Saint Mary’s Hosts Northeastern to Wrap up Non-Conf. Season (For Now)
By Josh Horton
Northeastern will look to capture their second WCC win in three days by defeating Saint Mary’s tonight. However, with the Gaels fresh off a tough loss against St. John’s they will be searching for a win before heading into conference play.
Date: Monday, December 22, 2014
Location: McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, Calif.
Time: 6:00 PM PST
TV: None
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The Gaels played No. 17 ranked St. John’s incredibly tough on Friday night, falling to the Red Storm by only six points. The Gaels were up 33 to 18 at the break, but a 27-8 St. Johns run to start the half put the Johnnies in the lead. The Gaels were only able to score 14 points in overtime and were outscored by 21 in the second period of action.
If Saint Mary’s is able to replicate a similar first half performance against Northeastern with more consistent second half production, it will be a good night for the Gaels.
Nov 18, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Northeastern Huskies guard David Walker (4) moves the ball up the court during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Meet Northeastern (7-3)
The Huskies are putting together a solid resume, with a road win against Florida State and a home victory versus Western Michigan, both ranked in the top 150 of analytical guru Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. Two of Northeastern’s three losses this season are to KenPom top 100 teams (Massachusetts and Harvard), and the Huskies do have a slip up against Cal Poly, who is not ranked in the top 200.
Northeastern is not a very deep team, with only seven players regularly receiving playing time. Scott Eatherton is the team’s heart and soul as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder (16.9 PPG and 7.8 RPG). The senior forward is an extremely efficient player, shooting 58.1 percent from the field. T.J. Williams, the team’s starting point guard, leads the team in assists with 3.3 per game and is the anchor of the backcourt as Eatherton is the anchor of the frontcourt.
Alongside Williams in the backcourt is David Walker, a tall guard at 6-foot-6 and the team’s second leading scorer with 12.5 points per game and Zach Stahl. Devon Begley, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard, will relieve Walker and Williams coming off the bench. The Huskies lost starting guard Demetrius Pollard in the offseason, who left the team for unknown reasons. The junior guard averaged 8.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season and started all but three games for Northeastern.
Eatherton is joined by Quincy Ford in the frontcourt, a solid scorer and rebounder and a great compliment to the star center. Reggie Spencer, a 6-foot-7 forward, comes in off the bench.
As a team, the Huskies like to slow the tempo and run half-court sets. Northeastern is ranked 305th in the nation with 63.9 possessions per game and 244th in the points per game with 65.4. Northeastern is fond of spreading the wealth as a team, as their 15 assists per game are good for 64th in the nation.
Prediction
Saint Mary’s has been disappointing at times this season, especially in their recent loss against Northern Arizona. However, with conference play looming, the Gaels need to ramp up their play to compete for a WCC championship. SMC likely knows that and will close out non-conference play on a positive note. The Gaels down Northeastern at home with a 73-61 victory.