Stony Brook Seawolves
Conference Affiliation: America East
Location: Stony Brook, NY (Long Island)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell 195-173 (.530)
Record: 26-6 (15-1 home, 11-5 away, 0-0 neutral)
Schedule
11/19/15 at Vanderbilt LOT 72-79
11/21/15 at Western Kentucky L 66-67
11/24/15 at Loyola Maryland W 76-63
11/28/15 FARMINGDALE STATE W 91-42
12/05/15 PRINCETON W 91-77
12/08/15 at Notre Dame L 61-86
12/12/15 at Northeastern L 62-75
12/17/15 at American W 86-68
12/20/15 HOFSTRA W 71-68
12/22/15 at Lehigh W 75-62
12/28/15 at NJIT W 83-61
01/02/16 COLUMBIA W 69-60
*01/06/16 at Binghamton W 62-52
*01/09/16 UMASS LOWELL W 86-59
*01/13/16 UMBC W 86-74
*01/16/16 at New Hampshire W 80-50
*01/18/16 at Hartford W 77-43
*01/22/16 ALBANY W 69-63
*01/25/16 MAINE W 81-54
*01/30/16 at Vermont W 72-61
*02/03/16 BINGHAMTON W 76-51
*02/06/16 at UMass Lowell W 91-73
*02/08/16 HARTFORD W 85-72
*02/11/16 at UMBC W 75-52
*02/14/16 NEW HAMPSHIRE W 59-58
*02/17/16 at Albany L 70-82
*02/21/16 at Maine W 75-56
*02/27/16 VERMONT L 62-76
*03/02/16 UMBC W 86-76
*03/07/16 HARTFORD W 80-64
*03/12/16 VERMONT W 80-74
Probable Starters
F #20 Jameel Warney 6-8 260 Sr. 19.8pts*, 10.7reb*, 1.6ast, 3.0blocks*, no 3pt threat
F #11 Rayshaun McGrew 6-7 230 Sr. 10.8pts, 6.0reb, 1.2ast, no 3pt threat
G #10 Carson Puriefoy 6-0 175 Sr. 15.1pts, 3.3reb, 3.1ast, 1.3stls*, .401 3pt%
G #34 Lucas Woodhouse 6-3 180 Jr. 6.7pts, 2.6reb, 3.7ast, .452 3pt%*
G #5 Ahmad Walker 6-4 190 Jr. 10.4pts, 6.7reb, 4.2ast*, .234 3pt%
Key Reserves
G/F #22 Bryan Sekunda 6-6 205 So. 7.3pts, 1.6reb, 1.4ast, .398 3pt% (he's out)
G/F #24 Roland Nyama 6-6 210 So. 3.4pts, 1.6reb, .385 3pt%
F #12 Tyrell Sturdivant 6-7 225 So. 3.1pts, 3.6reb, 1/1 on season from 3
G #1 DeShaun Thrower 6-2 205 So. 1.7pts, 0.7reb, .107 3pt%
*- Denotes team leader in category
Team Stats
Points per game 76.8
Points allowed 63.4
Scoring margin +13.4
Field goal pct .476
FG% allowed .404
3-point FG pct .372
3pt FG% allowed .327
Free throw pct .672
Rebounds per game 39.6
Rebounds allowed 31.7
Rebounding margin +7.8
Assists per game 16.6
Turnovers per game 11.4
Turnover margin +1.4 -
Assist/turnover ratio 1.5
Steals per game 6.2
Blocks per game 4.6
KenPom Stats
Stony Brook Rated #91 overall
Offensive efficiency #131 nationally
Defensive efficiency #61 nationally
Biggest Strengths:
#11 in offensive block% (they don’t get their shots blocked)
#20 in defensive FT attempts per FG attempt (they don’t send people to the line)
#28 in allowing teams offensive rebounds
#20 in assists per game with 16.6
#19 in points allowed, giving up only 63.4 points per game
Biggest Weaknesses:
#290 in Strength of Schedule
#292 in FT % (they only shoot 66.8% from the FT line)
#280 in offensive FT attempts per FG attempt (they don’t get to the line)
#151 in defensive turnover % (they don’t turn people over much)
Analysis: Stony Brook is one of those “feel good stories” of this year’s tournament. The reason is the fact that they’ve been in good position for 3 years now to make the NCAA-T but failed in 2014 and 2015. So, the feel good part is that they were finally able to get over that hump this season. The thing you may not know about this is the fact that the America East Conference last season began using a different tournament format, with games being played at the various member schools and the higher seeds hosting the games in each round. So, Stony Brook HOSTED all of their conference tournament games. That’s handy, eh? Unfortunately, Des Moines is a long way from Long Island.
