Pioneers Looking to Rebound at James Madison
11/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball will make a trip to Harrisonburg, Vir. for a non-conference matchup with the Dukes of James Madison on Wednesday afternoon. Tip is scheduled for 2 pm.
Last time out... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team dropped a non-conference matchup with Big Ten and 20th ranked opponent Ohio State, 106-48, on Sunday night before a crowd of 12,941. The loss drops the Pioneers to 1-2 to start the year. The Buckeyes, led by 32 points from D'Angelo Russell and six players scoring in double figures, improve to 3-0 on the season. They shot 56.4 percent from the floor. For the Pioneers, Filip Nowicki was one rebound shy of a double double as he scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Ohio State outscored SHU in the paint 56-18, 29-2 in points off turnovers, and 18-2 in the fast break.
Series History... The two teams will be meeting for the first time ever.
All-Time vs. CAA... The Pioneers are 2-7 all-time vs. teams that are currently in the CAA, but only 1-1 in the Division I era. Last season they defeated Hofstra for one of their five wins on the year:
December 21, 2002: Lost to Northeastern, 94-71
December 4, 2013: Defeat Hofstra, 73-59
Scouting James Madison... The Dukes come into Wednesday's matchup with a 3-1 record after most recently defeating Colgate, 77-71, on Monday to extend their current winning streak to three games. They average 71.0 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, including 42.4 percent from three point range. James Madison has four players averaging in double figures, led by Jackson Kent at 15.3 per game. Kent also leads JMU with 11 three pointers in four games, shooting 61.6 percent from deep. Yohanny Dalembert, Ron Curry, and Winston Grays also average at least 10 points. The leading rebounder, Tom Vadnovich, grabs an average of 6 per game to go along with 9.5 points. Curry is the leading assist man at 4.5 per contest.
Offensive Rebounding... Despite the loss to Ohio State on Sunday, the Pioneers offensively outrebounded the Buckeyes, 20-14, in the contest.
Hot and Cold... Sacred Heart shot 58.8 percent (30-51) from the field in its opening night, 71-53, victory over Hartford, only to follow that up with a 35.3 percent shooting performance in the home opening loss to UMass Lowell on Thursday, and a 25.4 percent in a loss at Ohio State on Sunday. The shooting woes at Ohio State on Sunday was the lowest shooting percentage for the Pioneers since the opening night loss to Fairfield last season, when they shot 24.6 percent from he field.
Failing to reach 50... Sunday night was the first time SHU has failed to reach fifty points in a game since December 30, 2012, when they were held to 38 points in a 77-38 loss at George Washington.
Giving Up 100... The 106 points the Pioneers surrendered on Sunday were the most the team has given up since the 122 they gave up in a 2OT defeat at Holy Cross on November 13 of last year. Prior to the game, the Pioneers had led the NEC scoring defense averaging at 55.0 points allowed per contest.
Failing to find the Range... The Pioneers rank last in the NEC in both 3 pt FG per game (2.67) and 3 pt FG percentage (.229). Sacred Heart made just 1 three-pointer in its season opener, followed by two in its home opener. The two games without at least three 3-pointers already surpasses its total of one game without at least three 3-pointers in 2013-14.
Double Digit Scorers... After having three double digit scorers in the season-opening victory over Hartford, the Pioneers have only had two in the previous two games. Evan Kelley scored ten vs. UMass Lowell, while Filip Nowicki led the team with ten at Ohio State. Currently, the Pioneers do not have a player that averages in double digits.
