Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A few things to watch against Oregon State

The Charlotte 49ers have had a rough start to the season, Now, the task won't get any easier as the 49ers head out to Corvallis to face the Oregon State Beavers tonight at 10 p.m. Here are a few things to watch in tonight's match-up.

Zone Defense: Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson runs a tenacious 1-3-1 zone defense--something Charlotte should be familiar with. After Charlotte built a 14-point lead in the first half on Sunday against Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers switched to a 1-3-1 zone late in the first half. Coastal went on a mini-run to close the half and eventually beat Charlotte in double overtime.

Green's Slow Start: Charlotte 2 guard Derrio Green has struggled early on this season. Green assist-to-turnover ratio isn't terrible at 1.44 but he's struggling in the scoring column. Green is shooting just 32 percent from the field and 23 percent from behind the arc. He's also just 68 percent from the foul line through five games. I expect Green to step it up against an Oregon State back court that has struggled early this season.

Long Trip: This game may provide more of a mental challenge than anything. Oregon State doesn't look great on paper; losing to Seattle and Texas Southern, but any cross-country trip presents a tall challenge. These players know what they're signing up for, but playing a game in a different time zone and the day before Thanksgiving will make tonight's game that much more difficult.

No comments:

Post a Comment