Arizona State Up Next For Cougars at The Wooden Legacy
11/29/2013 9:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (2-4, 0-0 CAA) vs. ARIZONA STATE (5-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
DIRECTV WOODEN LEGACY CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL
Game #7
November 29, 2013 • Midnight (ET) / 9:00 p.m. (PT)
Titan Gym (4,000)
at Fullerton, Calif.
Television: ESPNU
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: CofC def. Arizona State, 77-68, in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 27, 1996
Internet: Free Live Statistics at http://livestats.prestosports.com/csufullerton/
Free Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Doug Wojcik
Second Year at CofC: 26-15 (.634)
Ninth Year Overall: 166-107 (.608)
Arizona State: Herb Sendek
Eighth Year at ASU: 126-110 (.534)
21st Year Overall: 380-268 (.586)
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Jeff McCarragher
Color Analyst: Everett German
TELEVISION (ESPNU)
Play-By-Play: Dave Flemming
Color Analyst: Sean Farnham
Sideline Reporter: Jeff Goodman
GAME PREVIEW
Another tough test is up next for the College of Charleston men's basketball team (2-4) as it takes on Arizona State (5-1) in the consolation semifinals of The Wooden Legacy on Friday, Nov. 29 at midnight (ET) / 9 p.m. (PT) at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif. The Cougars are looking to rebound from a 72-52 setback to San Diego State in the opening round where they shot 33.3 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc against one of the nation's top defenses. Thirty of CofC's 52 points against the Aztecs were supplied by the youth on the squad, while 21 points came from its bench. The Cougars and Sun Devils will meet for only the second-time in both program's history and first since 1996. ASU currently ranks No. 12 nationally in assists per game (18.0 avg), No. 47 in rebounds per game (40.9) and No. 68 in scoring offense (81.3 ppg).
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State started off the year on an undefeated six-game win streak and suffered its first loss of the season against No. 20-ranked Creighton in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy (88-60) on Nov. 28. UNLV, Bradley and Marquette were the squad's most recent wins prior to traveling to Southern California. The Sun Devils are currently led by sophomore point guard Jahii Carson, who ranks No. 29 in the nation in scoring (21.9 ppg) and No. 69 in assists per game (5.1 avg). Last year, ASU advanced to the Postseason NIT and fell in the second round to eventual tournament champion Baylor (L, 89-86) – the same squad CofC beat on the road a little over a year ago in Waco, Texas.
SERIES FLASHBACK
The Cougars and Sun Devils last met in the opening round of the 1996 Great Alaska Shootout under legendary head coach John Kresse in Anchorage, Alaska. CofC defeated Arizona State, 77-68, in the opener, upset No. 21-ranked Stanford (82-78) in the semifinals and fell in the championship game to No. 8-ranked and defending national champion Kentucky (92-65). Former standouts Thaddeous Delaney, Anthony Johnson and Rodney Conner were named to the all-tournament team – the most representatives by any team in the Great Alaska Shootout field. It was a statement game for The College in just its fifth season as a Division I program. CofC outscored the Sun Devils, 29-10, over the final 10 minutes to advance to the semifinals. Stacy Harris scored a game-high 22 points, while Jermel President added 17, Delaney 16 and Johnson 12 points and eight assists.
AGAINST THE PAC-12
The Cougars are 2-3 all-time against schools hailing from the Pac-12 Conference including Arizona (0-1), Arizona State (1-0), Colorado (0-1) and Stanford (1-1). They last faced Colorado, then a member of the Big 12 Conference, in the Preseason NIT (L, 57-72) in 2004 in Boulder, Colo. Ironically, CofC has met every other Pac-12 school in either an exempt tournament or in postseason tournament play – eventual national champion Arizona in the NCAA Second Round in 1997 and Stanford in the NCAA Second Round in 1998.
