As a alumnus of the school who nearly watches every game, I think that the Hawks are a bit misunderstood and underrated heading into tomorrow. They have been ravaged by injuries this year once again, Martelli had the blueprints of a NCAA team this year, they were picked within the top3 of the A10 in preseason polls nationwide. Two of their top talents, Junior PG Lamar Kimble (out for season) and sophomore sensation Charlie Brown (wrist fracture, out for 1st semester) suffered injuries very early on and it has set them back. Undermanned their margin of victory against inferior OOC opponents makes you scratch your head.
They can't move the ball on offense without Kimble, it's very stagnant, they're 212th in team assists and 196th in PPG. Their offense is centered around Senior PG Shavar Newkirk (Cardinal Hayes) who is still hobbled from a ACL tear last year, he's still putting up very respectable averages (16.9/3.3/3.5) while wearing a knee brace. He's lightning quick and very crafty, I think it's a solid matchup against Shamorie. Star freshman forward Taylor Funk is a potential mismatch if his jumper is on (47% from 3). He reminds me of Tres Tinkle (Oregon St.). Senior wing James Demery should be easily handled by JSimon.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2603I think that this should be another W however Martelli is one of the best coaches in the country and the Hawks will be prepared. The defense needs to be on point once again, crash the boards and we're good to go. I'm hopping on 95 at Noon tomorrow and will be dressed neutral lol.
Hawks 68
Johnnies 81