The Paladins advanced to the quarters by beating Samford 61-48 on Friday night. They were lead by Jordan Miller. Miller scored 23 points. Brandon Sebirumbi was the only other player in double digits, with ten points. Amu Saaka was held to nine points, and had seven rebounds. Miller finished with four rebounds and four assists as well. Noah States and Darryl Evans both were held scoreless. That's two out of five players that did not score.
Furman shot nearly 58 percent from the free throw line. They held Samford to 35 percent shooting from the field, and just 23.5 percent from three point range. They also forced sixteen turnovers.
Ten players played double figure minutes, while three others played. The Paladins should be fairly well rested heading into this game- at least as well rested as anyone could hope they would be heading into games on back-to-back games.
The Mocs and Paladins have played twice this year already. Chattanooga won by 16 in McKenzie Arena on February 21. On January 22, Furman won by 26 in Greenville.
The Mocs completely dominated the boards in their win, while losing the battle of the boards in their loss. The Mocs shot 49% in their win. States scored 20, while Saaka was the only other player with double digits, with ten. Miller scored just two points in the loss. In Furman's win, Saaka scored 30, and only Colin Reddick was in double digits, with ten. Miller scored just six, States had nine.
Miller has really struggled against the Mocs this year, scoring just a total of eight points. However, he scored 23 against Samford, so is he playing well right now? Or will he come up flat again? Will Chris Early match his career performance that he had against Furman a couple of weeks ago? Will Wattad finally come out and play really well against the Paladins? We'll see.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebound. If the Mocs rebound well, they will have every chance to win this one.
--Miller. He was great against Samford. Can he carry that over to Saturday night? He's struggled against the Mocs this year.
--Bell. He has to play well. His play in this tournament will be the key to the Mocs performance.
--Shooting. Furman's defense has been great over this season, but the Mocs shot so well against Furman the last time out. The Mocs need to shoot well.
--Inside play. First time, Saaka dominated. The second time, Early was great.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Get ready for the semis.
--Celebrate winning the season series against Furman.
--Be psyched!
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Start dreaming about what next year should be.
--Be frustrated.
--Wonder if Furman can win four games in four days.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed and remember that tomorrow is another day. But not until next year.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Wattad goes off. He has to in this tournament, and this seems like the situation when he goes off for at least one night.
--Bell has a great game. This is his time to step up.
--Saaka and Early both will have good games.
--Mocs 76, Furman 73. After two blowouts, we are due for a close match-up between these two teams. This game will be nip and tuck down until the end. And what do the Mocs do in close games at home? They win them. The Mocs will win this one in dramatic fashion, somehow, someway.
GO MOCS!
No comments:
Post a Comment