News and Notes
- W&M leads the all-time series with Georgia State at
7-5, including a 3-2 Green and Gold advantage in Atlanta. Six of the last eight
meetings between the Tribe and Panthers have been decided by four or fewer
points.
- As of Jan. 14, the Tribe leads the CAA in field goal
percentage (.457), defensive 3-point percentage (.266), 3-pointers made per
game (6.5), assists (14.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0).
- According to the NCAA stats (as of Jan. 13), W&M ranks
fifth nationally in defensive 3-point percentage, 73rd in field goal percentage and 102nd in assists
per game.
- W&M turned the ball over a season-low six times at
Hofstra on Jan. 12 and finished with 14 assists compared to 19 made field
goals. The Tribe ranks 70th nationally, according to KenPom.com, in assist
percentage, dishing out assists on 58.4 percent of its made field goals.
- Over the last three games, sophomore
Marcus Thornton and
junior
Brandon Britt have been scoring at a high level, averaging 20 and 18.7 points per game, respectively.
Scouting Georgia
State
Georgia State enters the tilt with the Tribe at 6-11 overall
and 1-3 in CAA play. The Panthers won five of its first nine games of the
season, before dropping seven of their last eight contests. After falling their
CAA opener to Drexel in Atlanta, GSU downed James Madison, 68-52, at home. The
Panthers have dropped their last two CAA games, falling at Hofstra, 52-50, and
dropping an 86-83 decision on a Delaware 3-pointer with less than a second
remaining. When W&M travels to Atlanta, GSU will host its second annual
"Barefoot for Bare Feet Game" in support of Samaritan's Feet.
The Panthers average 64.4 points per game, while shooting
42.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 68.3 percent
from the free throw line. GSU's field goal percentage ranks fifth in the CAA,
while it is also fifth in scoring defense, allowing 66.5 points per game.
Georgia State ranks third in the CAA and 78th nationally in blocked shots per
game. The Panthers turn the ball over just 12.4 times per game, which ranks
75th nationally, and GSU is fourth in the CAA in turnover margin (+1.24).
Georgia State also ranks third in the CAA in 3-pointers made per game at six
per contest.
Like the Tribe, Georgia State sports three of the top 15
scorers in the CAA. Freshman R.J. Hunter leads the way at 15.9 points per game,
which ranks seventh in the CAA. He ranks among the top 12 in the CAA in a
number of statistical categories, including hitting 2.1 3-pointers per game,
which is fourth in the league. Juniors Devonta White and Manny Atkins, who is a
transfer from Virginia Tech, rank 12th and 15th in the CAA, respectively, at
14.2 and 12.9 points per game. White leads the CAA in steals per game (1.9) and
minutes played (36.6), while leading the Panthers and ranking fourth in the
league in assists per game (3.2). His steal average also ranks 76th nationally.
Atkins ranks among the top 15 in the CAA in eight categories, including second
in the CAA in 3-point percentage at 40.6 percent. Senior center James Vincent
leads the CAA and ranks 25th nationally in blocked shots per game at 2.5.
W&M leads the all-time series with the Panthers at 7-5,
including a 3-2 advantage in Atlanta. Last season, though, Georgia State won
both meetings, including the regular season finale, 64-60, in Williamsburg.
When the Tribe and Panthers have met, it has generally been a close contest as
six of the last eight meetings have been decided by four or fewer points.
Britt Heating Up
After one of his worst collegiate performances at
Vanderbilt, junior guard
Brandon Britt has really stepped up his play over the
last three games. The Commodores held Britt scoreless on three shots for the
first time his the second game of his freshman season. Since, the Chesapeake, Va., native is
averaging 18.7 points, three assists and 2.3 steals per game. After rebounding
with 18 points against George Mason, Britt scored 17 points in the Tribe's
double overtime loss at Towson, before leading the Green and Gold with 21
points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field on Jan. 12. He also turned in a pair
of nice floor games with three assists compared to zero turnovers against
Mason, while dishing out four assists compared to one turnover against the
Pride. In the game at Hofsra, Britt scored his 800th career point.
Thieves of the Night
Over the last two games, the Tribe has been a dangerous team
in creating turnovers with steals on the defensive end. W&M produced a
season-high 10 steals at Hofstra after having nine swipes in its
double-overtime loss at Towson. In fact, the Tribe is averaging eight steals
per game in CAA play, which ranks third in the league. Junior
Brandon Britt has
been the catalyst in the steals department all season, averaging 1.4 steals per
game, which ranks 11th in the CAA. Over the last three games, he has been even
better at 2.3 steals per game. Over the last two contests, sophomore
Marcus Thornton is averaging 3.5 steals per game, including a career-high four at
Towson.
Thornton at the Free
Throw Line
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton has been the Tribe's top
free throw shooter this season. On the year, he is connecting on 80.3 percent
(53-of-66) from the charity strip, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 158th
nationally, as of Jan. 13. He is 24 of his last 27 from the free throw line,
which is 88.9 percent, over the last four games. Thornton is the Tribe's best
clutch free throw shooter as well. In the final five minutes and overtime of
games this season, he is shooting 92 percent (23-of-25) from the free throw
line.
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. 14, in effective field goal
percentage at 71.3 percent. He is also fourth nationally in true shooting
percentage at 71.1 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 62.2 percent from the field. He has been even
better over the last 10 games, shooting 69 percent (40-of-58) 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 with at least seven attempts.
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 four 3-pointers per game. His 38.1 percent
from 3-point range ranks third in the CAA. Thornton ranks 52nd nationally in
3-pointers made per game and 62nd in 3-point field goal percentage, as of Jan.
13.
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 46.5 of the W&M's 69 points per game (67.4 percent). On the year,
all three rank among the top 15 in the CAA with Thornton leading the way in
second at 18.3 points per game. Britt and Rusthoven rank 11th and 14th,
respectively, averaging 14.5 and 13.7 points per game. On 11 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. Britt scored 20-plus points on three occasions, including a career-high
26 against Howard, while Rusthoven tallied two 20-point performances with a
career-high 23 at High Point.
