When: Saturday January 4th, 530pm
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa Alabama
KenPom: RMU 190, Alabama 64
Storyline: The Colonials wrap up non-conference play looking to avoid a three game losing streak. If the Colonials pull the upset, it will be their second straight season with a win over an SEC program.
Link: The game is available on WatchESPN.
Getting to Know the Crimson Tide:
This won't be an easy game, but it is one Robert Morris can win (Unlike their other BCS level opponents, UK and OKST where they didn't stand much of a shot). The Tide have a losing record, and have lost three straight games, though none of those losses have been shocking (all three losses to teams in the top 35 in the KenPom rankings).
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| Kavon Stewart and Aaron Tate look to avoid a three game losing streak (Photo: AP) |
Like Robert Morris, this is Alabama's last tuneup before conference play begins for them (Tuesday, vs Vanderbilt).
I've had the opportunity to watch Alabama on multiple occasions (Duke, Drexel, Wichita State, Xavier) and there are a few conclusions I came to.
One, Trevor Releford is really good. He's averaging a team leading 18.5 points-per-game, 2.5 assists-per-game and shoots a strong 51.9 percent from the field. He will be a handful for the Colonials Saturday.
Two, Alabama is a balanced scoring team with four total players averaging over 10 points-per-game. On top of Releford, Retin Obasohan, Levi Randolph, and Nick Jacobs are all in double-figures.
Where I think RMU could have some success is using that zone that seems to be getting better and better to force the tide to shoot a lot of long jumpers. They only shoot 33.9 percent from three as a team and only two guys are over 35 percent (Releford and Randolph).
The Tide also give up a lot of offensive rebounds, so RMU needs to crash the boards despite the disparity in size.
Alabama has done a great job at limiting teams behind the three-point-arc, and that has to be a worry for RMU. The Tide have held opponents to 26.7 percent from three, that's sixth best in all of college basketball. We all know Robert Morris loves the three point shot, so thats's something to track.
Colonials Point of View:
Of course, Andy Toole and his team want to win this game. It's never a good thing to go into NEC play on a three game losing streak, and the first two games are on the road at Sacred Heart and then a big one at Bryant. That road swing is one of the harder ones in all of the NEC.
A win over an SEC team, even if it is a mediocre one, would go a long way in helping the teams confidence.
With that said, there are a few things I want to see in the final tune-up.
One, can the defense continue to improve. Listen, this is the last game of the non-conference, so I'm guessing Toole is going to stick it out with this zone.
Since the zone was installed a month or so back, it has gotten better and better each game (excluding the Oakland game). I liked what I saw with the zone against Ok-State the other night, but there are still some things that need fixed up.
The spacing is bad at times, and there are a few too many breakdowns that lead to open dunks, or open threes. Those are two things you can't do. If a guy is open for a long two point jumper, so be it. But a layup or open three (to a strong three-point-shooter) is bad news.
Second, I want to see continued improvement from the bench. This unit is getting better, but it hasn't put a strong collective effort together yet. Personally, I want to see Chuck Oliver have a nice game. The Colonials really need his scoring.
They also need one of Hawk and or Aaron Tate to play well each and every game.
Another interesting thing to track will be the play of Jeremiah Wortherm. He played awful against Oklahoma State, but he's a freshman and those nights are going to happen. How he bounces back from bad games will decide just how could he can be. I'm expecting a strong performance from him.
Lastly, please no injuries! As many now know, LIU star Julian Boyd re-tore his ACL for a third time and will miss the rest of the season, ending his career. Many teams across the NEC have been killed by injuries to key players. The Colonials have remained healthy up to this point and will have one of the freshest squads entering NEC play if they can get through this game un-injured.
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
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