HARRISONBURG — When James Madison plays host to Delaware today at the Convocation Center, it has potential to be a bit of a role reversal for the teams.
Last month, JMU went to Delaware with its top big man, sophomore Dwight Wilson, nursing a foot injury that kept him out of the previous game. Wilson played just nine minutes and went 0-for-2 from the field with one rebound. On the other end, Blue Hens senior Eric Carter simply ate the Dukes alive.
Carter, a strong contender for first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors averaging 16.5 points and 10.3 rebounds, shot 79 percent against JMU on the way to 26 points and nine rebounds. With Wilson hobbled, the Dukes had no answer for the 6-foot-9, 235-pound power forward.
“We have to make Eric Carter work,” JMU coach Louis Rowe said. “It can’t be as easy as it was last time. We have to take the challenge and make the winning plays because right now they are making winning plays in a lot of their games.”
But coming into the rematch, Carter has been dealing with some mild injuries of his own and back issues have made him seem a bit more human. He’s been averaging 12 points and eight rebounds in February.
“This is a great challenge for [Wilson],” Rowe said. “The challenge for him and the challenge for our team is the consistency. We will have to get him focused on Eric Carter. For him to put some pressure on Eric Carter and be physical with Eric Carter helps, but he’s a really good player and a veteran, so this is a challenge for a really young kid.”
Meanwhile, Wilson is coming off a career night in JMU’s Thursday victory against Drexel. Wilson dominated the Dragons in the paint, finishing with 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. He pushed his season averages up to 9.3 points and 7.6 rebounds, but he’s been playing some of his best ball on both ends of the court as of late.
Two games ago, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound Wilson went toe-to-toe with UNC Wilmington’s Devontae Cacok, another senior All-CAA candidate averaging a double-double, and helped the Dukes snap a seven-game road losing streak.
“Any chance we get to play, I just want to play as hard as I can,” Wilson said. “I just want to play hard, get stops on defense and get a win. On all facets of the game, I want to get some extra possessions for my teammates. I’ve been told all my life I’m the biggest thing on the court and I have to play like it. I need to do that every game”
Wilson and Co. will try to slow Carter this time around and help JMU pick up its second victory of the week, one that started with the Dukes alone in last place in the CAA but could end with JMU ( in a tie for sixth and two games out of fourth.
But Delaware, 15-11 and 7-6 in the league, presents a challenge, and the Dukes know it.
“I think it’s a really good team,” Rowe said. “I think they are well coached and have great leadership. You can see they are going out and trying to win the right way. I actually said in preseason I thought it was going to be a sleeper team in the league, so we have to be ready.”
