UNCW Looks to Bounce Back on Big Night
Can the Seahawks channel their emotions into execution?
UNCW (18-8, 12-3) vs.
James Madison (15-11, 6-9)
7 p.m. | Trask Coliseum | FloHoops | Listen | StatBroadcast
A few years back, Duke’s football team had broken into the AP Top 25 before Virginia Tech came to Durham and physically dominated the Blue Devils in what would become a humbling loss.
Afterward, David Cutcliffe said something that has stuck with me.
“I don’t want any, ‘Woe is me’ around here,” he said that night in 2018. “Nobody is sad; you can be mad if you want to, but I want to see it in your work.”
Luckily for the Seahawks, there’s no time to dwell on Thursday night’s loss to Towson, as UNCW will be back in Trask Coliseum tonight to meet James Madison in the final home game of the season.
Game Notes
Here’s what to watch for on what should be another emotional night in Wilmington, as Devontae Cacok’s jersey goes to the rafters and this season’s senior class is honored.
When Last We Met…
All the way back on Jan. 20, we had no idea what was coming for the Seahawks.
Despite a few nice wins by that point, no one was truly taking UNCW seriously as a CAA title contender. Besides, their luck was about to run out in Harrisonburg after a frustrating night that saw the Hawks trailing by 13 points with fewer than 10 minutes remaining.
Then, defensive pressure started generating some turnovers and the Seahawks turned to Shykeim Phillips, who attacked the rim one time after another until the game was within reach.
Then, with one shot, Jaylen Sims etched his name forever in UNCW history with a buzzer-beater that helped the Seahawks lay the groundwork for what would eventually become a record-setting win streak.
Looking back at the stats, there’s no real rhyme or reason as to how we pulled this one off, as JMU got 41.8 percent of available offensive rebounds while UNCW turned the ball over 14 times (to the Dukes’ 15) and shot 7 of 24 from 3-point range.
It was just a gritty win, as the Seahawks stayed the course, played their game and kept chipping away.
Get Tough
First off, let’s establish that the Seahawks never quit on Thursday night, and even as things started spiraling, they were playing hard. After a brief comeback in the second half, it was clear they just weren’t going to figure it out.
Towson was the more aggressive team and brought the fight and physicality to UNCW all night, daring the officials to call every foul. And while they called plenty, they couldn’t call them all.
It’s not the first time an opponent has taken that approach lately, as Elon had a similar gameplan of filling up the middle, swarming the ball and engaging driving Seahawks in combat.
Given that UNCW coach Takayo Siddle said it seemed some of his players were “fearful”, it figures that would be a major theme leading into Saturday’s game against a JMU team that has a couple of big bodies and will play some zone.
It seems opponents are questioning the Seahawks’ toughness, and given the competitors on this roster, they should have no trouble getting up for this one and the chance to show Thursday was an aberration.
Hopefully, UNCW comes out on the attack and plays with an edge from the start.
Back on the Boards
One of the biggest areas the Hawks can impose their will is on the backboards, where JMU struggles to rebound the ball, ranking 245th in offensive rebounding rate and No. 263 in defensive rebounding rate.
That didn’t matter much last time around, though, as the Dukes won the overall rebounding battle 39-25 and had better rates on both ends of the floor.
James Baker Jr. and Amari Kelly, who combined to play 39 minutes on Thursday, should come out plenty motivated after each finished with just one rebound.
It wasn’t just the big men that struggled on the boards, as Jaylen Fornes had one and Shykeim Phillips had three.
Trazarien White had four rebounds vs. Towson and appears to be trending back toward playing the way he was before being slowed down by what seemed like an injury.
In the first meeting at JMU, White had 16 points and six rebounds, and should be able to make an impact in this one.
Gotta Make Shots
If you’re a believer in analytics, there’s a little hope from Thursday.
Based on ShotQuality’s data, it wasn’t so much of a beatdown as a night where UNCW had some really bad shot luck combined with one where Towson had some really good luck.
Measuring the efficiency of all of the shots for both teams, SQ predicted the game would have been a complete toss-up.
Instead, UNCW missed a bunch of shots it normally makes and Towson hit several that it doesn’t.
Pair that with the likelihood that the Hawks improve their ball and player movement in this one, and it’s hard to imagine they’ll have similar offensive struggles.
The Last Ride
This is the last time we’ll see several of these guys in Trask, with Mike Okauru, Baker and Fornes exhausting their eligibility this season.
On Friday night, Sims shared on his Instagram account that this will be his final home game too, as he won’t be utilizing the extra year of eligibility at UNCW. It’s unclear whether that means he’ll pursue a graduate transfer opportunity or move on to professional basketball, but the kid has earned it.
This is one heck of a special class, as Sims and Okauru survived some tough times and singlehandedly kept the program afloat at times. Both have been repeatedly praised for their character, leadership and willingness to put the team first.
In Fornes, we have a guy who loved this place enough to come back and give UNCW one last season, helping to restore the program to the glory he experienced as a youngster.
Baker, who had already tasted plenty of success at Morehead State, believed in what this coaching staff is doing and came to Wilmington to help build a foundation.
No matter what happens between here and the final game the Seahawks will play this season, all of those guys have elevated the program and helped prepare for a bright future under Siddle.
Rotation Changes?
Based on the looks of Jamahri Harvey’s twisted ankle and walking boot on Thursday, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be healthy and ready to play tonight.
Hopefully that’s the only injury, as it appeared Phillips wasn’t quite right after landing on his hand early in the first half.
There aren’t a whole lot of options beyond what Siddle is already rolling out there, so maybe a few extra minutes go to Fornes and White, or maybe, Jamarii Thomas gets a little more run as he continues to look more settled in.
At the very least, we know the freshman guard is going to raise the energy level for everyone on the floor for a few minutes.