Tigers’ defense stymies CBU

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

   

David Minkin

Sophomore guard Will Barton soars and dunks home two of his game high 27 points against Christian Brothers University on Friday night.

 

Before their final tune-up game on Friday night, U of M Tigers head basketball coach Josh Pastner insisted that defense will have to be the team's calling card this year. And for the first 10-12 minutes the Tigers looked like one of the best defensive teams in the country, albeit against a lesser opponent in Christian Brothers University. The Tigers began the game with full-court pressure, stifling defense and an early 24-point lead en route to cruising past CBU, 79-56.

"If we want to be as good as we want to be, we have to do it for 40 minutes," Pastner said. "Those first 10 or 12 minutes were fantastic. My issue is, why didn't we do it for the next 28 minutes? I told guys in the locker room, ‘You've set the bar. So I'm going to hold you to that standard and those first 10 or 12 minutes, that's how we're playing.'"

That tough Tigers defense caused CBU to miss their first 10 of 12 shots and shoot 9-of-23 from the floor for 39 percent. Five of those nine field goals came from the three-point arc. Pastner said he still doesn't understand why his team can't keep teams from shooting a high percentage from beyond the arc. The Buccaneers shot 37.9 percent from downtown, 11 three pointers in total for the game.

 "My biggest pet peeve is not allowing teams to be able to shoot the three-point shot," Pastner said. "You have to take the three-point shot away. That absolutely stresses me out to not be able to stop the three."

Though the Tigers were without preseason All-Conference USA second team sophomore Tarik Black, who missed the game due to knee soreness, they had plenty of frontcourt help from senior forward Wesley Witherspoon, who grabbed a team high nine rebounds to go along with seven points, three assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Will Barton, who led the team in scoring with 27 points, also chipped in on the glass with five boards.

"I know Wesley was 1-of-5 from the field, but he affected the game in so many other areas," Pastner said. "Will Barton is night-and-day different from last year to this year, and he's playing at a very high level."

The Tigers won't have much time to salivate over this exhibition victory, as they will have to prepare for their season opener today against a Belmont team that took No. 6 Duke University to the wire, losing 77-76. The game will start at 11 a.m. as a part of ESPN's 24-hour College Hoops tipoff Marathon.