News and Notes
- With its victory at High Point, W&M improved to 3-0 on
the year for the first time since the 1992-93 season. It marked the 23rd time
in the 108-year history of the program that the Tribe has started a season 3-0.
- Miami (Ohio) leads the all-time series with W&M at
5-0, including a 73-69 victory over the Green and Gold in Oxford last season.
- W&M leads the CAA in scoring defense, while ranking
second in scoring offense. The Tribe is averaging 74.3 points per game, while
limiting opponents to just 57 points per game. The 83 points W&M scored
against High Point on Saturday night was the most for W&M since Feb. 19,
2011 when it scored 84 in a victory over Radford.
- The Tribe's game against Miami (Ohio) will be the second
of 12 televised contests for the College. The game will be broadcast nationally
on the NBC Sports Network. Fans can also catch the Tribe's road game at Wake
Forest on Friday, Nov. 23, at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
Scouting Miami (Ohio)
Miami (Ohio) enters the game with the Tribe at 1-2 with both
losses coming to top 10 opponents. The RedHawks started the season with a 97-59
setback at No. 6-ranked N.C. State, before winning its home opener over
Grambling State, 80-54. Most recently, Miami fell at No. 2 Louisville, 80-39,
on Sunday. John Cooper, who was 43-51 in three seasons as Tennessee State's
head coach, including a 20-win season in 2011-12, is in his first season as
Miami's head coach.
In the win over Grambling, the RedHawks broke open a
four-point halftime advantage, shooting 52.9 percent in the second 20 minutes,
including 7-of-14 from 3-point range. Freshman guard Reggie Johnson led MU with
20 points against Grambling. At Louisville, the RedHawks shot just 29.8 percent
in losing to the No. 2 team in the country.
Redshirt junior Allen Roberts leads Miami (Ohio) in scoring
at 11.3 points per game, while Johnson is the other double-digit scorer for the
RedHawks at 10.7 points per game. Junior Bill Edwards averages 8.7 points per
game, while fellow classmate Jon Harris chips in 6.0 points per game to go with
a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game.
Tribe Against the Mid-American Conference
The Tribe is 2-8 all-time against the MAC, having faced five
of the league's 12 teams. The College's game against Miami (Ohio) will marks
its sixth against the RedHawks, the most for W&M against a single MAC foe.
Miami (Ohio) holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series, including a 73-69
victory in Oxford last season. Josh Sewell and Quinten Rollins led Miami with
18 points each last season. For the Tribe,
Marcus Thornton scored 15 points in
his first collegiate start, while
Tim Rusthoven added 14 points and eight
rebounds. W&M shot 51 percent from the field, including 64 percent in the
second half, but could not overcome Miami's eight 3-pointers and 21-of-26 from
the free throw line. The Tribe's victories against the MAC both came against
Akron during the 1949-50 and 2001-02 seasons.
Best Start in 20 Years
With its road victory at High Point, W&M opened the year
at 3-0, marking the best start for the Green and Gold since 1992-93 campaign.
In total, it is the 23rd time in the 108-year history of Tribe basketball that
the program started 3-0 in a season and just the third time in the last 30
years. The College will look to go 4-0 for only the second time in the last 50
years when it hosts Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday night. The Tribe last started 4-0
in 1992-93 and is looking for its 10th 4-0 start in school history.
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. All three have scored in
double figures in each of the first three games and are averaging a combined
54.3 of the W&M's 74.3 points per game (73.1 percent). On the year, all
three rank among the top five in the CAA with Thornton and Rusthoven tied for
second in the league in scoring at 18.7 points per game, while Britt ranks fourth
at 17 points per game. In each of the
Tribe's first three games, one of the trio has led W&M in scoring with
better than 20 points. Thornton topped the Green and Gold against Hampton with
24 points, before Britt led the team with 21 points at Liberty. In the 83-61
win at High Point, Rusthoven scored a team-high 23 points, while Thornton added
21 points.
Offensive Effectiveness
The Tribe is operating at a high-level offensively through
the early part of the 2012-13 season. W&M ranks second in the CAA at 74.3
points per game, while leading the league in assists per game (15.3) and field
goal percentage (50 percent). According to KenPom.com, the Tribe ranks among
the national leaders in a number of offensive categories as well. The Tribe is
22nd nationally, as of Nov. 19, according to the Web site in effective field
goal percentage, which is the same as field goal percentage but gives teams
more credit for 3-pointers made, at 56.9 percent. W&M was 18th in 2-point
field goal percentage (58.1) as well as assist percentage at 66.7 percent.
Assist percentage figures the percentage of field goals that W&M
assisted.
Getting to the Line
The Tribe has done a great job of getting to the free throw
line this season. Through its opening three games, the Green and Gold is
averaging 22 made free throws on 31.3 attempts per game. According to
KenPom.com, as of Nov. 18, the Tribe ranks third nationally in free throw rate
at 68.1 percent, which figures the rate based on free throw attempts per field
goal attempts. During head coach
Tony Shaver's 10 seasons, W&M is 46-18
(.719) when attempting 25 or more free throws in a game and 23-9 (.719) when
taking 30 or more. Over the last seven seasons, the College has posted a 56-22
(.718) mark when connecting on 15 or more free throws. The Tribe's record jumps
to 23-6 (.793) over the last seven seasons when hitting on 20-plus free throws.
W&M has made at least 15 free throws and shot more than 26 in all three
games this season.
50 Percent Equals Victories
The Tribe has been nearly flawless under head coach
Tony Shaver when it hits on 50 percent or better from the floor, going a combined
39-4 (.907) over his 10 seasons. In CAA action, W&M is 22-2 (.917) during
Shaver's tenure when it shoots 50 percent of better from the floor. The Tribe
shot 55.3 percent (26-of-47) from the floor in its 83-61 road win at High Point
on Nov. 17.
Rusthoven's Consistency
Junior
Tim Rusthoven is the Tribe's most consistent player.
Dating back to last season, Rusthoven has scored double digits on 13 occasions
in his last 16 contests. He produced three straight games of 15-plus points to
open the 2012-13 season, including topping his career high twice. After scoring
a then career-high 18 points in the opener against Hampton, he tallied 15
points despite being limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble at Liberty.
Rusthoven registered his first career 20-point game with a game-high 23 points
and a team-best nine rebounds at High Point on Nov. 17. On the year, he ranks
second in the CAA at 18.7 points per game and 14th in the league in rebound at
6.7 per contest. He is also leading the CAA, shooting 65.5 percent from the
field.
