By Kyle Kandetzki – Assistant Sports Editor
The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team has hit its lowest point of the season after losing four of their last five games. Their last two games have been particularly depleting, blowing a 14-point lead vs. JMU, and giving up 100 points to William & Mary. Hofstra returns home to take on the Towson Tigers for the first time this year, the final CAA team the Pride hasn’t faced yet. Tip is at 8 p.m. at the Mack, and the game will be broadcast on SNY.
HISTORY: Towson has made just two NCAA Tournament appearances, in consecutive years — 1990 and 1991. They made the tourney as champions of the now-defunct East Coast Conference, which Hofstra was also a part of at the time. Towson lost both of their first round games.
LAST YEAR: Towson’s most recent postseason tournament appearance, though, was last year in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, where they reached the quarterfinals.
They found their way there following a successful 25-11 year, with a 13-3 record in the CAA.
They defeated Hofstra in both 2013-14 matchups, and reached the semifinals of the CAA Tournament, where they were defeated by William & Mary.
THIS YEAR: Towson lost their top four scorers from last season, and in turn have struggled this season to a 3-6 mark in conference, and 10-12 overall.
In the non-conference slate, Towson went on a big winning streak as well as a big losing streak. The Tigers had no big wins, though, during a seven-game streak, with their most impressive victory coming against Monmouth (203rd in RPI). They defeated lowly teams like Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, UMBC, and Coppin State (only by 8 points, while Hofstra beat them by 41).
They would follow that up with a six-game losing streak against more established opponents like Georgetown, Temple and La Salle.
The Tigers carried their losing ways into CAA play, losing ten of eleven games including their non-conference streak. They lost to teams considered to be the worst in the CAA in Delaware and Drexel. Others losses came to JMU, UNC-W, William & Mary, and a close three-point defeat against Northeastern.
Their wins came against Elon twice, and College of Charleston, both of which are near the bottom of the CAA standings.
THE COACH: Head Coach Pat Skerry is in his 4th year with the program. Skerry is 54-67 with Towson so far. He has had extensive assistant coaching experience, with schools like Pitt, Providence, Rhode Island, Charleston, William & Mary, and Northeastern on his resume.
CURRENT ROSTER: Guards – Junior Four McGlynn is the sole guard putting up double-digit points on average, with 11.6 PPG on 37% shooting. McGlynn is automatic from the free throw line at 93%, so a somewhat foul-happy Pride offense will need to be cautious around him.
Joining McGlynn is freshman Bryon Hawkins. Hawkins is third on the team in scoring, but with just 7.3 PPG, at 36% from the field, and a poor 27% mark from beyond the arc. The final starting guard (and final guard who makes much of an impact on this team, with reserve guards doing little on the stat sheet) is Mike Morsell, who plays only about 14 MPG, and adds 4.2 PPG.
Forwards – The forwards are the driving force of this team, with five big men making meaningful contributions. Leading the team in scoring and rebounds on a squad that is prolific on the boards is 6’5” sophomore John Davis. Davis averages 12 PPG and 8.3 RPG, and is a double-double machine with ten so far this year. He is just two games removed from his best performance so far, a 26-point and 11-board day vs. UNC-W.
Timajh Parker-Rivera is the best starting forward for the Tigers, as Davis actually comes off the bench for Towson. The 6’7” junior is one of four players with 4+ RPG (6.1 RPG), while adding 7 PPG. Parker-Rivera combines with Davis for an accurate inside attack, as both shoot 45% from the field.
The Tigers then have a trio of forwards playing 17+ MPG. First is Walter Foster, who typically occupies the final starting spot. The 6’8” 230-pound sophomore adds 5.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and continues the trend of accurate forwards with a 48% mark. Coming off the bench is 6’9” Dayton transfer Alex Gavrilovic, averaging 6.9 PPG and 4.5 RPG.
WEAKNESSES: Towson is yet another opponent for Hofstra with a weaker offense that they can easily outgun (62 PPG, 8th in CAA). Davis is really the only player on the team who has the ability to score a large amount of points, but isn’t always consistent, as he went from 26 points two games ago, to just five last time out.
The team also notably lacks any player with great passing ability like Juan’ya Green. Though passing and assists aren’t totally needed to score, it is obviously a great asset to have. Towson is among the bottom ten programs in the nation in APG, and 1.6 per game from Eddie Keith II is enough to lead the team.
After a turnover filled game vs. W&M, having the ability to steal the ball from Hofstra would be a great strength for Towson to have. But instead, Towson only averages 3.7 steals per game, worst in the CAA, and 3rd worst in all of DI basketball.
THE MATCHUP: Hofstra simply needs to respond to adversity tonight. Towson isn’t a terrifying opponent, and don’t possess too many impressive skills. But after how far this team’s confidence must have fallen this past week or two, an unspirited performance could equal another surprising loss.
Though Hofstra’s loss vs. W&M was pretty unencouraging, there were positives to be taken out of it. Hofstra’s second half offensive play at times was great, and even better considering the circumstances of being down 20 at halftime. Hofstra’s shooting was never really bad (40%), but the defense simply could not make stops. The Pride defense has fluctuated in terms of performance this year, but if they want to take home a CAA title, they need consistency on D, and tonight is a good place to start.
At one point in this season, it seemed as if inside play was going to be the big issue for Hofstra. Though it isn’t fantastic, Moussa Kone has single-handedly improved the position on both ends. What has been the major problem as of late is defense from the backcourt. Marcus Thornton of W&M having a huge game is a common occurrence, but Hofstra also let JMU’s set of guards take over the game, when none of which were considered to be the primary threat. Towson’s forwards seem to be the #1 weapon here, but Hofstra must be sure to no allow the guards to look better than they really are.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
Pride
Green (17.1 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4-for-19 v. W&M)
Nichols (6.1 PPG, 5 RPG)
Bernardi (12.7 PPG, 23 pts v. W&M)
Tanksley (17.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
Kone (7.6 PPG, 5 RPG)
Tigers
McGlynn (11.6 PPG, 93% FT, Last game: 20 pts)
Hawkins (7.3 PPG)
Morsell (4.2 PPG)
Foster (5.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
Parker-Rivera (7 PPG, 6.1 RPG)
NEXT UP: @ UDel 2/4
