GameDay Preview: vs Gardner-Webb (10–11,3–3)
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Much like Lucas Woodhouse for Longwood, Tyler Strange is the heart and soul of Gardner-Webb’s offense.[/caption]
Where: Historic Willett Hall
When: Wednesday January 29, 7 PM
TV/Streaming: Big South Network (FREE)
Longwood is looking to keep momentum going from two big wins last week and claw back to .500 in the Big South when they welcome Gardner-Webb for the first of two straight at Willett Hall tonight. Both games will also pit two first time head coaches against one another, starting tonight with Jayson Gee and new Bulldogs’ boss Tim Craft.
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Craft took over late for the Bulldogs after Brad Stevens left Butler for the Boston Celtics and former Gardner-Webb coach Chris Holtmann decided to join Butler’s staff as an assistant. The coaching change slowed down the Bulldogs momentum a bit after a 21–13 season and a CIT birth (which was oddly enough won by Craft’s former employer, the East Carolina Pirates).
Gardner-Webb comes into tonight with a 3–3 mark in the Big South after losing to Charleston Southern and beating Campbell in Boiling Springs last week. The first thing you’ll notice when looking at Gardner-Webb’s schedule is they seem to succeed more in defensive battles, but if the tempo and scoring is sped up then the Bulldogs struggle a bit.
Leading the way for Gardner-Webb (when they aren’t rapping in the back of a pick up truck) is Texas A&M transfer Naji Hibbert. The 6'5 guard is averaging 13.2 points and 3 rebounds. Right behind Hibbert are 6'5 Jerome Hill, who is averaging 12.5 points and 7.2 boards, and 6'7 Donta Hill who is posting 10.3 points and 4 rebounds. The heart and soul of the Bulldogs is point guard Tyler Strange though. Strange has one of the best assists to turnover ratios in the conference and is currently second in the Big South behind Lucas Woodhouse in assists with 5.7 per game. Strange can also be a defensive presence, as he’s third in the conference in steals averaging 1.8 per contest. Longwood may rely on the “One Man Press” Leron Fisher to slow down the junior guard.
Longwood simply needs to keep playing with the intensity and passion that they brought to the table last week. Lucas Woodhouse is coming off a career week in which he was named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week, and TT Carey is coming off his biggest point total of the year. Karl Ziegler is battling a leg injury, but is still expected to play.
Longwood leads the all-time series against Gardner-Webb 5–4, but lost last year’s contest in Boiling Springs 76–65.
Tip-off is set for 7 PM tonight and if you can’t make it to Farmville then you can watch the game for free on the Big South Network.
