University of Delaware Athletics
Confident Blue Hens Locked In For CAA Championship
3/7/2020 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Winning the Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball championship and claiming the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament requires winning three games in three days against quality opponents. That's no easy feat, but the Blue Hens have a blueprint on how to get it done.
Across the first weekend of the regular season, way back in early November, Delaware won three games in three days at the Sunshine Slam in Kissimmee, Fla., beating Oakland, Southern Illinois and UTSA. While the Hens' high-powered offense was on display as Delaware poured in 91 points against the Roadrunners (junior guards Nate Darling and Kevin Anderson had 37 and 32, respectively), Delaware's defensive efforts were the difference in the first two wins of the weekend.
That defensive end of the floor will be key again as fifth-seeded Delaware heads down to Washington, D.C., in search of its first conference championship since 2014. The Blue Hens open the tournament by facing fourth-seeded College of Charleston in the quarterfinals Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m.
The Cougars have one of the best scoring threats in the country in First Team All-CAA guard Grant Riller, whose 21.7 points per game rank second best in the CAA and 12th in Division I. Along with veteran backcourt-mate Brevin Galloway and a talented frontline rotation of Jaylen McManus, Sam Miller and Osinachi Smart, Charleston has a variety of options to score the ball.
Charleston won both regular-season meetings against Delaware (75-63 on Dec. 30 in Newark, Del., on the first weekend of conference play, then 80-71 on Feb. 27 in Charleston, S.C., on the last weekend of conference play), but the Blue Hens know they're fully capable of beating the Cougars. Delaware held a halftime lead in both games, now it's just matter of keeping that intensity up for a full 40 minutes.
"I just think we have to play more of a complete game for 40 minutes, especially on the defensive end," head coach Martin Ingelsby said of facing Charleston for a third time this season. "In the second one, we guarded well for segments, but we've just got to be able to do it more consistently to beat a really good basketball team. They got going from the three-point line in both games, so obviously that'll be a point of emphasis to try to limit their attempts."
"Forty minutes of focus. Playing hard on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes," Anderson, a Third Team All-CAA selection and a key defender for the Blue Hens, echoed as the key to taking down the Cougars.
On the offensive end of the floor, the Blue Hens are confident after a balanced attack saw six players hit double digits in an 82-65 win over UNCW in the regular season finale. Darling, a First Team All-CAA selection who is averaging 21.1 points per game (17th best in Division I), is always a threat to drop 30, but Delaware's offense is at its best when everybody is contributing.
Anderson led the Blue Hens with 14 points against the Seahawks, while fellow junior guard Ryan Allen regained his scoring touch with 25 points and seven three-pointers during the two-game Carolina swing. The athleticism of Justyn Mutts and the power of Dylan Painter provided 13 and 10 points, respectively, from Delaware's frontcourt against UNCW as well. With all the starters seeing the ball go in the hoop, confidence is high.
"We have a balanced team, very unselfish on the offensive end. Those guys have a lot of fun playing together and sharing the ball," Ingelsby said. "That gives us a lot of momentum to be able to finish the regular season with the win, come home, regroup, get some rest, get back to practice to head down to D.C. confident."
"Our whole morale is good," the sharpshooting Darling said. "I think we've got the talent. Everybody believes that we can go down there and just sweep it three games in a row and win the whole thing. That's our mindset, there's no other outcome for us."
While the majority of scoring will come from the starting lineup, the Blue Hens will need contributions from its reserves to win on three consecutive days. Senior forward Jacob Cushing provided that exact type of impact against UNCW, scoring 11 points in just 12 minutes off the bench.
While they don't show up in the box score as much, senior Collin Goss and freshman Johnny McCoy will be crucial substitutes defensively. McCoy will likely get matched up with Riller and Galloway, while Goss has tremendous length to be a rim protector and post defender. Delaware has gone eight players deep in most of its conference games this season, but in a tournament setting could go to 10 with freshman Ebby Asamoah and the newly healthy Aleks Novakovich being thrown into the mix as well.
"We're going to need every one of those guys," Ingelsby said. "They've got to stay ready and stay focused, and if they get an opportunity and they get their number called, be ready to do what they need to do to help our team win."
The CAA tournament as a whole looks to be wide open, and is shaping up to be one of the most competitive tourneys of this conference championship season. Any of the top six seeds that received a bye to the quarterfinals has a legitimate shot at the title. The favorites are top-seeded and veteran Hofstra, led by First Team All-CAA guard Desure Buie. If Delaware beats Charleston in the quarters, the Pride will likely be the Blue Hens' semifinal opponent on Monday night. On Jan. 23, Delaware beat Hofstra 73-71 on the road thanks to a last-second coast-to-coast lay-up from Anderson.
A trip to the finals could see the Hens face Northeastern, Towson or William & Mary. Delaware swept the Huskies this season, and beat the Tigers on national TV in early February. While the Blue Hens didn't beat the Tribe this year, they took them to the wire in a tough 81-77 loss in Williamsburg on Feb. 15, an outcome that would likely have been different on a neutral court.
No matter who the Hens come across in the nation's capital this weekend, expect a fight for 40 minutes on both ends of the floor. And just like the three game sweep of the Sunshine Slam, expect the Hens to complement their high-octane offense by clamping down on defense.
