Saturday, December 13, 2014 7:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago
Trying to make sense of the way Jackson State plays basketball is difficult. Consider these oddities: Their leading scorer (and second best rebounder) comes off the bench. Their second leading scorer (and top rebounder) has only started four of their seven games. Their team leader in assists comes off the bench. One player has taken just over 50% of their team’s three point shots. Jackson State out-rebounded UAB by 16 and lost by eight points, then two nights later got out-rebounded by 16 at St. Bonaventure and lost by eight points. Their only win came on the road at Jacksonville in front of 236 people, and their only home game was a 30-point blowout loss to Hofstra in front of 278 people. In their loss at St. Bonaventure, they sent the Bonnies to the free throw line 43 times. One player fouled out of a game in eight minutes against UAB. For the season, they’ve been out-rebounded an average of 6.3 total rebounds per game, yet have an edge against their opponents on the offensive glass.
Because Jackson State has played so many games on hostile courts, often against bigger and stronger teams, it’s hard to pinpoint any particular style they play due to blowouts mixed in with a few close losses. But a few things about Jackson State are fairly consistent-- they take care of the ball well, holding a slight turnover advantage overall against their opponents and making more steals than they allow. They are a very good free throw shooting team at 74%, even if they don’t always turn games into free throw contests. They foul like mad-- an average of more than 23 per game, with six players having fouled out of games so far this season-- and their opponents make an average of 28.7 trips to the line.
The Tigers are likely to start 6’6” senior forward Darrell Taylor, 6’8” sophomore forward Treshawn Bolden, 5’10” sophomore point guard Yettra Specks, 6’4” sophomore guard Dontaveon Robinson, and 6’3” sophomore guard Javeres Brent. The aforementioned leading scorer is Kaven Bernard, a 6’5” junior forward who averages 10.7 ppg and 4.4 rpg coming off the bench. Another bench player, 5’10” freshman point guard Dre’Shawn Looney actually leads the team in assists, but is prone to turnovers. Brent, the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.1 per game and top rebounder at 4.7 per, has recently worked his way into the starting lineup despite being enamored with his 29% three-point shooting—he’s taken 59 shots from behind the arc while the rest of the team has taken 57 combined. None of the really big men on the JSU roster (they have a 250-pound 6’9” center and a 6’8” forward) see much significant time, so rebounds will mostly be an issue of quickness rather than height.
Expect the game to be messy, chaotic, and maybe even a little confusing. When Jackson State is able to hang with their opponents, it’s usually due to a strange imbalance in one area or another (turnovers, free throws, rebounding, etc.). Maybe that’s how they like it. If the Ramblers can stick to their plan of hustle, help defense, and patience in looking for the good shot, they should win this game by double digits. It might also be a good idea to work on the free throw stroke before this one.
Loyola game notes:
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... 212aaa.pdfJackson State game notes:
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... a_jast.pdfTelevision: None
Online video: Ramblervision (
http://www.loyolaramblers.com/collegesp ... dia=478327)
Vegas line: None likely
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