Truman Game Notes (PDF)
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - After 10 days away from competition and 11 since a game that mattered, the Truman State University men's basketball team will get back on the court for an all-important regional game against Grand Valley State inside Pershing Arena. The Bulldogs have already played four games within the Midwest Region, all of which have come inside Pershing, and own a record of 2-2 in those contests (two-straight wins).
Since opening year No. 1 under head coach,
Jeff Horner, at 0-4, the Purple and White have since won five of six games not including the eight-point exhibition defeat at Division I Indiana State on Dec. 8 (77-69). Those five victories include three straight on their home court where Truman will play its final two games of 2018 (NAIA Graceland on Dec. 29).
For Grand Valley State, it will be facing a GLVC member for the fourth time this season and third time in as many games. In those previous three contests, the Lakers fell to Indianapolis at home (88-80), but defeated both McKendree (94-65) and Quincy (77-73) this past weekend as part of the Hawks Subway Holiday Classic.
Scouting Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State is coming off of its first sub-.500 season (14-15 in 2017-18) since 2014-15 when it went 13-15. In fact, the Lakers have won nine of their first 11 games for the first time since 2015-16 and second time in the last four seasons. GVSU is under the direction of head coach, Ric Wesley, who's in his 15th season at the helm of the Lakers and owns an overall record of 294-133 (.689 winning percentage) in that span, which includes a GLIAC mark of 189-98 (.659). In Wesley's most-recent campaign, Grand Valley was picked to finish second in the South Division of the GLIAC behind Ashland and the Eagles defeated the Lakers, 74-63, on Dec. 6. Sophomore guard/forward, Jake Van Tubbergen was named to the GLIAC preseason All-Conference team.
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As mentioned above, Grand Valley State has lost just two games, both of which came on its home court in Allendale, Mich. Despite a home record of 3-2, the Lakers have won their first six away from their friendly confines including a 5-0 record in true road affairs. GVSU is currently on a three-game road swing before playing three of its following four games back at home, the first of which will be against the defending National Champions in Ferris State on Jan. 3.
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Offensively, the Lakers have been led by redshirt-junior guard, Hunter Hale, out of Kalamazoo, Mich. by way of Central Michigan. Hale is first on the team and first on the team and sixth in the GLIAC in scoring with 16.6 points per game. Preseason all-league pick, Van Tubbergen (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa), is right behind him in both the team lead and conference lead with 15.9 per contest and junior guard, Jeremiah Ferguson (Naperville, Ill./Youngstown State) is the final Laker averaging in double-figures with a clip of 13.9. Hale and Ferguson are two of five transfers for GVSU on a roster of 16. Van Tubbergen leads the squad in rebounds with 7.1 and Ferguson is on top of assists with 3.9 per effort.
Back to Business
Brodric Thomas has only been back four games, but what he means to the team and his impact are obvious. Among team ranks, Thomas is already first in points per game (15.5), first in rebounds per game (5.5), first in field goal percentage (52.2), and first in blocks per game (1.0). The redshirt junior has scored 10 or more points in three of his four games and 20 or more in his last two while shooting 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in those two outings.
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Welcome to the Valley
When Truman traveled to Indiana State on Dec. 8, it played a Missouri Valley Conference team in an exhibition for the second time in three seasons. The last occurrence Jan. 14 when the Bulldogs traveled to No. 8 Creighton (now a member of the Big East Conference) for a 101-69 defeat. This time around, the Purple and White were much more competitive and fell to the Sycamores by just eight, 77-69. Truman led by as many as two, 48-46, before a lead of 50-49 at the 12:59 mark, but a 22-0 run by Indiana State put the Bulldogs away for good.
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Unfamiliar Foe
Truman and Grand Valley State have faced each other just once in their histories. That meeting came on December 20th of 2003 and the Lakers beat the Bulldogs by 10, 63-53, in Quincy. For the Bulldogs in that game, their leading scorers were Austin Kirby and Grant Agbo, who each had 13 points while Agbo and Andy Calmes were the leading rebounders with nine apiece.
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Strength vs. Strength
Grand Valley State owns the second-best scoring offense in the GLIAC at 85.5 points per game and the Lakers have scored 90 or more points in a game four times this season (4-0 record). GVSU is outscoring teams by an average of 13.4 points per game and that scoring margin is 29th in all of Division II. As for Truman, it has hung its hat on defense so far in 2018-19. The Bulldogs are 5-1 when their opponent shoots less than 50 percent and 4-0 when they shoot better than their opponent. The Purple and White also own a record of 5-1 when the opponent scores less than 80 points.
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Hit the Boards
No GLIAC team rebounds the ball better than Grand Valley State. The Lakers are tops in their league in rebounds per game with 38.6. Truman, however, is second-to-last in the GLVC in rebounds per game with 31.5 and 12th out of 14 in rebounding margin at -1.5. The Bulldogs have outrebounded their opponent just twice in 10 games, but won both of those.
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Dirty Work
Grand Valley State is among the best in the nation at blocking the ball and stealing it. Among Division II ranks, the Lakers are 12th in total blocks (50), 22nd in total steals (92) and 29th in blocks per game (4.5). GVSU is also 17th in free throws made (184), 33rd in field goal percentage defense (40.5), 34th in field goal percentage (49.7), 35th in scoring offense (85.5), and 35th in total rebounds (425).
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Up Next
Truman will play its final game of the calendar year against the defending NAIA National Champions, Graceland, on Saturday, Dec. 29 in Pershing Arena, also beginning at 3 p.m.
#BewareOfDog
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