Saturday, December 1
2 p.m. – Kennesaw State (1-7) vs Hofstra (4-3)
Location:Â Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Game Notes
Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team is back in the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon to face Hofstra at 2 p.m.
» The Owls look to break out of their current seven-game skid after dropping their most recent game at Georgia this past Tuesday.
» Redshirt junior Bryson Lockley is coming off one his best games in an Owl uniform at Georgia, recording the first double-double of the season. Lockley netted a season-high 10 points while tying his career-high with 11 rebounds.
» Lockley has been a big threat on the glass so far this season, leading the team and ranking fourth in the ASUN with 52 total rebounds. As a team, the Owls are averaging 36.1 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the league.
» Redshirt Junior Tyler Hooker continues to be a huge scoring presence for the Owls after breaking his career-high for the second straight game with 30 points against Belmont. He has recorded 10 or more points in all but one game this season, 20 or more in three. Hooker leads the ASUN averaging 18.5 points per game.
» Freshman Ugo Obineke earned his first career start at Georgia, finishing with a team-high 12 points, his third game in double-figures.
» So far this season, KSU is averaging 3.0 blocks per game which would rank among the all-time top-10 DI single-season averages at KSU. Antonio Spencer (T-5th) and Isaac Mbuyamba (T-7th), rank among the league's top-10 blockers with eight and seven blocks, respectively.
» KSU had a huge influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January.
The Matchup
Saturday marks the second time in history Hofstra and KSU will meet on the hardwood, completing the home-and-home series started last season. The Owls fell to Hofstra last year in New York, 75-57.
The Pride are currently 4-3 on the year heading into Saturday's game, winning their most recent game, 94-86, over Siena Wednesday.Â
Hofstra is led by senior Justin Wright-Foreman who is averaging 27.9 points per game while doling out 29 assists. Wright-Foreman's points per game average leads the Colonial Athletic Association and ranks third nationally. The Pride rank first in the CAA for scoring offense, averaging 79 points per game.
Last Time Out
Bryson Lockley recorded KSU's first double-double of the season with 10 points while tying his career-high with 11 rebounds as three Owls finished in double-figures at Georgia Tuesday night. It would not prove to be enough for the win though as a UGA took advantage of a pair of cold spurts from the Owls to earn the 84-51 win.
The Owls traded buckets with Georgia to open the game, but a 7-0 run for the Bulldogs gave UGA a 9-4 advantage at the first media timeout. KSU managed to pull within three, 14-11, following a free throw from Antonio Spencer. UGA responded with a 10-0 run before Hooker snapped the streak with back-to-back buckets, his first of the game, to make it 24-15 at the 6:26 mark.
Following two free throws from Lockley, the Owls proceeded to go on a five-minute scoreless drought in the dying minutes of the first half. UGA took advantage, going on a 15-0 run to lead 39-17 at the 1:39 mark. Hooker finally broke the drought with a three-pointer in the final seconds to make it 39-20 at halftime.
KSU came out firing to open the second half with a 6-2 run in the opening minutes. The Owls hung with Georgia throughout the opening portion of the second half, chipping away at the UGA lead to get within 13, 50-37, following a 5-0 run with 13:09 left to play.
That would be as close as KSU would get though as the Owls recorded only one bucket over the next six minutes. Georgia built its lead to 69-39 during that span before a jumper from Obineke finally broke KSU's scoreless drought. The Owls attempted to pull it close, but the two teams traded buckets throughout the rest of the game.
Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has put on a scoring display throughout the early portion of the season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game, and 20 or more points in three contests. Against Belmont, he set a new career-high for the second straight game scoring 30 points against the Bruins to mark his second straight game with 25 or more points.
He is currently averaging 18.5 points per game to lead the ASUN. He is two points shy of breaking 150 total on the year, making him the only player in the ASUN with 150 or more points. Hooker's 148 total points ranks 24th in the NCAA with his 52 made field goals placing him 21st in the nation. It is also nearly half of his 2017-18 point total in less than a third of the games played.
He also ranks among the nation's best at the free throw line with 33 made buckets at the charity stripe to rank tied for second in the conference.
If he can continue at this pace, Hooker would rank among the top-5 single-season scorers all-time at KSU.
Now Boarding
The Owls have been big on the glass recording 289 total rebounds to rank fourth in the ASUN for both total rebounds and rebounds per game (36.1).Â
Four Owls have recorded over 30 rebounds on the year with redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley leading the team with 52. Lockley along with senior Kosta Jankovic rank among the league's top-15 rebounders at 5th and 14th, respectively.
KSU's current 36.1 rebounds per game average would break the previous Division I single-season record of 35.9 set in 2016-17.
Got It On Lockley
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley has enjoyed a tremendous all-around performance in the early portion of the season, recording his first career double-double in an Owl uniform during KSU's last game at Georgia.Â
He is currently fourth in the ASUN with 52 total rebounds after tying his career-high with 11 against UGA. Lockley is one of three players in the league to have 20 or more offensive and defensive rebounds.
His current 6.5 rebounds per game average ranks fifth in the league, and is nearly double his average from last year (3.4).
In addition to that, Lockley is ranked third on the team for assists (10), steals (6) and blocks (4) while averaging 5.4 points per game.
Blocking Out The Sun
Freshman Antonio Spencer and junior Isaac Mbuyamba have begun to establish their presence around the net this season, combining for 15 of KSU's 24 total blocks.
Spencer has eight blocks on the year to rank tied for fifth in the ASUN while Mbuyamba's seven blocks places him ninth in the league. Mbuyamba is the Owls top returning blocker after recording 26 stuffs last season, a mark that ranked sixth in the league.
As a team, the Owls are averaging 3.0 blocks per game to rank fifth in the league.
Weathering The Storm
So far this season the Owls have faced three power-5 conference teams as well as two teams in Belmont and Old Dominion who were selected to finish in the top-3 of their respective conferences. KSU has the toughest strength of schedule in the ASUN and the 50th hardest schedule in the nation.
Despite going 1-7 during the opening stretch of the season, KSU ranks fourth in the league for scoring defense, averaging 72.8 points per game. The Owls have held three opponents under 60 points, including holding Missouri and Kansas State to season-lows of 55 and 56 points, respectively.
Free Money
The Owls have made the most of their chances at the charity stripe so far this season, making 93 buckets from the line to rank fifth in the ASUN.
In KSU's recent game against Eastern Kentucky, the Owls sank 31 free throws which is tied for third most all-time in a single-game.Â
Tyler Hooker currently ranks tied for second in the conference with 33 made free throws on the year, shooting 78.6 percent from the line.
Like The Energizer Bunny
Tyler Hooker and Bryson Lockley just keep going and going, running the floor for the Owls so far this year, averaging 35.6 and 33.4 minutes per game, respectively, to rank second and tied for third in the conference.Â
Hooker and Lockley both rank among the nation's top-25 for total minutes played so far this season. Hooker ranks seventh with 285 minutes on the floor while Lockley is 17th after logging 267 total minutes.
Protect The Nest
The Owls have done a good job of protecting their home court recording eight wins in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2015-16 campaign, KSU has only recorded eight home wins three times since joining Division I (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10).
Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.
The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conferenceÂ
Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08). The Owls best finish in the ASUN came during the 2016-17 season when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth. KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).
Looking Ahead
Following Saturday's game, the Owls have nearly two weeks off, taking a break for finals week. KSU returns to the court Thursday (Dec. 13), traveling to Gardner-Webb to take on the Runnin' Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m.
