When: Thursday February 27th, 7pm
Where: Rothman Center
KenPom: RMU 159, FDU 273
Link: NEC Front Row
Storyline: The Colonials hit the road for their final two games of NEC play, and start the trip against the FDU Knights, who are fighting for positioning in the NEC tournament.
What is at stake?
These final two games, at FDU and at Wagner, are going to be really interesting for Andy Toole and the Colonials. He has a bit of a problem on his hand, but it's a good problem to have.
How do you handle meaningful, but yet meaningless games as a coach?
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| How will Toole handle the rotation with the league wrapped up? |
It is indeed a confusing question, but here's what I mean.
If Robert Morris achieves their goal and makes the NCAA tournament, they obviously want the best seed possible in the field of 68. To achieve that, you want as many wins as possible, especially wins away from home. Those look the best.
More importantly for Andy, and his team, you also want to enter the NEC tournament full of confidence. An eight game win streak (and a win at Wagner, who will likely be the 2 seed) would certainly help that area, if RMU were to win these last two games.
These games have a ton of meaning, in that regard.
But then there is the other side of the coin. This team has only eight guys. They have cliched the one seed. An injury would be KILLER this time of year. Toole can't really control that, but he can control fatigue.
Karvel Anderson just played 42 minutes Saturday against St Francis, and every other starter played more than 30. That was a must win so it was certainly understandable, but how does he handle minutes now that RMU has wrapped up the league?
If guys get tired, or hurt while playing in games after RMU has already clinched the one seed, it would probably cost them a shot at their ultimate goal.
In that regard, these games are meaningless, and certain players could use some rest.
(It's kind of hard to rest guys when you only have eight total bodies so don't expect anyone to sit games out. My guess is Chuck Oliver plays a few more minutes to spell Karvel, Aaron Tate plays a few more minutes to rest Hawk (who hurt his ankle last Thursday), and Kavon Stewart plays a bit more to rest Ant Myers Pate).
Getting to Know the Knights:
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| Sanders has helped FDU to their best season in years. (Fox Sports) |
The Knights had little to know expectations at the start of the season, and here they are with an NEC tournament berth in hand, and battling for tournament position with two games to go.
Impressive.
It all starts with Sanders. He's an electrifyingly good point guard who gets to the rim with ease, and can score, set up others, and take things into his own hands late in games.
Statistically speaking, Sanders has been just as good as Anderson, if not better in certain categories. He's averaging more points-per-game (20.0 to Karvel's 19.4) and is over about 5 assists-per-game better. Sanders is at 6.0 apg, Karvel 1.6.
Anderson is much more efficient and can score in many different ways, including behind the three point line, so I, along with many others, would take him over Sanders, but make no mistake, the FDU senior is a very, very good ball player.
One interesting tidbit, the Knights have yet to play RMU this year. This is important because most teams have really struggled against the Colonials 2-3 zone the first time they have seen it.
RMU's zone could really frustrate Sanders, who looks to get to the rim on a majority of FDU's possessions.
Unlike the Colonials, FDU still has a ton to play for as it pertains to the NEC standings. They currently sit in seventh, but with two games to go, could finish as high as fifth, or as low as eighth. An eighth place finish would mean the Knights would play at RMU in the opening round.
They went on a five game losing streak after starting the NEC season off 4-2. Then they stunned everyone and won at Bryant, and followed that up with a win over Sacred Heart and a hard fought three point loss at the hands of Wagner Monday night.
Point being, they are a really streaky team.
There's an App for that:
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| App has played well lately. (Getty Images) |
His offense really helps the Colonials because it's off rebounds and hustle plays. Whenever you can get extra buckets off pure hustle, you're in good shape.
Dave would not let RMU go away against LIU, as his offensive put backs were the only reason Karvel had a chance to go all superman on the Blackbirds.
Lastly, he continues to be an absolute force in the 2-3 zone on the wing. The ground that he, and Lucky Jones on the other side, cover makes the RMU zone so effective.
Oh yea, that thunderous dunk to start OT Saturday wasn't bad either. Keep it up App.
Finding their Luck:
If there is one guy I would like to see get going the next two games, it's Lucky Jones. His game winner was huge, and I hope it catapults him into a string finish on the offensive end.
Let's make no mistake about it, Lucky has been really good. He's maybe the best defender in the league, and averages over six rebounds per game this year. When he's not scoring, he can still have a positive effect on the game, something most college players can't do.
With that said, he's been extremely inconsistent with his shot this year. The past three games, he's shot 3-15 from three (20 percent). The two before that? six for eight, 75 percent. If he can find a consistent medium, and give the Colonials 13-14 points-per-game while shooting above 45 percent, RMU will be in really good shape.
Try some wrinkles?
This is pure speculation, but I'm interested in seeing if Andy Toole throws any wrinkles into the RMU game plan to see what he has going forward.
These last two games, RMU can afford to experiment with some things. Maybe in certain situations RMU plays some man-to-man D, to see if they can use it in a pinch during the NEC tournament?
Maybe there are some unique lineups, like an all five guard lineup for a stretch? We saw that against LIU when Hawk was hurt, Lucky was in foul trouble, and Tate needed a quick breather. Maybe Toole experiments with a five guard lineup when he can afford to do so, just in case that situation comes up in the NEC tournament?
Who would you prefer?
Nobody on the team has this on their mind, at least I doubt it, but believe it or not, Thursday night's result will likely dictate who the Colonials play first round. If RMU wins, there is a pretty good chance they get a rematch against FDU in the first round. If the Colonials lose to the Knights, they will not play them, and would likely get CCSU (who has beaten them this year, and has Kyle Vinales back). Just an interesting thing to think about.
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
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