News and Notes
- Hofstra leads the all-times series with the Tribe at 13-6,
but the teams have split the last six contests. In fact, four of the last six
games between the teams have been decided by four points or less, including the
Tribe's 75-71 win over the Pride in Williamsburg last season.
- As of Jan. 11, the Tribe leads the CAA in scoring (69.7),
field goal percentage (.466), defensive 3-point percentage (.263), 3-pointers
made per game (6.6), assists (14.0) and defensive rebounds (27.1).
- According to the NCAA stats (as of Jan. 10), W&M ranks
fifth nationally in defensive 3-point percentage, 44th in field goal percentage, 93rd in 3-point
percentage and 100th in free throw percentage.
- Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton led five Tribe players in
double figures with 24 points in the College's double-overtime game at Towson.
It marked his sixth 20-plus point game of the season, which is tied for the CAA
lead. He is averaging 22 points per game in CAA play.
Scouting Hofstra
Hofstra enters the game with the Tribe at 1-1 in the CAA and
4-11 overall. The Pride won three straight earlier this season, but have lost
nine of their last 10 contests. HU opened the CAA slated for a 52-50 home
victory over Georgia State on Jan. 7, before falling at Delaware, 69-54, two
days later. The W&M game will mark Hofstra's third game in six days.
The Pride average 61.9 points per game, while shooting 38.9
percent from the field and 29.2 percent from 3-point range. According to
KenPom.com, Hofstra ranks 51st nationally in free throw rate (41.4) and 44th in
percentage of points from the free throw line (23.5). HU ranks second in the
CAA in defensive 3-point field goal percentage behind the Tribe at 31.3
percent, but rank last in the league allowing 72.1 points per game. The Pride
is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the CAA at 13.2 per game.
Sophomore transfer Taran Buie leads Hofstra in scoring at
13.8 points per game, which ranks 14th in the CAA. He is among the top 3-point
shooters in the CAA, ranking seventh in triples made per game (1.7) and eight
in 3-point percentage (.344). Senior guard Stevie Mejia averages 10.5 points
per game, which ranks 22nd in the CAA, to go along with 3.9 assists per game.
He is third in the CAA in assists per game, fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio
(1.3) and eighth in steals (1.7). Junior Stephen Nwaukoni ranks seventh in the
CAA at 7.5 rebounds per game, while adding a scoring average of 6.2. He pulls
down three offensive rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the league.
Hofstra leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 13-6.
The teams have split the last six meeting and the games have been even closer
with four of the six contests being decided by four points or less. Last
season, W&M downed Hofstra, 75-71, in Williamsburg as
Brandon Britt knocked
down the clinching 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Six From Three
With his six 3-pointers at Towson on Jan. 9, sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton became the 10th player in school history (on 30 occasions) to
hit six or more treys in a game. Thornton also knocked down six 3-pointers in
the season-opening win over Hampton. The six 3-pointers made in a game is tied
for the ninth-best single-game total in program annals. It marks the sixth time
in program history that a Tribe player knocked down at least six 3-pointers in
multiple games over a season. David Schneider '10 knocked six or more
3-pointers on five occasions in 2009-10, while Greg Burzell '89 pulled the
trick on four occasions in 1987-88. Matt Verkey '96 and Schneider knocked down
at least six 3-pointers on three occasions in 1995-96 and 2008-09,
respectively, while current junior
Julian Boatner rounds out the group, hitting
six 3-pointers on two occasions in 2010-11.
Five in Double
Figures
In the College's double overtime loss at Towson, W&M
scored a season-high 86 points and in the process placed all five starters in
doubles figures. Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton led the way with a season-high
24 points, while junior
Brandon Britt added 17 points, all coming in the second
half and overtime. Junior
Kyle Gaillard scored 14 points, senior
Matt Rum
registered a season-high 13 points and junior
Tim Rusthoven chipped in 12
points. It marked the first time since 2011 that W&M placed five players in
double figures in a victory over Radford.
