Can the Mocs finally get that home win that has eluded them in their two attempts? How about if they just play a little bit better now that they had a few days off to practice?
Appalachian State is 2-2, with wins over Tulsa and Montreat, and losses to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, while having to postpone a game at Tennessee Tech due to missing officials. It was, however, a two point loss to Mississippi State, and a thirteen point loss to Vanderbilt. Combine that with a three point win at Tulsa, and the Mountaineers have certainly played well.
Donald Sims and Omar Carter are two of the top scorers in the whole conference. Sims might just be the best player in the whole conference. He has scored 26.5 points per game. He is shooting 39% from three point range. He shot nearly 45% from the field and almost 94% from the free throw line. Two steals per game, three and a half rebounds per game, and four and a half assists per game prove how Sims can fill up a scoresheet.
Carter is averaging 19.3 points per game and five and a half rebounds per game. He is shooting over 50% from three point range, while shooting just around 70% from the free throw line. Carter shot over 47 percent from the field. Combine Carter and Sims, and they have 45.8 points per game out of the 84 they are averaging. Shut those two down, and the Mountaineers can be stopped.
Appalachian State is 17th in the country in points per game. That is an impressive total, even if the Montreat game and 101 points helps that average. They are 66th in field goal shooting and 60th in rebounds per game.
In other words, they may be the best team in the whole conference at this point.
So what to make of the Mocs chances? The defense is going to have to be tremendous to shut down Sims. He is capable of lighting up the Mocs, because he is a shooter, and any shooter seems to be abnormally good against the Mocs. What will Shulman do to shut him down? Will the defense against Jackson State in the last home game rear it's ugly head again?
Wattad needs to start shooting the ball better at home. He has not had a good home game yet, and the Mocs desperately need him right now. Bell could also use a good game. DeAntre Jefferson was perfect from the field in his last home game, and another performance like that would be helpful. Jefferson could have a very good game against this Mountaineers team.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--REBOUND.
--Make shots. I'm not joking. Make shots. It may help if they shoot a lower percentage of three point shots and pound it into Jefferson. Maybe?
--Sims needs to miss some open looks, which is outside of the norm. He doesn't normally do that. But Sims needs to miss some shots that he doesn't normally miss.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Say that 3-5 may not be great, but 1-0 in the SoCon is pretty nice.
--Say that 1-2 in home games may not be great, but 1-0 in the SoCon at home is pretty nice.
--Celebrate.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOUNTAINEERS WIN
--Cuss under my breath.
--Wonder if the Mocs will ever win another game.
--Take a deep breath, sigh, go to bed, and realize that tomorrow is another day.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Wattad continues to struggle.
--Sims doesn't.
--Mocs get beaten on the boards.
--Fewer turnovers from the Mocs, and decent defense on everyone except Sims.
--Appalachian State 82, Chattanooga 73. Mocs just aren't playing well enough to break the home 0-fer. I'd pick them to win if they were playing a team that wasn't playing quite as well as the Mountaineers.
GO MOCS!
No comments:
Post a Comment