The Tribe Has Spoken

Overview

I’ll keep it short and sweet. If the Tribe doesn’t win this game, we are in trouble. Wagner is 1-2, with loses to Manhattan and Lafayette, and the only win @ UMES by 6. Yes, the same UMES that in dead last in the sagarin rankings.

The Tribe will start stud freshman David Schneider at point Monday night. David scored 18 at Kansas State last week, grabbed nine boards, and had 7 assists. He was also in double figures in the scrimmage, and was probably the best player on the court both games. He is playing too much, though, being on the court for 38 minutes last game. The end to that amount of playing time isn’t near, though, back-up point guard Matt McFadden quit the team. Schneider is coming off an injured ankle, but should be fine for the game.

The Tribe starts 2 other guards, Adam Payton and Nathan Mann. Both went for double figures in the exhibition, but 5 each in the home opener isn’t getting it done. Mann fouled out in only 20 minutes and was 1-5 shooting, but that was uncharacteristic for him. He is probably the best shooter on the team, and should break through in the next game or 2. Payton is the team’s best defender, and that will keep him on the court all season long.

The 2 big men taking the court for the green and gold will be Peter Stein and Laimis Kisielius. Kisielius has been the team’s only other solid starter so far, dropping 16 vs. KSU and 17 vs. Barton College. He was 5-7 from the field and 3-3 from long distance last game, and could cause huge matchup problems Monday night. Stein played half the game, pulling down 6 rebounds and scoring 4 points. The Tribe has the most depth down low, Cofield, Smith, Sumner, and Darnell can all play, but none of them have done much of anything thus far. Most suprisingly, Corey Cofield got no rebounds last weekend. We really need the big men to be a collective force downlow.

Wagner’s only starting guard is Mark Potter, who averages 15.7 points per game. He started all 27 games last year, and was also a top 10 player in scoring and assists. So far he is averaging over 5 boards per game, and has a solid assist-turnover ratio.

Wagner has 3 other players averaging over 10 per game, in guard Joey Mundweiler, and fowards Jamal Smith and James Ulrich. They all shoot over 40% from the field, and Ulrich averages 8.3 rebounds per game. They make a solid 3-foward combo, Smith, Ulrich, and Justin Drummond(remember this name), and we’ll need our big men to step up.

The good news for the Tribe, Wagner only goes 8 deep. Don’t be suprised if it is close early, but the Tribe pulls away late.

Final Prediction

The Tribe keeps a steady lead early, within 7-10 points for most of the game. Late in the game, the Wagner Seahawks wear down and the Tribe wins by 17. 77-60 Tribe.