Charlotte 66 Kennesaw St. 52
Liked
- The Owls played them tough for 40 minutes…especially the first 36 or so.
- Andrew Osemhen was a MAN today. This was his breakout game and he doubled his career high. He wanted the ball, and his teammates tried to find him as much as they could. This game should give him some confidence. I’m interested to see how he does vs. Notre Dame on Wednesday, because they can do what Charlotte couldn’t and match his size. Osemhen shot 70% from the field.
- The Owls went into the half tied, without star player Markeith Cummings, who didn’t dress out.
- The Owls hit their threes in the first half and moved the ball well.
- Good defense for the most part
- Myles Hamilton got his first collegiate start and played well for the most part. He was drawing fouls and even demanded some double teams. Played some good defense as well. Still had a few youthful mistakes, but overall it was an excellent effort.
- Delbert Love had six steals.
- Brandon Dawson had a highlight reel block, coming from the back side on a Charlotte breakaway.
- Aaron Anderson had a solid game.
- Jordan Montgomery made some rookie mistakes but he did knock down a few early threes. He has a chance to be pretty good.
- The Owls made 6 of 8 free throws.
Did not like
- Markeith Cummings did not dress. There did not appear to be anything visibly wrong with him. Expect him back on Wednesday.
- Went into the second half tied and lost by 14.
- The shots weren’t falling for much of the second half.
- The game was much closer than the final score.
- Did not have the depth or experience to overcome a solid deep team like Charlotte for 40 minutes. I truly believe the 2013-14 Owls would have won this game.
- Delbert Love was too careless with the ball, especially late in the first half. To be fair, he had six steals and made some nice passes as well.
- Yonel Brown missed badly on a pair of threes. Needs to gain some confidence back.
- Brandon Dawson has way too many of his shots blocked. It’s been a trend throughout his career but it was really noticeable today.
- Nigel Pruitt had a pair of mistakes on two consecutive plays. He’s young, he’ll learn.
- There was no resistance at the rim when Charlotte made their final push.
Random thoughts,
- Obviously Markeith Cummings is a special player, but his absence may have helped the team for the long run. Both Andrew Osemhen and Myles Hamilton stepped up, and it was great to see. When Cummings returns, will the other players defer to him or keep their levels of play elevated?
- Cummings also missed one game last year vs. Auburn, KSU lost by 13, but went on to win the next game.
- Kennesaw will face #22 ranked Notre Dame on Wednesday. The game will be live at ESPN3.com