Category: Robert Morris

Our Revised NEC Standings: Part One

With the exception of Robert Morris, the NEC hasn’t exactly gone according to plan based on our original predictions. Therefore, before NEC play begins this Thursday, John and I had an e-mail chat over the better half of a week to make sense of the unexpected developments and recalibrate our preseason team rankings. Here is Part 1 of our discussion. Continue reading “Our Revised NEC Standings: Part One” →

10,000 Sims: Robert Morris Remains the Favorite in NEC

A few months ago two projection systems pegged Robert Morris as the best team in the NEC. While the Colonials haven’t been quite as good as those results might’ve suggested, they have taken care of business and have an 8-5 record as we head into conference play. So while RMU probably won’t be historically good by NEC standards, Andy Toole’s team is the one to beat.

Continue reading “10,000 Sims: Robert Morris Remains the Favorite in NEC” →

A Holiday Special: NEC, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

With the NEC – and most of college basketball – off for the past couple of days, I broke out my periodic review of all things NEC. Unfortunately, I had some difficultly finding an equal amount of good and bad stories, so I did my best to sprinkle in some positive news. To be quite frank, it hasn’t been the greatest non-conference season for the NEC. The Ken Pomeroy rating for the conference has dipped from #19, at the start of the season, to #25. With little time left before conference play begins, it appears the NEC is destined for a maximum of two combined NCAA and NIT bids, at best. Continue reading “A Holiday Special: NEC, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” →

Robert Morris, Wagner’s Jonathan Williams shine on NEC Saturday

Thanks to finals week, it has been a fairly light week of Northeast Conference basketball. With four games on the docket today, it was the first time in seven days that more than two NEC teams played on the same day. Therefore, I felt it was appropriate to briefly breakdown each game on the second to last Saturday before Christmas.

Wagner 77, Coppin State 65
It took a career game from senior Jonathan Williams (33 points, 17 rebounds, 3 steals) just to push this non-conference battle into overtime. Coppin State, who according to KenPom came into the matchup as a 90% underdog, used Wagner’s aggressive defense to their advantage by getting to the charity stripe an astonishing 22 more times than Wagner in regulation. Once Williams was able to will his team into overtime, however, Wagner’s defense and Marcus Burton took over. Burton quickly hit two three-pointers in the extra frame, and left little drama late (other than the lights going out) at the Spiro Center. All together, Williams and Burton (17 points) combined to score nearly 65% of the Seahawks’ total points. A big-time upset was averted, and as I always like to say, a win is a win. Hopefully for Wagner’s sake, Latif Rivers will soon return from a knee injury to add a much-needed dimension to the offense. Defensively, though, the team is clicking quite nicely. Mario Moody was once again impressive off the ball, registering seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in only 22 minutes.

St. John’s 77, St. Francis 60
The problems continued for Glenn Braica’s group, as the Terriers have fallen to 2-7 on the young season. Tabbed fifth in the NEC Coach’s Preseason Poll, St. Francis Brooklyn has really struggled in the backcourt and today was no exception, especially when faced with the superior athleticism of St. John’s. John shared his thoughts on the game here.

Loyola (MD) 79, Mount St. Mary’s 57
The Catholic in-state battle was over right after it started, as Jamion Christian witnessed the ugliest loss of his young career tonight in Baltimore. Loyola jumped out to a 33-11 lead, and never looked back, winning comfortably at home. The first half stats painted a brutally dim picture for the Mountaineers: seven field goals, eight turnovers, 15 personal fouls, and an awful shooting percentage of 24%. Even worse, the MAYHEM was anything but that, as the Mount secured their first steal of the game 35 minutes in. Kristijan Krajina was the lone bright spot for the Mount, scoring 14 points while corralling seven boards in only 15 minutes. Everyone else struggled mightily, including a player I recently praised, Rashad Whack. Even though a beat down like this never happens at a good time, I’m willing to bet Christian secretly preferred it happened now rather than during the conference season. Loyola continued its excellent non-conference run, pushing their record to 9-3. Erik Etherly, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury for five games, came back to contribute 16 points. Senior Robert Olsen tormented the Mount’s defense inside and out, with a game high 22 points.

