It's funny how things change.
On Wednesday, Elon had lost five straight games and was stumbling, including a home loss to Georgia Southern in SoCon play.
On Wednesday, College of Charleston was 3-1 in SoCon play, having lost last Thursday to Wofford, but had righted the ship on Saturday at Furman.
Two teams- going two opposite directions.
On Thursday, Elon beat The Citadel in Charleston in a fairly convincing 15 point win.
On Thursday, College of Charleston was shocked at home by a UNCG team that previously had won one D1 game all year long. The Cougars also lost Anthony Stitt (possibly for the rest of the year) to a broken hand.
Two teams- going two opposite directions.
It's funny how things change.
If Elon is going to win, they are going to have to slow the game down to a half court game. The Cougars struggle in their half court offensive sets. The irony is that the Cougars are very thin, particularly now with Stitt out. They are not deep- but they like to run. It's a strange phenomena.
The Cougars shoot a lot of threes. But they are best when they pound it inside to Trent Wiedeman and Adejhi Baru. They are most effective getting it inside to those two. Baru is foul plagued, though. With their thin bench, that presents problems.
The Phoenix have Lucas Troutman- the best rebounder and scorer on their team. He can pound the ball inside with the Cougars bigs.
The Cougars Antwaine Wiggins has turned into one of the better players in the SoCon. Sometimes, his shot selection is a bit off, but on the whole, Wiggins is a very solid player.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Tempo. Will the game be played closer to the 80s or the 60s? That will help decide if the Cougars or Phoenix are able to come up with the win.
--Depth. The Cougars without Stitt are not as deep- not that they ever really were. But now they are really thin. Will that make a difference?
--Troutman vs. Wiedeman and Baru. Who can win the battle inside?
--Jack Isenbarger and Drew Spradlin. The Phoenix best shooters have been cold recently. They need to get going.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--The Cougars will look good without Stitt. It will be a good performance.
--The Phoenix will be cold shooting.
--College of Charleston 74, Elon 63. The Cougars are going to find a way to come up with the win without Stitt. Wiggins will have a monster game and be the difference.
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