Post by Commissioner on Feb 23, 2021 11:07:09 GMT -5
Horizon League Tournament Opening Round: Robert Morris
When: Thursday, February 25, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Calihan Hall (no fans)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM
Computer rankings in the 140-170 range, and overall 11-9 record, and we're flying high again? It's amazing what a few good games will do for ya. The Titans have won 10 of their last 12 games--twelve games is about 40 percent of a normal season--and suddenly it's fun to be a fan again. That's all it took?
Sure, 8 of the 10 wins have come against teams with overall losing records, and a 9th against a squad with a losing record in D-1 games: Who cares? Sure, a Titan team that loses at any point in the conference tournament has no post-season possibilities whatsoever: Who cares? It fun to be winning again for the first time in a long time.
And it's a fun team to watch, with players who play with increasing confidence and increasingly play well together. We've got a couple of unusual talents in Antoine Davis and Noah Waterman, a very good forward in Bul Kuol, the athleticism of Chris Brandon, the shooting of Matt Johnson, and some gritty blue collar types in Marquel Fraser, Dwayne Rose, and Willy Isiani. Those 8 are the rotation now. Buay Koka seems to have gotten himself into the doghouse; Brad Calipari has, for all intents and purposes, already started his coaching career; the three freshman guards won't see the court in the tournament absent a blowout; and Taurean Thompson... well, this is one of the strangest episodes in Titan history in some time. So the rotation is set--it seems like the first time we've had a clear rotation in some years--and we know what the Titans will look like in this tournament.
And the Titans appear to be the popular dark horse pick to win it.
From the Oakland Board: "I thought it was fated that we'd end up in number 4 and Detroit in number 5 spot setting up an inevitable showdown with a hot Detroit squad at the O'rena. I'm relieved that possibility seems unlikely, at least for the quarterfinals."
From the Wright State Board:
Poster 1: "I’d be interested to see who people think would be good if we avoid in the HL tournament?"
Responses:
"I would not want to play ysu or Detroit."
"Detroit. Different team than when we played them."
"NKU and Detroit."
"I want no part of Detroit. They've been on a monumental roll. We have also historically struggled against "pickup" style basketball. Detroit plays fast, aggressive, and haphazardly. ... Hopefully they end up leapfrogging NKU as the 4 and then CSU would likey get them in the semis and we would most likely see Oakland (as it stands now)."
"Wouldn't be surprised at all if Detroit ends up on the 3 line with NKU 4 and Oakland falling to 5. That would put us playing Detroit likely in the semis, not what we want."
"I like where we are. ... avoiding NKU is always great. We also are likely to avoid Detroit."
"Really happy with how the bracket laid out. Definitely cheering for Oakland as I like WSU's chances against them in the semifinals. Not playing NKU/Detroit likely until the finals is great."
"I think the team to watch is certainly Detroit ... I think if both teams play the best they can, Detroit beats Cleveland State in the semis. I think if both teams play average, Detroit beats Cleveland State also. I think if Detroit was at the top of their game, they'd beat us too right now."
Cleveland State board:
"CSU will likely play either Northern Kentucky or Detroit unless both get upset on the way to the semi finals (assuming CSU makes it that far). Those are the 2 teams I didn't want to face the most."
"It should have been Oakland as #5 seed. It seemed pretty clear cut that the 3/4 should been Detroit / Northern Kentucky in some order. How a 10-10 team beats out two teams that are 10-6 and 11-7 is pretty absurd and gives Wright State the better draw despite CSU being the #1 seed. It is pretty clear Northern Kentucky an Detroit are both playing the best basketball and have by far better records. Without a bunch of upsets we clearly got screwed."
"There definitely are some teams that are scarier than others (namely 2-5 Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Oakland and Detroit)."
"Our path will likely be Milwaukee then the winner of Northern Kentucky / Detroit. If I was a betting man I would bet this is where CSU gets screwed over because of the terrible job the Horizon did seeding teams instead of playing Oakland we lose to the Detroit/Northern Kentucky winner."
"We’d just need one upset in the quarters to not face the NKU/Detroit winner."
