As the losses pile up, the defensive numbers get worse

Troy has fallen to 11-14 and an abysmal 4-9 in conference play so far and there’s been a glaring issue all year long: defense.

The Trojans have never been particularly good on that end of the floor under head coach Phil Cunningham, but are coming to the end of what has been the worst defensive season Troy has had in the Cunningham era.

Troy has given up 109.5 points per 100 possessions this year, dead last in the Sun Belt. Out of the 13 Sun Belt games played, Troy has allowed 10 opponents to score more than their season average in points per game.

Opponents have been jumping on Troy early in the second half during the conference slate. Troy has lost the first 10 minutes of the second half, or the third quarter, 10 times in 13 games.

Troy is being outscored in this stretch by an average score of 22.3-15.8. In the two games against Georgia Southern, the Eagles scored 53 combined third quarter points to Troy’s 17.

This has caused the Trojans to play catch-up down the stretch. That strategy worked out in dramatic fashion in a 77-75 win over Georgia State, but has mostly resulted in notches in the loss column.

The Trojans were at least competitive in the final 10 minutes of the first six conference games, 22.2 points vs 22.8 opponent points, but have since ran out of gas.

In the last seven games, Troy is being outscored 23.9-20.7 in fourth quarter.

This says a lot about the halftime adjustments being made, or maybe the lack thereof.

Statistically, there is some good. Troy has been a solid shot blocking team, sending back 12.6 percent of opponent’s field goal attempts (44th). The Trojans have blocked 67 shots in Sun Belt play, first in the conference.

That’s about where the good ends.

Sun Belt teams are shooting an incredible 42.9 percent from beyond the arc against Troy and have hit 127 of said shots. Both of those numbers are worst in the conference.

All of Troy’s opponents together have shot 38.7 percent against the Trojans from three, which ranks 343rd in the country.

It goes on from there. The 52.9 effective field goal percentage allowed is 272nd, the 16.6 opponent turnover percentage is 299th and the 31.4 opponent offensive rebound percentage is 289th.

Troy spends most of its time in a man defense, despite Darian Adams being the only plus on-ball defender on the roster. When the Trojans begin to fall behind late, they switch to a 1-3-1.

It’s become a near-nightly routine for Troy.

The Trojans are just a few losses away from clinching Cunningham’s fifth losing season in his six years at the helm.

From there, we’ll see just where the program goes.