Will the Pioneers Love Virginia?
March 3, 2020 By C. Jay Prescher
The Marietta College Pioneers men’s basketball team is heading eastbound to Ashland, Virginia for the first-round of the NCAA D3 Men’s Basketball Tournament. Virginia is the state that boasts it’s for lovers.
Marietta College’s Pioneer basketball squad hopes it’s a memorable place for Pioneers as well. They’re going to have an opportunity to play potentially two basketball games on the campus of Randolph Macon College. First challenge will be to stare into the Eye of a Lion.
Staring into the Eye of a Lion
First up for the 21-6 Pioneers are The College of New Jersey Lions – known by the acronym TCNJ. Marietta is embarking on their sixth-consecutive trip to the NCAA D3 Tournament.
When scanning for statistical advantages that the Lions may have, there isn’t a whole lot that jumps off the page. Most of the season averages, both TCNJ’s and the numbers for their 27 opponents, are fairly even on a per game basis. However, there were a few places where the Lions frequently had an edge.
One stat that shows a large disparity is ultimately the most important; points scored. As a team, the Lions average right at 80-points per contest. The TCNJ defense holds opponents to just under 70 a game. However, after that 10-point per game edge in points scored, we don’t see a bunch of obvious stats that were clear box score advantages for the Lions.
They pull down slightly fewer than 40 total rebounds across 40-minutes, just two more boards a game than their opponents. TCNJ turns the ball over roughly 14 times a game, less than one more turnover than they create.
The Lions block about four shots each game, but they get around three rejected as well. They hold a slight edge in the season average for steals. However, one little thing the Lions seem to do better than their opponents is to distribute the rock.TCNJ averages four more assists per game than their opponents.
Other than assisting on more of their points, which indicates a good passing team, most head-to-head game statistics have been fairly even. However, one key difference that jumps out is how the Lions get to that 80+ points per game average. Like their first-round opponents the Pioneers, Lion shooters hoist up more triples than their opponents.
TCNJ has thrown up a total of 184 more shots behind the arc than the teams they’ve played. On average, the Lions net three more triples a game as well. The Lions have also toed the charity stripe 107 more times than the opposition teams have, making on average four more free throws each contest.
That means TCNJ has put up roughly 10 more points per game from beyond the three-point arc and from the free throw line. That pretty much accounts for their plus 10-point average per game edge on the final scoreboard. However, after we digest these statistical averages, looking for team strengths and weaknesses, we need to examine the proverbial question; “what’s-the-team-done-lately”?
The College of New Jersey closed out January getting beaten by New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Rowan University on the Profs’ home court in Glassboro. It snapped a four-game winning streak, plus it was only the second loss for the Lions to begin the New Year.
They have not lost a basketball game since. With a total of eight losses on the season, that means the Lions went down six times before we put 2019 in the rear-view mirror. Since the flip of the calendar, TCNJ is a 16-win 2-loss basketball team.
On their way to the NJAC Tournament title, the Lions blasted a Rutgers-Newark team that they needed two overtimes to beat back in December. Three days later, TCNJ avenged a two-point November loss to Stockton on the Lions’ home court, grabbing the NJAC automatic bid into the D3 Dance, and ultimately a date with the Pioneers.
Another interesting tidbit is that they’ve won every game on their current streak by double-digits. This is a team that is playing very well to say the least. The College of New Jersey Lions will be a confident team when they walk into Crenshaw-Alumni Gym Friday afternoon. Here are three possible keys to how Marietta College can stare down the Lions to steal some momentum, and ultimately move on to the round of 32.
3 Keys for a Pioneer Victory
Out Shoot `Em from Long Range
Shooting the ball well is an obvious key to winning just about every basketball game. However, a Marietta College season rewind shows that when the Pioneers are out shot from behind the arc, they do not fare as well on the final scoreboard. Only twice in their six defeats did the Pioneers manage to shoot better than 30 percent from long range.
In three of their six defeats, Marietta missed the mark on more than 75-percent of their triples. Sure, there were more than a few head-shakers on balls that seemed to go halfway down before popping back out. Once, in the loss at home to Mount Union, witnessing the Pioneer’s three-point tries miss-the-mark was something like watching Nightmare on Elm Street – horrific.
Marietta finally made their first three-point try at the 3:33 mark before half-time in that game.Missing the other dozen three-point tries during the first 20-minutes, buried the Pioneers under an 18-point first-half avalanche. That lone three-point basket out of an unlucky first 13 tries, would be the only triple that would find the bottom of the net for the entire game.
