The Patriot League is coming down to the wire, and the AU men’s basketball team remains in the middle of the pack. With a 7-7 record, the Eagles are tied with Boston University for fourth place, and they sit a game behind third place Lehigh University. In addition, the Eagles remain three games back of first place Bucknell. With four games left, including three at Bender Arena where the Eagles are 7-1, AU has plenty of time to make a move in the standings and climb to the top of the league. Here are five suggestions for the Eagles to see success in the last remaining Patriot League matchups:
1. Free-throw shooting, especially late in games.
The Eagles are a slightly above-average free-throw shooting team shooting a combined 70.2 percent, good for 123rd in the country. However, there have been times this season, especially late in games, when free throw shooting has killed the Eagles. In a loss against Army, senior forward Kevin Panzer airballed a foul shot at the front end of a one-and-one that could have put the Eagles up by as many as six with 3:22 remaining. In addition, junior forward Marko Vasic missed the second shot on a one-and-one that, again, could have put the Eagles up by six with 2:05 remaining. Overall, the Eagles shot 13-for-21 from the free throw line in that game and ended up blowing a five point lead with 1:45 remaining. Had AU been able to convert half of its missed free throws that game, the Eagles would be 8-6 and tied for third instead of 7-7 and tied for fourth. With most games coming down to the wire, AU will need to execute at the free throw line where they can get easy baskets.
2. Staying out of foul trouble
AU has managed to stay out of foul trouble for the majority of its conference games, and the Eagles rank eighth in the nation out of 350 teams for the fewest committed fouls. However, when AU does commit fouls, the Eagles are put in a tough situation.
AU’s “Big Three” of senior guard Darius “Pee Wee” Gardner, junior guard Jesse Reed and senior guard John Schoof all rank in the top 12 in the nation for the most minutes played per game. In addition, with a frontline of just two natural big-men, Kevin Panzer and Zach Elcano, who is now just working his way back after injury, the Eagles can ill afford to lose anybody to foul trouble. The Army game highlights AU’s struggles to draw depth off the bench when its startings run into foul problems. With 5:36 left in the game, Army junior Larry Toomey grabbed a defensive rebound. Gardner, who had no chance of stealing the ball, went for the strip and was called for his fourth foul. As a result, Brennan was forced to turn to Justice Montgomery, who has seen limited action this season and, as a result, was not ready to step up late. Montgomery committed two quick fouls including an “and-one” to the league's leading scorer, Kyle Wilson.
Army scored four quick points and was able to get back in the game before ultimately stealing a win in Bender. Another example of foul issues for the Eagles came during a loss against Boston University back in January. Schoof quickly picked up two fouls in the first 4:18 of the game. Consequently, he was forced to sit the remainder of the half. By the time the second half came, Schoof was out of rhythm and finished with a mere five points. With the Eagles heavily relying on its starters, they cannot let their star players sit on the bench for an extended period of time due to foul trouble.
3. Rebounding
Rebounding has been an area of concern all year for the Eagles. Nationally, AU ranks 344 out of 345 eligible teams in rebounds per game with just 25. The Eagles have actually improved their rebounding during league play and had their best effort Saturday against Lafayette. The Eagles outrebounded Lafayette 31-21 and had 10 offensive rebounds. The Eagles need to maintain this strong rebounding and not give opponents extra opportunities. In the first league game on New Year’s Eve against Bucknell, the Bison outrebounded AU 35-23, with a difference of letting up 12 offensive rebounds that went for 12 points. With a very thin front line due to a barrage of injuries, the Eagles need to rebound as a team and prevent second chance opportunities from their opponents.
4. Avoiding dry spells and slow starts
While AU has shown that they can heat up from the field in games, such as their two against Lafayette, the Eagles have also struggled significantly to build momentum on offense. Against Colgate on Feb. 7, the Eagles let up a 13-0 run where they controlled the score for more than six and a half minutes. With 4:37 left in the first half, the Eagles had scored just five points and trailed by 19 before ultimately losing by 16. Their next game at Lehigh, the Eagles surrendered a 23-2 run, scoring just two points the final 12:39 of the first half after leading 17-10. The Eagles only lost by six but dug an early grave after a 12-minute drought. These slow starts have prevented the Eagles from climbing back into games they should have a shot at winning. Against Boston, the Terriers ran out to a 7-0 start in the first four minutes of the game. While the Eagles cut the lead to three points at halftime, a 12-0 run to start the second half prevented the Eagles from completing a comeback. Slow starts and offensive droughts have killed the Eagles all season long. With a slow paced offense, AU cannot allow teams to jump out to double digit leads as they will eventually run out of time.
5. Making the easy shots count
The Princeton offense thrives on its ability to get offensive backdoor cuts and easy shots close to the basket. While the Eagles are great at executing backdoor cuts, they have missed layups that have cost them wins. Against Army, Vasic missed a slightly off-balanced layup opportunity that would have put AU up two with 0:39 seconds left in the game. Against Boston, Reed missed another nice look at a layup, again a little off balance, that would have brought the Eagles within one point with 0:50 remaining. Instead, the ball went halfway down before rolling out and the Eagles were forced to foul. Boston hit clutch free throws down the stretch and put the game away. The Princeton offense, although primarily effective for AU, is incredibly slow paced, which means every possession counts. If the Eagles use 30 seconds that ultimately results in a missed layup, wasting long possessions has shown to cost the Eagles dearly and will continue to do so.
The Eagles will look for revenge against Boston University Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in Bender Arena. With such a close league separated by a total of four games, every game counts and one loss could result in a slide down the standings.
sports@theeagleonline.com