Robert Morris 91, Duquesne 69
I saved the best for last. The Andy Toole and Jim Ferry reunion ended badly for the first year head coach of the Dukes, as Robert Morris cruised in the second half to win their fourth straight against Duquesne going away. After a close battle through one half, the Colonials were able to control the pace (something Toole couldn’t do against Ferry in last year’s NEC title game) and go on a decisive run. Velton Jones had one of his best games of the season with 22 points and six assists. Robert Morris’ defense forced 25 turnovers and made 51% of their shots, including 13 of 28 from behind the arc. The victory is the Colonials fourth straight and seventh overall and has them rolling into late December. Starting with their upset victory over Ohio, Toole’s squad has easily looked like the best team in the NEC. For what it’s worth, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi agrees, having pegged Robert Morris as a future 14 seed. That may be a tad bullish, but a road win over Arkansas later this month would certainly cement that future seeding.

Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Early Season KenPom Trends for NEC Teams

With the young season now a month old, I felt this was a good opportunity to analyze some early season trends. I combed through Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistics to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of several NEC teams. Some trends will be of no surprise, but others I can bet were not expected. Continue reading “Early Season KenPom Trends for NEC Teams” →

NEC Week 5 Recap: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

After our most glowing NEC recap last Monday, this version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly isn’t all peaches and cream. Overall though, the conference had another solid week with the two biggest contenders in LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris continuing their winning streak and a little known junior college transfer entering the spotlight.

The Good

  • A Performance to Tell the Grandkids About – Later this week when I post my biggest individual surprises of the young season, I thought I would be all slick when I highlighted the play of Central Connecticut junior college transfer Matthew Hunter. With all of the attention going to teammate Kyle Vinales, and rightfully so, Hunter’s performance in the young season has been quietly productive. That is until Hunter had a historic performance on the road versus Big Ten power Indiana. Hunter’s 40 points (on only 25 shots) tied a record for the most points scored by an opponent in Assembly Hall. In the early going, Hunter has been the fourth most efficient player in the NEC, so if conference opponents weren’t paying attention to the energetic, highly skilled slasher, they sure are now. Vinales and Hunter are turning into a phenomenal one-two punch that will terrorize NEC opponents this winter.
  • More Like a 15 Seed – After an uneven start to the season, the Robert Morris Colonials are slowing morphing back into the Colonials of old, playing inspired defense and aggressively driving to the rim on offense. In their three game winning streak, Andy Toole’s group has outscored their opponents by an average of 11 points at the charity stripe, while forcing 47 turnovers. Lucky Jones has quietly been the most efficient player for Robert Morris, averaging 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Karvel Anderson has provided instant offense off the bench, as he’s shooting a fantastic 16 of 23 from behind the arc during the winning streak. Despite the recent success, Toole is still searching for a consistent effort for all 40 minutes, yet the upside of this Colonial group is quite intriguing.

The Bad

  • What Home Court Advantage? – This past Saturday marks another confounding home loss by the Quinnipiac Bobcats, who now have lost three times to non-conference opponents in the friendly confines of TD Bank Sports Center. The latest defeat to America East contender Vermont was the latest example of Quinnipiac’s inefficiencies on the offensive side of the ball. Tom Moore had hoped his team would execute better in the half court and push the ball a little more in transition, but so far neither plan has actually come to fruition yet. Poor free throw shooting continues to plague the Bobcats, with Quinnipiac missing nearly half of their 20 attempts versus Vermont. It’s an issue that may have little chance to resolve itself, so Moore will have to find creative ways to overcome this glaring deficiency.
  • Attacking the Rim – It has been a difficult start to the season for Glenn Braica, who finds his on the wrong end of these non-conference battles in year number three. The Terriers winless week now has them with a surprising record of 2-5. A quick glance at the statistics doesn’t illustrate any outragous trends, with the exception of one facet. St. Francis Brooklyn is doing a lousy job of getting to the charity stripe (bottom 20 nationally in free throw attempts per field goal attempts) and making them once at the line (59.6%). All other things equal, if you’re consisently getting outscored at the line most nights, it will usually be an uphill battle to make up the difference in points elsewhere. The Terriers need to be more aggressive getting into the lane.

The Ugly

  • Not Fit for a King – One of the things that makes King Rice good for Monmouth and the NEC is his competitive drive, although it was that same fire that got Rice in trouble with his athletic director. After a tough upset loss to Navy at home, Rice went off on the officials after he was ejected from the game for acquiring two technical fouls. The post-game tirade earned Rice a one game suspension and left him in the locker room for the Hawks’ showdown with Syracuse. Obviously, Rice’s presence wouldn’t have determined the outcome of the game, but Rice needs to exercise caution before ripping NCAA officials after a difficult loss. I’m sure the second year head coach has learned his lesson.
  • Where’s the Defense? – It was yet another winless week for the Sacred Heart Pioneers, as they dropped two contests to middling teams of the Patriot League. Sacred Heart had their opportunities to win both, but only before they had made exhaustive comebacks in each game. The biggest culprit is the defense, which has allowed 1.12 points per possession this season, good for third worst in the NEC. If the Pioneers are going to overcome the crippling injuries to the backcourt, then they’ll need defensive stops eventually. In crunch time versus Lafayette, the defense never stepped up. In fact, the Pioneers gave up 17 Lafayette points in their final 12 possessions, good for a 1.42 PPP. That will simply not get it done.

Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

NEC Week 4 Recap: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The NEC had their best overall week of the young season. For once, I had to really search for topics to place in the bad and ugly sections! It was a banner week across the board; some of the preseason top teams and some of the bottom teams elevated their level, so let’s sift through it all in our fourth edition of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

  • The Big Upset – Despite a lackluster effort versus Savannah State early in the week, Robert Morris headlines this section because of their upset victory over Ohio. Jim Christian’s Bobcats came in with a perfect 6-0 record and a #30 rating courtesy of Ken Pomeroy, but could not overcome the amazing performance of Colonial guard Karvel Anderson. The JC transfer hit all ten of his shots – eight from three-point range – to score 28 points in the win. Heading in, Ohio was a team of many strengths but Robert Morris wisely exploited one of their biggest weaknesses by staying aggressive on the offensive end. The Colonials made a season high 28 free throws on 35 attempts. The win gives Robert Morris a fighting chance to earn a non-16 seed should they represent the NEC in the big dance. For now though, it’s one of the biggest NEC victories in recent memory and could ultimately serve as the moment that turned the Colonials season around.
  • The Brooklyn Boys Are Back – Well well well. It’s nice to finally see the defending NEC champs in this section. After losing their first four contests – two of them as favorites – Jack Perri’s squad took care of business at the Wellness Center by defeating Columbia and Lafayette. Offense had never been the issue during the early skid, but as John explained here, the defense was in lock down mode for the week. In the two victories, LIU has held their opponents to only 0.87 points per possession, quite an improvement over their 1.21 points allowed per possession in the first four games. Julian Boyd, after suffering through a back injury and some untimely cramps, appears to be back to full strength. A healthy Boyd, along with major contributions from Jamal Olasewere, Jason Brickman, and C.J. Garner, has the Blackbirds poised to do some damage in the near future during their non-conference tilt. Getting frontcourt backups Kenny Onyechi and Booker Hucks will also help in that regard.
  • A Young Beast in the Middle – With almost a fifth of the regular season completed (I know, crazy huh?), it’s finally appropriate to highlight the phenomenal early play of St. Francis Brooklyn sophomore Jalen Cannon. Through five games, Cannon leads all NEC players in efficiency rating, rebounds per game (9.6), and is third in effective field goal percentage (66.7 eFG%), trailing only Brickman and teammate Kevin Douglas. It’s Cannon’s scoring, not his rebounding, that’s the biggest surprise early on. He has scored in double digits in four of five games and is averaging 16 points per game. If he keeps this pace up, he may very well make a run at the NEC Player of the Year as a mere sophomore. I see a lot of All-NEC first teams in his future.
  • Mayhem Has Arrived – Jamion Christian’s MAYHEM system has captured the attention of the league, but the Mayhem officially took hold on Monday when the Mount impressively upset the George Washington Colonials on their home floor. The Colonials were caught off guard with the Mount’s pressure, coughing up the ball 25 times and failing to hit a single three-pointer in the ugly loss. Afterwards, the Mount held on for an equally ugly one point victory over Binghamton, who may be one of the worst programs in the country. But, a win is a win, and the two game winning streak pulls the Mount back to 0.500. They’ll certainly be a tough out any night for future NEC opponents.
  • Hawks Soaring by December – At this point last season, King Rice’s Hawks were still searching for their first victory. In fairness, Monmouth had a brutal non-conference schedule – including Villanova, Virginia Tech, George Mason, and Vanderbilt – that was too difficult to overcome for a first year head coach. With a season now under their belt, Monmouth and their vaunted pressure defense (seventh nationally in turnover rate) has them at 4-3 on the season, with a three game winning streak. The offense is still hit or miss, but the Hawks will be a difficult matchup for any team on any given night with their in-your-face defense. If Monmouth shoots the ball well from the perimeter, then they’ll win more often then not. When they’ve shot better than 33% from beyond the arc this season, they have yet to lose.

The Bad

  • The Same Issues – Quinnipiac’s rebounding and defense has been good enough in the early going, yet the Bobcats are still having difficultly creating offense in the half-court set. The Bobcats are shooting 43% from the floor, which isn’t all that bad, yet they’ve had difficult closing games out late in the second half. The double OT loss to UConn was a prime example, and last week the Bobcats had a few opportunities to grab the lead from Lehigh, yet they failed to do so (you gotta make your free throws, Mr. Shaq Shannon). It’s the same problem that plagued the Bobcats last season, but without All-NEC second teamer James Johnson, the problem is exacerbated somewhat. Whether it’s creating more opportunities in transition or juggling around his crunch time lineup, Tom Moore needs to figure how his team can score more efficiently when the game is on the line.

The Ugly

  • On the Mend in Fairfield – If it wasn’t for a couple of improbable comebacks against Yale and Stony Brook, the Sacred Heart Pioneers could find themselves in the same company as the St. Francis Red Flash. As in winless. Currently, the backcourt is near shambles with Chris Evans and Evan Kelley out indefinitely with knee injuries. It got even worse before their eventual loss to Brown, when Steve Glowiak sat out with a sprained ankle and Shane Gibson hurt his knee diving for a loose ball in the first half. The rash of injuries forced Dave Bike to play freshman walk-on Louis Cramer nine minutes in the second half of the Brown game. Sacred Heart needs their guards to get healthy fast, but at this point it wouldn’t be the worst idea to wait until the conference season begins to get some his guards completely healthy. If their backcourt depth is this compromised come January, the Pioneers will certainly struggle to even make the NEC playoffs. That’s not what this fan envisioned for his alma mater in Gibson and Justin Swidowski’s senior season.

Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

UIC Leading Biggest Movers In Pomeroy Rankings

Considering the volume of games a college basketball team plays we’re constantly being bombarded with data points. There’s no place that’s more evident than ranking systems such as Ken Pomeroy. Each week we’re going to look at the biggest movers and why they moved. Continue reading “UIC Leading Biggest Movers In Pomeroy Rankings” →

Preview: Mid-major power Ohio visits Robert Morris

Tonight, the Robert Morris Colonials take on the Ohio Bobcats, who captured the audience’s attention last season by making it into the Sweet 16 of NCAA tourney. D.J. Cooper and company were finally bounced out by the Tar Heels, in overtime no less, so it was a magical season for the defending Mid-American champions. Now, Ohio has a new coach, but returns their top eight players in terms of efficiency rating. This may be, check that, this is the best away opponent any NEC program will face this season (Ken Pomeroy has Ohio rated #30 in the nation). I’m fully aware of the Colonials strong non-conference home record, but an upset here would be a fantastic, #15 seed resume building victory, should Andy Toole’s squad pull it off.

It won’t be easy. Ohio is off to a wonderful start this season, having already beaten up on several mid-major programs in order to compile an impressive 6-0 record. The real test, at least to the major media, will occur four days from today, when Ohio travels to Tennessee to square off against the slumping Memphis Tigers.

Before then, however, Ohio will need to defeat a Robert Morris that handed the Bobcats their only home loss last season. For the special occasion, I asked Hustle Belt writer Matt Sussman for his thoughts on Ohio. He does a good job blogging for SB Nation and an even better job on Twitter @suss2hyphens. If you enjoy the blending of sports and humor, with a dash of sarcasm, Matt is someone who should occupy your timeline. And of course, check out the coverage at Colonials Corner for the latest on Robert Morris basketball.

Four Key Questions:

Typically, teams will struggle at least a little when a new coach is brought in. LIU and Wagner, who are both veteran squads that enjoyed success last season, have struggled since Jim Ferry and Dan Hurley left to take jobs in the A10. What has Jim Christian done to make sure the transition has gone so smoothly in the early going?

MS: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it? I can’t speak for the other two teams, but my understanding is those are their first DI head coaching jobs. Christian has done this before, and he also previously coached in the MAC at Kent State, a very similar program.

What’s the best way to attack this team defensively in your opinion? With a potent backcourt led by D.J. Cooper, are there any defensive schemes that have been able to slow down this offensively efficient team in the past?

MS: You can’t really focus on any one guy, and there’s no magic bullet here, but it’s like any other superior team: try to force them to shoot jumpers. You saw this a little bit against them last year, but once in a while DJ Cooper goes into heroball mode, and if it works they’re unbeatable, but — and this happened against UNC in the Sweet 16 — he can’t buy a basket yet will keep trying. Basically keep Cooper out of the lane and make sure that Reggie Keely isn’t getting any easy put-back points.

The past two seasons, Ohio has been fantastic in forcing turnovers. Given their high steal rates, I’d assume this is a team that will pressure you in the full court? Talk a little about their ability to defend and the best way to attack it.

MS: Yes, they’ll do some pressure off the inbounds. But I don’t believe it to be the primary reason they create turnovers so well. It’s just everybody is so darn good at defending, starting with Cooper on the perimeter. Jon Smith is their best defender down low. Again, the key against them is to play smart. Create your own turnovers and you can get some transition points. And really try to stay patient and attack them inside: teams are not scoring well against them but they are making 48 percent of their 2-pointers.

Ohio is off to their best start since 1969 and their average margin of victory is better than 20 points/game so far, but is there an Achilles Heel with this team? Are their one or two weaknesses that coach Christian should be concerned about moving forward?

MS: Clearly they’re not flawless. They’re taking excellent shots and playing tough defense. But they are prone to turnovers (20 percent TO rate) and their rebounding numbers are some of the lowest in the country. The Bobcats are going to lose some games — more than a handful, I’d reckon — and these reasons could be their downfalls.

Three Key Stats:

  • Robert Morris’ defense – This goes without saying, but Ohio is shooting the basketball at rediculously efficient clips at the moment; they’re in the top 10 nationally in effective field goal percentage at 57.8%. So far, Robert Morris isn’t defending well, as they find themselves in the bottom quarter of the country in two-point and three-point defense. After their atrocious start against Rider and Lehigh though, the defense has been better of late. They’ll certainly need to play defend at a high level tonight.
  • Attacking the Glass – As Matt mentioned above, the Bobcats aren’t the greatest team rebounding, but then again, when you’re making a high percentage of your shots, it isn’t terribly prudent to possess spendid rebounding rates. If Robert Morris can force Ohio to take contested jump shots, then Mike McFadden, Lucky Jones, and company need to clean off the glass.
  • Getting to the Tin – Ohio may turnover opponents at a fantastic rate (#1 nationally at 32.9% TO rate), but they are prone to fouling. And wouldn’t you know, Robert Morris thrives at getting to the line! If the Colonials can drive the lane with success, then they’ll have a fighting chance tonight. In the two games Velton Jones had at least ten free throw attempts, his Colonials won both games. Ten free throws should be the magic number for the senior point guard.

One Pomeroy Prediction: Ohio is a moderate road favorite with a 71% chance to pull off the victory, 68-62.

Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride