By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
After over a week off to rest, San Jose State men’s basketball (1-6) will be taking on Bethune-Cookman (4-5) Thursday night in an attempt to snap its six game losing streak.
The Spartans are coming off of their worst performance thus far. The team shot just 30 percent and struggled to defend the paint defensively in a blowout loss to Indiana State last Wednesday.
Luckily for them, this game might be the opportunity to right the ship.
Like SJSU, Bethune-Cookman is inconsistent shooting the ball. It has shot at a clip of just 43 percent on the season, but has only shot better than 45 percent in two games so far.
The Spartans will be able to focus on stopping the Wildcats in the paint and worry less about the 3-ball in this one, as they only make 29 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats don’t have a ton of height on their roster as their two centers topping out at 6-foot-9. The Spartans should be able to dominate the boards if they can keep Oumar Barry and Ashtin Chastain, both 6-foot-11, near the rim on offensive and defensive possessions.
In their last few games, SJSU has been able to keep their turnovers down and that will be a key to this game.
If it can improve their assist-turnover ratio and make sure the ball movement is solid, it should be able to get their first Division I win of the year.
San Jose State will try to make that happen on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Event Center.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt