TERRE HAUTE —
Rose-Hulman coach Jim Shaw is enjoying — as much as the defensive perfectionist will show it anyway — one of the best seasons in his 18 years as men’s basketball coach.
The Engineers, who helped Shaw reach his third Division III Tournament in 2012, have built off the momentum of last season to crack the D3hoops.com Top 25 for the first time since 1999. Rose-Hulman (15-2 overall, 9-1 HCAC) is currently 27th, partially thanks to a loss to a very good Transylvania squad earlier this month.
Still, the Engineers’ plans for a second chance at the D-III Big Dance have been imparted — and they’ve been evidenced by the Engineers’ impressive work at the defensive end throughout this season.
With a mark of 48.8 points, Rose-Hulman leads all NCAA men’s teams in points allowed.
“Defense is always our focus in practice. We try to hold everyone under 40 points,” said Julian Strickland, who stands 6-foot-3 and is joined by 6-3 point guard Austin Weatherford and 6-2 James Pillischafske in the backcourt.
Reserve 6-4 forward Nate Gissentanner plays heavy minutes, contributing in the paint and perimeter for Rose-Hulman.
What is the Engineers’ formula for success?
It starts with discipline to play oustanding help defense in a man-to-man system.
“We can be a little bit more under control. Our defensive philosophy is don’t make mistakes, don’t give up anything easy, make the other team take challenged jump shots then rebound the ball,” Shaw said.
“With Julian, Nate and Austin, everybody that plays on the perimeter really, with the exception of Jordy — who’s a bulldog — has good length. We can challenge jump shots. I want to impose our will and break the people’s will at the defensive end.”
Jon Gerken and Brenton Balsbaugh also play a big part in the Engineers’ ability to keep opponents at a 38.3-percent field-goal shooting mark. But the fact that Rose-Hulman has 105 3-point makes to opponents 57 stands out.
“Our wing length and versatility really helps us defensively. That, and Balsbaugh and Gerken are about as good defensively as you see at our level,” Shaw said. “Strickland is a tremendous defender and we can back him up with a lot of length.”
The only statistic Shaw is terribly concerned with is the victories as the Engineers will have a dogfight from aforementioned Transylvania to stay atop the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.
As good as the Engineers are defensively, they get the job done in an equally team-oriented way on the offensive end. For Rose-Hulman to put together an 11-game winning streak —a run ended with a home loss to defending regular-season HCAC champion Transylvania — coach Shaw’s squad had to be able to put the ball in the bucket.
Shaw credits the Engineers’ offensive execution for helping keep that points allowed number so low.
“Some of that’s a product of tempo and possessions. Because we run motion, we use a lot of the clock at our offensive end. It’s hard to get quick shot against us and we don’t usually take quick shots,” Shaw said.
Strickland leads the way at 14.4 ppg, while Weatherford connects for 11.9 ppg. Between those two and Pillischafske, the Engineers have a precise trio of outside shooters. Strickland is among the HCAC leaders at 41.3 percent as the trio has combined for 68 3-pointers in 17 games.
“As a team we have good shot selection. On defense we do a good job of knowing who their shooters are,” Pillischafske said. “Julian and Austin take away so much attention. Most teams concentrate on those two because they’re so good getting to the basket and scoring. When they help off of me, they do a good job of finding me. I’ve got the easy part: Just shoot the ball.”
The Engineers are back in action Thursday against Manchester at 7:30 p.m.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum going,” Weatherford said. “Guys were really motivated to come back and get better. That’s what we’ve done, the hard work we put in during the preseason’s paying off. Really happy with where we’re at, and hopefully we can keep getting better.”
Rose-Hulman
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Coming in: Rose-Hulman junior Julian Strickland moves past Transylvanias' Brandon Rash in their Heartland Conference clash last Saturday
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Open look: Rose-Hulman guard Austin Weatherford gets off a contested shot in the Engineer's loss to Transylvania last Saturday.
Discussion
Rose-Hulman off to big start thanks to a defense leading nation in fewest points allowed
Engineers are 15-2, 9-1 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Rose-Hulman
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Rose-Hulman swimmers flying to nationals
Rose-Hulman swimmers John Craig Huster and Orion Martin have qualified for the Division III national meet in the 100 butterfly
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Despite four NCAA Division III titles, Rose-Hulman’s Liz Evans remains as driven as ever
Even though Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans has won four NCAA Division III titles in the women’s high jump, getting motivated is still easy for her.
Ultra-competitive athletes find ways. -
Balsbaugh’s late-season scoring giving Rose-Hulman a lift
If someone were to predict before last weekend that Rose-Hulman would capture its second straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in men’s basketball and that senior Brenton Balsbaugh would be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, fans probably would believe the first statement but consider the second as wishful thinking.
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Rose-Hulman baseball team kicking off season in Florida
Jeff Jenkins is serious about his baseball.
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Rose-Hulman men clinch conference title
Rose-Hulman will host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament and claimed the league’s regular-season title with a 59-57 win at Hanover College on Saturday.
