Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Ohio Valley (24-9, 11-5)
Eastern Kentucky earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2007, by beating favorites Murray State and Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. However, to those in the OVC, this was not a huge upset. The Colonels did have a bad loss or two en route to an 11-5 conference record, but this team had already proven that they can beat any conference foe on any given day.
Big Wins: 12/29 at IPFW (90-68), 1/16 Belmont (74-63), 3/8 vs Belmont (79-73)
Bad Losses: 11/10 vs Youngstown State (67-75), 1/4 at SIUE (79-85), 2/13 at Tennessee Tech 66-72)
Coach: Jeff Neubauer (9 seasons at Eastern Kentucky)
Why They Can Surprise:
Eastern Kentucky does exactly what one would expect from a squad that starts four guards. Led by Glenn Cosey and Corey Walden, the Colonels have one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the nation. Both Cosey and Walden can handle the ball and they create plenty of those turnovers on the other end of the floor. Those two are also the team’s leading scorers. Cosey likes to shoot from long range and connects on 42.5 percent of his attempts. Walden’s 14.1 points per game come more from attacking the basket. Marcus Lewis, Orlando Williams and Tarius Johnson all average between 9.5 and 9.9 points and fill in the rest of the backcourt.
Why They Can Disappoint:
This is a team that will get quite a few extra possessions because of created turnovers, but they often lose that advantage on the glass. No matter how you look at it, Eastern Kentucky is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. Eric Stutz, the only forward who averages over a dozen minutes per game, can only do so much. However, playing small has worked for Coach Jeff Neubauer over the last few years with major success. That may not be enough to pull off an upset in the NCAA Tournament though.
Probable Starters:
Glenn Cosey, Senior, Guard, 18.8 ppg, 4.2 apg
Corey Walden, Junior, Guard, 14.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.2 spg
Marcus Lewis, Senior, Guard, 9.9 ppg, 1.3 apg
Tarius Johnson, Senior, Guard, 9.5 ppg, 1.2 apg
Eric Stutz, Junior, Forward, 8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Orlando Williams, Senior, Guard, 9.6 ppg, 1.2 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.0 (27th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.6 (197, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.0 (11, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 48.2 (333, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.2 (6, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.0 (23, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.1 (16, 1)
Rebound Margin: -6.1 (336, 12)
Assists Per Game: 14.7 (54, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.7 (44, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 CIT First Round win over Gardner-Webb
2013 CIT Second Round loss to Evansville
2010 CBI First Round loss to Charleston
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to North Carolina
2005 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Kentucky
*all team stats through 3/9
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
