The League Slate is our preview series that looks at the conference games of the night. It is posted on the morning of league games (usually Thursdays and Saturdays). Games are listed in order of start time.
The Summit League's top three squads are in action tonight, with the highlight match-up happening in Tulsa where North Dakota State will take on Oral Roberts. The remaining games feature teams that look like they will be competing for the middle spots in the standings behind the established contenders.
IUPUI (2-2) at IPFW (2-3)
7:00 p.m. ET | | |
|
IUPUI, the team with the most momentum after a rough start, treks up I-69 to take on IPFW, the squad that is looking to develop a winning streak of its own while at home this week. The Jaguars needed overtime to outmatch UMKC on Tuesday night, but they managed to post their widest Efficiency Margin yet in a league game in doing so. The Mastodons also won on Tuesday, though they did so in more convincing fashion in a 21-point victory over SUU.
Ian Chiles (IUPUI) vs. Justin Jordan (IPFW)
Chiles and Jordan are sophomore guards who are newcomers to their respective squads in 2011-12. Chiles has been blossoming of late as he earns bigger minutes by the game. Though he doesn't fill the box score, he manages to give the Jags about 13 points per game on a limited number of shots. He's also starting to showcase an ability to get to the free throw line more often over the last three games. Meanwhile, Jordan just become eligible in recent weeks and has scored in the double-digits twice already at a fairly efficient clip. If they can continue to develop, Chiles and Jordan will provide some much-needed scoring to supplement the efforts of the star players on their teams. |
|
Western Illinois (2-2) at Oakland (2-3)
7:00 p.m. ET | | |
|
Western Illinois protected its home court on Tuesday night in a thrashing of South Dakota. Now the Leathernecks will hit the road in hopes of knocking of a reeling Oakland squad. The Golden Grizzlies have allowed a stunning 1.25 points per possession in their least three league games, making otherwise average offensive units like North Dakota State and Oral Roberts look otherworldly. Like those two squads, WIU has won games on the strength of its defense, but the way Oakland has been allowing opponents to score, the Necks could very well leave Rochester with their top offensive performance of the young season in hand.
Ceola Clark (WIU) vs. Ryan Bass (OU)
Ceola Clark has been deferring to his teammates for much of the year, but on Tuesday night he had the hot hand himself as he went 5-of-7 on threes and tallied 7 assists, including this alley-oop pass that led to a thunderous dunk by SummitMadness.com favorite Terell Parks. Oakland is currently allowing league opponents to shoot 41 percent from beyond the arc and 63 percent from inside of it -- marks that bode well for Clark's deep-range shooting and close-range dishing. We might see OU's sophomore point guard Ryan Bass get some more playing time in this one due to his defensive ability -- his team will surely need it to thwart the WIU offensive attack led by Clark. |
|
North Dakota State (3-1) at ORU (4-0)
8:05 p.m. ET | | |
|
After beating up on Oakland on Tuesday night, the Golden Eagles have the toughest turn-around of the week as they have to head back to Tulsa to welcome contenders North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The Bison are up first in a game that highlights tonight's league action. These teams are very similar in that they possess the league's best defensive efficiency marks, but their offenses have been average in conference play due in large part to turnover problems. They are very different, however, in terms of experience as ORU is one of the most seasoned squads in the league while NDSU is one of the youngest. The biggest difference between the teams -- and perhaps in the game -- is that ORU has Dominique Morrison, a player who has been shooting better than anyone in the league over the last two weeks.
Lawrence Alexander (NDSU) vs. Rod Pearson (ORU)
Despite the fact that he's just a freshman, NDSU's Lawrence Alexander has held his own against some of the conference's most experienced point guards (Ceola Clark, Stephen Thomas, and Reggie Hamilton). He'll get another challenge on Tuesday when he matches up against sixth-year senior Rod Pearson. The ORU point guard has logged 20 assists in his last two games, which is an incredible amount for a guy who might not have ever had that many in any three-game span in his ORU career. |
|
South Dakota State (4-0) at SUU (2-2)
9:00 p.m. ET | | |
|
Southern Utah is one team that South Dakota State hasn't had much trouble with through its transition years. The Jackrabbits have won five straight over the Thunderbirds, and should they continue to play at the high level we've seen over the past month, that streak should move to six.
Tony Fiegen/Jordan Dykstra (SDSU) vs. Ramell Taylor (SUU)
One way for SUU to make this one interesting is by utilizing the advantage it will have in the painted area over SDSU. While the Jacks have been rebounding better and defending better near the rim, they don't quite have the depth that the T-Birds possess in the frontcourt. Ramell Taylor has had some big scoring nights in recent weeks, and he's been especially good against teams that lack an athlete like him in the frontcourt. Tony Fiegen, Jordan Dykstra, and company will be tested by Taylor, center Matt Massey, and the array of SUU perimeter players who will attack the basket regularly against them. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment