When will Monmouth basketball win? A look ahead after Presbyterian loss drops Hawks to 0-8

Monmouth’s Jack Collins was breaking out of his early-season slump, scoring 10 quick points to cut Presbyterian’s lead to single digits early in the second half Saturday. It was the wave of momentum the Hawks were looking for, but even that wasn’t enough to propel them to victory on the final day of the Axe ‘Em Classic at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The final score was 71-61. And now the focus is turning to the Hawks’ 0-8 record.

The three games in as many days inside Johnson Coliseum were supposed to provide relief from a brutal early-season schedule. But the Hawks remain one of 10 teams still winless among 355 Division 1 programs nationally.

Presbyterian, which won all three of its games, closed the first half on a 17-4 run to take a 45-32 lead, with the perfect early-season storm that’s engulfed Monmouth continuing.

Now the path to a potential win goes through the Prudential Center in Newark, where they take on Seton Hall Saturday.

More: Monmouth basketball falls to 0-7, losing to Stephen F. Austin despite 30 from Abdi Bashir

Monmouth finds itself at the confluence of five guaranteed money non-conference games against top teams, which head coach King Rice indicated will generate $435,000 that will help fund the program, and a young rotation with six of the top nine either freshmen or sophomores, with just one senior in transfer forward Chris Morgan.

Monmouth lost all three of its games at the Axe ‘Em Classic at Stephen F. Austin.

Getting a win in the coming weeks won’t be easy.

Monmouth has a ranking of 286 on KenPom, the basketball analytics website. Three of their final five non-conference games are against teams with a KenPom of 120 or above, in Seton Hall (105), Princeton (120) and Auburn (2). But they have two realistic chances to win games against Lehigh (289) on Dec. 4, and Fairfield (291) in the home opener on Dec. 21, after nearly seven weeks on the road.

Monmouth has now started 0-8 four times under Rice, including in 2011-12, his first season,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/monmouth-basketball-win-look-ahead-192159863.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-11-23 19:21:00

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