La Salle Explorers (Game 2)
Date/Time: Saturday February 25th @ 6:00 PM ET at The Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC.
TV: ESPN+
Game 1 Result: La Salle 75, GW 64 (Bishop 14, Edwards 14, Adams 12, Lindo 10)
La Salle Preview: Link
La Salle Record Since Last Matchup: 4-2 (Wins at St. Joe's, at St. Bonaventure, vs. UMass, vs. Richmond; Losses @ George Mason, vs. Duquesne)
Projected Starting Lineup:
Khalil Brantley (Sophomore; Brooklyn, NY) 14 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.5 spg; 39% FG, 30% 3-PT, 76% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; 4-14 FG, 0-4 3-PT, 7-8 FT in 36 minutes.
Fousseyni Drame (Senior; Bamako, Mali) 9.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1 spg; 43% FG, 25% 3-PT, 63% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 10 points, 9 rebounds; 4-7 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 1-2 FT in 33 minutes.
Jhamir Brickus (Junior; Coatesville, PA) 9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg; 45% FG, 40% 3-PT, 77% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals; 3-7 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 3-4 FT in 36 minutes.
Hassan Drame (Senior; Bamako, Mali) 6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 spg; 37% FG, 32% 3-PT, 71% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; 1-3 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 5-7 FT in 24 minutes.
Mamadou Doucoure (Senior; Bamako, Mali) 3.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg; 53% FG, 67% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 6 points, 3 rebounds; 3-5 FG in 15 minutes.
Projected Bench:
Josh Nickelberry (Senior; Fayetteville, NC) 11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg; 40% FG, 40% 3-PT, 81% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; 5-7 FG, 2-3 3-PT in 17 minutes.
Anwar Gill (Junior; Washington, DC) 8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg; 45% FG, 29% 3-PT, 53% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 6 points; 3-4 FG, 0-2 FT in 15 minutes.
Daeshon Shepherd (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) 5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg; 46% FG, 30% 3-PT, 58% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 2 points, 2 rebounds; 1-2 FG in 9 minutes.
Rokas Jocius (Freshman; Kaunas, Lithuania) 4.4 ppg, 3 rpg; 50% FG, 36% 3-PT, 44% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: 6 points, 4 rebounds; 2-4 FG, 2-2 FT in 15 minutes.
Andres Marrero (Freshman; Caracas, Venezuela) 2.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg; 34% FG, 37% 3-PT, 85% FT
Game 1 @ La Salle: DNP
Conference Marks (A10 Play):
Opponent FT Percentage: 67.3% (2nd)
Team Offensive Rebounds: 12.1 orpg (2nd)
Combined Team Rebounds: 36.5 rpg (3rd)
Blocks Per Game: 3.67 bpg (5th)
3-PT FGs Made: 7.3 avg/g (6th)
Opponent 3-PT FG Percentage: 33.7% (6th)
Steals Per Game: 6.67 spg (6th)
Team 3-PT FG Percentage: 34.9% (6th)
Scoring Offense: 70.7 ppg (8th)
Team FT Percentage: 70.8% (8th)
Turnover Margin: -0.47 (8th)
Assists Per Game: 12.33 apg (9th)
Rebounding Margin: -0.1 rpg (9th)
Scoring Margin: -1.5 ppg (9th)
Team Defensive Rebounds: 24.4 drpg (9th)
Assist Turnover Ratio: 0.98 ast/to (10th)
Opponent FG Percentage: 44.5% (10th)
Scoring Defense: 72.2 ppg (11th)
Team FG Percentage: 42.6% (12th)
Combined Opponent Rebounds: 36.6 rpg (14th)
Keys/Trends:
- Even though La Salle has a slightly negative rebound margin in conference, the Explorers have outrebounded their opponent in four of their past six games. What's interesting is despite that they have actually not rebounded as well on the offensive end recently compared to their performance on average in A10 play. Hopefully that holds up against a GW squad that is now #2 in defensive rebounding in conference play behind St. Louis. Since the St. Joe's game, La Salle has fallen below their offensive rebounding average in each of the past five games.
- The Explorers enter Saturday's game on a hot streak from three point range. Since the last meeting they are shooting 51/132 (38.6%) which is nearly 4% above their average during conference play. In half of those contests, they have made 10 or more triples. We may be susceptible to dribble drives from Brantley and Brickus but we did do a good job of limiting their team's three point looks at Gola where they were just 5/15.
- Despite having multiple capable penetrators, La Salle hasn't been getting to the free throw line too often recently. In their last six, they are averaging just under 17 attempts a game, a number that is inflated by their most recent contest against Duquesne when they took 28 FTs. Taking that game out, they have averaged under 15 a game since the last GW matchup.
- La Salle might not go to the line often, but they also do a decent job keeping opponents off the free throw line. The Explorers have had just two players foul out in the last six games (Fousseyni Drame and Anwar Gill). Both came in the same game against George Mason. The Patriots took 34 free throws, but the other five opponents did not even attempt 20 FTs in their games against the Explorers.
- Khalil Brantley has done a great job as a facilitator since the last GW game. He has averaged just under 5 assists a game and has dished out at least four assists in every game since the last contest at Gola. Brickus is also capable of being the primary playmaker on offense so it will be interesting to see who plays passer vs. scorer in the rematch. Brantley may lead the team in scoring but is not yet a consistent shooter from deep (30%) while Brickus is 40% on the year. Generally you don't want to let a team's leading scorer beat you but I think in this case if we cut off driving lanes when Brantley has the ball you can live with him taking jumpers. I worry more about Brickus. It's like a Brown vs. Greer situation against St. Joe's.
- It's easier said than done, but we need to not only force Josh Nickelberry off the three point line but make him give the ball up whenever possible. This guy is on the floor to score and he's been doing that very well recently. The former Louisville Cardinal is shooting 51% from the field in the last three weeks and 52% (22/42) from 3. If there's someone that rivals BA in terms of hot three point shooting as of late, it's him. Nickelberry has made at least four threes in four of their past six games.
- La Salle's version of Max when it comes to rebounding is Daeshon Shepherd. The 6'5" guard has pulled down at least six rebounds in four of the past six games. Much of his production on the boards has come on the defensive end but he also generated multiple second chance opportunities in his 13 rebound performance against GMU. Shepherd seems like the guy that may fall under the radar but does the small things well.
- Rokas Jocius has had very inconsistent playing time recently. He has played fewer than 10 minutes just six times all season but three of those games have been in the past six. It's unclear if it's due to him not being fully healthy or Dunphy's decision to not play him more but he played fewer than 10 minutes in both their losses recently.
- Anwar Gill gets much of his scoring production through putbacks and drives to the hoop when he's in the game. Gill is not a good three point shooter and that is clearly not a priority for him as he's attempted just four threes in the past five games that he's played. He plays bigger than his 6'4" height but likely doesn't figure to be as much a factor offensively if we dare him to shooter more jumpers. Gill made three FGs in our last matchup, a couple which came late in the game and near the hoop because we were completely out of position. Hopefully our defense can show some resistance on Saturday.
- Mamadou Doucoure has scored two combined points in the past four games. Outside of an 11 rebound game against St. Bonaventure he hasn't done much as a rebounder either although he could probably be decent in that category if he played more than 13 minutes a game despite starting. It will be tough covering the Drame twins, but similar to the matchup against URI it helps GW that the Explorers don't have a true offensive threat over 6'7".
Projected Score: GW 80, La Salle 75. 68% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us a 62.1% chance to move to 9-7 in conference.
Tennessee Colonial wrote:
