Our D

In Patriot League play the Crusaders rank #5 in defensive efficiency, just an eyelash behind Lehigh. We are # 10 in 2 PT pctg defense and #6 against threes which combine for #8 in defensive effective fg pctg. We're #10 in  opponents offensive rebounding. Then there are the areas in which we excel: #1 in turnover rate, #1 in steal percentage, #1 in block percentage, and #2 in opponents free throw rate.

Where we excel is in free throw "rate", I.e. we commit fewer fouls than other teams thus sending our opponents to the free throw line the least frequently of all PL teams.

So you think the defense is good?

That adjusted defense is good enough for the 41st percentile in D1, our 2FG Defense is at the 98th percentile, and our defensive rebounding rate is at the 79th percentile. Unless we miraculously turn into a top 50 offensive team, that combination is not going to turn this program around.

Sorry, edited my post to refer to 2FG %.

The turnover numbers are artificially inflating our total defense rank, and solely relying on creating a huge number of turnovers to hold the defense together, is not a recipe for consistent success.
Our season average for Turnovers per Game is 16.2, but in our five games against Top 100 opponents, we forced 7-9-11-14-14 turnovers, all below the season average. 

In those five games against Top 100 opponents, our opponents' total FG% was 58.7% / 57.9% / 50.0% / 50.0% / 52.9%, with a total FG% of 53.9%.

In those five games against Top 100 opponents, our opponents' 2FG% was 68.2% / 62.5% / 58.3% / 67.7% / 66.7%, with a total 2FG% of 64.2%

In those five games against Top 100 opponents, our opponents' OReb % was .421 / .577 / .321 / .480 / .444, with a total Oeb% of .448.
To give those numbers context, here's how each game would rank if the number were placed on the scale for all 351 teams in D1: 351 / 351 / 283 / 351 / 351, with the total at (you guessed it) 351.

Long story short, good teams are not going to turn the ball over at the rate that we need to win, they are going to shred us, and on the rare occasions that they miss, they'll probably get the offensive rebound.

I chose the five games against the best opponents that we've played, to show that (A) we can't expect good teams to turn the ball over at the same rate as the bad teams on our schedule and (B) how awful our defense is at everything other than forcing turnovers.

Not sure which of those 5 games was the Monmouth loss, but in spite of those numbers, we had a 5 point lead with 18 secs left.

Should have forced and unforced turnover stats. Forced? Drawing a charge. Unforced? Standing out of bounds when you catch a pass. Not that I'm much of a stat guy. W/L is the only stat that counts in my book.

Is that really the case? If so, you would have been clamoring for your friend (FCMB) to be fired for a 69-83 record at HC. 

right on, tim.

this is just not a great offensive group of players regardless of coach, especially with champion hobbled. carm threw in a brilliant wrinkle last year defensively in one of the top coaching moves i can recall to bring that team to the big dance. malachi and champion stepped up big time and played out of their minds during the postseason. 

but we may be looking at no player cmb ever brought and retained at hc making the all patriot league team. malachi might be the best hope to avoid that most dubious distinction and i think he is deserving if he finishes the season strong. 

carm worked a miracle in year 1, but he has had his hands full this year with extremely inefficient point guard and center play most of the season and an inability to solve zone defenses. carm has done a poor job at coming up with an effective gameplan to attack zones and he has utilized his personnel, such as it is, very poorly at times as we often have several players on the court at once who cannot shoot for the perimeter.

carm will have to restock and with the exception of karl charles, who has struggled mightily recently, he does not seem to trust the players that he has brought in so far. i'm looking forward to seeing all the new faces next year and some of the continually-frustrating faces gone. it will undoubtedly be interesting. i do think we will see a great improvement in our offensive efficiency and general output over the next two years as we get more consistent shooters and better on-floor leadership with benzan, charles, green, etc. who all seem to be natural leaders.

i think our future is bright, even if the present is pretty frustrating at times.

If one is down on this year's players, why is Coach Carmody playing them sooo many minutes? Must be that a couple of his recruits are really not producing. Look Coach is great at talent evaluation and x and o. He knows who can contribute and who can't. It's recruiting where he comes up short. To think that we will be improved next year is a pipe dream of enormous proportions. Could we be better in 2-3 years? Let's hope so, but it ain't gonna be next year in my opinion.


GO CROSS GO! BEAT BUCKNELLE!