On Sunday afternoon, November 28, the Yeshiva University Maccabees will play host to the Manhattanville Valiants. In their only game this past week, Yeshiva put up a strong effort in a convincing win against Purchase College as they extended their winning streak to 43 games. The Macs have won all three of their past matchups against Manhattanville, their last one being a 94-73 win in which Ryan Turell erupted for 36 points and Gabe Leifer contributed a 12-12-12 triple double.
The Valiants enter this matchup with a record of 3-2 and have the second best point differential in the Skyline conference, behind only the Macs. As a team, they are shooting 44% from the field, but just 28% from the 3-point line. Defensively, they have held their opponents to an average of just 61 points per game. The Valiants have the best turnover margin in the Skyline Conference and are averaging 17.2 takeaways per game.
Although they only played two games last year, both of which being against Yeshiva, the Valiants' top two scorers were Sean Smith Jr. and Jake Dunn. Smith has since moved on and the senior guard Dunn has struggled to get his offense going this season, shooting just 33% from the field. Through five games this year, Petey Galgano has been the leading scorer for Manhattanville, averaging 10.8 points per game. Tommy Lotito is averaging just under 10 points per game to go along with his average of 5.5 assists per game, but missed the Valiants’ last game.
Keys to the Game:
Free Throw Shooting:
The Macs’ free throw shooting has been underwhelming as of late. In each of their last two games the Macs have shot under 58% from the free throw line. Although they do not typically take as many free throws as other teams, the Macs need to take advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line.
Size Advantage:
Without a true big man playing starting for the Valiants, it will be interesting to see how they match up with the bigger Macs. The Macs should be able to exploit a smaller team by getting the ball inside to their bigs and crashing for offensive rebounds. Against a similarly undersized Purchase team, the Macs were dominant on the offensive glass, corralling 19 offensive rebounds, which contributed to 22 second chance points.
Turnovers:
Against a team like Manhattanville who consistently causes teams to turn the ball over, Yeshiva needs to be particularly careful with ball security. Yeshiva turned the ball over 17 times in their last game against Purchase which led to 16 points off turnovers for Purchase. The Valiants are averaging 20 points per game off turnovers so by limiting their own turnovers Yeshiva will take away a big part of Manhataniville’s offense.
How to Watch:
The game will be at the MSAC at 2pm and will be broadcast on Macslive.
MacsLive:
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