Finding offensive production has become a major problem for the Binghamton men’s basketball team throughout conference play.
As a team, the Bearcats (4-15, 1-5 America East) currently rank last in the nine-team AE in almost every major offensive category, including scoring offense (58.4 points per game), field goal percentage offense (36.4 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (27.4 percent).
“It’s tough to find buckets when you need them and that’s something that we have to keep really working on,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said following BU’s 58-43 loss to New Hampshire on January 9. “I haven’t seen a team struggle quite like this from an offensive standpoint.”
Binghamton’s struggles from behind the 3-point line have hurt the offensive spacing. Sophomore forward Dusan Perovic and redshirt freshman guard John Schurman, the team’s two top threats from deep, have both struggled to find any shooting consistency so far this season. Perovic — who knocked down 3-pointers at a 45.3 percent clip last season before tearing his ACL — is shooting just 26.7 percent from behind the arc while Schurman has hit just nine 3-pointers through the first 15 games of his debut season.
With few threats behind the arc, opponents have been able to pack the paint against the Bearcats. Vermont helped off Binghamton’s perimeter players, cutting off drives to the basket and double-teaming in the post, making it difficult for the Bearcats to attack the rim. UVM (11-9, 3-2 AE) topped BU, 61-52 on Thursday.
“That’s just something we’re going to have to work out, playing out of those traps,” Dempsey said. “Because right now there’s not enough respect for our team as a 3-point shooting team, so it makes it easy to trap in the half court when we get the ball inside.”
Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez — a member of the AE all-rookie team last season — has had to shoulder much of the Binghamton offense so far this season. Rodriguez currently ranks fifth in the AE in scoring at 14.0 points per game and ninth in rebounding at 6.3 per contest.
Rodriguez has scored in double-figures in all but one of BU’s conference games this season. He poured in 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to New Hampshire, chipped in 19 points in Binghamton’s 76-72 loss to Hartford on January 13 and finished with 12 points in BU’s 80-59 loss at Albany last week.
But, Rodriguez has had a tendency to be passive offensively in the first half, before starting to attack the basket in the second. Dempsey believes that the team’s offense could become more efficient if Rodriguez could score earlier in games.
“He’s a great closer, a great second half player,” Dempsey said following the loss to Vermont. “But there are times where, when we’re struggling to score, he’s got to recognize that as our leading scorer. You’ve got to go. You’ve got to go make plays, you’ve got to force the action a little bit.”
While Binghamton has struggled offensively, BU has managed to keep games competitive with a strong defense. BU ranks third in the AE in scoring defense, allowing just 69.8 points per game. The Bearcats almost sprung an upset of conference leading Stony Brook in its AE opener on January 6, holding SBU (15-4, 6-0 AE) to just a 41.1 percent shooting clip from the field. But, the Bearcats failed to get timely buckets and ultimately fell, 62-52.
“Our guys are competing, we’re defending, we’re doing a lot of good things on the defensive end,” Dempsey said following the game against Stony Brook. “We’re not necessarily a man team, a zone team, a press team. We mix our defenses well and I think that we’ve been able to keep a lot of teams off balance.”
BU returned to action on Sunday and picked up its first AE victory of the season, topping UMass Lowell, 64-57. The Bearcats again delivered a strong defensive effort, forcing 23 turnovers while holding the River Hawks to just a 38 percent shooting clip from the floor. Rodriguez and junior guard Marlon Beck finished the game with 17 points apiece.
For complete coverage of that game and all other games over winter break, visit bupipedream.com/sports.