Detroit Mercy

[Queens_NYC]

Friday, November 10th, 2023
7:00 PM
Fifth Third Arena
ESPN+

The Bearcats will take on University of Detroit Mercy (0-1, KenPom #308) in the first game of the Allegiant Air-sponsored MTE that will take place at Fifth Third Arena on Friday evening.

The Titans are led by renowned 6th-year head coach Mike Davis and lost their first game of the new season at Toledo on Monday, 94-60.

Detroit Mercy sports an overhauled roster after losing the NCAA's second all-time leading scorer, Antoine Davis, to graduation. Davis, who was held to 17 points on 6-20 shooting in last season's 72-54 loss to UC finished his illustrious career with 3,664 points - just 3 points shy of Pete Maravich in the top spot.

This year's Titans squad is led by 4th-year 6'4 guard Jayden Stone who missed the UC game last season in addition to the whole second half of the season due to being ruled academically ineligible. Stone averaged 13.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg on 51.9% 3-point shooting over 13 games.

Of the four other new transfers who comprised Detroit Mercy's starting lineup against Toledo, the most notable name is 2nd-year UMKC transfer Abdullah Olajuwon, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.

The Titans were picked to finish 9th out of 11 teams in the Horizon League this season.

 

[Queens_NYC]

-24.5

 

[sedziobs]

I want to see more of what Simas can do. He looked very tentative in the first game. I also want Vik to be more aggressive inside.

 

[sedziobs]

Aziz's waiver was denied. Not surprising. Only option left is to sue the NCAA.

 

[sirthought]

Vik did have a couple that would have gone in if only he had worked to dunk instead of a layup.

 

[sedziobs]

Skillings making me look silly for praising his zero turnover game.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Nice to see the guys find their stroke from deep. Detroit Mercy is awful defensively.

 

[Queens_NYC]

The highlight of the game was the 42-15 run we went on over the final 12 minutes of the first half. Great ball movement coupled with horrible defensive rotations by Detroit allowed us to take a lot of wide open 3s and we hit them at an elite percentage.

Everyone in the 9-man rotation had their bright moments over the course of the game so not too much to celebrate or scrutinize against a very overmatched opponent.

Hope Rayvon finds his way out of the dog house soon.

 

[sedziobs]

Nice to see that we're capable of hitting threes. The biggest disappointment for me was seeing that Sage isn't ready. He was a step behind every play when he was out there for the last few minutes. Our frontcourt depth is almost nothing without him. Last year we could play Nolley at the 4 and Ezikpe as an emergency option. This year we only have Reed. Foul trouble is going to be a major concern when we play teams with a strong post game.

 

[sirthought]

Yeah, I wonder what the situation with Rayvon is?

Seeing that there aren't too many players on the team right now that are what you'd call "polished," he must be really difficult to coach.

Jizzle definitely looks like a freshman and he's getting decent time to figure it out.

I know we're a bit guard heavy, but I still think we could use a guy his size.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Nice to see that we're capable of hitting threes. The biggest disappointment for me was seeing that Sage isn't ready. He was a step behind every play when he was out there for the last few minutes. Our frontcourt depth is almost nothing without him. Last year we could play Nolley at the 4 and Ezikpe as an emergency option. This year we only have Reed. Foul trouble is going to be a major concern when we play teams with a strong post game.

He had a disappointing showing, for sure. He didn't look out of place physically but his feel for the game just isn't there yet.

I wonder if Skillings is someone we'll see get minutes as a back-up 4 too.

Yeah, I wonder what the situation with Rayvon is?

Seeing that there aren't too many players on the team right now that are what you'd call "polished," he must be really difficult to coach.

Jizzle definitely looks like a freshman and he's getting decent time to figure it out.

I know we're a bit guard heavy, but I still think we could use a guy his size.

I think Jizzle has looked great through 2 games.

It's been ages since we've had someone with his blend of size, skills, and athleticism at PG.