This Saturday, our Game of the Week team will be at Pleasance Gym in Edinburgh to cover Edinburgh University vs St. Mirren as we get back into the SBC league after a weekend of Cup fixtures.
The home team, Edinburgh University come into this weekend’s fixture currently 1-2 in the league, having lost their first two games at the hands of Stirling Knights and Pleasance BC, and most recently picking up a win against Glasgow University.
Edinburgh University has seen quite a turnover in their squad from last year with a number of new faces arriving for this season. New face, Reece Jackson has been the team’s leading performer so far in the league, averaging 28 points and 12 rebounds in Edinburgh’s first two games.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, we spoke with Edinburgh University coach, Achilleas Chatzitheocharis who had the following to say about his team’s performance so far and their matchup with St. Mirren;
“Due to University courses starting late we had some testing matches at the start of the season and the team is still in building mode. Having said that we have a great group of players that are working hard and we are hoping to catch up soon.”
“St Mirren are one of the most challenging opponents in the league. We know that in order to succeed against them we have to focus on stopping their very good offence and try to capitalise on our strengths on both sides of the court. From our point of view, this is a game that can only help us move forward in our process of becoming a better team, so we are really looking forward to it.”
The visitors, St. Mirren have had a slightly more fortuitous season so far, winning 2 out of 3 games against Dunfermline Reign and Stirling Knights, but were handed a loss by City of Edinburgh Kings.
With no standout performer, in the team’s last two games David Johnston, Nick Collins, Dale Grieve and Christopher Cleary are all averaging double figures in points, with Chris Barron also averaging a solid 9 points and 6 assists.
Speaking with St. Mirren coach, Stuart Glass, he had this to say ahead of Saturday’s fixture;
“We are looking to improve on our last visit to Edinburgh which was to Kings where we disappointed ourselves with a low score and low intensity, our worst performance of the season so far. We have been working on increasing tempo and cutting mid-court turnovers while making smarter choices on offence.
Edinburgh University will host St. Mirren at Pleasance Gym & Sport Complex on Saturday 7th October at 1:20pm
If you’re at the game, let us know by tweeting us @basketballscot and using the #SBCGotW