"We're a fast team, we get up and down," Darling said. "I realized that it comes when we're all locked in on defense. That's when we really are the best team on the floor."
Across the first weekend of the regular season, way back in early November, Delaware won three games in three days at the Sunshine Slam in Kissimmee, Fla., beating Oakland, Southern Illinois and UTSA. While the Hens' high-powered offense was on display as Delaware poured in 91 points against the Roadrunners (junior guards Nate Darling and Kevin Anderson had 37 and 32, respectively), Delaware's defensive efforts were the difference in the first two wins of the weekend.
That defensive end of the floor will be key again as fifth-seeded Delaware heads down to Washington, D.C., in search of its first conference championship since 2014. The Blue Hens open the tournament by facing fourth-seeded College of Charleston in the quarterfinals Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m.
The Cougars have one of the best scoring threats in the country in First Team All-CAA guard Grant Riller, whose 21.7 points per game rank second best in the CAA and 12th in Division I. Along with veteran backcourt-mate Brevin Galloway and a talented frontline rotation of Jaylen McManus, Sam Miller and Osinachi Smart, Charleston has a variety of options to score the ball.
Charleston won both regular-season meetings against Delaware (75-63 on Dec. 30 in Newark, Del., on the first weekend of conference play, then 80-71 on Feb. 27 in Charleston, S.C., on the last weekend of conference play), but the Blue Hens know they're fully capable of beating the Cougars. Delaware held a halftime lead in both games, now it's just matter of keeping that intensity up for a full 40 minutes.
"I just think we have to play more of a complete game for 40 minutes, especially on the defensive end," head coach Martin Ingelsby said of facing Charleston for a third time this season. "In the second one, we guarded well for segments, but we've just got to be able to do it more consistently to beat a really good basketball team. They got going from the three-point line in both games, so obviously that'll be a point of emphasis to try to limit their attempts."
"Forty minutes of focus. Playing hard on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes," Anderson, a Third Team All-CAA selection and a key defender for the Blue Hens, echoed as the key to taking down the Cougars.
On the offensive end of the floor, the Blue Hens are confident after a balanced attack saw six players hit double digits in an 82-65 win over UNCW in the regular season finale. Darling, a First Team All-CAA selection who is averaging 21.1 points per game (17th best in Division I), is always a threat to drop 30, but Delaware's offense is at its best when everybody is contributing.
Anderson led the Blue Hens with 14 points against the Seahawks, while fellow junior guard Ryan Allen regained his scoring touch with 25 points and seven three-pointers during the two-game Carolina swing. The athleticism of Justyn Mutts and the power of Dylan Painter provided 13 and 10 points, respectively, from Delaware's frontcourt against UNCW as well. With all the starters seeing the ball go in the hoop, confidence is high.
"We have a balanced team, very unselfish on the offensive end. Those guys have a lot of fun playing together and sharing the ball," Ingelsby said. "That gives us a lot of momentum to be able to finish the regular season with the win, come home, regroup, get some rest, get back to practice to head down to D.C. confident."
"Our whole morale is good," the sharpshooting Darling said. "I think we've got the talent. Everybody believes that we can go down there and just sweep it three games in a row and win the whole thing. That's our mindset, there's no other outcome for us."
While the majority of scoring will come from the starting lineup, the Blue Hens will need contributions from its reserves to win on three consecutive days. Senior forward Jacob Cushing provided that exact type of impact against UNCW, scoring 11 points in just 12 minutes off the bench.
While they don't show up in the box score as much, senior Collin Goss and freshman Johnny McCoy will be crucial substitutes defensively. McCoy will likely get matched up with Riller and Galloway, while Goss has tremendous length to be a rim protector and post defender. Delaware has gone eight players deep in most of its conference games this season, but in a tournament setting could go to 10 with freshman Ebby Asamoah and the newly healthy Aleks Novakovich being thrown into the mix as well.
"We're going to need every one of those guys," Ingelsby said. "They've got to stay ready and stay focused, and if they get an opportunity and they get their number called, be ready to do what they need to do to help our team win."
The CAA tournament as a whole looks to be wide open, and is shaping up to be one of the most competitive tourneys of this conference championship season. Any of the top six seeds that received a bye to the quarterfinals has a legitimate shot at the title. The favorites are top-seeded and veteran Hofstra, led by First Team All-CAA guard Desure Buie. If Delaware beats Charleston in the quarters, the Pride will likely be the Blue Hens' semifinal opponent on Monday night. On Jan. 23, Delaware beat Hofstra 73-71 on the road thanks to a last-second coast-to-coast lay-up from Anderson.
A trip to the finals could see the Hens face Northeastern, Towson or William & Mary. Delaware swept the Huskies this season, and beat the Tigers on national TV in early February. While the Blue Hens didn't beat the Tribe this year, they took them to the wire in a tough 81-77 loss in Williamsburg on Feb. 15, an outcome that would likely have been different on a neutral court.
No matter who the Hens come across in the nation's capital this weekend, expect a fight for 40 minutes on both ends of the floor. And just like the three game sweep of the Sunshine Slam, expect the Hens to complement their high-octane offense by clamping down on defense.
"We're a fast team, we get up and down," Darling said. "I realized that it comes when we're all locked in on defense. That's when we really are the best team on the floor."
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