When: Saturday December 14th 2:00 pm
Where: A.J. Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh PA
Ken Pom: RMU 199, Duquesne 212
Story line: The Colonials look top snap a five game losing steak against their local rival Duquesne. The Colonials are riding their longest winning streak in the series, currently at three games.
Link: RMU at Duquesne
Getting to Know the Dukes:
(This section was a Q&A with Steve DiMiceli, who covers Duquesne for wewearthering.com)
1) Duquesne, much like RMU, is struggling on defense. Is this is a surprise? Have their been any adjustments made and more you could see coming on that end?
Not at all surprising. The Dukes have a pair of talented but undersized guards in Tra'vaughn White and Derrick Colter and a ton of new faces to incorporate. I expected the team to take some time to gel at both ends of the floor. Guarding the perimeter's been tough, but they've also had lots of break downs where players miss an assignment. If anything about the defense surprises me, it revolves around the lack of front court depth. Two freshmen I expected to play a big role, Isaiah Watkins and Jordan Robinson, have missed time because of injury and eligibility issues respectively. Watkins made his debut against Penn St on Wednesday, but Robinson still awaits clearance from the NCAA.
I don't know if what ails Duquesne gets cured with an adjustment but rather better effort, experience, consistency and chemistry. According to Jim Ferry, the staff has focused almost exclusively on defending since the West Virginia game and they've had three decent to good outings and one terrible showing against UMBC since.
2) It's year two of Jim Ferry. What are the overall thoughts on him?
I like him so far. I like his players and his staff. I think they evaluate talent well and they have created a close knit culture around the program. I enjoy the way he speaks his mind and doesn't cut any corners when addressing concerns with the media. I feel like his public and private face match though I'd imagine his word choice changes behind closed doors. Tactically, I don't know if we've begun to see the real depth that I expected from his half court offense and at the moment, they only run a handful of sets. Like Everhart, I feel like he gets a bonus for how many timeouts he pockets at the end of games.
However, I do think the program is in good hands long term and I expect good things from Ferry. I just understand that they won't happen overnight.
3) Who are some Duquesne guys RMU fans should know going into this game?
Any Robert Morris fan familiar with Pittsburgh Basketball Club's summer pro -am already knows the name Ovie Soko. He can pretty much do it all on offense even though he stands 6'8''. I mentioned Colter and White above. Colter runs the point while White serves as an undersized two. Both can fill it up but both have struggle at times too. Dominique McKoy won't get a ton of touches but good things generally happen when he has the ball around the hoop. The unrelated Jeremiah and Jerry Jones are good for confusing the hell out of ESPN box scores and bloggers alike. Watch out for typos.
4) What type of style of play should we expect from DU?
Similar to what he did at LIU, Ferry runs an uptempo offense that wants to score in transition first before setting up the half court. They rely on getting stops and defensive rebounds to start the break rather than turnovers. Expect the Dukes to try to win the fouling battle. Ferry has his team running a pretty clean game while attacking the opposition and generating contact.
The Dukes preferred defense is man, but they'll also play a 3-2.
5) What is your predictions on the game?
I'm still snake bitten after the Dukes last three losses in the series and I think Robert Morris wins again. While the Colonials current losing streak might have some Duquesne fans licking their chops, I feel like it's gotta get broken sooner or later and I just feel like sooner comes on Saturday. In general, I think the Dukes have a more talented team at least at the top, but Robert Morris has a little more depth and experience playing within their system. The games a coin flip with the Dukes a slight favorite but I just have a bad feeling in my gut.
However, I expect Duquesne to begin asserting its weight in the series starting next season. Duquesne's still a work in progress and they should be a little more cohesive this time next year.
Tide turning?
 |
| The Colonials laid the smack-down on the Dukes last year in Moon. (Photo: Post Gazette; Bob's Blog) |
The team played their most complete game of the year.
Now the real question, can they build on it?
The defense was much better, as RMU used a zone for the entire game for the first time in the Andy Toole era. If they didn't have some silly mental lapses, they hold the Rockets high powered offense to around 70 points. Chris breaks that down here: Breaking down the zone.
The offense has been great all season, especially Karvel Anderson and Lucky Jones. They're --in my opinion-- the second best duo in the NEC behind Dyami Starks and Alex Francis of Bryant.
Now to this game. RMU --coming off that solid performance-- had a week off to prepare for the Dukes. This week off couldn't have come at a better time, as the Colonials look to get healthy, and find some depth. Outside of Kavon Stewart, the bench is giving almost no positive contributions.
Juanie Newton. Chuck Oliver. Aaron Tate. David Appolon. Hawk. They all had a whole week to figure things out, get out there at practice, and show why they deserve more playing time. This is a big game for this group. If they can't give Toole anything after a week of preparation, will they ever be able to this season?
Duquesne is also very vulnerable. They're still in transition as former LIU Brooklyn head coach Jim Ferry lays his foundation. They don't have a lot of depth though but big man Ovie Soko is averaging a double-double. He could be a handful, but there isn't a lot behind him and the Colonials would benefit if they got him in foul trouble.
The Dukes are still finding out who they are, much like the Colonials.
Their defense is one of the worst in all of college basketball, rated 308 in adjusted defensive efficiency, meaning in more basic terms, they give up 110.2 points-per-100 possessions. That's not good (RMU hasn't been much better at 109.4). I think the RMU offense can take advantage of that poor D and put up enough points to give themselves a chance to win.
One other big key? Free throws. Per the Post-Gazette's Craig Meyer, through 10 games last year, RMU had 210 FT attempts to 206 for its opponents. At same point this season, it has 230 and opponents have 318.
Yikes.
Just give the team 20 points to start the game and start down 20-0. That's kinda-sorta what RMU is doing.
The good news though? The Dukes struggle from the line. As a team they're shooting 65 percent from the line, 290th in the NCAA.
Rivalry Game?
What goes into a rivalry game? If you're 20 some miles from the opposition, does that make you rivals? I don't know, but I can tell you, I think this is a rivalry, especially with little old Robert Morris taking all of the steam from the Dukes the past few years.
Meyer wrote a bit about the rivalry here: The meaning of Robert Morris-Duquesne
RMU has won three straight, the longest winning streak for the Colonials in the series history. They crushed the Dukes in Moon Township last year 91-69. It was a BEATDOWN.
My second best memory of college was beating Duquense by 20+ last year. Ooooh that felt too good lol
— Velton Jones (@VeltonJones2) November 18, 2013
RMU has the biggest win for either team over the past five years, beating UK in the NIT. The Colonials have made the NCAA tournament two times in the past six years, Duquesne hasn't even been close. RMU has numerous 20+ win seasons, Duquesne has one (08) in recent memory.The Colonials have done all this with nowhere near the budget that Duquesne has, and nowhere near the facilities. They also play in the NEC, a conference with not near the A-10 in terms of prestige.
So yea, RMU has took control of this rivalry, and made it a legitimate debate as to who is second fiddle to the Pitt Panthers.
Prediction Time: This five game losing streak stinks. It stinks for the players, it stinks for Toole, it stinks for the fans.
The Colonials have three straight winnable games against the Dukes, Campbell, and Oakland before they play Alabama and Oklahoma State to end the non-conference schedule.
I don't know if they win all three, but I do think they win the next two. The week off, plus improved defense will lead to a 83-76 #RMCMB win.
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
No comments:
Post a Comment