Well, the 2007-2008 regular season starts tonight against Belmont! Last year, Belmont went 23-10 in an impressive campaign. They were, however, just 9-6 out of conference and 10-6 on the road.
That being said, they are dangerous tonight as they're lethal from beyond the 3 point line. Last year they went 288-811 from three (35.5%). That's 8.7 3-pointers made per game. They get back their three best options from beyond the arc in Justin Hare, Andy Wicke, and Matt Dotson. In his three year career, Hare has buried 146 3's (37.8%). Junior Andy Wicke shoots 3's more often and is more accurate. He's already made 140 (41.8%) in just 61 games at Belmont. His game revolves almost completely around the 3, as 76% of his field goals come from 3 point land. The final part of the trio is Matt Doston, a 6-8 Junior forward who is 67-197 from 3 in his 2 seasons at Belmont.
This does not bode well for a Cincinnati team that gave up 231 3's last year (2nd most per game amongst big east teams) and a 37.7% against from beyond the arc (2nd worst in big east). Hopefully, as you'd expect, they worked on defending 3's and are ready for Belmont's long range attack. This one probably won't be as easy as some think, but I think Cincy will get by when it's all said and done. As long as they avoid being hit by a 3 point barrage, their physicality and athleticism should get them past a dangerous Belmont team.
No comments:
Post a Comment