By: Ryan Chichester
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The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team has rattled off three straight wins behind a vastly improved defense that has feasted on a trio of opponents that are a combined 9-21 in the MAAC so far this season. After being picked to finish dead last in the conference this season, the Bobcat buzz in Hamden is starting to grow louder.
A three-game winning streak calls for a collective pat on the back, regardless of the quality of opponents during the successful stretch. The Bobcats are certainly a better team than anyone anticipated back in October, but as they sit at 6-4 in conference play, just how good are they?
We’re about to find out.
The Bobcats are just over the halfway point of conference play, and are about to be assigned one hell of a midterm to see if they are for real or not. Friday’s matchup at Iona kick-starts a four-game stretch where the Bobcats play all four teams currently above them in the standings, with the first three coming against the three top-scoring offenses in the conference in Iona, Rider and Niagara.
“The most difficult part of our schedule is certainly ahead of us,” head coach Baker Dunleavy said of the daunting task that awaits his team. “But that’s the way you measure success and progress.”
Dunleavy will likely be most anxious to see the progress of a defense that has been the focal point of practices over the past two weeks. The Bobcats shut down a shorthanded Siena team to spark their current winning streak, and most recently handled the MAAC’s top scorer in Tyler Nelson on Saturday’s win against Fairfield.
Isaiah Washington (PC: Quinnipiac Athletics)
Isaiah Washington has been an animal on the defensive end over the past three games, willingly accepting the toughest defensive assignments and shutting down each team’s leading scorer. Abdulai Bundu has done his part in the paint, which was shown on Saturday when he forced multiple offensive fouls in the game’s opening minutes to set the tone for another victory. While Bundu and Washington continue to improve on defense, the tests will continue to get tougher.
Abdulai Bundu (PC: Quinnipiac Athletics)
“Our defense is something we’ve been stressing over the past two weeks, and I really believe in the progress,” Dunleavy said of the Bobcats’ defensive growth. “Defense has to be the staple of our program, and to see it progressing is really satisfying.”
Dunleavy will get a good look at just how much his defense has progressed starting on Friday when his Bobcats travel to take on a Gaels team that scores 79.2 points per game, third-best in the MAAC. After Iona comes Rider, the second-best scoring offense in the conference. In the hole is Niagara, the top scoring offense who blasted off a 22-5 run on the Bobcats in their first meeting of the year. As this stretch wears on, the tasks will get tougher.
This four-game stretch comes at a crucial time in the season, and not just because of its difficulty. Thanks to their solid start in conference play and the current landscape of the MAAC, the Bobcats have a chance to stay put in their current fifth-place spot and earn a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament. They were in a similar position at 6-6 last season before dropping six straight and being easily disposed of in the first round of the tournament by Niagara. Of course, this is a new regime with a new roster, but they have to assure such a collapse doesn’t happen again.
The Bobcats’ confidence grows with every passing win. Last year seems like a lifetime ago. A solid showing in these next four games will put it even further in the rearview mirror. Winning all four is an absurd thought. Going 3-1 is also hard to imagine. However, a 2-2 performance while staying in close games like they have all season would be an encouraging sign for a team looking to navigate a historic turnaround in the first year of the rebuild. We’ve seen the steps forward against the bottom of the MAAC. Now it’s time to see if they can keep climbing against the top dogs of the conference.
It’s time to see what this team is all about.
