Fewer than 24 hours later, the Seahawks will be back at it in Fort Myers

UNCW (4-0) vs. Appalachian State (1-2)

12 p.m. | Suncoast Credit Union Arena | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |

So, how do you follow that up?

We’ll see exactly what they’re made of on Tuesday afternoon as UNCW prepares to take on in-state rival Appalachian State in the second of its two games in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

The Seahawks showed plenty of grit in Monday’s win over Murray State, but they’ll need a little more to go to battle with a well-rested Mountaineers team who would love to turn this game into a slog.

For more on yesterday’s win over Murray State, click here!

KenPom rankings for UNCW: No. 117 overall; No. 105 offense, No. 135 defense.

KenPom rankings for App State: No. 166 overall; No. 186 offense, No. 162 defense.

KenPom forecast: UNCW 73, App State 70. (62 percent chance of victory)

Meet the Mountaineers

Losses: Nov. 11 at Northern Illinois (91-78); Nov. 15 at Oregon State (81-71)

Personnel: F Donovan Gregory (14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 turnovers); F Christopher Mantis (13.3 points, 11/25 3FG); G Terence Harcum (11.3 points); F Justin Abson (10 points, 9.7 rebounds); F TreVon Spillers (8.7 points, 7 rebounds); F CJ Huntley (8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds).

Dustin Kerns has turned App State into a solid program thanks to a foundation of toughness, defense, and rebounding. Though the Mountaineers are playing a little faster so far this season — and tempos are often artificially high early on — they’d prefer to slow the game to a grind.

Expect to see Harcum and Gregory put up shots at-will, while Mantis, an excellent long-range shooter, will certainly get a few looks from beyond the arc. The 6-9 Abson is averaging four blocked shots per game — a rate that puts him at 15th nationally.

Built for This

Fewer than 24 hours after an overtime thriller, the Hawks will be back on the floor against an App State team that hasn’t played a game in one whole week.

UNCW’s depth and versatility offer plenty of bonuses on a day-to-day basis throughout the season, but it’s no coincidence that both of those characteristics are incredibly valuable in winning tournament games against less-conditioned opponents with shorter benches.

This is UNCW coach Takayo Siddle’s deepest squad by a long shot, and we should get an opportunity to see one of its biggest advantages today.

“November basketball and nonconfernece basketball is designed to shape you and get you ready for conference play, so every game you play in nonconference —and in conference, but in particularly what we’re talking about right now — is lessons to be learned,” Siddle said.

Along with that, the quick turnaround offers a chance to put the teaching emphasis to work immediately, and there’s no doubt he made several key points on Monday evening.

“We didn’t handle the late of the game as well as I would like, but we can learn from it, but I told the guys, ‘It’s better to learn in a win than in a loss,’” Siddle said. “It wasn’t pretty but we figured out a way and we got it done. The guys deserve all the credit — I can’t say it enough.”

Tightening up the Defense

The first order of business for the Seahawks, both for today and their future success, is getting the ship righted on the defensive end.

After an unusually shaky performance against CIU’s methodical cuts last week, UNCW again showed vulnerability to off-ball movement as Murray State consistently hit the screener in pick-and-roll situations on Monday afternoon.

This sort of thing can happen with a team like UNCW, anxious to use its athleticism and defensive ability to jump a passing lane and get going the other direction.

Here’s where and how App State has been shooting it so far:

It hasn’t only been the halfcourt that is causing an issue, though, as the Seahawks have struggled with lapses in their transition defense in every game.

Murray State finished with a 25-15 advantage in fast-break points, which was a wider margin before a late UNCW surge.

The Law of Averages

If I were a wagering man, which I’m not, I’d put some pennies behind one or all of Nick Farrar, Nolan Hodge and KJ Jenkins come back in firing today.

To this point this season, App State has surprisingly struggled on the defensive end, and in particular, has allowed a couple of not-great 3-point shooting teams to get hot beyond the arc.

Their defensive shot chart:

The Mountaineers are fairly unique in their defensive style, and in direct contrast to how UNCW operates, Kerns wants his players to do everything within their power not to make defensive switches on screens.

Though usually a team that hangs its hat on defense, it seems App State is still catching up with the learning curve on how to best navigate screes and share responsibility with teammates.

In the two games against Division I competition, the Seahawks have rolled out a good deal of sets that feature screening on and off the ball.

Jenkins and Hodge only need one second to make an opponent pay for giving them daylight, and Farrar is plenty dangerous as a roll man or popping out to shoot from the perimeter.

Lucky Ducks (or Hawks)

Per the KenPom measure of ‘luck’, the Seahawks finished each of the past two seasons ranked third nationally, and they’re already up to 19th after the wild finish, prompting yet another iteration of this ridiculous conversation.

“Luck” is a bit of a misnomer, as it is simply measuring your team’s ability to win close games.

After Monday, the Hawks improved to 7-0 in overtime games under Siddle.

A generally good idea to follow: if it happens seven times in a row or three seasons in a row, it probably isn’t luck.

Combine the overtime record with games decided by five points or fewer, and the Hawks are 20-8 since the start of the 2021-22 season.