While many students are still enjoying days off, the Troy Trojans men?s basketball team has had little time to vacation. Sun Belt Conference season begins Tuesday.
The Trojans (5-4) will open the 2014-15 conference slate just like they ended the 2013-14 regular season schedule ? with a home game against the Texas State Bobcats (6-3). Tipoff from Trojan Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.
It may seem odd to have a conference game so close to Christmas, but with the additions of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern to the Sun Belt, the conference expanded the schedule to 20 games. In years past when the conference had a long schedule, the Sun Belt experimented with playing a conference game or two in early December but opted to begin the slate after Christmas this year.
Second-year Trojans head coach Phil Cunningham prefers it that way.
? This way, you get your non-conference schedule out of the way and can get totally locked in on your conference schedule,? he said.
Last season, the Trojans pummeled Texas State72-50 in that final conference game to end the Bobcats? season and clinch their own berth in the Sun Belt Tournament. Since then, the Bobcats? roster has not changed much and actually has more depth than last year, Cunningham said.
? They have a lot of the same guys back, but they?ve added some pieces and got good depth,? he said. ?Under their head coach (Danny Kaspar), they?re going to play solid man-to-man defense.?
That defense, while tough in spurts last season, has improved in Kaspar?s second year. The Bobcats are surrendering just 56 points per game overall and 63 points per contest in their six Division I games. Last year, the Bobcats surrendered almost 67 points per game.
Texas State is forcing 18.3 turnovers per game, while Troy is committing 15.7 of those mistakes in each contest.
? The first thing that stands out is we?ve got to cut the turnovers down. We?re fifth in the league in shooting percentage (45 percent), so we?re getting good shots,? Cunningham said. ?When you have a turnover, you?re not getting a shot on the possession. We?ve got to pay more attention to the details.?
Offensively, the Bobcats have a tough inside presence, led by center Emani Gant. Gant is the only Texas State player to average scoring in double figures (14.3 points per game), but forward Cameron Naylor added 9.4 ppg off the bench.
? He?s one of the most physical centers in the league,? Cunningham said of Gant. ?He beats you with his physicality.?
Gant provides a tough challenge for Troy forwards John Walton III and Kevin Thomas ? who leads the country in field goal percentage at 68.2 percent and is ninth in offensive rebounds per game at 4.2.
? We need John and Kevin to use their quickness against (Gant),? Cunningham said.
The loss of Jaro Moravek due to a foot injury hurts Troy inside. With him out of the lineup, the Trojans? second rotation consists of four guards, making rebounding a critical, yet tough, arena in which to compete, Cunningham said.
? We?re not the biggest team in the league. We?ll have to be disciplined with position and play with grit and determination,? Cunningham said.
