustrating for fans and coaches alike and most importantly the players. But it's only a couple of aspects of the game.  The 17-4 runs have all come from stellar team defensive play.  CC alluded to going 10 deep.  We can't control inconsistent shooting but on D we can gut punch the opposition.  Against Loyola we were on our heals all game and they manhandled Jacoi by jumping him two plays in a row.  When we play on our toes and not retreating we can be damn good.  We seem to lose most 50/50 balls.

With media timeouts at 16,12, 8 and 4 I think we should press all game.  My fav 5 (controversial) is Castro, Jun, Autry, CJ, and Moss.  Depending on matchups and full court sprints can sub in liberally with Jacoi, Sean, Gerald, and Ty.  

The offense has been the most uncreative in a long time.  Give the ball to Castro, clear out and let him create.  Give it to Hansen clear out and let him create.  Where is the double pick to get Autry an open look?  Where is the drive and dish to anyone?  CJ forces a drive one on 3.  Gerald forces a drive and if he misses is on the ground with no prayer of playing transition D. 

We know what we have.  Play to our strength on D which means 40 minutes of effort. With 8 built in timeouts plus all the other timeouts, there could be plenty of stoppages to catch a breather.  We need to minimize the empty trips on offense.  

Fordham plays well at home and has nothing to lose.  No matter who our first opponent is in the tourney, we have to bring the energy.  And who knows, maybe we hit some threes.