From Busting Brackets (After listing Wright State as the favorite):
The team that may surprise by winning the tournament – Detroit Mercy
"They do not have a first-round bye but they should beat the last place team at home as they had just done this past weekend in their opening tournament game. They have won ten of their last twelve games and they have beat four of the top seven seeds in the conference at least once including an impressive road victory at No. 1 seed Cleveland State. They can shoot beyond the arc and can score points in a hurry and they are lead by conference player of the year candidate Antoine Davis who can do it all as a guard. It would not be a total shock and surprise if they found a way to win this tournament."
They then predict an 11 point Titan win in Round 1 against Bob Morris, beat NKU in the quarterfinals by 3, beat CSU in the semis by 2, and lose to Wright State in the final.
Mid-Major Madness favors Wright State to win the tournament, listing CSU, Detroit, and NKU as other possibilities, and predicting WSU over the Titans in the title game. "Antoine Davis is playing the best ball of his career, and that’s simply something that other Horizon League teams do not want to hear."
As for Thursday's game against RMU, well, we just saw Robert Morris twice, so there's not much to add to that. At least based on last weekend, Charles Bain looks like the guy for the Titans to stop--he had 19 and 18 points last weekend, his two highest scoring games since November of 2018. Jon Williams, the Colonials best player with AJ Bramah gone, was effective on Friday (14 points, 4-8 from three), but had perhaps his worst game of the year in Saturday's blow out, going 0-5 from three (he's a 43% shooter on the year) and turning it over a season high 4 times (he's been at the top of the country in assist/turnover ratio--his previous turnover high in a game was 2). Freshman Kam Farris was 5-11 from behind the arc over the two games, and got too many wide open looks. The Titan zone gave RMU fits on Friday, but the Colonials seem to have figured it out by Saturday. The Titans then stayed 1 step ahead by switching to man-to-man, which again gave RMU problems. Perhaps on Thursday the Colonials will be ready for both.
The Titans ought to win this game--Rogobob dug around and found the stats: "the team that won the first 2 games won the third meeting 72.4% of the time." We're better. We're at home. But there is no room for complacency. Robert Morris has some shooters. They are well-coached, and they play hard. This is it, one bad night, one big upset, one game caught snoozing or looking ahead, and your season is done.
Go Titans!
Robert Morris Starters
PG: Jon Williams, 6-1 Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.9 apg, 42.7% 3PtFG)
G: Deante Treacy, 6-0 Jr. (6.9 ppg, 4.8 apg, 30.3% 3PtFG)
G: Kam Farris, 6-3 Fr. (7.9 ppg, 46.4% 3PtFG)
F: Charles Bain, 6-8 Sr. (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 25.5% 3PtFG)
F: Khaliel Spear, 6-7 Jr. (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 27.3% 3PtFG)
Key Reserves
G: Trayden Williams, 5-11 Fr. (7.4 ppg, 2.0 apg, 33.3% 3PtFG)
G: Enoch Cheeks, 6-3 Fr. (5.3 ppg, 25.0% 3PtFG)
SF: Cameron Wilbon, 6-5 RS Soph. (5.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
PF: Patrick Suemnick, 6-8 Fr. (2.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
When: Thursday, February 25, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Calihan Hall (no fans)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM
Computer rankings in the 140-170 range, and overall 11-9 record, and we're flying high again? It's amazing what a few good games will do for ya. The Titans have won 10 of their last 12 games--twelve games is about 40 percent of a normal season--and suddenly it's fun to be a fan again. That's all it took?
Sure, 8 of the 10 wins have come against teams with overall losing records, and a 9th against a squad with a losing record in D-1 games: Who cares? Sure, a Titan team that loses at any point in the conference tournament has no post-season possibilities whatsoever: Who cares? It fun to be winning again for the first time in a long time.
