Top scoring duo aim to pick it up
Roadrunners spread points around, but defense still ranks near nation’s worst
A year after ranking as the NCAA'S second-leading scorer, UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson said he's “not really stressed” about his average dropping more than 10 points per game.
He believes he'll find his rhythm as he adjusts to his role as a distributor, and he knows the Roadrunners' offense has been productive even without his usual gaudy stat lines. Instead, Jackson said his focus is on defense.
After UTSA opened the Conference USA slate with back-to-back losses against Rice last weekend to fall to 4-5 on the year and 1-5 against Division I opponents, coach Steve Henson said the Roadrunners needed to do some “soulsearching” to find solutions to a litany of problems.
The Roadrunners have been porous on defense and erratic on offense, with senior guards Jackson and keaton wallace stopping short of their resume as the nation's highest-scoring backcourt duo the past two years.
The road does not get any easier, with reigning Conference USA regular season champion North Texas set for a pair of matchups against UTSA at 6 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday in the Convocation Center.
Despite the 0-2 start in C-USA, Henson said he's pleased with much of what he's seen from UTSA'S more balanced attack and is excited about the level the offense can reach as Jackson and Wallace settle in.
“We need Jhivvan and Keaton to step on the floor every night and be the two best players, or two of the best players, in every case,” Henson said. “North Texas has some terrific players, but Jhivvan and Keaton need to step out there and be elite, like they are.”
A year after averaging 26.8 points per game, Jackson is netting 16.3 points per night. His 3-point shooting, whichwas better than 35 percent during each of his first three seasons, has dipped to 28.3 percent.
Henson said Jackson's goal this season has been triggering the offense and creating shots for his
teammates. Even a focus on leading the huddle pulls away from energy usually put toward scoring, Henson said.
During the past two years, Jackson ranked in the top two nationally in the percentage of his team's shots taken while he's on the floor, as measured by statistical analysis site Kenpom. This season, he ranks outside the top 300.
Jackson admitted he's “struggling offensively” but added that he's succeeded in generating opportunities for the rest of theroadrunners, capitalizing on the attention defenses commit to slowing his usual scoring output.
“Confidence wise, I'm good, so they're going to start falling in,” Jackson said. “Everybody knows that. I'm not really worried about that.”
Wallace is scoring 13.2 points per game this year, downfrom18.8 as a junior and 20.2 as a sophomore. His 3-point shooting has followed a similar decline, from 38.2 percent in 2018-19, to 35.1 percent in 2019-20, to 31.0 percent this season.
He said adjusting to COVID-19 protocols and finding the offensive flow alongside two new starters led to his season starting off “a little rough.”
Wallace has been slow out of the blocks in previous seasons, as well, hitting 22.9 percent from outside during last year's first nine games.
He showed flashes of a resurgence last weekend, scoring 17 points and hitting all five shots from beyond the arc during the first half of Friday's game against Rice. He said he feels more aggressive seeking chances to score and hopes to continue the trend.
“It was a little slow, but I feel like now, we're starting to pick things up,” Wallace said. “I'm starting to figure it out, and I'm starting to make better plays.”
Henson has stressed creating easier shots on offense, either through cleaner ball movement or by finding more chances to unleash the frantic, transition-based attack that allowed Jackson and Wallace to thrive last year.
Despite the duo's early struggles, the Roadrunners' offense has
continued to produce. UTSA ranks 130th nationally in Kenpom's adjusted offensive efficiency — a mark bested only by a No. 126 finish in 2014-15 since the site began tracking data in 2001-02.
While UTSA'S third-leading scorer last year averaged 6.6 points per game, the Roadrunners boast a more diverse attack this season, with seven players averaging more than six points.
But defense continues to be a struggle. The Roadrunners rank No. 303 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, worse than any season since Henson took over before the 2016-17 campaign.
“We can be a little sharper on offense, execute better, for sure,” Wallace said. “But at the same time, our offensive efficiency is pretty high. It's not like we're not scoring the ball, or teams are stopping us fromscoring. We're getting what we usually do on offense. It's really just defense.”