By: Ryan Chichester
Follow @RyanChichester1
The Quinnipiac mens basketball team is licking its wounds after stumbling through its toughest four-game stretch of the season, going winless against the four best teams in the MAAC by an average of 12 points per game. The losing streak has dropped the Bobcats from fifth to sixth place in the conference, and will be locked in a dogfight to climb back into the coveted fifth spot in the standings, where they would claim a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament in two weeks.
The dogfight begins Thursday night against Manhattan in Hamden.
The Jaspers hold that enviable fifth spot in the standings after capitalizing on the Bobcats’ misfortunes, and just one game separates the two teams. With the top four spots virtually locked in, the battle for fifth place starts with the Bobcats and Jaspers, who will also meet in the regular season finale.
Here is what you need to know for Thursday’s critical matchup:
Perimeter Defense
The Bobcats may have dropped their last four games, but they played particularly well in the first game of the streak on the road against the Iona Gaels. The Gaels entered the game as the second-best three-point shooting team in the MAAC, and the Bobcats stepped up their defense around the arc to hold Iona to just five threes in a double-overtime thriller. Quinnipiac will need a repeat performance as it looks to contain a Manhattan team that has moved into the top spot in the conference in three-point percentage, connecting on 39.3-percent of its triples as a group.
The Jaspers don’t necessarily light it up from downtown, as they rank ninth in total threes made. Rather, they are cunning in their search for open looks and have disciplined shot selection. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t score threes in bunches if they’re given the space to do so, which was apparent in their last game against the Monmouth Hawks, where they hit 14 of 28 threes en route to a 93-point performance. Senior Zavier Turner, who currently ranks fifth in the MAAC in three-point percentage, led the way by shooting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The Bobcats will once again look to Isaiah Washington to lead the way on defense and keep the Jaspers from getting into a shooting rhythm. As long as the Bobcats play with the intensity they had at Iona, they should be fine.
Wanted: Offensive Outburst
Manhattan’s defense is currently second-best in the MAAC, allowing just 68.1 points per game. Despite the losing streak, the Bobcats showed some life on the offensive end, even without sharpshooter Andrew Robinson, who missed all four games with a foot injury. They will need Robinson back to stretch the offense and hopefully find some cracks in the Jaspers’ defensive armor.
The Bobcats struggle with consistency from the floor at times, especially Rich Kelly and Isaiah Washington. Going up against a defense like the Jaspers, Kelly should look to keep the ball moving and find the extra pass for a more open look for teammates like Jacob Rigoni and Cam Young. The Jaspers also rank second in the MAAC in blocks thanks to 6′-8” sophomore Pauly Paulicap, whose 2.6 blocks per game are by far the most in the conference. Paulicap will likely make things tough for Chaise Daniels in the low post, so Daniels will have to resist the urge to attack the rim on every possession, and instead look to kick out to open shooters should he see his path to the basket cut off by Paulicap. For the Bobcats, ball movement is key in their quest to climb the MAAC standings.
