The (6-1) Cards take their #5 ranking on the road Tuesday night to face a (5-2) College of Charleston team on their home floor. This will be the first true road test for the Cards.
College of Charleston Bobby Cremins took a leave of absence in the middle of last season and ultimately decided to leave the bench for good, retiring last spring. Former Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik now takes over a very capable team with a solid nucleus returning from a team that won 19 games a year ago. A team that went Into the Ferrell Center 9 days ago and beat the No. 24 ranked Baylor Bears on their home court. The game Tuesday night against our No. 5 Cards will be the biggest home game this season for COC. And the biggest one they’ve had since hosting No. 9 North Carolina on Jan. 4, 2010. They were able to beat Carolina in that game in overtime.
Coach Doug Wojcik: “Coach Cremins and his staff did a very good job,” “They got kids with high character. It’s a very attractive job and allows me personally to get back to the East Coast.”
In-conference offense: 0.98 points per possession (10th)
In-conference defense: 0.95 points allowed per possession (2nd)
The Cougars Players:
Andrew Lawrence SR (14 ppg, 4.0 rpg) 6-1 G had a strong first season as COC starting point guard, leading the league in steals per game and owning an assist rate in the national top 75. Lawrence competed for Great Britain in the Olympics over the summer. He’s a heady floor general with a nice scoring touch and a knack for getting his teammates the ball in scoring positions. He has scored 84 pts this season with 26 assist and played 167 min.
Matt Sundberg SR (3.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) 6-8 F will also look to expand his role after seeing action as a reserve last season. The senior appeared in 29 games. He has scored 20 pts this season and played 53 min.
Bart Benton SR (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-1 G has not played this season.
Anthony Thomas JR (8.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg) 6-7 F is a junior college transfer who figures to play the small forward position. He led Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College with his averages of 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds last season. He has scored 59 pts this season and played 216 min.
Nori Johnson JR (5.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) 6-5 G/F after starting on a limited basis a year ago. He showed flashes of his scoring potential while logging just under 18 minutes a game. He has scored 37 pts this season and played 153 min.
Trent Wiedeman JR (11.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) 6-8 F ranked in the top 75 nationally in defensive board rate and made
the media’s all-league third team last season. He provides the Cougars with a physical presence in the paint. He has scored 35 pts this season and played 85 min.
Willis Hall JR (8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) 6-6 F redshirted last year but has been a big boost to this team playing a major role in the Baylor upset. He scored 12 points, including six in a row at the end to help COC seal the deal. He has scored 58 pts this season and played 147 min.
Adjehi Baru SOPH (7.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) 6-9 F/C an all-freshman team pick, grabbed more than 10 percent of available offensive boards last season. He brings great range and athleticism to the mix. He has scored 53 pts this season and grabbed an impressive 62 rebounds. He’s played 234 min.
Pat Branin SOPH (1.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-1 G Has only played 1 min this season.
Anthony Stitt SOPH (10.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg) 6-1 G made the most of his time on the floor as a freshman, displaying efficiency on the offensive end by knocking down 45 percent of his shot attempts. He has scored 74 pts this season and played 227 min.
Trevonte Dixon SOPH (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-4 G has not played much this season.
Judson Hall SOPH (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-6 F has not played much this season.
Theo Johnson FR (2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg) 6-6 G/F sports length, athleticism and plenty of potential. He has scored 18 pts this season and played 104 min.
Chad Cooke FR (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-0 G has not played much this season.
Harrison Bowne FR (2.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-6 F has played limited minutes this season.
This COC team gave our Cards everything they could handle last year in the KFC YUM Center. They are gonna pack that 5000 seat gym down there to the rafters as this will be the biggest game on their schedule this season. And with the upset over 24th ranked Baylor the Cougars could guarantee themselves a NCAA bid with a win over the 5th ranked Cards. There has been much build up leading to this one and most have circled it on their calendar as a great early season ballgame. This game was named the #20 OOC game by Sports Illustrated’s Andy Glockner. Here’s what he said: ”C of C actually hosts two Big East teams this season — St. John’s is the opponent in the first round of the Charleston Classic but this is the headliner, even with Bobby Cremins no longer on the Charleston sideline. The Cougars gave the Cards everything they wanted last season at the KFC Yum! Center.”
Our Cards played hard at the end of their game Saturday but did look less than impressive as they were almost upset by Illinois St. They got great performances out of the big three of Smith, Siva and Behanan. But Ware, Blackshear and Hancock were non-factors. To win a tough road game like this one of those guys will have to be a part of it. And with a few more days of practice without Gorgui it will be interesting to see if the defense can do a better job of keeping players out of the lane and their big guy from getting easy baskets.
Folks this one will not be easy at all. Very tough road game in a very tough environment. They are licking their chops to give our Cards their second loss. I’m hoping we see some of our talent rise to the occasion and win a tough battle.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 83 College of Charleston 79