Looking at Strength of Schedule for Stony Brook, it's pathetic. Stony Brook finished with 26 wins, but against whom? When looking at kenpom’s ratings, their highest rated conference opponent was Albany at #119. Next was Vermont at #149. After that, it really drops off. They played 12 games in conference against teams rated BELOW 300. They played 3 more below 300 teams in the nonconference, which brings it to 15. When you include all teams below #150, that number of games jumps to 21. So, of 32 games, 21 of those were against teams rated #150 or below.
Now, when you look at games against good competition, the results were mixed. In the second game of the season, they took Vandy to OT before losing by 7 in Memorial Gym. They also went to Western KY (rated #168) and only lost by 1 point. Their worst margin of defeat was at Notre Dame, where they lost 86-61. They did have a couple double-digit losses in their league as well, losing by 12 at Albany and by 14 to Vermont at home. Their best win was a home win over #66 Princeton, 91-77. We have 3 common opponents, Vanderbilt and NJIT. UK beat Vandy at Rupp by 18 but lost to Vandy at Memorial by 12. I suppose that could be argued different ways. Stony Brook played NJIT away and won by 22, 83-61. UK got them at home at won by 30, 87-57. So, those are pretty similar. Edit: forgot Albany. UK beat Albany at home 78-65. SB beat Albany 69-63 at home and lost 70-82 at Albany.
As for Stony Brook’s personnel, it all starts with the man in the middle Jameel Warney, the 6-8 260lb Senior who makes Stony Brook dangerous. He scores 19.8 points, grabs 10.7 rebounds, and blocks 3 shots per game, leading the team in all three categories. He shoots 63.7% from the field, so he’s the real deal. It should be noted, however, that he has done much of this against weaker competition, though he dominated Vandy pretty well, with 22 and 11. Against Notre Dame, he was less effective, with 16 and 8. Western KY held him to only 11 points, but he got 16 rebounds. Needless to say, he’s going to be the focus of scouting report. Joining Warney in the frontcourt for Stony Brook is 6-7 230lb Senior forward Rayshaun McGrew. He’s an important player himself, second in rebounding and third in scoring for the Seawolves. I did notice that he struggled against the better teams on the schedule, though, and also that he's under 50% from the FT line. Neither of these big men shoot the 3 at all.
In the backcourt, Stony Brook starts another senior and 2 juniors. The primary ball handler is Ahmad Walker, the 6-4 junior. He leads an excellent passing team in assists with 4.2 per game. Unfortunately he also leads the team in turnovers, with 3.2 per game, so his assist/to ratio isn’t great. He scores 10.4 points and also rebounds very well for a guard with 6.7 per game, which is second on the team. Other than turnovers, his biggest weakness is his outside shooting, where he only averages 23.4% from 3pt range. The shooting guard for the team is Carson Puriefoy, a 6-0 senior guard who is a great scorer and good passer in his own right. He’s averaging 15.1 points per game, which is second on the team. He shoots 40.1% from 3pt range and takes more threes than anyone on the team by almost double. He’s also third in assists on the team at 3.1 per game. The third guard in the group is Lucas Woodhouse, a 6-3 180 Junior who can light it up from 3pt range, leading the team at 45.2% from beyond the arc. He didn’t start to begin the season, but he eventually broke through to the starting lineup and held his spot. The other thing Woodhouse does very well is pass the ball and set up teammates. He averages 3.7 assists per game & only turns it over 1.2 times per game, so his ast/to ratio is actually better than Walker. He scores 6.7 points per game and most of his attempts are from 3pt range.
From the bench, the Seawolves don’t go tremendously deep. The first guy off the bench is Bryan Sekunda, the guy who used to be the 5th starter before Woodhouse took the job. He’s a 6-6 guard/forward combo who plays the 2 or 3 spots mostly. His strength is probably his 3pt shooting (39.8% from 3) and his defense. He averages 7.3 points, which is 5th on the team. He rebounds a little and assists a little. He plays about 20 minutes a game. Edit: Sekunda is out with a leg injury. After these first 6 players, the other guys aren’t contributing as much. There are 2 other guys Roland Nyama, a 6-6 Sophomore who averages 3.4pts and 1.6reb in about 11 minutes per game. He’s a 38.5% 3pt shooter. Then there’s Tyrell Sturdivant, a 6-7 225 Sophomore forward who comes in for Warney or McGrew about 12 minutes per game. He only scores about 3.1pts and grabs 3.6reb per game.
After looking Stony Brook over, I will say that they have some strengths that could give many teams trouble. Namely, they have Warney inside, they have Puriefoy, Woodhouse,and Sekunda who can shoot it from deep, and they share the ball very well. But I also have to look at the way this team has feasted on cupcakes this season, which doesn't help against UK. They haven’t played a team in the top 100 nationally since before Christmas!
Meanwhile, UK has moved up to #1 in offensive efficiency in the nation and has scored 80 or more points in 9 of its last 11 games. The other encouraging thing is that the Cats’ interior players have been better of late, especially Alex Poythress, a guy who can definitely hold his own against Warney in my opinion. And even if Warney gets his 20 and 10, Stony Brook will need much more than that to knock off UK. Stony Brook has played mostly man to man to defense, though they will throw in some zone as needed. A&M threw it in here and there, switching defenses possession by possession, with better personnel, and UK still scored 82. Since Stony Brook’s big men can’t shoot and neither can their point guard, that means UK will be able to focus on defending the post more in this game than in some. I think Stony Brook, who is far from an offensive juggernaut (#131 in offensive efficiency), will struggle to score consistently. Meanwhile, they’re trying to stop the #1 offense in the nation.
Prediction: Kentucky 78 Stony Brook 62
Conference Affiliation: America East
Location: Stony Brook, NY (Long Island)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell 195-173 (.530)
Record: 26-6 (15-1 home, 11-5 away, 0-0 neutral)
Schedule
11/19/15 at Vanderbilt LOT 72-79
11/21/15 at Western Kentucky L 66-67
11/24/15 at Loyola Maryland W 76-63
11/28/15 FARMINGDALE STATE W 91-42
12/05/15 PRINCETON W 91-77
12/08/15 at Notre Dame L 61-86
12/12/15 at Northeastern L 62-75
12/17/15 at American W 86-68
12/20/15 HOFSTRA W 71-68
12/22/15 at Lehigh W 75-62
12/28/15 at NJIT W 83-61
01/02/16 COLUMBIA W 69-60
*01/06/16 at Binghamton W 62-52
*01/09/16 UMASS LOWELL W 86-59
*01/13/16 UMBC W 86-74
*01/16/16 at New Hampshire W 80-50
*01/18/16 at Hartford W 77-43
*01/22/16 ALBANY W 69-63
*01/25/16 MAINE W 81-54
*01/30/16 at Vermont W 72-61
*02/03/16 BINGHAMTON W 76-51