A single three-pointer out of 23 attempts crippled Marietta’s offense. The Purple Raiders would bury 10 three-pointers, many at opportune times to steal back momentum as the game tightened in the second-half. This three-point disparity was clearly an enormous reason why the Pioneers couldn’t get over the hump and complete a valiant, but failed comeback.
Only in one Pioneer loss did the opponent shoot a worse three-point percentage. That game was February 1st up at John Carroll.The Blue Streaks did not shoot the ball particularly well from anywhere on the court in a home victory over Marietta.But, they netted 17 more made free throws than the Pioneers.
This was obviously a key to creating the final 13-point advantage. Other than this one defeat, Marietta had problems getting shots to fall from long range in every other game they lost. A nice solution to boost Marietta’s chances on Friday is to hit shots, of course. But especially the ones from long
Take Care of the Rock
As the season wore on, the Pioneers average number of turnovers each game gradually grew. Taking care the basketball played a big part in them losing two of their final three basketball games.
Collectively, they handed the ball over 46 times in these three games alone. Twenty-one of those turnovers came during a harder-than-expected victory over Wilmington. Good defense had a lot to do with causing many of these miscues, especially the Wilmington Quakers’ rabid defensive effort in the OAC Tournament quarterfinal.
The Pioneers had another 21 turnover game in the loss to John Carroll up at the Blue Streak’s place in University Heights. That’s the same game we mentioned earlier, when Marietta actually shot the ball better than their OAC rival from everywhere on the court except the free throw line.
In the Marietta losses where turning the ball over wasn’t a problem, those were the games when shots couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net. Even if the rims are kind on Friday inside Crenshaw-Alumni Gym, Marietta needs to take care of the rock.
Clean the Glass
One of the Pioneers strongest assets all season has been rebounding. They led the Ohio Athletic Conference in every rebounding category. Marietta generated second chance points from offensive rebounds by nearly two more per game than the second closest team.
The Pioneers took care of the defensive boards as well. Marietta snatched nearly 31 rebounds a game on opponent’s missed shots. This was good for an average of almost four more defensive rebounds a game than second best Mount Union. Marietta consistently rebounded the basketball better than almost everyone during the season.
However, in their six losses the rebounding edge was minimal or the Pioneers were actually out hustled on the boards. Like shooting the ball well, winning the rebound battle is always a key to winning basketball games. But, for the Pioneers it has proven to be a critical part of their success.
Win to Advance
If the Marietta College Pioneer men’s basketball team can take care of the basketball and rebound, it will help to off-set those baffling shots that seem to defy the laws of physics. The problem for Marietta in 2019-20 hasn’t always been the unkind iron, but an untimely combination of three problems. Poor shooting, turnovers and a lack of tenacity on the glass have plagued them at some level in every single one of their losses.
Stingy defense will effect shooting percentages, and sometimes there seems to be a lid on the basket. Friday afternoon would be the perfect time for Marietta’s sharp-shooters to rediscover their dead-aim marksmanship; an impressive accuracy and shooting touch that helped them to climb as high as the sixth-spot in the D3 national poll.
A couple kind bounces would be nice too. There is a good basketball team from the Garden State ready to face Marietta College this Friday – tip-off at 4:00PM. It is a team that’s playing very well at the right time of the season.
The Lions stand between the Pioneers and a possible head-to-head battle against one of the more talented NCAA D3 teams in the nation. After Marietta and The College of New Jersey square off to determine who gets to advance to Saturday, Randolph-Macon hosts the 18-9 Wesley Wolverines.
Upsetting the once second-ranked R-MC Yellow Jackets in front of their home fans will be a tall order. Wesley College gets the first shot at the 23-2, currently 5th ranked D3 basketball team in the country. Hopefully, Marietta will earn their chance to create some March Madness. This Pioneer team has the talent to play with anyone in the nation.
It’s always going to be deemed an upset when you knock off a nationally ranked two-loss team on their home court in a one-and-you’re-done game. But, hey it’s March, and March seems to be when such Madness happens. All the madness aside, playing good basketball is the best prescription for living to play another day. On Friday inside Crenshaw-Alumni Gymnasium, Marietta College will try to do just that. Virginia is for Lovers, but let’s hope the Pioneers end up loving Virginia too.
The Word Jester is not affiliated with the NCAA, Ohio Athletic Conference, any member school, coach, or player.
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They do not reflect the points of view, policies, or principles of any agency or organization.