Towson (12-7 SU, 10-9 ATS, 4-2 CAA) travels to visit North Carolina A&T (9-11 SU, 10-7 ATS, 4-3 CAA) for their first-ever meeting in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Towson has won two straight and four of their last five games. The Aggies have won three straight games, including beating up on Hampton 79-67 on the road on Monday.
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Towson went into last weekend with a bad feeling after losing at rival Delaware 72-59 on Jan. 11. What made that loss worse was that the Blue Hens did not have their best player Jameer Nelson Jr. due to a knee injury. The Tigers also had been playing without starters in senior guard Jason Gibson (back) and point forward Cam Holden (violation of team rules). Gibson, one of the team's best three-point shooters, has only played three games. Holden, who basically runs the show and is second in the CAA in assists, missed three games and their only loss came in Newark on Jan. 11.
Our Hollenshades Play of the Week is this dunk from Christian May off the pass from Nicolas Timberlake!#GohTigers | #UnitedWeRoar pic.twitter.com/zvi9E3tk2F
— Towson Men's Basketball (@Towson_MBB) January 17, 2023
Holden returned on Saturday when the Tigers crushed Monmouth 68-48 as a 17.5-point favorite. Towson had a bigger test on Monday when they faced Hofstra and the result was similar in a 68-47 win as a 2-point favorite. Holden came off the bench to score 13 points and grab seven boards, while senior guard Nicolas Timberlake led the way with 17 points and five boards on 7-of-15 shooting (3-6 3pt). Towson shot 45% from the field and 6-of-20 (30%) from long range. Defense and rebounding were keys in this one. Towson outrebounded the Pride by 10 and held them to just 33% shooting and 15% (4-27) from long range.
On the season, Timberlake leads the Tigers with 15.7 points on 42.6% shooting (33% 3pt). Holden adds 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists on 41.5% shooting (23.8% 3pt). Towson is averaging just 68.3 points per game on 43.6% shooting and 34.2% from long range. Defensively, they are allowing 64.6 points per game on 41.7% shooting (33.6% 3p t). This is a team that traditionally dominates the boards and this year is no different as they rank second in the CAA in rebounding margin (+5.11). Their biggest problem this season has been turnovers as they rank tied for eighth in turnover margin (-0.47).