Fordham 83, SLU 65: Game Twenty-three

Twenty-three and it’s so sad to see. — Yellowcard

Maybe “sad to see” is on the melodramatic side.  Feel free to pull a Yellow card on us.

SLU (#244 in KenPom.com ratings coming in) went to #276 Fordham and received a shellacking, giving the Rams their first win in conference play and missing out on the chance to rub two wins together for the first time since before Christmas.

The pre-game buzz, if there was such a thing from two teams lurking at the bottom of the Atlantic 10, was around the matchup of the two promising freshman: Milik Yarbrough from SLU vs Eric Paschall from Fordam.  Both stand a sturdy 6’6″ and are fluid and shifty with the ball.  Both wear jersey #4.   Each leads his team in scoring.    Paschall is the better shooter, Yarbrough the better rebounder.

Fordham struck first, jumping (maybe hopping) to a 12-0 lead.  Jim “The Safecracker” Crews turned a few dials and went to his Stability Team — Austin McBroom and Mike Crawford — and order was restored for the time being.   Two mini-droughts in the second half and too many empty possessions doomed the Billikens to an 83-65 loss.

Jerry Falwell Scoreboard

Any loss to an 0-9 (conference) team is not going to count as a moral victory.  In the first half, when SLU came from 12-0 down to stabilize at 20-18 it looked as though a roadie was well within reach.  But the Bills had given the Rams and their fans and glimpse of what was possible — a rare and precious win in a basketball game with referees and uniforms and everything — and hope sprung eternal.

SLU falls to 2-8 in the Atlantic 10, and 4-4 in moral victories.

Lineups

Starters:

  • Marcus Bartley
  • Davell Roby
  • Ash Yacoubou
  • Milik Yarbrough
  • Austin Gillmann

Minutes Distribution (non-starters in Bold):

      1. Roby (29)
      2. Austin McBroom (27)
      3. Yacoubou (25)
      4. Mike Crawford (24)
      5. Gillmann (20)
      6. Yarbrough (19)
      7. Brett Jolly (16)
      8. Bartley (13)
      9. Reggie Agbeko (13)
      10. John Manning (8)
      11. Miles Reynolds (6)
      12. Tanner Lancona (0)

The overtime and the injury bring us back to the days early this season where everyone who played went for double-digit minutes.   The  missing Manning’s minutes went mainly to Miles Reynolds.

Four Factors

This is about as thorough a drubbing in the Four Factors as we have seen this year.  SLU shot the ball pretty well but did not keep pace with Fordham otherwise.

Leverage

Data www.kenpom.com
Data www.kenpom.com

Most of the Medium-High leverage in this game  came in the first half, and all the High leverage was at the start of the second half, when SLU hit the first two baskets to tie the game at 33.  Fumbling offense led to porous defense, and the rout was on.

SLU Player Stats

(Definitions at the bottom of the post)

Data www.kenpom.com
Data www.kenpom.com
  •  If Roby continues to pace the team in GmSc/Min, I am going to have to check the WAB supercomputer for North Korean cyberprints.  16 points on 9 shots is downright efficient, and he is throwing in enough other treats — 2 rebounds, 3 assists — to offset some of his tricks (3 turnovers, 4 fouls).
  • Mike Crawford provided stability and shooting off the bench, and also turnovers and fouls
  • McBroom was a stabilizing force in the first half, and ratcheted up his shots into double-digits.  From Game One it looked like a sure bet he would lead the team in shots taken but the Ys men have overtaken him.
  • Bad game for Yacoubou.  Ten points on ten shots, and 5 turnovers.  He carried much of the load in trying to defend Paschall, who seems to favor his perimeter game.
  • Five rebounds from Gillmann is what passes for a highlight in this section
  • Stinker from Yarbrough, with foul trouble and little in the way of production

Summary

 Lousy game, lousy result.  The best we can muster is the team was able to check out NYC and tiny Rose Hill Arena, and get started with some healthy resentment towards the Rams and their freshman.  No matter how high SLU is riding the next time they return, the memory of this loss should serve as a harsh reminder that any team is dangerous at home.

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AdjGS:  variation on the Game Score metric created by John Hollinger, detailed here.  Hollinger’s original formula is Adjusted to reallocate the points in the game by ratio of the player’s overall impact.  Credit to the team at Rock M Nation for this improvement.

True Shooting %:  Per Basketball Reference, true shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.

Leverage:  Per Ken Pomeroy, measures how much is at stake on a particular possession.  Leverage is not based on what happened during the possession, but is the range of win probability based on what could have happened.  Learn more here.

DNP-CD:  Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision.  Healthy and otherwise eligible player who did not see any action in the game.