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No. 23 Rose-Hulman takes down No. 22 Transylvania on the road
No. 23 ranked Rose-Hulman claimed a two-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings with a 54-49 victory at No. 22 Transylvania University on Saturday.
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Rose-Hulman 18-2 after pulling away from Anderson
Rose-Hulman opened the second half on a 20-3 run to pull away and earn a convincing 71-40 men’s basketball victory at Anderson University on Wednesday night.
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Freshman paces Engineer women to HCAC win
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team improved to 10-10 for the season and 6-7 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 52-44 win over Anderson on Wednesday in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose men top Franklin
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-2 overall and kept its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference lead at 8-1 with a 58-42 men's basketball victory at Franklin College on Wednesday night.
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Rose men run winning steak to 11 games
Anderson arrived in Terre Haute with a 7-6 record and a scoring average of 76.5 points per game.
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Anderson holds off rally by Rose women
Rose-Hulman rallied from an 11-point deficit to close within three points late, but Anderson University held on to earn a 64-57 victory in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday night inside O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
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Rose-Hulman men ranked 26th in Division III
Rose-Hulman’s men’s basketball team is ranked 26th nationally in the d3hoops.com national weekly poll released on Thursday.
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Gerken hits game-winner to put Rose-Hulman at 9-1 on season
Making the game-winning shot, with what turned out to be seven-tenths of a second to go, was probably the easy part for Jon Gerken on Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose women struggle from field in loss to Hanover
In the Rose-Hulman women’s college basketball game, frigid shooting undermined good work the Engineers did in other aspects of the game against Hanover.
The Engineers came out on the wrong end, 55-43. -
Efficient Engineers stifle Millikin
The word that probably best describes the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team is efficiency.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball regains Clabber Girl Trophy
Rose-Hulman reclaimed the Clabber Girl Trophy for the first time since 2009 with an 80-74 women’s basketball victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Balanced Rose tops Fontbonne
Senior forward Nate Gissentanner came off the bench to deliver 14 points for balanced Rose-Hulman in a 72-54 men’s basketball victory over Fontbonne University on Wednesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose-Hulman men's basketball preview: Engineers looking to follow up last year’s success
It’s pretty safe to say that expectations for the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team have not been this high since the late 1990s when the Engineers reached the NCAA Division III tournament three times within a four-year period.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball preview: Engineers continuing to improve
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team didn’t dominate many opponents last season when it ended up with records of 9-18 overall and 6-12 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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Earlham tragedy leads to Rose football cancellation
Little did Rose-Hulman’s football players and coaches know, their 42-8 home victory over Anderson University last Saturday turned out to be their final game of the season.
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This weekend's Rose-Hulman vs. Earlham football game canceled
Due to Friday's tragic events involving three Earlham College students, the football game between Earlham and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been canceled.
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Anderson squeaks past Rose-Hulman
Anderson University scored in the 11th minute and held off a Rose-Hulman charge to earn a 1-0 men's soccer victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal match on Wednesday night at the Engineer Intramural Field.
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Rose swimmers near top because of vets, youth
Rose-Hulman swimming depth is at an all-time high, putting the Engineers at No. 15 in the NCAA Division III national rankings.
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A bigger taste?
On the night of Oct. 14, Rose-Hulman basketball fans were treated to something described by a couple of men’s players as “spectacular” and “epic” when they all jammed into Hulbert Arena for the insititute’s first “Midnight Madness” to tip off a season.
The memorable site wasn’t a 360-degree dunk or a no-look, behind-the-back pass.
It was Rose men’s coach Jim Shaw performing the “Bernie Dance,” based on the deceased character from the 1989 movie “Weekend At Bernie’s.”
“For a second, I thought he was having a seizure,” senior starting guard Austin Weatherford said with a straight face later. -
Rose women picked for 6th
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of league coaches released Tuesday.
Hanover and Franklin were selected for first and second respectively, with just two poll points separating the two squads. -
Rose-Hulman no match for Franklin
Franklin showcased its No. 23 NCAA Division III ranking from d3football.com in a 56-0 victory over Rose-Hulman in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football Saturday.
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Rose blanks Woods 3-0 in women’s soccer
Rose-Hulman women’s soccer coach Amy Helliwell is riding a youth movement to what she hopes could produce a strong turnaround in this 2012 season.
It has so far.
Led by freshman Hayley Gilliam, a Zionsville native, the Engineers improved to 5-4-1 for the season with a dominant 3-0 victory against cross-county rival St. Mary-of-the-Woods College on Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Engineers dominate HCAC honors
Rose-Hulman Institute student-athletes earned three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, in results released by the league office on Monday.
West Vigo graduate John Burt was named HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eric Schaible the Special Teams Player of the Week in football, and B.J. Thompson earned Player of the Week honors in men’s soccer.
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Snyder throws for two early TDs in Rose-Hulman victory
Rose-Hulman scored 33 points in the middle two quarters and held off a Defiance rally to earn a 33-20 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football opener for both schools Saturday.
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Rose’s record setter
Kyle Kovach got off to a great start in Rose-Hulman’s football season opener Saturday night in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 29-28 home loss to Kalamazoo College at Cook Stadium.
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