Game 8 recap: I've got nothing

RMU fell to Delaware by a score of 86-67. In losses to Eastern Michigan, Cleveland State, and Buffalo we saw RMU look in control early only to watch it dwindle down. This game was the opposite. RMU’s offense was a bundle of unintentional comedy with the occasional Karvel Anderson bucket. The defense was just as bad, doubling on every pick and roll leaving a good shooting team with a lot of good looks. Bad formula.

Then RMU toughened up on defense, mostly because Stephan Hawkins played really tough in the low post, RMU forced some turnovers, and the guards stopped committing dumb fouls. RMU got it within two a few times but found themselves down nine at half. Not awful.

Then the second half happened. RMU started out-playing Delaware but committed too many mental errors to do anything. They were getting good looks and hitting most of them but the turnovers did not stop. Ever. Then the fouling. And just like that RMU was down 18 with six minutes left.

Some quick thoughts:

-Kavon Stweart returned from suspension to play today. He looked pretty good I thought, getting into the lane, drawing fouls, and giving his teammates some good looks. Only complaint against Kavon is how much he left his feet, both offensively and defensively. That’ll get better with experience.

-RMU would have lost by 50 if Karvel Anderson didn’t play today. He was phenomenal in every aspect. Outside of the UTA game, that was the best he’s played. Not a whole lot more to add… we just expect these things from him.

-RMU struggled with the press. It was frustrating.

-You could tell Toole wasn’t going to deal with mental errors today. Five seconds into the game, Delaware won the tip, RMU was slow to get in transition, and the Blue Hens had an easy and-1 basket (McFadden with the foul… surprise!!!). Toole subbed out Lucky Jones immediately after and he stayed out until the 13 minute mark. A few seconds later, Anthony Myers-Pate committed an offensive foul and he was subbed out. Two of the best players on the team were out of the game within 20 seconds.

In the second half Toole really shortened his bench. We didn’t see a lot of Chuck Oliver (who’s struggling big time), Aaron Tate (did not start), Hawkins, or David Appolon.

-RMU looked like a team that never has defended a pick and roll at times. The defense was random and bad for the most part. The first possession of the game, McFadden hedged it but didn’t get back to his guy in time who hit a bucket. We saw a lot of doubling off the screen after that, which didn’t work much either. It forced some turnovers, but the risk wasn’t worth the reward often. Here’s another thing I noticed. If RMU really wants to double off the P n’ R, do it, but you better have everyone HAUL ASS on rotations. That wasn’t the case. Last year, RMU would switch on every screen. I’d be surprised if that didn’t start happening soon.

Some scary stats....

UD hits the 80 point mark, that's the 6th time (in 8 total games) that RMU has allowed 80 points. Just not playing ANY defense right now.

— Lee Kunkel (@kunkel5) November 30, 2013

Last year RMU gave up 80 or more just twice. So yea, they're struggling on that end.

— Lee Kunkel (@kunkel5) November 30, 2013

Robert Morris gave up 1.06 pts per possession in 86-67 loss to Delaware. That's actually its third-best defensive performance of the season.

— Craig Meyer (@CraigMeyerPG) November 30, 2013

Yikes.....
-Personal grievance: To me, college basketball still has no idea how to call the new hand check rule. Offensive guys are going to the lane bowling out of control, lean in with a shoulder, and get a call no matter what position the defender is in. RMU’s giving up a lot of points not so much because of bad defense but because of all the free throws opponents are shooting against them.

Opponent’s free throw averages

In wins: 26 attempts, 18 made

In losses: 39 attempts, 28 made

So defense can certainly improve, but it’ll all be for naught if they don’t adjust to the new rules. My opinion, anyway.

-Did anyone play the drinking game? If you did and didn’t blackout in the first half, good for you, truly.

This was one of the more frustrating games I’ve ever watched. No one outside of Karvel played really well. The team commits so many stupid fouls and the turnovers were outrageous. Just another tough loss.

More to come later.

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella