East Carolina Basketball Preview: ECU vs. George Mason

Friday, November 30, 2007

Randy Peele’s club not only shot 42.8 percent in the first half compared to the Pirates’ 34.8 percent effort, it also took 12 more shots due to the aforementioned problems taking care of the basketball.

It was more of the same in the second half.

Winthrop opened the second 20 minutes the way they finished the first 20 and led 43-22 following an 8-0 run to begin the half.

The lead grew to as many as 22 when Michael Jenkins nailed a three-pointer to put his team up 52-30 with 13:13 to play.

The closest ECU would get would be 15 when Gabe Blair’s hoop pulled the Pirates within 67-52 with 3:50 left.

As if their 37.3 percent shooting effort wasn't enough to have to overcome, ECU also turned the ball over 19 times in the game. Winthrop shot 48.3 percent for the game while committing 16 turnovers.

Cory Farmer was the only Pirate to score in double figures—finishing with 10 points and knocking down 2-of-3 three-point attempts. Darrell Jenkins had eight points, but he also turned the ball over eight times. On the inside, John Fields only managed one point and two shots in 23 minutes of play.

ECU was outscored 38-18 in the paint.

Kinston native Michael Jenkins scorched his local team again—concluding the game with 20 points and six rebounds. Teammate Taj McCullough also shot 8-of-14 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds. Starting point guard Chris Gaynor had 13 points, seven assists and five steals.

Jontae Sherrod had his most productive game in the purple and gold, as he scored eight points in 12 minutes of action off the bench.

Pirates prepare to face Patriots in BB&T Classic

East Carolina (2-4) will travel to our nation’s capital this weekend to face George Mason as part of the BB&T Classic. The contest between the former CAA brethren will tip at 5:00 p.m.on Sunday, December 2 nd inside the MCI Center.

The two programs have not met since the 2003-2004 season when George Mason took a 76-65 win in the Patriot Center. GMU leads the all-time series 32-14.

The Pirates are yet to win a game against Division I competition this season. Their victories came against Division II Limestone and Division III N.C. Wesleyan. ECU has one win in its last 28 games versus Division I opponents and has currently lost seven straight.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are off to a sizzling 6-1 start under 11 th year head coach Jim Larranaga. Larranaga is the program’s winningest coach and led Mason on its Final Four run two seasons ago.

After opening with three consecutive home wins ( Vermont, 60-53; Cleveland State, 56-47; Dayton, 67-56), Mason traveled to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic where it went 2-1 against quality competition and finished in third place. The Pats knocked off Big 12 foe and then No. 18 Kansas State and star freshman Michael Beasley, 87-77, in their opener. Following an eight-point setback to No. 20 Villanova in game number two, GMU bounced back to squeak out a 69-68 victory over South Carolina.

Returning home an impressive 5-1, Mason welcomed CAA foe Drexel to the Patriot Center on Thursday for each team’s league opener. The Patriots quickly sent the Dragons packing and back to Philly with an 85-38 humbling—the program’s largest margin of victory since joining the CAA.

Mason is only shooting slightly over 42 percent for the season, but it did shoot 51 percent (30-of-59) on Thursday night in the Drexel win. The Patriots, who entered the contest knocking down only 30 percent of their three’s, made 10-of-25 (40 percent) from long range against the Dragons.

Defensively, Larranaga’s club is limiting opponents to 60 points on 39 percent shooting per game while holding a five-rebound advantage on the boards.

Other than the Drexel game, GMU has played some closely contested games against quality competition. Its success has been largely attributable to the ability to take care of the basketball and knock down free throws. The Patriots only turn the ball over around 13 times per game. They have reached the free throw line nearly twice as frequently as the opposition (175-96) and are converting 72.6 percent of those opportunities.

Those are signs of a veteran team that has had success and GMU is just that. The Patriots four consistent starters of their starting five are composed of three seniors and a redshirt junior.

Senior forward Will Thomas (6-7, 230), who has already been named the CAA Player of the Week twice this season, has been dominant in the post. Thomas is averaging a double double—16.7 points per game and 10.9 rebounds—and is shooting 60 percent from the floor. He also shoots free throws well, as he’s sunk 30 of his 42 attempts.

Senior “three man” Folarin Campbell (6-4, 205) has struggled shooting the ball (34.7 percent), but is still averaging 13.6 points per game. This is a result of his ability to get to the free throw line often and make good on 80 percent of those 44 chances.

The starting backcourt is composed of senior point guard Jordan Carter and redshirt junior shooting guard John Vaughan. Carter only averages 6.3 points per game, but he dishes out nearly four assists every time out. Vaughan is the third Patriot to average in double figures with his 11.1 per game mark.

The fifth starting spot seems to have been determined at least partially by game-to-game match-ups. Vlad Moldoveanu, a 6-10 freshman, has received four starts and is putting up approximately four points and boards. Junior guard Dre’ Smith (6-0) had made two starts and has made a team-high ten trifectas in 20 minutes per game. Louis Birdsong, a six-foot six-inch 235-pound sophomore, is averaging five points per game and has swatted a team-high six shots. He made his initial start against Drexel.

Keys to Victory for ECU

1. Stay within single digits - George Mason is a very disciplined team that takes care of the basketball and knocks down free throws. Therefore, if East Carolina digs a hole as it has at times this season it will be very difficult to overcome.
2. Patrol the paint - Gabe Blair, John Fields and Chad Wynn will need to play sound post defense and stay out of foul trouble. The Patriots get to the line often and if the Pirates are forced to go small it could get ugly quick with Will Thomas on the interior.
3. Value the basketball - With a young team attempting to learn a new offense, the Pirates are committing 18 turnovers per contest. On the other hand, the Pats turn it over only 13 times per game. Senior point guard Darrell Jenkins, who committed eight turnovers in the loss to Winthrop, must step up and have his best floor game yet. With their struggles shooting the basketball, the Pirates certainly need all the shot attempts they can get.

Final ECU Prediction & Analysis

Just like Winthrop, Mason is veteran club that is accustomed to winning big and will likely be a NCAA tournament team this season. They are currently a top 40 team in the polls. Meanwhile, the Pirates are inexperienced and still trying to find their identity. The powerful Patriots will likely be too much and win this one going away.

George Mason 82 - East Carolina 56