By: Ryan Chichester
A new era begins this Saturday in Hamden as the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team opens the regular season with a Saturday matinee at home against Dartmouth. After months of preparation and speculation, first year head coach Baker Dunleavy will finally showcase his new-look Bobcats as they begin their quest for their first winning season since 2014.
Here is what you need to know for Saturday’s matchup with the Big Green:
Enter Baker and the new-look Bobcats
The biggest story of the day will be Baker Dunleavy roaming the sideline in front of the Bobcats bench in his first game ever as a head coach. The former Villanova assistant brings his National Championship ring and successful coaching resume to Hamden as he looks to build a successful program from the ground up.
Expect Dunleavy and his Bobcats to run their new “four out, one in” offense that Dunleavy helped execute with Villanova head coach Jay Wright in the Wildcats’ run to the National Championship in 2016. Dunleavy’s new offense and new-look roster will be showcased for the first time in front of a home crowd, who will have to get to know a Bobcats team that will have eight of their 15 players putting on a Quinnipiac jersey for the first time.
While the offense figures to be a main focus, Dunleavy and the Bobcats will have to immediately improve on a defense that ranked last in the MAAC in scoring defense last season. If the Bobcats are to begin their new era on a positive note, they will need to do a better job of contesting shots. Quinnipiac ranked 10th in the MAAC last season in opponent field goal percentage (46 percent) and opponent three-point percentage (38 percent).
Again, it will be a very different look on the defensive end in terms of personnel, so do last year’s stats have any remaining relevancy? We will have a better idea on Saturday. A Dartmouth offense that ranked last in the Ivy League with 67.1 points per game last season could help the Bobcats gain some defensive confidence.
Battle in the paint with the big man of Big Green
On the offensive end, the one Bobcat setting up inside will be senior Chaise Daniels. The preseason All-MAAC third team selection will need to shoulder much of the scoring as he anchors a starting lineup that expects to have three guards making their first career start as a Bobcat.
Daniels, who has consistently improved his offensive game since his sophomore season, averaged 13 points per game last season with a field goal percentage of 51 percent, both enormous improvements from his previous campaign. The Meriden native will have his hands full on Saturday when he bangs bodies with Dartmouth’s Evan Boudreaux, a former Ivy League Rookie of the Year who is coming off a second straight season in which he was selected to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District I Team.
Boudreaux, whose size alone (6’8’’, 220 lbs.) presents a problem, led the Ivy League in rebounding last season, while ranking second in the league in scoring, pouring in 17.5 points per game. It will be an immediate test for Daniels on both ends of the floor to keep the offensive pace for the Bobcats while slowing down Boudreaux on the opposite end. The Bobcats will need their senior to be a leader right away.
Scouting the rest of the Big Green
Boudreaux isn’t the only former Ivy League Rookie of the Year on Dartmouth’s roster. Senior guard Miles Wright took home the award as a freshman, but experienced a downtick in offensive production last season, averaging 9.6 points per game and one assist per game. Wright’s defense has remained a constant through his Dartmouth tenure, as he led the team in steals last season, so Quinnipiac freshman Rich Kelly will have to take care of the ball and limit the turnovers in his first collegiate game.
The Bobcats will have to play close on the perimeter and deny the Dartmouth deep threat, specifically sophomore Brendan Barry, who was second in the Ivy League last year with a 45.5 three-point percentage on 55 attempts last season. Second year head coach David McLaughlin will be looking for Barry to make a big jump in his second season and provide some balance to an offense that will be heavily dependent on Boudreaux.
Dartmouth was selected seventh out of eight teams in the Ivy League preseason poll after a 7-20 record last season, and will be looking to change their own frustrating fortunes, as the team has not finished on the right side of .500 since 1999.
Projected starting lineup for the Bobcats
G – Rich Kelly
G – Isaiah Washington
G – Cameron Young
F – Alain Chigha
F – Chaise Daniels
Off the bench
G – Aaron Robinson
G – Andrew Robinson
G – Jacob Rigoni
F – Abdulai Bundu
Projected starting lineup for the Big Green
G – Miles Wright
G – Brendan Barry
G – Guilien Smith
F – Will Emery
F – Evan Boudreaux
Off the bench
G – Cameron Smith
G – Taylor Johnson
F – Chris Knight
F – Andrease Jackson
