Game recap: Turnovers, transition defense, and inferior talent dooms RMU

RMU lost to Oklahoma State 92-66. Not a terrible game really. RMU started off very tentative and anxious and really a little unlucky with some good looks rimming out. On the defensive end, they weren’t getting a lot of stops. It didn’t help that Oklahoma State had guys making 30 foot three pointers and gathered a few long rebounds but such is life.

The Colonials didn't have enough in the tank
to knock off #6 Oklahoma State. (AP)

RMU eventually settled down thanks to some nice bench play. Stephan Hawkins nailed two jump shots (!!!!!) and Chuck Oliver did Chuck Oliver things to cut it to eight. It stayed like that for a while until a little OK State run brought it to 15 at half.

Then the second half happened. OK State got a ton of easy transition looks and got stops, aided by some Robert Morris turnovers. All of the sudden the lead was 30 and the game was over. Some observations:

-OK State is just really good. This wasn’t like Kentucky when RMU looked scared. Oklahoma State has maybe the best player in the country in Marcus Smart. Markel Brown and Le’Bryan Nash (18 and 9 points, respectively) can ball too. Phil Forte III made some ridiculously long three pointers. One late in the game went around the rim, off the top of the glass, and in. It was just that type of day. What was even more impressive was the ball movement. Everyone was so unselfish. It was incredible to watch.

-Turnovers and transition defense crushed RMU. They only had nine turnovers, but just about all of them led to points. You can’t give great teams free possessions. The only other true gripe you can have was the transition defense, which was awful in the second half. My eyes started bleeding it was that bad. RMU would score and give up a bucket in a matter of seconds.

-Bad shooting days from Lucky Jones (1-11) and Jeremiah Worthem (1-7). Oklahoma State has a few incredibly athletic wing guys who were on Lucky and Worthem like glue for most the game, but even still Lucky was missing some good looks. It happens. Personally, I thought this was Worthem’s worst game. His defensive positioning seemed less than stellar at times and he took a lot of long two’s, the worst shot in basketball.

-I liked the games from the point guards. Anthony Myers-Pate only went 1-5 from the field but stayed aggressive. Kavon Stewart showed no fear and even made a three.

-Aaron Tate saw a lot of PT and played his best stretch of basketball in the first half, grabbing some boards and had a nice tip in off a miss. Stephan Hawkins didn’t have a great second half (and found himself in foul trouble) but shot well in the first half and looked confident.

-Karvel Andrson: 7-14 and 2-7 from three. Started slow but finished strong. RMU as a team shot only 6-27 (22 percent) from three. Them shooting bad from three on the road is a legitimate thing.

-Impressive rebounding. Lost the battle 40-30 but it was closer then that for most of the game.

-One funny note: RMU was 25 point underdogs and lost by 26. Oklahoma State, for whatever reason, nailed a three with 49 seconds left that made it a 28 point game. David Appolon got a layup after that and then the game was over. I can’t help but laugh at envisioning someone out there who took RMU +25 and lost his mind at the end of the game.

Overall this was a much better effort compared to the Kentucky game. Oklahoma State is just really good. More to come tomorrow!

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella

Lee's Thoughts:

There were good things, there were bad things.

I'd love to replay this game with Mike McFadden and Jeremiah Worthem not getting three first half fouls a piece. With that said, it's very encouraging to see Aaron Tate and Hawk play pretty well off the bench.

I like this zone, a lot. Sure Ok State scored a ton of points, but let's not ignore that the Cowboys are the 6th ranked team in the country, and possess one of the best offenses in the country.

There were breakdowns, but you will have this when you're a team that plays man-to-man principles and just switched to zone a few weeks ago.

RMU forced the Cowboys into some long tough jumpers, and at times made life tough on Marcus Smart and company.

Fix some of the spacing issues, and continue to learn the zone principles, and the Colonials will be just fine.

The team picked a bad time to go ice cold from three (6-27, 1-10 in the first half) but let's be honest, they would have had a difficult time winning this one even if they made 50% of those attempts. Save the hot shooting for NEC play.

The bench continues to emerge. Loved how this unit played. Do that in NEC play and RMU wins 14 (or more) games. We know Karvel, Luck, Ant etc are going to play at a high level in conference play, but the team needs that punch off the pine.

Mike McFadden struggled, but I'm still not worried. Mike got in foul trouble and never really had a chance to make an impact on the game. I still think he plays well in the NEC.

Last thought: The spread was +25, the Colonials lost by 26. I still think Oklahoma State goes to the Final Four. They're really good. No shame in losing this one. Saw some good things, still need to fox some other things. I picked RMU to upset Alabama at the beginning of the season, and I still think they have a decent shot at doing so. It doesn't really matter, but it would be a nice boost heading into conference play next Thursday.

--Lee Kunkel
--@kunkel5