*02/06/16 at UMass Lowell W 91-73
*02/08/16 HARTFORD W 85-72
*02/11/16 at UMBC W 75-52
*02/14/16 NEW HAMPSHIRE W 59-58
*02/17/16 at Albany L 70-82
*02/21/16 at Maine W 75-56
*02/27/16 VERMONT L 62-76
*03/02/16 UMBC W 86-76
*03/07/16 HARTFORD W 80-64
*03/12/16 VERMONT W 80-74
Probable Starters
F #20 Jameel Warney 6-8 260 Sr. 19.8pts*, 10.7reb*, 1.6ast, 3.0blocks*, no 3pt threat
F #11 Rayshaun McGrew 6-7 230 Sr. 10.8pts, 6.0reb, 1.2ast, no 3pt threat
G #10 Carson Puriefoy 6-0 175 Sr. 15.1pts, 3.3reb, 3.1ast, 1.3stls*, .401 3pt%
G #34 Lucas Woodhouse 6-3 180 Jr. 6.7pts, 2.6reb, 3.7ast, .452 3pt%*
G #5 Ahmad Walker 6-4 190 Jr. 10.4pts, 6.7reb, 4.2ast*, .234 3pt%
Key Reserves
G/F #24 Roland Nyama 6-6 210 So. 3.4pts, 1.6reb, .385 3pt%
F #12 Tyrell Sturdivant 6-7 225 So. 3.1pts, 3.6reb, 1/1 on season from 3
G #1 DeShaun Thrower 6-2 205 So. 1.7pts, 0.7reb, .107 3pt%
*- Denotes team leader in category
Team Stats
Points per game 76.8
Points allowed 63.4
Scoring margin +13.4
Field goal pct .476
FG% allowed .404
3-point FG pct .372
3pt FG% allowed .327
Free throw pct .672
Rebounds per game 39.6
Rebounds allowed 31.7
Rebounding margin +7.8
Assists per game 16.6
Turnovers per game 11.4
Turnover margin +1.4 -
Assist/turnover ratio 1.5
Steals per game 6.2
Blocks per game 4.6
KenPom Stats
Stony Brook Rated #91 overall
Offensive efficiency #131 nationally
Defensive efficiency #61 nationally
Biggest Strengths:
#11 in offensive block% (they don’t get their shots blocked)
#20 in defensive FT attempts per FG attempt (they don’t send people to the line)
#28 in allowing teams offensive rebounds
#20 in assists per game with 16.6
#19 in points allowed, giving up only 63.4 points per game
Biggest Weaknesses:
#290 in Strength of Schedule
#292 in FT % (they only shoot 66.8% from the FT line)
#280 in offensive FT attempts per FG attempt (they don’t get to the line)
#151 in defensive turnover % (they don’t turn people over much)
Analysis: Stony Brook is one of those “feel good stories” of this year’s tournament. The reason is the fact that they’ve been in good position for 3 years now to make the NCAA-T but failed in 2014 and 2015. So, the feel good part is that they were finally able to get over that hump this season. The thing you may not know about this is the fact that the America East Conference last season began using a different tournament format, with games being played at the various member schools and the higher seeds hosting the games in each round. So, Stony Brook HOSTED all of their conference tournament games. That’s handy, eh? Unfortunately, Des Moines is a long way from Long Island.
Looking at Strength of Schedule for Stony Brook, it's pathetic. Stony Brook finished with 26 wins, but against whom? When looking at kenpom’s ratings, their highest rated conference opponent was Albany at #119. Next was Vermont at #149. After that, it really drops off. They played 12 games in conference against teams rated BELOW 300. They played 3 more below 300 teams in the nonconference, which brings it to 15. When you include all teams below #150, that number of games jumps to 21. So, of 32 games, 21 of those were against teams rated #150 or below.
