Game 23, 2024-25: SLU (2/4)

[69MG]

After today's win I couldn't help myself and had to start this thread.

SLU has a VERY short bench and that might be our biggest advantage. They lost Larry Hughes for the year and now it appears that they have lost Kellen Thames. I feel for Thames as he has a rare condition that cramps his body. See the video below.

They have started the same 5 every game: Jimerson, Avila, Swope, Johnson and Anya. Thames was their 6th man and that now falls to Warlick at 10 minutes a game. 3 others each play about 5 minutes a game, but they have not been productive (combined 3.2 points, 1.4 boards).

Here is the Thames video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Yn4-M2uuc

[Floyd]

The name Larry Hughes sends shivers down my spine. Sr of course. Guy was a UMass nemesis

[inthescoop]

The name Larry Hughes sends shivers down my spine. Sr of course. Guy was a UMass nemesis

A freshman no less

[MikeUMA]

This is a very big game.

If we're able to get this W, we could vault up to 3rd place in the standings. That was absolutely unthinkable a month ago.

SLU stands alone in 3rd now, at 6-3. Their 3 league losses:
at VCU, 78-62
at GW, 67-61
Friday vs Dayton, 71-63

Reports from the Dayton game
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college ... 6fa3a.html
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college ... c9d86.html
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college ... 7b1e5.html

Some numbers that could be a factor...

SLU leads the A-15 in FG% at .476
Worcester native Kalu Anya is 6th in the league at .592, and Robbie Avila 11th at .509. (DHS just behind at .508)
Anya (6-8 215) played at Brown in his first two seasons.

Anya and Avila (6-10 240) often play together, so that'll be a challenge for our interior defense, especially at the 5.

SLU is 4th best in the league at 3pt D, holding teams to .299
Combo that with out league worst 3pt shooting (.283) and that could be trouble, but we obviously don't rely on the 3 to win.

SLU is 2nd in the league in 3s made, 203 overall and 9.2 per game
UM's 3pt D is 6th in the league
Gibson Jimerson leads SLU in 3s at .370, 21st in the league. If it seems like he's been around forever, he has been. He was a freshman in 2019-20, but only played 10 games before an injury and got a do-over. Add the COVID bonus year and he's still there in season 6.
He now has 2216 career points.
He's also out there all night, leading the league in MPG at 37.8.

Jimerson and Diggins could be a fun matchup.
They're 2nd and 3rd in made 3s per game, and 8th and 9th in FT%.

SLU is 3rd best in defensive rebounding. Although we're best in offensive rebounding, that's partially because we lay a lot of bricks, but if SLU grabs their share that could hold us down.

Get to Mullins if you can. We need a little life in the building. Stinks that this is a Tuesday game, but it is what it is. Students are back on campus, now they just gotta show up.

[Juice Stand]

I'll definitely be there. I've had this game circled on the calendar since Schertz was hired at SLU and brought Avila with him. I'll be very interested to watch the Schertz offense, and Avila was last year's college basketball darling so I'm excited to see him play live.

With that said, I think this is a bad matchup for us. Team defense needs to be very aware, heads on a swivel and lots of communication. Hopefully we see bounce back games from Rivera and Curry, who were not particularly good against Duquesne.

[stevemaz]

I will be in the house.. uh oh

[MikeUMA]

I like this site and how they show common opponents:
https://bracketologists.com/matchup/NDAxNzI0NDA5

UMass and SLU have had 7 commons so far, and only 2 have gone the same way.

[LS71]

I’m not sure how to think about UMass bring in 4th place in the conference.

Is the team better than we think it is or does the A-10 simply suck?

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

I’m not sure how to think about UMass bring in 4th place in the conference.

Is the team better than we think they are are or does the A-10 simply suck?

based on what happened last year after the double bye and after having a week off before the URI game, I want to avoid the double bye this year!!

[Juice Stand]

^ I think UMass is better than what they showed in the non-con and the A10 has underperformed expectations, but I also think that 4th (and possibly 3rd) is a stretch for this team. They've done well to get to this point, but they're only one win above .500, not exactly setting the world on fire. The middle of the pack is so bunched that beating Duquesne gave them 4th, but a loss would have dropped them to a tie for 8th, down to 10th with tiebreakers if I'm looking at things correctly. When the dust settles in March, I'm hopeful that they can be at or above .500 and sitting around 6th.

[bobolink]

Exactly right, Juice, and recent comments like “anything can happen” reflect that. I was not impressed with URI when they beat UMass last week. URI is the only A10 team to beat GMU, but they lost to Duquesne, GW and La Salle. Is GMU a real powerhouse? Road wins vs Dayton and the Bonnies are impressive, but they didn’t impress me vs UMass. They’ve just won many close games vs middle-of-the-pack A10 teams. St. Louis was my pre-season pick to win the A10, and I think they’re right there with VCU and Dayton as the top teams. But SLU’s only road wins are @Fordham and @Richmond (the 2 that are now tied for 15th place; no OOC road wins). SLU probably has the best starting 5 in the A10 but no bench. Foul trouble or a poor shooting night and they’re very beatable.
So what to expect Tuesday from a UMass team that beat Dayton but looked terrible in the OOC and lost at home to Richmond? Anything can happen.

[69MG]

This will be a challenge. All 5 of their starters are good, and 4 of them average between 8 and 18 points. The 5th starter, Anya, is their leading rebounder at 8.3 and he scores 6 with over a block per game. Beyond those 5, they get almost no other scoring. I hope we can get 1 or 2 of their guys in foul trouble. Our 6-8 guys are better than theirs.

We know about Avila. I'd like to see Malek come up big and just keep him from going off for 25 and 10.

Someone, maybe Jayden, will have the responsibility of guarding the 6'5 Jimerson. He's their leading scorer at 17.8. 73 of his 119 shots have been from behind the arc.

Their little (5'10) point guard, Swope is their 3-point guy. Over 70% of his shots are from deep so hopefully Curry can get him off his spot. He's only at 32% in A10 play but he worries me.

The 5th starter is Johnson, a 6-4 guard who averages 8 per game. He only takes 5 shots per game and half are from deep where he's at 36%. I'm guessing Sool draws this assignment.

[Juice Stand]

Our 6-8 guys are better than theirs.

69, I'm curious who you think the 8th guy is. Frank has pretty much settled on a 7-man rotation with our 5 starters plus Hankins-Sanford and Worthy as the most reliable bench guys. The 8th man is either Shahid, Akil, or Nate. All three of those guys have potential, but haven't really looked comfortable or shown anything more than flashes. It's probably very matchup dependent since they all play different positions and bring something different to the table.

[69MG]

^ Yeah, I was lumping them together as #8. We have options and I don't think SLU does. They really don't even have a #7 without Thames.

[DanaDingle3]

Don't see Shahid playing in this one. He's just not polished enough to guard Avila all over the court. Think we'll go small, with DHS tasked with guarding Avila for long stretches.

Also agree with 69 that our depth could be a factor with physical play and creating foul trouble. Looking for Watson to get some time and be active on D.