Emporia State guard Dustin Andrews will have two NBA scouts following his every move on defense tonight at White Auditorium.
Of course, it’s not the 6-foot-3 Andrews that the scouts will be interested in, but rather the 6-foot-11 3-point-shooting big man that Andrews will be chasing around.
Southwest Baptist’s Matt Rogers is the MIAA’s leading scorer at 20.9 points per game and has helped lead the No. 3 Bearcats to an 11-0 start this season, including a 80-79 win at Utah. That win is even more impressive considering Utah recently beat Gonzaga, ranked 16th in the latest Associated Press Top 25.
The talk around the MIAA is that the Bearcats might have a shot to go 20-0 in the conference, and Rogers, a pro prospect, is the heavy favorite for conference player of the year.
“I think obviously if you just looked at his stats alone, he’s one of the better players in the country at this level and I don’t think there’s any question he’d be a starter at a lot of schools in the Big 12,” ESU coach David Moe said. “But it’s not just Matt Rogers.
“They’ve got a good team. They’re well coached. They’ve got other good players. They’re probably as good as a collection as a team in my years of being in the MIAA as far as talent goes and playing hard and coachability and having guys that can really make some plays.”
Emporia State has a chance to take first place away from Southwest Baptist with a win. The Hornets are 4-1 in conference, and with a win they would move into a tie for first place or sit alone at the top if Washburn loses to Central Missouri tonight.
“It’s an incentive,” ESU forward Adam Holthaus said. “We’ve got to go get it. We’ve got to protect our house. It’s a big opportunity for us to make a statement.”
The Hornets are undefeated at White Auditorium this season, and several ESU players credited homecourt advantage with helping them come back from 14 to beat Nebraska-Omaha.
“It would be great to have a great crowd,” Moe said. “I know the students won’t be here, but White Auditorium is still a great atmosphere. I think it’s a great opportunity to catch a great game. Our goal is to compete with them and hopefully with five minutes to go, have the game be a one-or two-possession game and have a chance to win.”
To beat the Bearcats, the Hornets are obviously going to have to slow Rogers, who will have Darrel Johnson and Scott Howard from the Charlotte Bobcats in attendance. Andrews regularly draws the opposition’s power forward and will start out guarding Rogers.
“I’ll probably try to body him up a little bit, get him frustrated and just try to deny him the ball,” Andrews said. “I like that challenge. I always like playing aggressive. I like getting down there with the post and roughing it up.”
Moe also plans to use 6-foot-7 forward Adam Holthaus and 6-5 guard Alex Pyle against Rogers. Pyle played Rogers’ role on the scout team on Friday at practice and is one of the Hornets’ most athletic players.
Holthaus is Emporia State’s best option when Rogers plays from the post. Holthaus, who redshirted last season, has emerged as the Hornets’ best threat on offense from the post. He scored a career-high 16 points on Wednesday in Emporia State’s 86-80 win over Nebraska-Omaha, and he’s averaging 7.4 points per game in MIAA games.
“After last year sitting out, I just wanted to get in and play,” Holthaus said. “I got my opportunity. I’ve just got to keep playing defense and let the offense come to me.”
ESU women vs.
Southwest Baptist
Like the SBU men, the women also have the conference’s leading scorer in Courtney Creed at 18.7 points per game. However, the Lady Bearcats have not enjoyed the same success as the men.
SBU is 1-3 in the MIAA with its only win coming against Truman. The Lady Bearcats made the NCAA tournament last season, losing to Emporia State in the first round, but they are 4-7 this year under first-year coach J.C. Carter.
It could be a high-scoring game with Emporia State leading the league in scoring (90.3 points per game) and SBU averaging 71.1. The Lady Bearcats lead the league in 3-pointers made, and Emporia State ranks second.