Game Notes
Kentucky Wesleyan coach Todd Lee said one of the toughest things to coach against is human nature.
That might be exactly what the Panthers will encounter on Saturday when they travel to play No. 12 Indianapolis.
The Greyhounds are coming off an 87-62 loss at home to No. 23 Southern Indiana, and Lee acknowledged the likelihood of UIndy wanting to take their frustration out on his team.
"You can tell your guys that, and you can definitely let them know, but human nature…is to get upset, play better and play harder," Lee said. "There's nothing I can do about that. I can let our guys know, 'hey, they got beat. They're going to be ready to go.' But we've got to be ready to go."
KWC (18-6, 8-6 Great Lakes Valley Conference) is coming off a win, which hasn't happened a whole lot the last several weeks. For just the second time in the last eight games, the Panthers are entering a game with a win in their rear view mirror.
Needless to say, KWC's recent struggles may provide enough reasons for the Panthers to still play with a chip on their shoulder.
The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 17 at the Sportscenter when both were undefeated (12-0) and ranked in the top five in the country.
Times have obviously changed for KWC, and UIndy is 17-4 and 9-4 in the GLVC. One team has taken somewhat of a nosedive, the other has remained relatively consistent.
On paper, a road win over a ranked team would provide a shot of life into KWC's regional ranking and would perhaps do even more for its collective confidence.
Lee downplayed the importance of beating a ranked opponent and said his team needs to just worry about playing well. He did, however, point to the standings as something of significance. A win would make KWC and UIndy tied in the GLVC East Division standings.
"Right now we're just worried about where we are," Lee said. "We've got to continue to get better. Obviously, we're playing a team that's above us in the GLVC. We're not concerned with where they're ranked. I think what we're concerned about is, they're above us in the standings and we've got to play very well to beat them here."
What that means specifically for his team is hitting free throws and limiting turnovers. The Panthers were 17-of-30 at the line against Saint Joseph's on Thursday and committed 21 turnovers.
They were able to leave with a 75-67 win thanks to a stifling defensive effort that held the Pumas to just 31 percent shooting.
As far as free throws go, Lee specifically pointed out junior guard Rico Ferguson as someone who needed practice on free throws. It wasn't so much a technique issue with Ferguson as it was mental, Lee said.
Ferguson went 0-for-4 on free throws in Thursday's game and Lee said it's because he's focusing too much on not missing.
"We've got to work with him today," Lee said before Friday's practice. "Right now he's not thinking about the process, or anything. It's in his head a little bit. He's not thinking the right thoughts. We've got to get his mind thinking about the process of shooting free throws, making sure we free up his mind a little bit about not making it or missing it."
Defensively, KWC will have to stop one of the best guards in the GLVC, Reece Cheatham, and gameplan around mismatches.
Lee said juniors Donovan Johnson and J.D. Danforth, who've fought through injuries this week and played on Thursday, should be good to go on Saturday. Johnson scored 10 points and Danforth scored nine in the first meeting against UIndy.
"They're very athletic," Lee said. "They do a very good job of attacking certain guys and mismatches. They've got a lot of guys that can post up. Obviously, Cheatham being a returning all-conference guy is a hard guy to defend. He didn't have a good game (Thursday) so I'm sure he'll be ready to go."
So will the Greyhounds, most likely.
"That's all I can tell our guys, and we've got to be ready to play," Lee said. "Can I do anything about that? Nope. They're pissed off. They got beat by 25 at home….there's nothing I can do about it. I've just got to get our guys ready to play and make sure our guys are prepared and ready to go."
