Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Morey Hershgordon
Tom Moore would be the first to admit his basketball team has had a tough time scoring the ball this season. However, he’d turn right around to say that his group does the hard part of the game well. Really well.
That’s playing defense.
There’s no denying the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team has an 8-14 record, and owns a 5-8 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Despite a 2-7 start, it’s won three of its last four by sticking to its staple.
Quinnipiac, one of three teams (Monmouth and Siena) in the conference to hold its opponents to shooting under 40 percent from the field, takes pride in doing the dirty work.
Moore says his team’s energy on the defensive end was fostered by 2015 grad and current pro Zaid Hearst. Last season, Hearst held Oregon State guard Gary Payton II, who averaged 13.4 points per game and was the PAC-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, to zero points in 26 minutes. He passed on the responsibility of locking up an opposing team’s star to James Ford Jr. Then freshmen Ayron Hutton and Dimitri Floras got a taste of the action. This year, Ford Jr. will hand the reigns over to current sophomores Hutton and Floras when the year ends. Freshmen Andrew and Aaron Robinson are the next in line. The cycle repeats.
But, after a loss to Monmouth in late January, a surprisingly optimistic Moore was confident the offense would come, but it’s the defense, he says, that will drive his team to victory. Moore knows his defense come March, will enable his crew to compete. And the proof is there.
Below are the top six scorers in the MAAC and how Quinnipiac drastically slowed each of them down (stats as of Tuesday Feb. 9):
1. Khalid Hart 21.4 ppg, Marist College guard
- Feb. 4 in Hamden: 3-for-14 for 14 points
- Bigs hedging hard on ball screens kept Hart from pulling up off the bounce
2. A.J. Enlgish 21.0 ppg, Iona College guard
- Jan. 2 in Hamden: 5-for-15 (2-for-10 from three) for 14 points
- Bobcats keyed in on the potential NBA draft pick by forcing many deep threes.
3. Justin Robinson 20.5 ppg, Monmouth University guard
- Jan. 9 in West Long Branch: 4-for-11 for 15 points
- Jan. 28 in Hamden: 3-for-11 for 13 points
- Bobcats used many guards and fresh legs to keep the frontrunner for MAAC Player of the Year frustrated
4. Shane Richards 18.1 ppg, Manhattan College guard
- Will face Quinnipiac Thursday Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
5. Marcus Gilbert 17.6 ppg, Fairfield University guard/forward
- Feb. 1 in Bridgeport: 2-for-10 for 11 points (did not make a 2 point field goal)
- QU did not allow Gilbert any clean looks from inside the arc
6. Brian Parker 16.8 ppg, Marist College guard
- Feb. 4 in Hamden: 4-for-14 for 12 points
- A solid job of defensive communication
Quinnipiac’s Magic Number is 40:
- When opponents shoot 40% and under, Quinnipiac is 8-6
- When opponents shoot more than 40%, Quinnipiac is 0-8
- When opponents grab less than 40 rebounds, Quinnipiac is 8-5
- When opponents grab more than 40 rebounds, Quinnipiac is 0-9
- When Quinnipiac shoots over 40%, it is 4-1
- When Quinnipiac shoots under 40%, it is 4-13.
Other telling statistics:
- First in three point field goal percentage defense: 29.5%
- Second in scoring defense: 68.8 ppg
- Second in field goal percentage defense: 38.7%
The MAAC is extremely tight. Spots three through nine are separated by just three and a half games. Quinnipiac is tied with Rider for eighth place. The Bobcats have seven regular season games remaining and five of them are against those teams.
There is plenty of opportunity to make up ground, but Quinnipiac will need a playoff-type mentality if it wants to earn a first-round bye for the conference tournament. Its first test is Thursday night at Manhattan. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at Draddy Gymnasium.
