TOWSON, Md. - The Towson Tigers
have struggled this season with a very young team, but help is on the
way with four very highly-regarded freshmen and two transfers set to
join the program next season.
UNCW (8-12, 4-6
CAA) comes into the Towson Center on Saturday afternoon with a young squad as well. The
Seahawks lead the series with
Towson, 16-9. Last season, they swept the series but both games were
incredibly tight. At Towson, the Tigers were up by 22 points in the
second half but
UNCW came back to win in overtime, 95-93.
The
Seahawks started three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior in
their last game. Coach Buzz Peterson's squad has a great deal of potential but its inexperience can lead to some inconsistency.
The Seahawks opened this season with losses to Maryland, Dayton, Marshall, Davidson and
Toledo. But on Dec. 3, they defeated Illinois State on the road, 63-54, which was followed by a nine-point win at Liberty.
On Dec. 17, UNCW opened
CAA play with a 23-point road loss at
VCU. Since then, the Seahawks have defeated Campbell at home, dropped a nine-point road decision at Wake Forest and defeated
Furman by 11 points at home to end non-conference play.
The Seahawks resumed
CAA play on Jan. 2 and started on the right note by
defeating Delaware at home, 80-75. On Jan. 4, they won at Northeastern, 70-62, which will followed by an 86-80 home victory over Hofstra.
But, the four-game winning streak turned into a three-game losing streak, including losses to Georgia State,
Drexel and James Madison. On Jan. 21, the Seahawks halted the streak by winning at William & Mary, 68-66.
On Monday, the
Seahawks dropped a 67-61 verdict at George Mason before a tough 53-48 loss against Old Dominion at home on Wednesday night.
UNCW
averages 66.4 points per game but allows 70.3 points per game. The Seahawks
shoot 42% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc while allowing
teams to shoot 43% from
the field and just 29.5% from beyond the arc. They own a solid +0.8
rebounding ratio.
The Seahawks have also struggled a bit with turnovers, committing
13.6 per game while forcing 11.2 per game.
This is a team that has pretty good balance and is led by a strong
backcourt. Freshman Adam Smith (6-1, 161) should be the runaway favorite for
CAA Rookie of the Year.
Smith averages 15.5 points per game while shooting 41% from the field
and 37% (45-123) from three-point range. Smith has helped ease the pain
of losing one of the all-time great
Seahawks in Chad
Tomko, who finished in the top five in school history in points scored, assists and steals.
Sophomore Donte Morales
(6-7, 192) is a long, athletic wing who averages 6.3 points per game and
also adds 32 assists, 42 turnovers and 20 steals. He shoots 38%
from the field and 31% (8-26) from beyond
the arc.
Normally, freshman Freddie Jackson (6-4, 177) has been handling the
point. Jackson has started six games and plays 18.5 minutes per game.
He is averaging 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 43%
from the field. He also leads the team with 41 assists (35 turnovers). However, Jackson suffered a sprained
knee in the Seahawks' last game against Old Dominion and is listed as doubtful
for this game.
If Jackson doesn't play, Peterson could go with freshman K.K.
Simmons (6-4, 195), who is third on the team in scoring at 8.2 points
per game and has started 12 of 20 games. He shoots 37% from the field
and has connected on 27 of 76 attempts from beyond the arc (36%). He's also
second on the team with 36 assists.
When you look up "high motor" in the basketball dictionary, you see a picture of junior forward Keith
Rendleman (6-8, 213). The power forward just never stops moving all game. He leads the team in rebounds and is tied for the
CAA lead by averaging 11 boards per game.
He is also second on the team in scoring with a 15.2 average and
shoots 56% from the floor and 62% from the line. He's also second on the
team with 29 blocks.
Center Cedrick Williams
(6-9, 214) is another talented freshman who averages 5.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while leading the team with 32 blocks.
Sophomore Tanner Milson
(6-3, 190) comes off the bench for the Seahawks, averaging 16.6 minutes per game. He
averages 4.3 points per game and shoots 39% (20-67) from beyond the arc
and 29% from the field.
Senior Trevor Deloach (6-5, 193) averages 3.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in just 14.2 minutes per game. Meanwhile, junior Matt Wilson (7-0, 233) add size off the bench. He averages 2.1
points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Saturday's game is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off. The game can be seen on ESPN3 or heard on WBAL-AM 1090. In addition, there will be a live in-game blog on TowsonTigers.com.
