After opening the season with a 74-59 win over William and Mary, Navy basketball heads home on Friday to take on Princeton in the second game of the annual Veterans Classic. The Mids will take the court following the matchup between St. Joseph's, coached by former Navy head coach Billy Lange, and #3 Houston.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Mids before the season opener in Williamsburg. Navy lost several key pieces from last year's 21-win team, including the top two scorers, John Carter Jr. and Greg Summers, plus Richard Njoku, a physical inside presence on both ends of the floor. Having to replace the top scorer is nothing new for Navy or any other team, but Carter was the heir apparent to Cam Davis last year. Coming into this season, nobody was looked at as the go-to player.
If the William and Mary game is any indication, that might be a good thing. The Mids spread the wealth, with four players scoring in double digits. Tyler Nelson led the way with 16 points. Daniel Deaver did a little of everything, with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Sean Yoder had 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Austin Inge chipped in with 11 points.
Almost as notable as who scored was how they scored. While the mid-range jumper has fallen out of favor in recent years, it has been Navy's bread and butter. That wasn't the case against the Tribe, though. The Mids, who shot only 32.6% from three-point range a year ago, went 10-21 (47.6%) on Monday. Of Navy's 74 points, 38 came in the paint, 30 from beyond the arc, and 4 from free throws. Is this a sign of things to come? Has the era of basketball analytics reached Annapolis? We'll see. Both Nelson and Yoder had their moments from long range a year ago, with Yoder in particular shooting his best in some of Navy's biggest games (Virginia, Colgate). The question is whether they have developed the kind of consistency they would need to reshape the entire offense around three-point shooting.
The two combined to shoot 6-9 from long range against William and Mary, which helped the Mids to keep pace in a high-scoring first half. It wasn't the kind of defensive performance you'd hope to see from Navy, who was the Patriot League's best defensive team in 2021-22. That changed in the second half, though; the Tribe couldn't make the shots necessary to loosen up the Mids' 2-3 zone and were held to 22 points. William and Mary is even more of an unknown than Navy, with a completely rebuilt roster through the transfer portal. Whether the man-to-man hiccups in the first half were a product of the Tribe's revamped offense or potential troubles on the Navy side are yet to be seen. We'll have a pretty good idea after the Princeton game.
The Tigers are the defending Ivy League champions after a 23-7 campaign that included a 2-0 record against power conference teams (South Carolina, Oregon State) and a 2-0 record against the Patriot League (Bucknell, Lafayette). They set team records for both points per game and three-point shooting, which is impressive considering the history of Princeton basketball. While the Tigers have lost some key pieces, the most important piece is back. Tosan Evbuomwan returns after being named the 2021-22 Ivy League Player of the Year. The 6'8" forward averaged 16 ppg, shot 54.1% from the field, and led the Ivy League in assists. In the backcourt, Ryan Langborg and Matt Allocco return after combining for 85 three-pointers and making 41.4% of those shots. Forward Keeshawn Kellman, plagued with injuries throughout his career, has assumed a starting role and responded with a 21-point performance in the opener against Hofstra.
Princeton fell in that game, 83-77, despite holding a 74-67 lead with 4:25 to play. Missed free throws and late turnovers, as well as 5-20 shooting from the three-point line, ultimately sealed the Tigers' fate. Princeton is unlikely to shoot that poorly all season, so the challenge for Navy will be to keep them from progressing to the mean all in one game. The Mids won't be able to fall back on their zone defense if Evbuomwan and Kellman get hot in the paint.
Princeton will be a great early-season test for Navy; if they can win this game, they'll be able to stack up against anyone in the Patriot League. Combined with Houston and St. Joe's, it should be another entertaining night of basketball in Annapolis for the Veterans Classic.
