St. Joseph's Hawks (Game 2)
Date/Time: Saturday February 11th @ 1:00 PM ET at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
TV: ESPN+
Game 1 Result: GW 92, St. Joe's 91 (OT) (Adams 32 points, Bishop 22 points, Edwards 12 points, Lindo 11 points)
St. Joe's Preview: Link
St. Joe's Record Since Last Matchup: 3-1 (Wins at George Mason, vs. Rhode Island, at Loyola Chicago; Loss vs. La Salle)
Projected Starting Lineup:
Erik Reynolds II (Sophomore; Temple Hills, MD) 18.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.4 spg; 42% FG, 37% 3-PT, 85% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; 7-17 FG, 1-7 3-PT, 2-3 FT in 34 minutes.
Cameron Brown (Senior; Laurel, MD) 14.2 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg; 42% FG, 40% 3-PT, 64% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 9 points, 8 rebounds; 4-10 FG, 0-3 3-PT, 1-2 FT in 31 minutes.
Lynn Greer III (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) 10.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.1 spg; 39% FG, 26% 3-PT, 70% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 31 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists; 13-22 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 3-5 FT in 41 minutes.
Ejike Obinna (Senior; Enugu, Nigeria) 7.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg; 66% FG, 51% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 8 points, 6 rebounds; 3-5 FG, 2-4 FT in 29 minutes.
Rasheer Fleming (Freshman; Camden, NJ) 5.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1 bpg; 40% FG, 27% 3-PT, 70% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 0 points, 2 rebounds; 0-4 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 0-1 FT in 9 minutes.
Projected Bench:
Kacper Klaczek (Sophomore; Chorzow, Poland) 8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1 spg; 46% FG, 32% 3-PT, 72% FT** (may start in place of Fleming if healthy - he's missed the past three games due to illness)
Game 1 @ GW: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists; 6-13 FG, 4-10 3-PT in 41 minutes.
Christian Winborne (Freshman; Baltimore, MD) 6.3 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.1 apg; 33% FG, 22% 3-PT, 61% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 7 points; 2-4 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 1-2 FT in 20 minutes.
Louis Bleechmore (Junior; Sydney, Australia) 2.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg; 40% FG, 35% 3-PT, 27% FT
Game 1 @ GW: 3 points; 1-2 FG, 1-1 3-PT in 19 minutes.
Charles Coleman (Junior; Boston, MA) 2 ppg, 1.4 rpg; 50% FG, 33% 3-PT, 44% FT
Game 1 @ GW: DNP
(Anton Jansson may see a minute or two in the game as well)
Conference Ranks (A10 play only):
3-PT FGs Made Per Game - 8.9 (2nd)
Scoring Offense - 73.4 ppg (3rd)
Team Offensive Rebounds - 11.9 orpg (3rd)
Combined Team Rebounds - 36.3 rpg (5th)
Scoring Margin - +1.7 ppg (5th)
Turnover Margin - +1.5 (5th)
Opponent FT Percentage - 69.1% (6th)
Steals Per Game - 6.67 spg (6th)
Blocked Shots Per Game - 3.67 bpg (7th)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 1.02 a/to (8th)
Opponent FG Percentage - 43.4% (8th)
Team FG Percentage - 43.2% (8th)
Assists Per Game - 12.5 apg (9th)
Team Defensive Rebounds - 24.4 drpg (9th)
Opponent 3-PT FG Percentage - 36.2% (11th)
Rebounding Margin - -0.6 rpg (11th)
Scoring Defense - 71.8 ppg (11th)
Team 3-PT FG Percentage - 33.3% (11th)
Combined Opponent Rebounds - 36.9 rpg (12th)
Team FT Percentage - 62.8% (15th)
Keys/Trends:
- It's no secret that St. Joe's likes to take threes. The three point shot accounts for nearly 45% of their total shot attempts for the season. However, the Hawks have really struggled to shoot the ball in the past four games since the GW game. Joe's is just 19/103 (18%) during this span. They did go 13/32 in their most recent game against Loyola but averaged exactly 6 made threes in the three games before that. If GW can limit their three point makes to under their season average (8 or fewer) there's a better chance to win this game. They managed to overcome shooting woes to win against GMU and URI but that's because those teams struggled offensively. If GW comes out with the right energy/moves the ball, they're much better offensively than either of those teams.
