UMAC Game of the Week: Crown vs. St. Scholastica - Men's Basketball
The UMAC Game of the Week runs each Thursday during the conference regular season and breaks down one key matchup from one sport.
***UPDATE***
St. Scholastica wins 90-67
The Matchup
Saturday, Feb. 17 - College of St. Scholastica at Crown, men's basketball, 3 p.m. in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota
What's at Stake
- Home games - St. Scholastica has locked up the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the bye and a home game Wednesday due to tiebreakers regardless of Saturday's outcome, while Crown still has a good shot to host a game Monday or potentially not play at all in the quarterfinal. Pending outcomes of other games, a win for Crown will guarantee the Storm at least the No. 4 seed and potentially the No. 3 seed should the University of Northwestern lose Saturday. The Storm holds tiebreakers over both Northwestern and the University of Minnesota Morris.
- End on a high note - Crown has won two-straight conference games and seven of their last eight. A win for the Storm would cap one of the strongest finishes of the 2017-18 season. St. Scholastica entered Wednesday's contest on a 10-game overall winning streak before seeing it snapped by Northland College. A win would help the Saints rebound heading into the postseason.
Previously in Action
- Crown kept itself in contention for the No. 3 or 4 seed in the tournament winning 76-64 on the road vs. Martin Luther College Wednesday.
- St. Scholastica saw its chance at the conference title fade away in suffering a tough 71-59 loss at home to Northland Wednesday.
Need to Know
- Court advantage? - Of the seven conference games the Storm have won since Jan. 17, five of those wins have come at home, while four of the Saints' eight conference wins during their streak have been on the road. The Saints have also only lost once on the road against UMAC teams this year. Crown seems to have the slight advantage playing at home, but the Saints have proven to be a strong road team this season.
- Defense - Defense will be a key to the game as the two squads average nearly the same amount of points scored per game. The Saints are the top team in the league for points allowed but the difference from the Storm is just seven points. Also, the two squads are identical in conference rebounding margin (2.8).
- Big play vs. Balanced Attack - The two squads have different approaches to scoring with Crown boasting two players averaging over 18 ppg in conference play. Wendel picked up a cool 33 points in his last outing against the Saints, while St. Scholastica has four players averaging in double figures and has had six players lead the team in scoring in a game in conference play this season. However, in the last game against Crown, Anderson boasted a season-high 31 points for the Saints.
Players to Watch - St. Scholastica
- Collin Anderson, So., G - UMAC Stats: 14.3 ppg, 39.1 3pt%, 91.9 FT%, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg
- Brandon Newman, Jr., G - All-UMAC Last Season, UMAC Stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.1 apg, 2.4 ast/TO
- Jarod Wilken, Fy., F - UMAC Stats: 10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Players to Watch - Crown
- Christian Moore, Fy., W - UMAC Stats: 7.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg,
- Austin VanDerHeyden, Sr., P - All-UMAC Last Season, UMAC Stats: 18.3ppg, 56.8 FG%, 7.9 rpg, 0.9 bpg
- Tim Wendel, So., F - All-UMAC, Freshman of the Year Last Season; UMAC Stats: 19.9 ppg, 50.9 FG%, 39.8 3pt%, 3.0 3ptr-pg, 7.3 rpg
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2017-18 Game of the Week Archives