Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders
Southland (26-6, 14-2)
Seed: #15
Midwest Region
RPI: 80
Big Wins:
1/2 Kent State (81-73), 1/11 at Northwestern State (69-57), 3/3 at Sam
Houston State (85-68)
Bad Losses:
12/2 at Mississippi State (72-96), 2/3 Sam Houston State (79-84), 2/22
at Lamar (77-78)
Last NCAA
Appearance: none
Coach:
Ronnie Arrow (1-2 in 2 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Josh Ervin,
Senior, Guard, 8.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.2 rpg
Taurean
Mitchell, Senior, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 3.9 apg
Kevin Menifee,
Senior, Forward, 6.4 ppg, 3.3 apg, 5.6 rpg
Seth Engelken,
Senior, Forward, 5.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Chris Daniels,
Senior, Center, 15.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Josh
Washington, Senior, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 1.4 apg
Cedric Smith,
Senior, Forward, 10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Manuel Johnson,
Junior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Last year Texas
A&M Corpus Christi was without a conference and fans of other teams in the
Southland wish it would have stayed that way. Led by Coach Ronnie Arrow,
TAMU-CC cruised to a 14-2 conference mark and won the regular season
conference championship. What has made the Islanders so successful is their
depth and experience. Eight players have started at least seven games during
the regular season and seven of those eight players are seniors.
The Islanders
are a high scoring team, but it is not because of running and gunning
guards. It is because of great interior scoring by Chris Daniels, Cedric
Smith and Manuel ‘Scooby’ Johnson. Each of those players, who are three of
the top four scorers on the team, do most of their damage in the paint and
shoot over 58% from the floor. That trio, along with Kevin Menifee,
leads the way in the rebounding department as well. The Islanders outrebound
their opponents by seven boards a game. In four of the five non-conference
games the Islanders played against top 100 RPI teams, they outrebounded the
competition.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
Hovering around
the 16 turnovers per game area is the main concern for TAMU-CC. However, the
team still has a positive assist/turnover ratio as Josh Ervin, Taurean
Mitchell and Menifee all averages over three assists per game. Ervin and
Mitchell are quality scorers from the perimeter and will keep the tempo to
the Islanders liking.
Who To
Watch:
The main scorer
on the perimeter is Josh Washington. The 6-3 senior is a tremendous outside
shooter and will get plenty of open looks when the defense collapses in on
the big men. Washington will spend most of his time outside the three-point
line and needs to become more aggressive if his shot is not falling.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: First Round loss to Wisconsin
