Top ranked Blue Streaks host No. 6 Hampden-Sydney in key non-conference NCAA D. III match-up

By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder

UNIVERSITY HTS., DEC 19  – All NCAA Division III men’s basketball fans and pollsters will have their eyes focused at the DeCarlo Center beginning at 2 this afternoon, when the nation’s No. 1-ranked team — John Carroll — hosts the Hampden-Sydney Tigers. Combined, the two teams’ season records thus far are 16-1.

The Blue Streaks are unbeaten at 8-0, but this will be the toughest test the team has faced thus far in 2023-24. The Tigers come to Cleveland at 8-1, but they already notched a big victory in defeating defending national champion and (at the time) No. 1 ranked Christopher Newport, 74-53, on Nov. 8. Hampden-Sydney is ranked No. 6 in the most recent NCAA Division III poll.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

John Carroll is outscoring its opponents by an average of nearly 18 points a game (89.4 vs. 71.6) and also holds a rebounding edge of more than eight boards a contest (42 to 33.4). The Blue Streaks are shooting 47% from the field and .338 from beyond the three-point arc, averaging six treys a contest. They also lead their opponents in assists, steals and blocks, and in forcing turnovers. This is only the third home game for John Carroll. The team has had one close call, escaping from Berea with a 99-93 overtime victory over Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opponent Baldwin Wallace on November 29. They are 4-0 thus far in the OAC, one of the nation’s top Division III athletic conferences.

Hampden-Sydney’s visit to John Carroll will be its fourth contest on the road in its last five games. The team’s only loss came against (then) #11 ranked Guilford College on Dec. 2. A defensively-minded team, the Tigers have kept eight of their nine opponents scoring at or below 66 points a game. They score an average of 73.9 ppg while allowing only 59.2 opposing points, a 14.7-point differential. Hampden-Sydney is shooting 46% from the field and 41% from three-point county, and average nine three-pointers a game. A very ball possession-focused squad, the Tigers have a +1.5 assist to turnover ratio and average better than seven steals a contest. The team is 2-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, another top Division III affiliation.

KEY PLAYERS

David Hubbard, Ryan Clements and Adam Brazil carry the offensive load for Hampden-Sydney. Davidson, a senior forward, has 13.8 ppg and 7.7 rebounds per game.  Clements is next with 11.7 points a contest and 4.3 rpg. A fifth-year guard, Clements also is the team leader in free throws, free throw attempts, free throw percentage and steals. Brazil, a senior guard, averages 11.3 points a contest and is shooting 46% from beyond the three-point arc. All five starters (see below) are averaging 20 minutes or more on the floor. Chase Turner, Miles Harris and DJ Wright are also expected to play significant minutes, based upon season trends thus far.

John Carroll’s scoring is led by two Lukes, juniors Luke Chicone and Luke Frazier. Guard Chicone averages 20.5 ppg. Forward Frazier has 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game averages. Four other players, Henry Raynor, Chase Toppin, Will Yontek and David Gentry, range from 7.8 to 9.3 points per game. Raynor and Yontek also average 6 rebounds a contest, and Toppin leads the team with 17 steals as well. Chicone is the team’s best 3-point shooter (47%) and hits 79% from the free throw line. The Blue Streaks’ five starters have gone 22 to 32 minutes each in the teams contests, and David Gentry, Luka Eller, and Brandon Rose should also play a lot of minutes in this contest.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Hampden-Sydney
24          Adam Brazil    
  0          Ryan Clements
11          Alex Elliott
20          Josiah Hardy
21          Davidson Hubbard

John Carroll
  0          Luke Chicone
  5          Luke Frazier
20          Henry Raynor
  4          Chase Toppin
32          Will Yontek

COMPARING THE COACHES

Two of Division III’s finest younger coaches are also squaring off today.

John Carroll’s Pete Moran is in his seventh season in University Heights. A JCU alumnus and star basketball player as a student, he has a 100-54 collegiate head coach record. Moran led the Blue Streaks to a 23-5 season, 16-2 in the OAC, and regular season OAC championship in 2022-2023. He also had four All-OAC selections (Luke Frazier, Luke Chicone, Chase Toppin, and Henry Raynor) as well. John Carroll also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament last season, and placed 16^th in the final NCAA Division III poll.

Caleb Kimbrough is in his fifth season at Hampden-Sydney. He’s 60-36 at the helm of the Tigers and 86-76 overall in his coaching career. Hamden-Sydney enjoyed its finest season in 10 years during 2022-23, finishing with a final overall record of 22-7, including 14-2 in the ODAC, while also advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Only the fourth 20-win season in 20 years, the Tigers’ 22 overall wins, and the 14 ODAC wins, are the most under Kimbrough since he took over the program in April 2019.

WATCHING THE CONTEST

Additionally, Bally Sports will air a tape-delayed broadcast of the contest four times: Tuesday, December 19 at 9 pm; Wednesday, December 20 at 1 pm and 6:30 pm; and Thursday, December 21 at 7 am. 

JCU alumni Al Pawlowski (Play-by-Play) and Ryan Cavenaugh (Color Analyst) will be the broadcasters, with student Danny Gibel of JCU Sports Information serving as the Sideline Reporter. Pawlowski is the six-time Emmy-Winning Host of “Guardians Live” on Bally Sports Great Lakes, the play-by-play Voice of Cleveland State Basketball, and Sports Anchor for WKYC Channel 3. Cavenaugh, the Founding Partner at Constant Legal Group, calls Mid-American Conference football for ESPN and high school games for Spectrum Sports. Gibel served as the primary producer for JCU Football this year as part of the Blue Streak Media Group production and has also served as a play-by-play broadcaster for several JCU sports. 

AFTER THIS GAME

Both teams will be off around Christmas time. Hampden-Sydney hosts Salisbury (MD) on December 30. John Carroll goes back on the road to Wheaton (Dec. 29) and Wooster (Dec. 30) before returning home.

NOTE: Many thanks to Director of Athletic Communications Greg Prouty (Hamden-Sydney) and Joe Ginley (John Carroll). Virtually all of the information here stems from their websites and pre-game information packets.