Non-Con December Takeaways

After a successful November we took a look at what had been driving the Cats season to that point. Well, after a 5-1 December which included a rivalry win over Charlotte, many of the same takeaways we had in November still remain true but there are some key updates!

Back at the end of November we wrote about Davidson's "big three", Reed Bailey, Bobby Durkin, and Connor Kochera, and how we needed someone else to step up and support them scoring wise. Well, as the big three have continued to do their thing, Zach Laput has really started to emerge as a more consistent scoring threat. In his last 5 games Laput has averaged nearly 10 points, and 12.5 points since replacing Sean Logan in the starting lineup. The Bentley transfer has also seen his 3 point stroke come back during this 5-game stretch too, shooting 38.5% from 3. Laput keeping this up would go a long way towards ensuring that Davidson has enough firepower to push for the top 6 in the A10.

Another important takeaway from Davidson's recent stretch of games is that the Cats will need Joe Hurlburt to enter a bigger role in the rotation with Sean Logan out, and so far Hurlburt has shown that he's up to the task. The advanced analytics on EvanMiya.com say that he is our 5th best player and give him a positive overall grade. Hurlburt also looked really solid against Eastern Michigan on both ends, when he was forced into a larger role with Bailey in foul trouble. He's big, mobile, and skilled, I'd love to see him more as the season wears on, especially because we'll need his size against A10 teams with more beef down low (such as George Mason, who we open conference play against on the 31st).

Something else we touched on at the end of November was that while our 3pt shooting was improved, there were a lot reasons to think it could get even better. Well a broken clock is right twice a day and on cue the Cats made the Belk Report look smart (a very rare occurrence). Davidson shot nearly 41% from 3 in the month of December. This has pushed Davidson's season long 3 pt % all the way up to 36.5%, 37.2% against DI competition, good for 80th in the country. It is REALLY nice seeing the Cats light it up from deep again. If the team can keep shooting this well from deep their ceiling is considerably higher.

Finally, adjustments work! Before the Charlotte game we acknowledged that Davidson's 3 pt defense was bottom 5 in the nation, letting opponents shoot 40% from deep. Continuing that worrisome trend, the Niners started off the Davidson game red hot from 3 and ran out to a 25-13 lead after 10 minutes. At that point Matt McKillop made a critical adjustment, switching to a 1-3-1 zone that looked far more active and dynamic than our standard defense. Well, the switch has WORKED; opponents are shooting under 28% from 3 against us and 40% from the field since Matt McKillop turned to the 1-3-1 zone and the team has climbed almost 50 spots in the defensive rankings on KenPom. Those are HUGE improvements; if the Cats can continue this growth on the defensive end they become significantly more well-rounded, as the offense appears locked in as a top 80 unit in the country.

Zach Laput, Joe Hurlburt, 3 point shooting, and the 1-3-1 zone. December was a busy and successful month, and it isn't even over yet! The Temple game showed us that there are key weaknesses this team needs to improve on, but after a 10-3 non-con that saw the Cats rise almost 20 spots in KenPom, it's hard not to be at least slightly optimistic heading into the new year.