Sacred Heart: by the numbers

Saturday, St. John’s gets back into action against the Sacred Heart Pioneers, an NEC team that falls into the “do not overlook this team” as opposed to the “tough test” team.

The Rumble will have a full preview tomorrow and Saturday for the game, but as we get ready for the contest, a look at Anthony Latina’s Sacred Heart... by the numbers.

Overview

In raw numbers, Sacred Heart is scoring 66.9 points/ game and is giving up 71.6 points/ game.

On offense, the Pioneers are... well... filled with flaws. Their team two-point shooting percentage of 52% is very good. But from outside the arc, the Pioneers shoot 25%... all while turning the ball over on 26% of their possessions, 250th in the country (there are 351 teams).

Sacred Heart has been very competitive on the glass, with one of the best defensive rebounding rates in the country. They grab around 80% of opponent misses in their seven games, mostly against low-level competition, but that number is 6th in the nation. And they crash the glass as well, taking in 32% of their own misses.

Expect a team that attacks inside and tries to draw fouls.

On defense, the Pioneers give up 52% shooting inside the arc and 32% from deep. Style-wise, they play at an uptempo clip; but opponents take a lot of three-pointers against the NEC team, 43% of their shots.

The Pioneers force turnovers on 16% of possessions, 307th in the nation.

Leading scorers

Joseph Lopez (14 points/ game), Mario Matasovic (13 ppg), Sean Hoehn (12 ppg).

Will get to the free throw line

Joseph Lopez (45% rate of free throws attempted to field goals attempted).

Will shoot from outside the arc

Siena transfer Kinnon LaRose takes 81% of his shots from behind the arc and plays major minutes (25 per game). He connects on 33% of his attempts. Sean Hoehn takes 50% of his shots from beyond the arc, making 28% of his tries. Zach Radz takes 49% of his shots from distance, connecting on 25% of those attempts.

Little-used senior Chris Robinson will also take shots from distance, but he is 0/9; Joseph Lopez is 1/14 from beyond the arc.

Dangerous inside the arc

Joseph Lopez hits 49% of his shots inside the arc, and has the team’s highest usage rate (34%).

Mario Matasovic scores on 71% of his attempts.

Defensive stats

Freshman EG Anosike blocks 3.8% of opponent shots. Sean Hoehn forces steals on 3.7% of opponent possessions.

Impact seniors

Joseph Lopez (F)

Mario Matasovic (F)

Charles Tucker (PG)

Impact freshmen

EG Anosike (F)

Alex Watson (PG)