Jan. 6, 2012
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GAMEDAY INFO
Navy (3-11, 0-0 PL) vs. Lafayette (5-10, 0-0 PL)
Saturday, January 7, 2012 • 7:00 pm (ET)
Annapolis, Md. • Alumni Hall (5,710)
Radio: WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM, wnav.com)
Announcers: Pete Medhurst (play-by-play), Michael Heary (analyst)
Video Streaming: NavySports.com (Navy All-Access)
Gametracker: NavySports.com
Tickets: Available at Alumni Hall box office one hour prior to game.
Series: Navy leads, 41-26
Last Meeting: February 12, 2011 (Navy, 57-52)
PROMOTIONS
Youth Basketball Day -- All kids who wear their youth basketball team jerseys to the game will get in for FREE! Go to the Alumni Hall Box Office to claim your free ticket on the day of the game.
SECURITY REGULATIONS
Fans are reminded that only those vehicles with a Department of Defense sticker affixed to it will be allowed to drive onto the grounds of the USNA. All other visitors to The Yard have the option of either finding parking in downtown Annapolis and walking through the Academy's gates, or else parking at nearby Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium's blue side ($5 per vehicle) and riding the free shuttle bus to and from Alumni Hall.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Navy tips off its 21st year of Patriot League play on Saturday night as Lafayette visits Alumni Hall in the league opener for both squads. The Midshipmen enter the contest with a 3-11 overall mark, but are hoping to turn things in league play after a difficult non-conference schedule. The Leopards are 5-10 after Wednesday night's 78-73 loss to Penn at home. The contest will be broadcast by WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM, wnav.com) with Pete Medhurst and Michael Heary calling the action courtside, beginning with the Navy Basketball pregame show at 6:45 pm. Live stats and video (Navy All-Access) will be provided on NavySports.com and as always, fans can receive text message updates via Navy's official Twitter page (@NavyAthletics).
MIDSHIPMEN UPDATE
• Navy enters Saturday's Patriot League opener on a seven-game losing streak, but is showing signs of turning around its fortunes. The Midshipmen held halftime leads against both Mercer and Norfolk State in its last two games, before succumbing in the second half. Navy's seven-game losing streak is the program's longest since losing 13 games in a row during the 2003-04 season.
• The combined record of the seven teams that Navy has lost to (through Wednesday's games) during its recent seven-game slide is 55-45 (.550). The record of the last four Navy opponents (Missouri, Presbyterian, Mercer and Norfolk Stat) is 43-17 (.717).
• Despite the tough numbers, Navy has shown improvement in several statistical categories from last year. The biggest area of improvement is on the glass. Navy is minus-1.2 on the glass through 14 games, one year after recording the lowest rebounding margin in school history at minus-9.4. Through 14 games a year ago, Navy was minus-13.1 in rebounding margin. Already this year, Navy has outrebounded five-of-14 opponents, posting a 3-2 record when outrebounding its opponents. Last year, Navy outrebounded just five-of-31 opponents. Navy is 0-9 this year when getting outrebounded.
• Over the last five games, Navy has 70 assists (14.0 assists per game) against 65 turnovers (13.0 turnovers per game) for a 1.08 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the season's first nine games, Navy had 110 assists (12.2 apg) against 146 turnovers (16.2 tpg), a ratio of 0.75.
• J.J. Avila has not let the seven-game slide affect his performance, as he is averaging 17.6 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field over the last seven games. He and freshman Worth Smith (7.3 ppg) have combined to shoot 65-of-131 (.496) from the field, while the rest of the Midshipmen are 72-of-223 (.323) from the field combined. The duo is a sizzling 52-of-84 (.619) from inside the three-point line. The rest of the team is just 46-of-120 (.383) from inside the arc in the same span.
• Navy has held six of its 14 opponents to 59 or fewer points, but the Mids are just 2-4 in those games. Navy ranks third in the Patriot League and 126th nationally in scoring defense (64.7 ppg), an 8.0-point improvement from a season ago.
• According to BBState.com, Navy ranks 311th nationally in possessions / game, which takes into account the pace of play that a team plays. It is a stark contrast to what Navy played under previous head coach Billy Lange. Under Lange, Navy ranked 13th (2011), 21st (2010), 55th (2009),ninth (2008), 270th (2007), 37th (2006) and fifth (2005) in possessions / game, averaging well over 70.0 possessions per game in those years. This year's team is averaging 64.1 possessions per game, compared to 74.2 possessions per game a year ago.
# GO NAVY #
