By: Ryan Chichester
Follow @RyanChichester1
The Bobcats (6-12, 3-3 MAAC) have had five days off since their blowout loss at Rider, and are looking to get back above .500 in MAAC play when they host Niagara at home Thursday night. The Purple Eagles (11-8, 4-2 MAAC) seem to present an even tougher test than the Broncs did last week.
Niagara has run off four straight conference wins heading into Hamden, and boast a prolific offense that could spell trouble for Quinnipiac if Baker Dunleavy’s squad has not addressed the issues surrounding their 78-60 loss against Rider on Friday. The Purple Eagles represent a very similar matchup as the Broncs did, scoring at a rapid rate while surrendering a bunch of points themselves. Once again, it will come down to the Bobcats making some shots of their own to stay in the game, a task they failed miserably against Rider, where they shot just 38-percent from the field and 26-percent from three. Will things be different on their home floor, where the Bobcats have won four of seven contests, compared to their dismal 2-9 record away from Lender Court?
Here is what you need to know for Thursday night:
Containing Niagara’s dynamic duo
The Purple Eagles are the best scoring offense in the MAAC (averaging 83.2 points per game), thanks to their two-headed senior monster of Khalil Dukes and Matt Scott. The duo are the top-two scorers in the conference, with Scott leading the MAAC with 21.8 points per game, and Dukes closely behind at 20.8 points per contest. Rider was a tough defensive assignment for the Bobcats’ defense, but the Purple Eagles and their pair of scoring machines could be a nightmare.
Dukes comes to Hamden with a vapor trail behind him, as he has been on fire over the past two games, shooting over 60-percent from the field and exactly 60-percent from beyond the arc. His ridiculous shooting streak earned him MAAC Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, his second of the season. Last week’s winner? Matt Scott, also his second time receiving the award this season.
Slowing down Dukes and Scott is the most obvious assignment for beating Niagara, but also the toughest. There’s only so much Baker Dunleavy can draw up on a white board to prepare his players for Niagara’s scoring attack. The defense in the paint has to be better than it was against Rider, where they were outscored 48-24. Niagara is in the middle of the pack in the MAAC when it comes to three-pointers attempted, so a lot their scoring comes closer to the rim, where the Bobcats had all kinds of problems against the Broncs.
The Bobcats may have to hope for a balancing of basketball karma, and Niagara’s scorers finally have a cold night from the floor. Otherwise, the Bobcats will have to play the game of their live on defense to claim an upset victory.
Get this man some help!
The broken record continues to scratch and repeat, but the sounds continue to be relevant music. The Bobcats still have to find some more scoring from players not named Cam Young, and it will be a key to every game the rest of the way until something changes.
Cam Young is averaging 17.9 pts/game this season, fifth best in the MAAC (PC: Quinnipiac Athletics)
Young is the fifth-best scorer in the MAAC this season and once again led the Bobcats with 19 points against Rider on 50-percent shooting, but the rest of the team combined to shoot just 12-for-37 from the field. When you’re trying to keep pace with offenses like Rider and Niagara, there has to be help from the supporting cast.
Jacob Rigoni and Andrew Robinson have been the most potent deep threats for the Bobcats this season, but were non-factors from the three-point line on Friday. The duo combined to shoot 3-for-13 from beyond the arc, but Rigoni still holds the top spot in the MAAC in three-point percentage despite suffering through his worst shooting day of the season. Given his performance this year, Friday can be considered an outlier. The Bobcats better hope it was, because they will need Rigoni at his best to avoid a potential blowout on their own floor.
