Hoops look: Jacksonville at Troy
December 17, 2007
What: Jacksonville (3-6) at Troy (5-4)
When: 7 p.m. CST Dec. 17
Where: Trojan Arena (4,000)
Last time out: Troy beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 79-68 at home. Jacksonville fell at No. 5 Georgetown 87-55
Probable starting lineups
TROY
G-Jerome Odem (6’1, 160, Sr.) - 7 ppg, 5.2 apg
G-O’Darien Bassett (6’2, 190, Sr.) - 17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
F-Justin Jonus (6’6, 221, Sr.) - 15.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F-Trayce Macon (6’8, 191, Soph.) - 7.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg
F-Jarvis Acker (6’6, 210, Sr.) - 7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
JACKSONVILLE
G-Ben Smith (5’10, 155, So.) 15 ppg, 5.1 apg, 2.3 spg
G-Andre McMillan (6’2, 192, Jr.) 4.3 ppg
F-Ayron Hardy(6’5, 188, Fr.) 5.9 ppg
F-Marcus Allen(6’7, 225, Jr.) 10.2 ppg, 5.6
F-Lehman Colbert (6’7, 205, So.) 13.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg
What to watch for: The former Atlantic Sun foes meet as Troy tries to win its fifth straight game for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Strange enough, the first Troy game I ever covered was Troy vs. Jacksonville in Troy sometime in Feb. 2005. Two of Georgia State’s three wins have come against these two teams, but Troy has improved significantly since then. JU probably isn’t as talented as the last two teams that came into Trojan Arena, but basketball’s a funny game. The Dolphins won three straight to start the year but have lost their last six.
Player to watch, Troy: Brandon Hazzard: The sophomore sharpshooter came off the bench to score 19 in Saturday’s win over TAMUCC
Player to watch, JU: Ben Smith. The small but diminutive sophomore point guard is JU’s best player and will be the key as far as breaking Troy’s all-out press.
Troy will win if: They keep playing as a team and force JU to play its game.
JU will win if: They break the pressure and attack the basket while Troy’s defense recovers instead of waiting for the Trojan defense to get back.
Drew’s prediction: Troy 81, Jacksonville 70
