The Hillsdale College men's basketball team's road to a repeat Great Midwest Athletic Conference title in 2020-21 was never going to be an easy one.
But the circumstances surrounding this season are already throwing curveballs at the Chargers and every other team in the country.
Hillsdale has already had three games canceled or postponed, including two non-conference contests against Salem International in November.
The latest to be moved is the Chargers' home opener on Thursday, Dec. 3 against Kentucky Wesleyan, which has been postponed to Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
Although the Chargers will have to wait to get a crack at a Panthers team that upset them in the G-MAC Tournament last season, Hillsdale still will get the chance to kick off the season at home against G-MAC foe Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday.
In order to comply with current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services mandates, spectators will not be allowed at Saturday's game against the Trojans. Fans who want to follow along with the action can do so via our internet livestream, which is linked below, or listen to the game on the radio at either 92.1 WCSR or 101.7 WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale.
Schedule
Trevecca Nazarene (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Trevecca Roster | 2019-20 Hillsdale Stats | 2019-20 Trevecca Stats
Players to watch
Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (16.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg in 2019-20); #21 Davis Larson, Sr., F, Sheboygan, WI/North (13.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.6 apg in 2019-20); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (11.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.9 apg in 2019-20); #11 Connor Hill, Sr., G, Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission South (8.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.4 spg in 2019-20)
Trevecca: #11 Austin Wills, Sr., G, Benton, IL/Benton (11.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg in 2019-20); #00 Chris Rogers, So., G, Harrisonburg, VA/Blueridge (10.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg in 2019-20); #34 Adam Webb, Sr., C, Lakeland, FL/Lakeland Christian (8.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.8 bpg in 2019-20); #3 Imani Starling, Sr., G, Nashville, TN/Ensworth (5.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg in 2019-20)
Scouting the Opposition
Trevecca Nazarene struggled through a 6-21 season in 2019-20, but all six wins came in G-MAC play and helped the Trojans snag a 10th place finish in the final standings, just two games back of a berth in the conference tournament.
The Trojans have a great deal of experience returning to try and move up the standings in 2020-21, with four regular starters and several key reserves back from last year's squad. The team is built around 7-foot-2 center Adam Webb, a Division I transfer and All-G-MAC Defensive Team selection who finished with 1.8 blocks per game last season.
Around Webb, Trevecca has a number of talented guards to space the floor, including senior Austin Wills, the team's leading scorer in 2019-20 with a 42.5% 3-point shooting percentage. Chris Rogers, Imani Starling and Jaylon Tharpe round out a deep backcourt.
Defensively, the Trojans were slightly below average in the G-MAC last year, finishing ninth in the league in points allowed per game. In order to make a jump in the G-MAC standings, however, the Trevecca offense will have to improve on a dead-last finish in points scored per game.
The Trojans are coached by Omar Mance, who is entering his third season with the program. He's compiled a 10-42 record in his time at Trevecca to date, and a 10-28 record in G-MAC play.
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale returns four starters from an excellent 2019-20 campaign that saw the team capture a share of its first regular season conference title in nearly a decade, posting a 19-9 overall record and a 15-3 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Leading the way is reigning G-MAC Freshman of the Year Patrick Cartier, who started at center and led the Chargers in scoring, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage in his first season playing collegiately. The Chargers also welcome back All-G-MAC second teamers Davis Larson and Austen Yarian, both double-figure scorers last season, as well as point guard Connor Hill, who excelled in his first full season as a starter.
To replace All-G-MAC first teamer Dylan Lowry, who graduated this past spring, the Chargers will look to sophomore forward Tavon Brown and sophomore guard Cole Nau, who both appeared in every game last season as substitutes, to take another step forward.
Directing the Chargers for the 14th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 230-133 record during his tenure. Joining Tharp on Hillsdale's bench this year are three new assistants: associate head coach Keven Bradley, as well as assistant coaches Eric Weiss and David Choi. The Chargers are 10-3 in season openers under Tharp since he took the job in 2007. Last year, Hillsdale took an 82-73 loss to defending NCAA Division II runner-up Southern Indiana in its season opener. That defeat snapped Hillsdale's nine-game winning streak in season openers, dating back to a 99-51 win over Ohio St.-Newark in the 2010-11 season.
Other Notes
When the season tips off on Saturday, John Tharp will become the longest-tenured head coach in Hillsdale men's basketball history. His 14 years at the helm of the program will surpass Dwight Harwood's 13 years in charge over two stints, from 1926-34, and 1940-46…the Chargers have a 6-0 record against Trevecca since joining the G-MAC in 2017, with each of Hillsdale's last five wins over the Trojans coming by 13 points or more…sophomore Patrick Cartier's 64.3 field goal percentage in his freshman campaign would give him a school record in that statistic by over three full percentage points if he can sustain it over the course of his career. It's one of several program records Cartier could challenge if he stays healthy and builds on his first season statistically….Davis Larson also enters the season on track to earn a spot in Hillsdale's career record book. His 43.5 percent career 3-point shooting percentage would be good for fourth all-time in Charger history if he can maintain that average over the course of his senior year…Larson also has a chance to become the 39th Charger in program history to surpass 1,000 points for his career. He needs 286 points this season to reach the milestone, a number he exceeded as a sophomore.