BASKETBALL GAMEDAY: Rivalry Renewed as Tritons Host the University of Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd basketball teams return to action tonight to host a pair of important games in the SSC when bay area rival Tampa pays a visit to the McArthur Center.
 

Tampa (10-3, 5-1 SSC) at #12/22 Eckerd (12-2, 6-0 SSC)
WHEN	Wednesday, January 11 | 5:30 PM
WHERE	McArthur Center
WATCH	Live Video | Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@ECTritons) | Instagram (@EckerdTritons)
LAST MEETING	Tampa 77, Eckerd 63 (2/6/16)

ABOUT THE SPARTANS: Tampa enters the week as one of two teams nipping at Eckerd's heels for the top spot in the Sunshine State Conference.  The Spartans' lone conference blemish came against Nova Southeastern on November 19, a game the Sharks won by a narrow 58-52 margin.  Since then, UT has won nine of 10 games including a 64-57 win on the road over then-No. 20 Florida Southern.  The team boasts the SSC's leading scorer in Elena de Alfredo who averages 16.5 points per game.  Three other Spartans - Karma Jeremie (12.8), Faith Sanders (11.2) and Morgan Lumb (10.2) - also average in double figures.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Tonight's contest will be a matchup of similar styles, or at least statistics.  Both Eckerd and Tampa rank among the national leaders in scoring defense and field goal percentage, with Tampa holding a slight edge in each category.  The Spartans rank 10th in Division II in scoring defense (53.8) and fifth in field goal percentage (48.2 percent); the Tritons rank 12th in scoring defense (54.7) and eighth in field goal percentage (47.2 percent).  Eckerd, however, forces considerably more turnovers (21.5 per game) while the Spartans rank last in the SSC as their opponents only give the ball up an average of 12.2 times per game.

STILL STREAKING: A 71-48 win over Barry on Saturday extended Eckerd's winning streak to 10 games in a row.  The continual winning was rewarded on Tuesday as the Tritons jumped to No. 12 in the D2SIDA National Rankings and debuted at No. 22 in the WBCA Coaches Poll.
 

#19 Tampa (12-3, 5-1 SSC) at Eckerd (11-3, 4-2 SSC)
WHEN	Wednesday, January 11 | 7:30 PM
WHERE	McArthur Center
WATCH	Live Video | Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@ECTritons) | Instagram (@EckerdTritons)
LAST MEETING	Tampa 65, Eckerd 52 (2/6/16)

ABOUT THE SPARTANS: There are few teams in the SSC hotter than Tampa.  The Spartans - who appeared at No. 19 in this week's D2SIDA Media Poll - have won seven games in a row and 12 of their last 13 after starting the season 0-2.  UT enters the night in second place in the SSC standings, a half-game behind Barry and a game ahead of Eckerd.  More impressively, the Spartans have continued to stay hot despite losing leading scorer and 2016 SSC Freshman of the Year Pat Bacon to an injury in early December.  Players like Duke Shelton and Marcel Robinson have stepped up during his absence; Robinson averages 22.4 points per game in conference play while Shelton averages 14.7 on the season and shoots 63.3 percent from the floor.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: As is usually the case with this rivalry matchup, expect emotions to be high and competition to be intense.  The Tritons will look to bounce back from Saturday's double-overtime loss to then-No. 10 Barry and establish a new streak while keeping pace in the SSC standings.  Both Tampa and Eckerd shoot the ball well from behind the arc, each at slightly above 40 percent for the season.  The Spartans have made 10 or more 3's in five of their seven wins during their current streak, so how Eckerd defends the perimeter - especially after allowing Barry to make 19 3-pointers on Saturday - is likely to play a large role in the outcome of the game.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Despite EC's narrow loss on Saturday, Drushaun McLaurn's monster performance during the week were enough to net him SSC Player of the Week honors.  Last Wednesday, McLaurn scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Palm Beach Atlantic and followed with 29 in the loss to Barry.  The sophomore also posted a double-double in both games with 11 rebounds in each contest.