Northeastern's Scott Eatherton Hopeful for NCAA Tournament Bid
By Will Connolly
Name: Scott Eatherton - #43
University: Northeastern Huskies
Year: Senior
Height: 6-8
Weight: 234 lbs
Hometown: Hershey, PA
Position: Forward
As a senior at Northeastern University, forward Scott Eatherton has emerged as a star. Although his points and rebounds have dipped slightly from the season prior, his team's production has done an almost complete 180. At this point last season, his team was 11-21 and preparing for a CAA tournament game against Drexel, in which they would win, but fall to Delaware in the next round. Fast forward a year and Eatherton and his Huskies are 20-11, and must feel much better about not only winning one game in this season's tournament, but also winning the whole thing.
Eatherton was first recognized at Hershey High School in Pennsylvania, where he averaged 18.6 points and 11 rebounds per game in his senior season, leading his team to a a Mid-Penn Conference tournament title and a share of the Mid-Penn Keystone Division title. He would then attend St. Francis University, where he would lead the team in both scoring and rebounding as a freshman. Unfortunately, the Red Flash would only win six games in his first season, causing Eatherton to transfer to Northeastern. After having to sit out his sophomore season due to the NCAA transfer rule, Eatherton came on strong for the Huskies in his junior season, averaging a career-high 15.9 points per game to accompany 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.
As previously stated, the Huskies made a second round exit in the CAA Tournament last season, and didn't even qualify for an at-large bid at the 2014 NCAA Tournament. But with a 12-6 record in conference play (1st in CAA), the Huskies are looking like the team most likely to come out of the conference this season. Currently, ESPN has William & Mary coming out of the CAA, which seems like a bit of a slap in the face to NU. Yes, W&M did split their games with Northeastern this season, but the Huskies also have two more wins than the Tribe, as well as a slightly better RPI (Rating Percentage Index) and Opponent SOS (Strength Of Schedule). These might just sound like a bunch of numbers to the common bystander, but when it comes down to it, Northeastern has more wins, plain and simple.
All that matters now is a victory in the CAA Tournament. And who's going to have to step up to the plate? You guessed it: Scott Eatherton. The Huskies have been leaning on Scott's shoulders all season long. But he doesn't seem to mind carrying the workload, as he's the led the team to victory in a variety of different ways this season. Bursting into double-digits in all but six games on the season, along with five double-doubles to boot, Eatherton is the obvious key to success. But with a final match-up with William & Mary to decide the winner of the CAA on Monday night, Eatherton better be looking to explode for a little more than the adorable eight-point performance he put up in his most recent clash with the Tribe. Although his Huskies did come out on top in that game, when the stakes are a little higher, big players need to make big plays; as he will surely find out.
