By Kyle Kandetzki – Assistant Sports Editor This is “The Scouting Report”, an online feature from The Hofstra Chronicle where we go in-depth on the Pride’s upcoming opponent. Stats and insight will be provided to help Hofstra fans know what to expect with each coming matchup.
After just three games of conference play, the Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team sit in first place in the CAA as the only undefeated team (3-0). They are coming off a hard fought win vs. the College of Charleston Cougars, where the Pride struggled to make any offense occur in the first half, but were able to outgun their rivals in the final minutes. Hofstra will now go for their sixth consecutive win against a surprising Elon University team, a team that was once picked to finish last in the CAA. The away game tips off at 8:00 p.m.
BASIC INFORMATION: Elon University is located in Elon, North Carolina, the second consecutive Carolina team Hofstra will be playing. The school was founded in 1889 as Elon College, and is home to a bit under 6,000 students. Their team name is the “Phoenix”, their colors are maroon and gold, and they are in their first season in the CAA, after moving from the Southern Conference in July 2014.
HISTORY: Elon has never made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their biggest DI success came in 2006 when they won the North division of the Southern Conference, but didn’t ultimately gain the conference’s automatic bid. Elon made their only DI tournament appearance of any kind in 2013 in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, losing in the opening round.
Elon currently plays in the CAA’s smallest venue: the 1,600-seat Alumni Gym.
LAST YEAR: Elon had a mildly successful final season in the Southern Conference, taking 4th place on a 11-5 record, and 18-14 overall. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament by Western Carolina.
THIS YEAR: The Phoenix holds third in the CAA, with a 2-1 in-conference record, and is 10-6 overall. Before CAA play, Elon’s losses were nothing to look past, with two of them coming to Duke by 13 (ranked 2nd at the time), and Missouri by 5 (7-7, but are in the almighty SEC). Another somewhat impressive loss came to Northwestern in OT, as they play in another major conference in the Big Ten. They were not without bad losses: they fell to North Florida, who ranks 198th in RPI.
Their out-of-conference slate featured no statement wins, as their biggest win came against Florida Atlantic (190th in RPI), but CAA play changed that just two nights ago. The Phoenix opened their conference play with a win over struggling Drexel, and a low scoring loss to Towson, and was faced with a challenge in William & Mary for their third matchup, with the W&M Tribe projected to take third in the CAA. Elon’s Elijah Bryant lit up the second half, and Elon hit a clutch three in the final minute to overpower a Marcus Thornton-led Tribe team in an 85-79 win. Call it an upset or not, Elon made a huge statement to the CAA in their last game, and should be taken seriously.
THE COACH: Head Coach Matt Matheny is in his 6th season with Elon. Matheny previously played for Davidson, and was an assistant their for 16 years.
CURRENT ROSTER: Guards - Elon’s top scorer is not even a starter, in aforementioned Elijah Bryant. Bryant comes off the bench to score 14.5 PPG, and does that in just 21+ minutes on average. The 6’4” 225-pound freshman has already made a huge impact, grabbing a CAA Player of the Week award and 4 Rookie of the Week awards.
Joining him in the backcourt and in the top 4 scorers on this team is 6’4” junior Tanner Samson (13.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and 6’3” senior Kevin Blake (7.8 PPG). Whereas Bryant and Samson’s accuracy numbers are mediocre (39% and 35%), Blake is a sharpshooter at 51%.
The guards to talk about are…well…all of them. Every active guard on this team played 19+ minutes in a three-guard setup in Elon’s last game. The final starting guard is 5’10” senior Austin Hamilton, who is a supplementary scorer (has never hit double figures this year) at 5.3 PPG. The remaining guards on the bench (who combined to play 42 minutes in their last game) are Christian Hairston and Dmitri Thompson, who both average around 5.5 PPG, while Hairston uses his 6’7” height at guard to grab 4 RPG. Thompson, a freshman, adds the second most assists at 2.3 (behind Bryant at 2.5).
Missing from this lineup of guards is former CAA Player of the Week Luke Eddy. Eddy was the team’s third best scorer with 13 PPG, while being extremely efficient at 58% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. Eddy went down five games ago with a right knee injury, and is a huge loss, though they have won without him.
Forwards – While the guard position is a rotation involving every player at the position, only one forward covers the position a majority of the time: 6’7” senior Ryan Winters. Winters is the sole forward in the team’s typical starting lineup, and is second on the team in minutes per game with just 25 (showing how many guards are really in this rotation). Winters adds 5.6 PPG (one of four players averaging in the 5 point range), while leading the team with 5.1 RPG.
Center – The starting center is 6’7” Tony Sabato. Sabato plays minor minutes for a starter (17.5 MPG), possibly in favor of a four-guard set up. Sabato adds just 3.3 PPG.
WEAKNESSES: While Bryant is the statistical leader of this team, he also has a turnover problem. Bryant averages nearly four of them per game, and in just 21.7 MPG (compare to Juan’ya Green: 2+ turnovers, 36 MPG).
With all of the guards this team features, there is no true player with passing prowess like Green. Elon sits in the mid-200s in the nation in assists per game. A lockdown defense in a man-to-man setup could be a great advantage for Hofstra.
Though this Elon offense poses a threat that Hofstra hasn’t seen maybe since NC State, it is entirely possible to shut down this assortment of players. Towson, an average defensive team, completely locked down Elon for a season-low 53 points just a few days ago.
THE MATCHUP: This team has so many strengths, many more than you would expect from a team projected to finish last in the conference’s preseason poll. Though Elon still has a ways to go before proving their place as a title contender, they have certainly showed that poll as one filled with error.
Elon’s stats match very closely with Hofstra’s, and they did it on a schedule that was slightly stronger. Hofstra averages 79 PPG (20th), while Elon has 74 PPG (49th). Elon and Hofstra are back-to-back in DI rebounding averages: Elon has 38.1 (62nd), Hofstra has 37.9 (63rd).
Where Hofstra can pull ahead offensively is with accuracy. Hofstra as a whole shoots 45%, but Elon pulls in at 43%. That might not sound like much of a difference, but it equals 100+ spots in national rankings. The Phoenix also has had defensive struggles at times: allowing 68.1 PPG (Hofstra averages just three points less, though). Hofstra’s primary offensive struggles have come against strong defensive teams, and Elon is not one of those.
This game will show which variable is better: A team with a ridiculously good duo, but a good supporting cast, OR a team with a handful of exciting players, and a ridiculously deep roster, but no true leader. Elon has ten players playing 14+ minutes a game; Hofstra has 11 players that have entered a game this season. This isn’t to say Hofstra’s bench is not sufficient, as Dion Nesmith, Rokas Gustys, and Jamall Robinson are all key to this Pride offense. But, Elon has so many different options to throw Hofstra’s way, they can crack the Pride defense in several different ways.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Simply, this is Hofstra’s first big CAA test. They showed that they can win a game late vs. Charleston, but then again they maybe should’ve handled a weaker team better. The direction this team is headed will be determined here against a team with momentum, and then an established team vs. Northeastern. Road wins are key as well; as three road wins right off the bat is huge.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS Pride Green (17.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.1 APG, 26 pts v. Charleston) Bernardi (12.3 PPG, 1-for-6 v. Charleston) Nichols (6.3 PPG, 5 RPG) Tanksley (18.8 PPG, 53% FG, 4-for-7 from three v. Charleston) Kone (6.1 PPG, 3 pts v. Charleston)
Phoenix G Hamilton G Samson G Blake F Winters C Sabato
NEXT UP: 1/14 @ Northeastern