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After an eight day layoff for exam week, the Deacs get back into action with a 1:00 game against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs. One would hope that this game will be rather one-sided in favor of the Deacs, but given the past year and a half that we have all witnessed, nothing is for certain at this juncture.
Gardner-Webb comes into the game with a record of 6-6. They have defeated two straight opponents (Alice Lloyd??? and SC State) by scores of 87-57.
With that in mind let's leap into the world of the Atlantic Sun and see what Gardner-Webb has to throw at us tomorrow.
Click through for a statistical analysis of G-W after the jump.
Let's start with a full scouting report of Gardner-Webb (thanks as usual to KenPom.com for the number).
Scouting Report (?)
Stats include games through Friday, December 16
against D-I teams only
| Category | Offense | Defense | D-I Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adj. Efficiency | 94.4 271 | 103.1 237 | 99.8 | |
| Adj. Tempo | 66.2 227 | 67.3 | ||
| Four Factors | ||||
| Effective FG%: | 47.1 219 | 49.4 198 | 48.6 | |
| Turnover %: | 21.9 205 | 21.8 140 | 21.3 | |
| Off. Reb. %: | 33.5 152 | 30.9 111 | 32.6 | |
| FTA/FGA: | 31.7 261 | 49.3 318 | 36.9 | |
| Miscellaneous Components | ||||
| 3P%: | 30.2 263 | 29.2 45 | 33.8 | |
| 2P%: | 48.2 156 | 52.1 278 | 47.5 | |
| FT%: | 65.0 244 | 63.8 48 | 68.2 | |
| Block%: | 9.1 158 | 4.0 335 | 9.5 | |
| Steal%: | 9.2 138 | 9.2 212 | 9.8 | |
| Style Components | ||||
| 3PA/FGA: | 37.9 78 | 32.2 144 | 33.2 | |
| A/FGM: | 47.7 278 | 56.7 229 | 53.4 | |
| Defensive Fingerprint: | Mostly Man | |||
| Point Distribution (% of total points) | ||||
| 3-Pointers: | 29.9 115 | 21.6 298 | 27.5 | |
| 2-Pointers: | 52.1 166 | 54.2 118 | 51.9 | |
| Free Throws: | 17.9 272 | 24.2 59 | 20.6 | |
| Strength of Schedule | ||||
| Components: | 98.5 246 | 99.7 195 | 99.8 | |
| Overall: | .4682 231 | .5000 | ||
| Non-conference: | .5058 191 | .5000 | ||
| Personnel | ||||
| Bench Minutes: | 37.4% 56 | 31.5% | ||
| Experience: | 1.33 yrs 271 | 1.65 | ||
| Effective Height: | -0.5 218 | 0.0 | ||
| Average Height: | 75.2" 330 | 76.6" | ||
From the numbers we can get some basic info to analyze here:
- They are pretty porous all-around, ranking below the NCAA average in nearly every single Ken Pomeroy statistical category.
- They do shoot an above average amount of 3's, which could pose problems for us at times if we don't extend our zone/man-to-man and defend the perimeter. Fortunately for us they only make 30.2% of their 3's, which is good enough for 263rd in the country...
- A fair amount of their minutes come off of the bench (37.4%), which could potentially wear us down since we are going 8 deep right now (or maybe 9 since Daniel Green may be available for the game).
- They are really good at defending the 3-ball (either that or the teams that they have played so far are just really bad at shooting it).
- Size-wise they are pretty short, which would normally be an advantage, but I have given up hope that we will ever rebound the ball well again....especially on the offensive end.
| GAME STATISTICS | |||||||||||
| Player | GP | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Jason Dawson | 12 | 25.5 | 11.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.6 | .434 | .808 | .468 |
| Max Landis | 12 | 30.3 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.8 | .387 | .727 | .324 |
| Kevin Hartley | 12 | 22.0 | 7.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 | .423 | .688 | .341 |
| Mike Byron | 12 | 19.5 | 7.5 | 5.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | .565 | .545 | .000 |
| Stefon Johnson | 12 | 23.6 | 7.1 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | .514 | .500 | .000 |
| Laron Buggs | 12 | 21.8 | 6.0 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | .377 | .676 | .231 |
| Tashan Newsome | 9 | 19.4 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 | .288 | .650 | .125 |
| Santoine Butler | 6 | 10.5 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | .714 | .727 | .000 |
| David Brown | 2 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Donta Harper | 12 | 11.3 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | .524 | .571 | .000 |
| Tyler Strange | 12 | 15.4 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.3 | .324 | .571 | .227 |
| Corey Hensley | 11 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | .462 | .571 | .000 |
| Jamal Mitchell | 5 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | .400 | .750 | .000 |
| Jay Royster | 4 | 6.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | .500 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 12 | -- | 69 | 37 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 14 | .436 | .657 | .324 |
- They spread their minutes out really well and don't rely on anybody too heavily. According to KenPom, nobody takes more than 23.4% of the shots when they are on the floor (Newsome).
- It appears that their best player (i.e. the one that we "have" to look out for) is the senior Jason Dawson (a transfer from Wofford from two years ago). He is 5'10, 175, so CJ will draw most of that match-up in all likelihood.
- Other than that there really just isn't that much there. They all seem to play the same style of basketball (or at least wind up with the same numbers, ) so I don't know what else to say about them
What I would like to see tomorrow:
- More playing time from Fields. I like Tony (contrary to some people I've talked to), but I want to see more of what Ant can bring to the table for us. I believe that he is our best passer and can provide some really good minutes off of the bench for us this season. We need to get him some minutes now so we can get his ears wet before the real tests start.
- How Ty Walker has evolved (iof at all) from last year. I know that he can block shots, but I want to see him working hard to grab rebounds and posting up on offense. We need to have an offensive threat inside, and he is probably the guy that is going to do it for us this year unless if something crazy happens to Carson in the next three weeks.
- We have to play better defense overall. We can't continue to allow teams to shoot over 53% (eFG%) against us, and 36% from 3's and expect to win too many games in the conference. We need to get out there and contest shots. I want Carson and Ty to absolutely dominate tomorrow and be beasts on the boards and the defensive end.
- Get Travis more shots within the offense. I know that he is excellent at rebounding and putbacks inside, but I would like to see us get him some easier looks with some drawn up plays to him inside. IUt seems like he gets it outside a lot,which gives him the ability to shoot and drive, but also makes things hard on im sometimes. Some backdoor cut would be ideal imo.
Prediction:
Wake -78
GW- 59
Look for us to get on them early and often and kill their will to win the game. I think Travis will have a huge night (double-double), and hopefully the bigger guys will too. I think the Deacs are going to be too much for the Bulldogs. I don't mean to disrespect them in any way, but an ACC team should not struggle with them at all. Hopefully the guys will be excited about focusing solely on basketball and come out in a business-like fashion to take it to Gardner-Webb.