DELAWARE (6-0)Last Game: Delaware 79, St. Francis (PA) 64 on 11/19/19
Last Game with SBU: Stony Brook 74, Delaware 68 on 12/16/18; Yeboah game-high 25; SBU 7-0 run in final 1:24.
Checkmate Unofficial Line: Delaware -4.5
Net Ranking: TBD. Debuts today supposedly.
KenPom RPI: Stony Brook 203, Delaware 179
KenPom Prediction: Delaware 68, Stony Brook 64
Listen/Watch:TV:
http://bit.ly/2XWQNdQNotables:6-5/200 rjr G Nate Darling 26.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .561 FG%, .575 3-pt FG%
6-5/190 jr G Kevin Anderson 12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.3 spg
6-7/220 rso F Justyn Mutts 12.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, .518 FG%
6-2/200 jr G Ryan Allen 12.2 ppg, 1.7 spg, .510 FG%, .444 3-pt FG%
6-11/230 rsr F Collin Goss 7.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .541 FG%
It's not often that, even a few weeks in, you get to knock somebody from the unbeaten ranks. Well, here we are with that opportunity as we go down to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens.
On the surface, you see 6-0, five over D-I opponents, with the way they're shooting it and you say, hey, we have our hands full! But to borrow a line from Lee Corso, "not so fast, my friend."
I keep looking back at their exhibition loss at Penn State where they got BURIED. Why? Physicality. Penn State outscored them in the paint 36-20, and
55-28 on the glass. Since then, Delaware has taken care of business but, like us, hasn't run away from anybody. Oakland, Lafayette, St. Francis, etc etc – nothing special. We'd be their best win, and for us, I'd wager that UD at home would trump North Dakota State on a neutral floor.
This is another one of these mutant teams that have become increasingly prevalent as players change programs. Nate Darling came over from UAB, Mutts from High Point, Goss from GW. They'll get a big guy Dylan Painter, a Villanova transfer, after the fall term and UNC Central transfer Reggie Gardner next year, becoming the third DeMatha grad (with Darling and Allen) on the active roster. Side note: A lot of my family went there and they even give out a scholarship in my grandmother’s name. She was a longtime employee.
Anyway you have to give the UD coaching staff credit – these are good pieces. In particular, Darling has been quite a find. And always has been! He grew up in Nova Scotia but relocated to Maryland where he played his final three years of high school at powerhouse DeMatha. He averaged 10 a game as a three-point specialist during his sophomore season at UAB before making the move to UD, where he's exploded onto the scene to the tune of 26 points a night. And, I mean, he can reeaaally shoot it. He had eight of them en route to 37 points against UTSA. He's tied for seventh in the country in threes made (23) against D-I competition and has played two and even three games fewer than nearly everybody ahead of him, including, ahem, Makale Foreman, who's been such a pleasure to watch.
And ... I guess I see it? I watched some highlights from the St. Francis game when he had 28 and he didn't seem indefensible. He wasn't especially impressive moving without the ball nor was he leaving his defender behind off the dribble. Decent athlete I guess but nothing special. I actually thought he played a little recklessly. This is the
perfect assignment for Olaniyi. Make him work for everything. And if he dares to go inside, I love having Gueye and/or Otchere back there at all times. Darling's three-point numbers have to return to earth. 58 percent just isn't sustainable.
Delaware is pretty balanced though. Allen was the conference Rookie of the Year a couple springs ago. He dropped five threes on us last year, keeping them in the game. Anderson (32 vs. UTSA) and Mutts (22 vs. Lafayette) are capable of big nights too. We've even struggled against guys like Goss – these behemoths who aren't especially skilled but they're good enough and just bigger and wider than our guys. What may be different from last year's UD team, which finished around .500, is their commitment to defense. Ingelsby has raved about it in the early going, as they've managed to hold opponents to just 41 percent shooting.
I always harken back to our grit though, particularly defensively. And maybe it's unfounded. We did just allow Wagner to tear us up without their best player on the floor. But with Elijah in particular, I just feel like he has the edge matchup-wise as the better athlete and a relentless competitor. And if you slow Darling down, how does that affect everything else? Does he end up forcing shots as their #1 option?
This one feels like a toss-up. It would be a great one to get as we enter a six-game stretch against teams that are a combined 23-4 record.