Cougars Look to #EraseThePace vs Citadel
College of Charleston (4–2, 0–0)
El Cid (5–3, 0–0)
McAlister Field House
Tipoff at 11:00 am on ESPN3
Although these teams no longer meet twice a season as conference foes, the city rivalry (sorry, Charleston Southern) will continue in non-league play for the foreseeable future.
Charleston holds the edge in the all-time series 53–39, but this will be the first matchup between Earl Grant and new Citadel Head Coach Duggar Baucom.
Baucom is in his first season at The Citadel after spending the previous 10 at VMI (Virginia Military Institute). Now, if you’ve followed college basketball over the past decade, you know the association between the VMI Keydets and offensive production.
VMI led the nation in scoring for six seasons of Baucom’s tenure — the result of a feverish pace of play that sacrificed defense and rebounding for transition baskets and three point attempts. The results were a mixed bag — VMI created an entertaining brand of basketball but their style was labeled a gimmick when opposing teams were able to put up unusually high stats against minimal defense. Baucom was 151–159 in his time at VMI.
In all honesty, he is a perfect fit for The Citadel. Recruiting to military colleges is a tough gig and Baucom has a decade of experience in that field. The Citadel is also a football school. Even if this year’s Citadel team finishes around .500, but with a style of play that puts fans in the seats — that is a big win for the program. Plus, who wouldn’t want to upgrade from Lexington, VA to Charleston?
So far, Citadel has epitomized Baucom’s style. They are currently first of all Division 1 teams in scoring offense (97 pts/game) and dead last (346th) in defense, surrendering 93 points per game to opponents. Take out their two non-D1 games on the season, and Citadel is actually giving up 102 points per game.
The Bulldogs return to Charleston after five straight games on the road. In their last contest, a 97–93 loss to Air Force, Citadel allowed their opponent to shoot an unfathomable 45 free throws. The Bulldogs attempted a whopping 50 three points attempts (connecting on 18) and were out rebounded 47–33.
The Cougars, who are tied for 30th in scoring defense, will have their work cut out for them trying to get back and limit Citadel’s attempts. This is a game where the Cougars’ roster depth will help them. Coach Grant will be able to roll out fresh bodies throughout the contest and afford to play small with Gilmore / O’Donohue at the 5 or Evan Bailey at power forward.
The Cougars have had several days to prep for this game in the wake of the LSU victory. If they’re going to avoid a letdown game, they’ll have to limit the Citadel shots as best they can and take advantage of the soft defense and interior play.
