Two games into Lone Star Conference play, this relatively nascent edition of the St. Edward's men's basketball team passed the first tests of its offensive schemes and defensive mettle with a pair of wins against Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico.
The Hilltoppers faced switching schemes designed to neutralize the off-ball actions prevalent in head coach Andre Cook's offensive system, disassembling the free-flowing offense into its components. Instead, St. Edward's left the weekend with the second-most potent offense in the LSC, averaging 88.5 points through two conference games with a conference-best 17.5 assists per game.
"We put in our offense and all the stuff we need to, and the guys are starting to get it," Cook says. "We were very sharp against Eastern New Mexico and had a 10-14 point buffer against Western New Mexico for the most part. We didn't put the game away [as early as we could have], but we can clean that up. To be 2-0 in the league and 7-1 overall is a pretty good start."
The Hilltoppers are rolling to open the season, moving up to a tie for seventh in the latest D2SIDA South Central region rankings and receiving a vote in the National Association of Basketball Coachees national rankings. This weekend, they'll hit the road for a different test.
Midwestern State hosts St. Edward's on Saturday with a 2-5 record, opening conference with a two-point loss to Dallas Baptist and a 20-point loss to UT-Tyler; teams voted second and ninth in the LSC preseason polls.
Instead of switching man-to-man defensive assignments to simplify things like Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico, Midwestern State likes to change its defensive schemes on the fly. It's a ploy designed to create confusion and hesitation for offenses unprepared to adjust in real-time. In dealing with a sophisticated St. Edward's offense, there's nothing the Mustangs would like more than to turn it into a rock fight, as they did in a 60-50 win over St. Edward's at home last year.
"If you watched the game last year, we looked like an ill-prepared team. Justin Leslie is a terrific coach. They're physical, tough guys who want to keep you off-balance and keep the scoring in the 50s and 60s," Cook says. "They're going to press some, and they're going to play zone and match-up zone. So, it will be a tough game if we are off-balance and settling for one contested jump shot each possession."
The Mustangs boast the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference, limiting opponents to 41.5 percent shooting, cutting off the 3-point line, where opposing teams are averaging a meager 28.1 percent. They also clean up the glass, limiting opponents to one possession with 27 defensive rebounds per game, led by Jermane Carter, who is sixth in the conference with 7.3 boards per game, averaging 2.86 offensive boards.
St. Edward's moved first-year big SEAN ELKINTON into the starting lineup to provide a physical presence, getting 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. The Hilltoppers have held up so far by swarming to loose balls for rebounds in a collective effort, ranking fourth in the conference in rebound margin.
"We haven't been on the road in a month, and it's always tough in Wichita Falls," Cook warns. "Midwestern is a tough, physical, offensive-rebounding presence that beat us last year."
Cameron is 2-5, opening conference with a 12-point loss to UT-Tyler and a four-point loss to Dallas Baptist. The Aggies rank seventh in the LSC in scoring offense at 75.1 points per game, shooting a blistering 48.4 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from deep but bleed possessions with 19.0 turnovers per game.