Now, when you look at games against good competition, the results were mixed. In the second game of the season, they took Vandy to OT before losing by 7 in Memorial Gym. They also went to Western KY (rated #168) and only lost by 1 point. Their worst margin of defeat was at Notre Dame, where they lost 86-61. They did have a couple double-digit losses in their league as well, losing by 12 at Albany and by 14 to Vermont at home. Their best win was a home win over #66 Princeton, 91-77. We have 3 common opponents, Vanderbilt and NJIT. UK beat Vandy at Rupp by 18 but lost to Vandy at Memorial by 12. I suppose that could be argued different ways. Stony Brook played NJIT away and won by 22, 83-61. UK got them at home at won by 30, 87-57. So, those are pretty similar. Edit: forgot Albany. UK beat Albany at home 78-65. SB beat Albany 69-63 at home and lost 70-82 at Albany.
As for Stony Brook’s personnel, it all starts with the man in the middle Jameel Warney, the 6-8 260lb Senior who makes Stony Brook dangerous. He scores 19.8 points, grabs 10.7 rebounds, and blocks 3 shots per game, leading the team in all three categories. He shoots 63.7% from the field, so he’s the real deal. It should be noted, however, that he has done much of this against weaker competition, though he dominated Vandy pretty well, with 22 and 11. Against Notre Dame, he was less effective, with 16 and 8. Western KY held him to only 11 points, but he got 16 rebounds. Needless to say, he’s going to be the focus of scouting report. Joining Warney in the frontcourt for Stony Brook is 6-7 230lb Senior forward Rayshaun McGrew. He’s an important player himself, second in rebounding and third in scoring for the Seawolves. I did notice that he struggled against the better teams on the schedule, though, and also that he's under 50% from the FT line. Neither of these big men shoot the 3 at all.
In the backcourt, Stony Brook starts another senior and 2 juniors. The primary ball handler is Ahmad Walker, the 6-4 junior. He leads an excellent passing team in assists with 4.2 per game. Unfortunately he also leads the team in turnovers, with 3.2 per game, so his assist/to ratio isn’t great. He scores 10.4 points and also rebounds very well for a guard with 6.7 per game, which is second on the team. Other than turnovers, his biggest weakness is his outside shooting, where he only averages 23.4% from 3pt range. The shooting guard for the team is Carson Puriefoy, a 6-0 senior guard who is a great scorer and good passer in his own right. He’s averaging 15.1 points per game, which is second on the team. He shoots 40.1% from 3pt range and takes more threes than anyone on the team by almost double. He’s also third in assists on the team at 3.1 per game. The third guard in the group is Lucas Woodhouse, a 6-3 180 Junior who can light it up from 3pt range, leading the team at 45.2% from beyond the arc. He didn’t start to begin the season, but he eventually broke through to the starting lineup and held his spot. The other thing Woodhouse does very well is pass the ball and set up teammates. He averages 3.7 assists per game & only turns it over 1.2 times per game, so his ast/to ratio is actually better than Walker. He scores 6.7 points per game and most of his attempts are from 3pt range.
From the bench, the Seawolves don’t go tremendously deep.
After looking Stony Brook over, I will say that they have some strengths that could give many teams trouble. Namely, they have Warney inside, they have Puriefoy, Woodhouse,
Meanwhile, UK has moved up to #1 in offensive efficiency in the nation and has scored 80 or more points in 9 of its last 11 games. The other encouraging thing is that the Cats’ interior players have been better of late, especially Alex Poythress, a guy who can definitely hold his own against Warney in my opinion. And even if Warney gets his 20 and 10, Stony Brook will need much more than that to knock off UK. Stony Brook has played mostly man to man to defense, though they will throw in some zone as needed. A&M threw it in here and there, switching defenses possession by possession, with better personnel, and UK still scored 82. Since Stony Brook’s big men can’t shoot and neither can their point guard, that means UK will be able to focus on defending the post more in this game than in some. I think Stony Brook, who is far from an offensive juggernaut (#131 in offensive efficiency), will struggle to score consistently. Meanwhile, they’re trying to stop the #1 offense in the nation.
Prediction: Kentucky 78 Stony Brook 62
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