UW Basketball at Seattle Redhawks Preview and Open Thread

Date: Thursday, 12/22/16

Tip-Off Time: 7:00pm PST

TV: None

Radio: Komo 1000

Seattle U. Statistics:

Record: 7-5

Points For per Game: 70.4 ppg

Points Against per Game: 74.9 ppg

Strength of Schedule: 327th

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 95.2 (327th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.3 (185th)

Seattle U. Key Players:

C- Aaron Menzies, So. 7-3, 295: 13.3ppg, 6.9rpg, 0.7apg, 54.3% FG, 62.3% FT

Menzies is a literal giant. Unsurprisingly for someone his size, he’s a very good rebounder, blocks a ton of shots, and draws a ton of fouls. When he’s on the court the Redhawks will try to run their offense through him on the block.

F- Emmanuel Chibuogwu, Sr. 6-7, 215: 5.3ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.4apg, 43.1% FG, 44.4% FT, 36.1% 3pt

About 75% of his shots come from behind the arc so he is strictly a catch and shoot threat on offense. He gets a lot of minutes but takes about the same amount of shots as Malik Dime so he is not exactly a go-to threat.

G- William Powell, Sr. 6-6, 225: 10.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 3.1apg, 43.5% FG, 78.1% FT

Powell is 9^th in the country in free throw rate so he will undoubtedly have a field day drawing fouls against UW. He has only taken one three-pointer on the season so the Huskies have to expect him to drive to the hoop every time he touches the ball.

G- Brandon Westendorf, Sr. 6-5, 195: 14.0ppg, 4.2rpg, 3.6apg, 34.8% FG, 97.3% FT, 27.3% 3pt

Westendorf’s raw totals aren’t that impressive but he has an assist rate about the same as Markelle Fultz. He takes about five 3’s per game even though he’s only shooting 27% so naturally I’m sure he’ll go 5/7 against UW.

G- Morgan Means, Fr. 6-0,160: 8.8ppg, 3.2rpg, 2.8apg, 45.1% FG, 66.7% FT, 40% 3pt

Means is the best three-point shooter on the Redhawks but he only takes two attempts per game so he isn’t exactly a mad bomber.

The Outlook

We will finally solve the age-old question of what happens when an immensely movable object goes up against an incredibly stoppable force. Seattle U is 327^th in offensive efficiency nationally. The only two categories in which they are above average are that they are good at drawing fouls and shoot a good percentage from the charity stripe. That is good news for the Redhawks since I’m sure Washington will oblige in committing many fouls in this game.

Aaron Menzies is likely the best, and certainly the biggest, low post threat that UW has faced so far this season so it will be an interesting test for the Huskies’ big men. With such an imposing center, it isn’t a shock that Seattle U has a very good 2-pt defense and that teams heavily rely on the 3-pointer against them.

However, this is simply not a good team. Of the Redhawks’ 7 wins, 3 are against D-II or D-III school and the other 4 are against numbers 260, 337, 344, and 347 in national efficiency margin. They played Colorado pretty tough in Boulder but there is no indication that they should be able hang with UW. If this were a true road game I would expect a slightly different result but Hec-Ed hasn’t exactly been a font of energy lately and going across town to play shouldn’t bother the Dawgs much.

Prediction

Washington Huskies- 90, Seattle University Redhawks- 75