What to Watch For: Hawks Look to Start a Streak
UNCW begin nine-day road trip at Delaware State on Saturday
UNCW (2-2) at Delaware State (2-2)
4 p.m. | Memorial Hall | YouTube | Listen | StatBroadcast
Not even two weeks into the season, the Seahawks already have nearly 4,000 miles under their belts.
UNCW is back on the road for its third game in five days, finishing off a grueling week with Saturday’s visit to Dover, Del., where it will meet Delaware State in a Saturday matinee at Memorial Hall.
It appears the game will be streaming via Delaware State’s YouTube channel, but keep an eye on Twitter for an update closer to opening tip.
Coming off its most impressive performance of the season in a win over Coastal Carolina, UNCW will look to keep rolling as it embarks on a nine-day trip as the Seahawks head west to play three games in Montana over Thanksgiving.
Given this week’s travel and big plans for the holiday, the heavily-favored Seahawks are facing the classic recipe for a trap game against the rebuilding Hornets.
Here’s what to watch for on Saturday in Dover…
About the Hornets
It’s been tough for DSU lately, going 21-97 since the start of the 2017-18 season.
First-year coach Stan Waterman — the Hornets’ third over that stretch — is off to a 2-2 start with non-DI wins over Cairn and Regent, and losses to Rider and Salisbury, a Division III program.
So far, DSU is playing fast, averaging 73.4 possessions (27th nationally) while defending the 3-point line well, as opponents have hit just 18.5 percent (5th nationally) of their attempts beyond the arc.
Key Players: G Dominik Fragala (18 points, 2.3 steals, 41.9% 3FG), G Myles Carter (13 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals), G Corey Perkins (8.3 points, 6 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 3 steals), F Fahim Jenneto (9.5 points, 4 rebounds).
KenPom rankings for UNCW: No. 263 overall, No. 237 Offense, No. 282 Defense.
KenPom rankings for DSU: No. 352 overall, No. 348 Offense, No. 341 Defense.
KenPom forecast: UNCW 74, DSU 68 (73 percent chance of victory)
UNCW Game Notes | UNCW Season Stats
Handling Success
A mid-afternoon tipoff against a team expected to be among the worst in college hoops, ending a three-game, five-day run is a recipe for UNCW to come out flat, especially with an exciting holiday trip next on the schedule.
Early on this season, the Seahawks were inconsistent with both their energy and execution.
Now that they’ve shown they can sustain their energy, effort and execution — defensively, at least — for long periods, the next step is maintaining it from game to game and week to week.
Good teams show up, take care of business and focus on themselves rather than worrying about who they’re lined up against.
It would be an encouraging sign if the Seahawks come out with their hair on fire defensively and dominate the game from start to finish, just as the team with superior talent should.
Sims’ Bench Boost
Coming off the bench for the first time this season on Thursday night, Jaylen Sims responded with his best game of the season with an efficient 13 points and eight rebounds.
There might be a little something to that, as Sims has typically fared a little better when watching the first few minutes of a game from the sideline.
Since the start of last season, Sims has started 11 games while coming off the bench for four. Here’s how the stats compare
Starter: 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 37.5% FG, 38.7% 3FG, 2.2 TO; 96.1 offensive rating in 32.8 minutes.
Bench: 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 51.3% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 2 TO; 108.8 offensive rating in 31.5 minutes.
There are plenty of reasons a player might better off the bench. Maybe a few minutes to observe helps get someone in the right mindset. For others, maybe the pregame jitters wear off and there’s no pressure to immediately produce. Sometimes, a guy can better attack an opponent’s second unit.
Whatever the reason for Sims, he appears more comfortable allowing his offense to come to him as he focuses on other aspects of the game.
Backup PG Minutes
Well, last time we mentioned the possibility of allowing freshman Jamarii Thomas to get an extended look at running the team, the Hawks played a close one with Guilford and didn’t have an opportunity to rest Shykeim Phillips.
A major benefit to taking care of business early would be the chance to further experiment with some lineup combinations, and perhaps most importantly, give Thomas the latitude to work through some of those freshman hiccups in a low-pressure situation.
To this point, Thomas’s main contribution has been the spark he provides off the bench, looking to push the pace in transition while hounding opposing ballhandlers.
That work has mostly been limited to early in games, as he’s played 19 of his 23 minutes in first halves, while not getting into the Pittsburgh game at all.
Wing Mike Okauru has usually been the guy to slide into the backup point guard role, taking him out of his natural spot where he can be most effective as a rebounder, defender and scorer off the ball.
When Thomas can earn the trust of the coaching staff to play meaningful second-half minutes, it benefits the roster as a whole — Phillips can get longer breaks, Okauru can put all of his focus and energy into his role, and generally, UNCW benefits from having the freshman sparkplug on the floor.
Though slightly skewed by the small sample size, Pivot Analysis believes the Seahawks are about 31 points better — in a measure of both offensive and defensive production — per 100 possessions with Thomas on the floor vs. when he’s on the bench.
Per KenPom, UNCW has assisted on 49 percent of buckets in Thomas’ 23 minutes.