HARRISONBURG — Coming off back-to-back home victories, James Madison is back on the road for arguably its toughest trip of the season with games against the top two teams in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Dukes play today against second-place Northeastern and then head to Hofstra for a Saturday showdown with the league leaders. The Dukes, 12-15 and 5-9 in the CAA, have won just three of 14 road games this season and both the Huskies and Pride easily took care of JMU at the Convocation Center.
But the victories against Drexel and Delaware last week have Louis Rowe’s team playing with more confidence. And even though they recognize the challenge, the Dukes also see an opportunity.
“The challenge is consistency,” Rowe said. “We did it for two games now, but now we go on the road against the two best teams in the league. The challenge is to do it on the road and be consistent, and not just do it in spurts.”
JMU will certainly have to do a better job defending the guards today at Northeastern (16-10, 10-4 CAA). The Huskies have a veteran point guard in senior Vasa Pusica, who despite a poor shooting night when he visited Harrisonburg last month, finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Northeastern also got a big game from Jordan Roland, who hit eight 3-pointers on the way to 29 points.
JMU’s strategy for guarding the perimeter this time around could revolve around some changes in the front court. Dukes reserve power forward Zach Jacobs had 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes the first time the teams played, but it’s his defensive abilities that may call for more minutes this weekend.
With Jacobs on the floor, Rowe feels more comfortable calling for switches on screens designed to free up the guards. Jacobs’ size can help force Northeastern shooters further from the basket and he’s also the Dukes’ top shot-blocker when the Huskies try to drive.
“This weekend are high-powered offenses with really good guard play and shooters,” Rowe said. “There may be some times when we need to have a lineup where we can switch everything and still be able to defend. Having Zach is a big luxury because he’s a very good shot blocker and it kind of goes unnoticed sometimes. But he can switch and still guard and fight the drive. I think he’s pretty good at that.”
The other key to the game might be Northeastern’s health. The Huskies have experienced tough luck in that department all season and last week saw preseason all-conference pick Shawn Occeus, who had 14 points the first meeting, out with an injury.
The Huskies have also been dealing with illness going around, which kept Pusica out against UNC Wilmington a week ago. Pusica has gotten better, but Northeastern coach Bill Coen still has concerns he could be shorthanded.
“I’m not even sure I know who we have in practice today,” Coen said Tuesday when asked about player availability for today. “It will all be gameday decisions as far as where everybody is at, but we are going to try to get as healthy as we can. Obviously, JMU is an extremely talented team and we will need all hands on deck.”