- St. Joe's offense has been a bit more stagnant than usual the past four games. The Hawks have averaged just 9.8 assists per game which has certainly affected their efficiency shooting the ball. Reynolds/Brown/Greer all have the ability to perform well in isolation (as evidenced by Greer getting to the hoop non-stop late in the GW game) but if we can hold the Hawks to 12 assists or fewer that would be a step in the right direction to slowing down their offense.
- The Hawks had 9 and 10 steals in their two most recent double digit victories. I don't like our chances if they have more than seven steals in the contest. I'm sure Lange and co. saw how much we struggled against their trap late in the game which let them back in it both in regulation and overtime and it wouldn't surprise me if they apply more full-court pressure much earlier in this game. Hopefully our successes breaking Richmond's last game will provide more confidence going into tomorrow's game.
- Unlike the Spiders, St. Joe's is a fairly strong offensive rebounding squad. It's no secret that securing the defensive rebound has been tough for GW, but credit Caputo and staff for trying their hardest to improve there. From the beginning of the season, there's been visible improvement. Last year, GW was far and away the worst rebounding team for the season and basically at the bottom during conference play. So far this year I was surprised to see that GW is #4 in rebound margin, behind the usual suspects Dayton and St. Louis (UMass is #3, but that makes sense given their frontcourt). Another big surprise is that we are middle of the conference in offensive rebounding. When CC was hired I assumed we would continue to just get back on defense instead of sending bodies to the hoop to rebound. Max has made a huge difference there. Anyways, limiting second chance opportunities against Joe's will be a big factor. They've posted below their conference average in offensive rebounding in three of the past four games. Obinna in particular has to be limited - he has averaged 3.5 offensive boards per game in that stretch.
- One player who has not slowed down from three recently is Erik Reynolds, who has shot 15/34 (44%) from distance since a 1/7 game against GW. The Colonials have allowed teams to shoot 38.8% from three in conference play, the worst mark in the A10. Of the guard trio, Reynolds is the most well-rounded and it's inevitable that he'll get his points. Still, it's better that it's a made two point shot instead of three.
- Cam Brown is shooting 40% from 3 on the year, but is just 8/39 (21%) in Joe's last five games. Much like the rest of the team, he did shoot well against Loyola (5/11) but recent history suggests to hone in on Reynolds before Brown despite the season numbers.
- Lynn Greer had a career game against GW, but it wasn't an anomaly - he has posted double figures in six of their past eight games. It's interesting that half his three point makes on the year have come in their two games against Loyola. Greer averages under three attempts from distance per game. It's not a primary strength of his game as he prefers to operate downhill (as we saw quite often in the GW game). Unlike Reynolds/Brown, we need to defend him a bit differently and cut off driving lanes to the basket.
- Louis Bleechmore has not made a shot since the GW game (0/6 from the field since).
- Rasheer Fleming had a rough stretch late in overtime that ended up deciding the GW game in Foggy Bottom, but his shooting woes have extended beyond that game. In fact, he's under 31% from the field (17/55) during conference play and has failed to make more than one shot in a game in eight straight contests and ten of the past 11 overall.
- Despite a 2/3 performance from 3 against us, Christian Winborne does not figure to pose a great threat from distance as he's just 2/10 in the past three games (not too different from his season average of 22%).
Projected Score: St. Joe's 80, GW 75. 31% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us a 29.7% chance to move to 7-5 in conference.
GW Alum Abroad wrote: