Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
Throughout the season, Q30 Sports’ Quinnipiac basketball beat reporters Dylan Fearon and Josh Silverman will dissect the past week for both the men’s and women’s teams. They will provide insight into the latest trends, updates on player injury’s, and quotes from head coaches Tom Moore and Tricia Fabbri.
Below is the first edition:
Men’s Basketball (4-6, 1-1 MAAC)
By: Dylan Fearon
A big run by Oregon State to start the second half propelled the Beavers to a 82-61 victory over Quinnipiac on Monday night. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly, by the numbers:
The Good
1: Career double-doubles for Donovan Smith, which was earned in Corvallis. Smith, a junior-college transfer in his first year with Quinnipiac, has quickly been thrown into a starting role with sophomore Chaise Daniels sidelined with injury. Smith has started the last four games for the Bobcats, averaging 12 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. The six-foot-ten big man from Chicago also leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in blocks per game (2.0). On Monday against the Beavers, Smith dominated inside, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds (five offensive) and two blocks, while not committing a turnover. Not too shabby against a Pac-12 program on the road.
10: The number of points scored by freshman Andrew Robinson. In his first nine career games, the Takoma Park, Maryland native had a total of nine points, but Robinson had eight at halftime against the Beavers. It was also the first points scored by the six-foot-six guard since Nov. 22 against Holy Cross. With other Quinnipiac guards struggling, Robinson also had career-highs in minutes (18), rebounds (four) and field goals (four).
29: The number of points put up by the Quinnipiac bench. Not as exciting as Monmouth’s, but the Bobcats have shown their depth this season. Andrew Robinson led the pine with 10, while sophomore Ayron Hutton and freshman Abdulai Bundu had eight.
The Bad
2: The amount of points scored from James Ford, Jr. in the last two games. The only four-year Quinnipiac player on Tom Moore’s roster, Ford has been inconsistent offensively this season, scoring in double figures in three games, while failing to score more than five points, five times. Against Oregon State, Ford only shot the ball three times. When the other guards are struggling, you have to shoot the rock more.
31.9: Quinnipiac’s field goal percentage, which marks the worst shooting performance in a game all season. The Bobcats have struggled offensively this year, shooting just 37.8 percent from the field. Give credit to Oregon State though, the Beavers have held opponents to 39 percent this season, good for 60th in the country.
The Ugly
4: The total made field goals between Quinnipiac’s starting guards Giovanni McLean, Daniel Harris and James Ford, Jr. The trio was an eye-popping 4-for-24 from the field and 1-for-15 from deep, finishing with 14 points. To put it in perspective, they combine to average just under 32 points thus far. Smith was the only productive starter offensively against the Beavers, as it was the first time McLean was held below double figures this season.
15: The number of points Oregon State scored to open the second half. The Beavers led 37-34 at the break, but Wayne Tinkle’s squad came out with more energy and within five minutes the lead had blossomed to 18. Oregon State (9-2) is looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990. They are “on the bubble” according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Quinnipiac heads home for a few days before it finishes up non-conference play with a road game against Maine on Dec 29.
Women’s Basketball (5-5, 0-2 MAAC)
By: Josh Silverman
Bobcats can’t get back on track
It’s no secret the Bobcats have had an up-and-down year. After ten games, they sit at 5-5, with an 0-2 conference record. The inconsistency has come from the fact that they are a young, inexperienced team. They are still trying to find a rhythm and they finally had a great game right before the break. They beat Northeastern 71-60 and started to shoot the ball better. As a team, they looked a lot better. The team was hoping that the confidence would carry over to the Drexel game, but the team went back to it’s old ways. Before the Northeastern game they dropped two in a row, scoring 47 and 42 points. If any coach can get this team on track, it is Tricia Fabbri.
Drexel Recap
After a solid showing against Northeastern, Quinnipiac fell flat to Drexel. Shots were not falling for the Bobcats, as they shot 22 percent from the field and just 15 percent from behind the arc. This is the third time in four games that the Bobcats have scored under 50 points. In the first half, they didn’t make a single three-point shot. That’s unprecedented for a team that likes to shoot, and makes a lot of threes. After shooting 40 percent from the three so far this year, freshman Brittany Martin went oh-for-five. It was just that kind of day for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats look to forget this game as they face a tough Florida Gulf Coast team on Dec. 28. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
What needs to happen over the break
The Bobcats are a young team and no one is expecting them to repeat the success they had last year. They graduated and lost veteran leaders from Jasmine Martin and Boo Abshire. They are looking for a scoring leader to emerge. With that being said, this team still has talented players. Lead by captains Maria Napolitano and Carly Fabbri, this team should be better than where they are right now. Their record is their record, but they shouldn’t be worrying about that right now. Shots will fall, but it will take time. A statistic that stands out to me is turnovers. They had 28 against Manhattan and 13 Northeastern. There will be many less mistakes as the season progresses and as players become more comfortable. This team loses only two players.
