Thank God URI isn’t playing in this cesspool this year.
Saturday URI plays University of Detroit…the Titans.
This team is a very good shooting team. They are shooting 46% as a team which is good enough to put them in the top 1/3 of D1 teams. Strange enough, URI is in the top 30 in D1. Both teams are scoring somewhere in the low-70’s. This should be a good game to watch. Just disappointing that Detroit is just outside the top 150 in terms of RPI. That makes this a tough game for URI because winning will hurt URI’s RPI (currently 24). Losing will be devastating for URI since it will be a home loss to a “bad team.”
Here is the key difference between the two teams: 75% and 61%. That is the free throw percentage of Detroit and URI (respectively). That could be the deciding factor in this game. Especially when Detroit takes 17 or 18 free throws each game.
Beyond the shooting, the two teams are very similar in terms of on-court production. Very close in rebounds, assists, and, thankfully, in turnovers. Forget what I said above…this game is going to be a sloppy and frustrating game to watch.
Let’s take a look at a few of the key players for Detroit.
Juwan Howard Jr.: #2 6’5″ F (Sr.). Is he the son of the NBA Journeyman Extraordinaire? Probably, but not worth looking up. This kid puts up 20 points per game in about 27 minutes per game. He is their primary scorer as the second highest PPG total is still 8 points below Howard’s 20 (get into him next). Howard takes about 28% of his team’s shots and does not look to pass. He scores primarily by attacking the basket but isn’t afraid of taking the 3. He is a sturdy guy at 232 lbs and will be hard to stop once he gets an open lane to the rim. The key is to clog that lane with some of URI’s big guys and make him settle for 3’s (where he is “only” shooting 37%). When attacking the rim, he is shooting 45% and when he gets hacked going up, he knocks down free throws at an 87% clip. This kid cannot be allowed to get inside and a look at the basket. Hurley may want to have Hassan Martin on him as he has the size and athleticism to guard him.
Paris Bass: #35 6’7″ G (Fr.). Not going to get into how absurd it seems to have a guy who is 6’7″ listed as a guard. Bass puts up 12 PPG. This kid is strictly a post player who takes most of his shots in the paint/under the basket. URI needs to be phsyical but can’t send Bass to the line. He shoots 44% from the field but shoots 73% from the line. Given his style of play and his wiry frame (at 6’7″ he only weighs 187lbs.), Having Gil Biruta and Earl Watson guard him should keep him at bay simply because there is no way he can back those two down and will have to settle for the mid-range jumpers. Bass is leading Detroit in rebounds (6 per game) but if Biruta/Watson use their superior size to box him out effectively, Bass should have a quiet game.
Anton Wilson: #1 6’5″ G (Jr.). Wilson, putting up 11 PPG, is lethal from the free throw line. He is, so far, a perfect 14 of 14 from the charity stripe this season. He could very well be the most important guy on this team if this game is close coming down the wire. Most close games always seem to come down to who can hit their FT’s and who can’t. This kid can. Beyond that, Wilson is the leader of “the rest of the pack” of players in terms of number of shots/points/etc. after Howard Jr. and Bass. The first two kids each take double-digit shots per game. Wilson is the team’s 3-point specialist. He leads Detroit in 3’s taken, 3’s made, and 3-point shooting percentage (I am excluding Brundidge as he has only taken 7 3’s all season). Wilson is shooting over 50% from beyond the arc. This kid’s truly sole value to the team is his 3-point shooting and can be taken out of the game by letting him spend the game on TJ Island (and Jarvis Garrett – who looks a lot like TJ when he plays defense).
UPDATE:
URI -9 is the line. Looking at the numbers and how URI plays, I’m taking Detroit with the points but URI money line (if available).
Give It To TJ! 