Gaillard Shooting
Junior forward
Kyle Gaillard has been extremely effective
from the field in 2012-13. The Huntersville, N.C., native ranks third
nationally according to KenPom.com, as of Jan. 10, in effective field goal percentage
at 71.2 percent. He is also third nationally in true shooting percentage at
70.3 percent. Effective field goal percentage is the same as field goal
percentage but gives teams more credit for 3-pointers made, while true shooting
percentage includes field goal and free throw percentage. For the year,
Gaillard leads the Tribe at 61.5 percent from the field. He has been even
better over the last nine games, shooting 68.5 percent (37-of-54) from the
floor. On two occasions this season,
Gaillard was perfect from the field. He was 6-of-6 in the Tribe's 82-49 win
over Salisbury on Dec. 21. Earlier this season, he tied a school record, going
a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in the Tribe's double-overtime game with
Richmond on Nov. 28. He became just the ninth player in school history to shoot
a perfect 100 percent from the field, taking at least seven shots.
Thornton Shooting the
3
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton is shooting the ball
exceptionally well from 3-point range. He currently leads the CAA at 2.7
3-pointers per game, a number that also ranks second in W&M history behind
only the three 3-pointers that Schneider averaged per game in 2010. He has been
even better in CAA contests, hitting 4.7 3-pointers per game. His 39.6 percent
from 3-point range ranks second in the CAA. Thornton ranks 45th nationally in
3-pointers made per game and 57th in 3-point field goal percentage, as of Jan.
10.
Tribe Excels in the
Classroom
Along with its work on the court, the men's hoops program
continues to demonstrate why Tribe Athletics personifies the term
student-athlete with its efforts in the classroom. The team enjoyed another
exceptional semester, amassing a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 at
the 'Public Ivy' institution for the 2012 fall semester. In total, 10 Tribe
players finished with GPA's of 3.0 or better for the fall semester, including
seven with averages of 3.5 or better. Last academic year in 2011-12, W&M
produced a team GPA of better than 3.1. W&M also placed a league-high seven
players on the CAA All-Academic Team in 2012. Under head coach
Tony Shaver, the
Tribe produced 25 CAA All-Academic team honorees, the most in the CAA since
2004. No other team had more than two CAA All-Academic team honorees in 2012,
and W&M put three of its five
starters on the top two All-Academic teams for the second time in three
years. W&M was ranked fourth on
America's Top Public Colleges list according to
Forbes
in 2012 and the sixth-best public university in the country according to
U. S.
News and World Report in 2013.
Three-Headed Scoring
Monster
The Tribe's top three returning scorers, sophomore Marcus
Thornton and juniors
Brandon Britt and
Tim Rusthoven, have upped their
production in the early going of the 2012-13 campaign. The trio is averaging a
combined 46.6 of the W&M's 69.7 points per game (66.9 percent). On the
year, all three rank among the top 15 in the CAA with Thornton leading the way
in second at 18.4 points per game. Rusthoven
and Britt rank 10th and 12th, respectively, averaging 14.2 and 14 points
per game. On 10 occasions one of the trio has scored 20-plus points in a game.
Thornton scored 20-plus points on six occasions this season, including a
season-high 24 against both Hampton and Towson. Rusthoven and Britt have each
scored 20-plus points on two occasions. Britt scored a career-high 26 against
Howard, while Rusthoven's career high of 23 came at High Point.
Among Nation's Best
3-Point Defense
The Tribe has been among the best teams in the country
defending the 3-point line this season. The Tribe leads the CAA and ranks among
the top 10 nationally limiting opponents to just 26.3 percent shooting from
3-point range. As of Jan. 10, W&M ranked fifth nationally in 3-point field
goal percentage defense according to the NCAA. The W&M school record for
3-point percentage defense is 31.4 percent set in 1998. W&M opponents are
hitting less than five 3-pointers per game (4.9) this season.