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2013-14 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Jeff McCarragher and color analyst Everett German will call the action live from Titan Gym on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-3, 180, Fr. (9.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 26.8 min)
#22 Anthony Stitt, G, 6-1, 180, Jr. (8.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 31.3 min)
#24 Canyon Barry, G, 6-6, 195, RS-Fr. (13.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 29.0 min)
#53 Willis Hall, F, 6-6, 235, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 30.7 min)
#1 Adjehi Baru, F, 6-9, 225, Jr. (9.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 28.7 min)
PROJECTED ARIZONA STATE STARTERS
#1 Jahii Carson, G, 5-10, 180, So. (21.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.1 apg, 32.9 min)
#34 Jermaine Marshall, G, 6-4, 215, Sr. (16.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 28.3 min)
#15 Egor Koulechov, G, 6-5, 205, Fr. (5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 23.6 min)
#31 Jonathan Gilling, F, 6-7, 219, Jr. (6.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 25.3 min)
#13 Jordan Bachynski, C, 7-2, 250, Sr. (12.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 27.9 min)
COUGAR SIDEBARS
• Coach Wojcik is 0-2 lifetime against Arizona State in his nine years as a Division I head coach. Wojcik was previously the head coach at the University of Tulsa from 2005-12 and faced the Sun Devils in a home-and-home series during the 2010-11 (L, 59-69 in Tempe) and 2011-12 (L, 67-64 in Tulsa) seasons.
• This is the second time Wojcik has coached a team in an exempt tournament in Anaheim, Calif. Tulsa went 2-1 at the 76 Classic with an opening-round loss to UNLV (80-71) and back-to-back wins over Stanford (65-53) and Cal State Northridge (80-63) to place fifth at the tournament in 2010.
• Wojcik, who served as an assistant coach at North Carolina from 2000-03, also faced a Sendek-coached squad, while the current ASU head coach was the NC State head coach from 1996-2006.
• CofC Associate Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, whose older brother Shareef Abdur-Rahim starred at Cal from 1995-96 before being drafted third overall in the 1996 NBA Draft, previously was an assistant coach at Murray State during the 76 Classic Tournament in Anaheim in 2010 where the Racers placed fourth.
SAN DIEGO STATE RECAP
San Diego State 72, CofC 52
• For the sixth consecutive game, the Cougars used the starting lineup of freshman Joe Chealey, junior Anthony Stitt, redshirt freshman Canyon Barry, senior Willis Hall and junior Adjehi Baru (2-4).
• The Cougars and Aztecs met for the first time on the hardwood in the 104-year history of CofC Basketball. San Diego State now takes a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
• Freshman Terrance O'Donohue came off the bench and scored a career-high seven points. He went a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor, 1-for-1 from beyond the three-point arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line in just eight minutes of play against San Diego State. He knocked down his first career three-pointer with the 2:11 remaining in regulation.
• Adjehi Baru led the team in scoring for the first time this season with eight points, while senior Anthony Thomas grabbed a team-and season-high tying five rebounds.
• The CofC defense forced San Diego State to commit its second-most turnovers of the season (12).
• San Diego State shot an opponent season-high 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from the floor including eight three-pointers, while the Cougars shot 33.3 percent from the field (18-of-54) – their second-lowest percentage of the season.
• Three of the Cougars' four losses on the season have come against 2013 NCAA Tournament squads in defending national champion Louisville, Miami (Fla.) and SDSU.
COUGAR SOUND BITES
“With these tournament games, you don't have enough time to go through a full scouting report. I saw Arizona State play and win at UNLV and beat Marquette at home the other night. Marquette is a tough-minded and physical team. They have an NBA point guard in (Jahii) Carson and a potential NBA center in (Jordan) Bachynski. Carson is a player that is really fast in transition and gets a lot of ball screens. We have to be really alert to him. Bachynski is a great athlete who is blocking five shots a game. He is a real factor for them at 7-foot-2. Jermaine Marshall was the fifth-leading scorer in the Big Ten (Conference) last year at Penn State. He posts up and can score it from three. They are big and just as quick as San Diego State. I want to see us compete from the beginning, better than what we did last night. I think we were a little wide-eyed to start the game. We righted that as time went on, but it was too big of a hole that we dug ourselves into to be able to actually climb out of it. Hopefully, we start better and make it a game and shoot the ball better than we did last night.” – CofC Head Coach Doug Wojcik on prepping for Arizona State in a short turnaround between tournament games
“It was a tough game last night and we just have to move on to our next game. We are going to come out ready to play against Arizona State (after a slow start against San Diego State), that's for sure. We are excited to get back on the court, especially after a loss and sleeping on it overnight. They have some really good players with a big center in (Jordan) Bachynski and their point guard (Jahii) Carson, who is obviously one of the top players in the country. It's tough to play three tournament games in four days. It's kind of a marathon. You have to push through it, stay healthy and really stay rested. I think we have been doing a good job of that and will be ready to play.” – Redshirt Freshman Guard Canyon Barry on moving past the San Diego State loss and preparing for another tough challenge in Arizona State