And it's a fun team to watch, with players who play with increasing confidence and increasingly play well together. We've got a couple of unusual talents in Antoine Davis and Noah Waterman, a very good forward in Bul Kuol, the athleticism of Chris Brandon, the shooting of Matt Johnson, and some gritty blue collar types in Marquel Fraser, Dwayne Rose, and Willy Isiani. Those 8 are the rotation now. Buay Koka seems to have gotten himself into the doghouse; Brad Calipari has, for all intents and purposes, already started his coaching career; the three freshman guards won't see the court in the tournament absent a blowout; and Taurean Thompson... well, this is one of the strangest episodes in Titan history in some time. So the rotation is set--it seems like the first time we've had a clear rotation in some years--and we know what the Titans will look like in this tournament.
And the Titans appear to be the popular dark horse pick to win it.
From the Oakland Board: "I thought it was fated that we'd end up in number 4 and Detroit in number 5 spot setting up an inevitable showdown with a hot Detroit squad at the O'rena. I'm relieved that possibility seems unlikely, at least for the quarterfinals."
From the Wright State Board:
Poster 1: "I’d be interested to see who people think would be good if we avoid in the HL tournament?"
Responses:
"I would not want to play ysu or Detroit."
"Detroit. Different team than when we played them."
"NKU and Detroit."
"I want no part of Detroit. They've been on a monumental roll. We have also historically struggled against "pickup" style basketball. Detroit plays fast, aggressive, and haphazardly. ... Hopefully they end up leapfrogging NKU as the 4 and then CSU would likey get them in the semis and we would most likely see Oakland (as it stands now)."
"Wouldn't be surprised at all if Detroit ends up on the 3 line with NKU 4 and Oakland falling to 5. That would put us playing Detroit likely in the semis, not what we want."
"I like where we are. ... avoiding NKU is always great. We also are likely to avoid Detroit."
"Really happy with how the bracket laid out. Definitely cheering for Oakland as I like WSU's chances against them in the semifinals. Not playing NKU/Detroit likely until the finals is great."
"I think the team to watch is certainly Detroit ... I think if both teams play the best they can, Detroit beats Cleveland State in the semis. I think if both teams play average, Detroit beats Cleveland State also. I think if Detroit was at the top of their game, they'd beat us too right now."
Cleveland State board:
"CSU will likely play either Northern Kentucky or Detroit unless both get upset on the way to the semi finals (assuming CSU makes it that far). Those are the 2 teams I didn't want to face the most."
"It should have been Oakland as #5 seed. It seemed pretty clear cut that the 3/4 should been Detroit / Northern Kentucky in some order. How a 10-10 team beats out two teams that are 10-6 and 11-7 is pretty absurd and gives Wright State the better draw despite CSU being the #1 seed. It is pretty clear Northern Kentucky an Detroit are both playing the best basketball and have by far better records. Without a bunch of upsets we clearly got screwed."
"There definitely are some teams that are scarier than others (namely 2-5 Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Oakland and Detroit)."
"Our path will likely be Milwaukee then the winner of Northern Kentucky / Detroit. If I was a betting man I would bet this is where CSU gets screwed over because of the terrible job the Horizon did seeding teams instead of playing Oakland we lose to the Detroit/Northern Kentucky winner."
"We’d just need one upset in the quarters to not face the NKU/Detroit winner."
From Busting Brackets (After listing Wright State as the favorite):
The team that may surprise by winning the tournament – Detroit Mercy
"They do not have a first-round bye but they should beat the last place team at home as they had just done this past weekend in their opening tournament game. They have won ten of their last twelve games and they have beat four of the top seven seeds in the conference at least once including an impressive road victory at No. 1 seed Cleveland State. They can shoot beyond the arc and can score points in a hurry and they are lead by conference player of the year candidate Antoine Davis who can do it all as a guard. It would not be a total shock and surprise if they found a way to win this tournament."
They then predict an 11 point Titan win in Round 1 against Bob Morris, beat NKU in the quarterfinals by 3, beat CSU in the semis by 2, and lose to Wright State in the final.
Mid-Major Madness favors Wright State to win the tournament, listing CSU, Detroit, and NKU as other possibilities, and predicting WSU over the Titans in the title game. "Antoine Davis is playing the best ball of his career, and that’s simply something that other Horizon League teams do not want to hear."
As for Thursday's game against RMU, well, we just saw Robert Morris twice, so there's not much to add to that. At least based on last weekend, Charles Bain looks like the guy for the Titans to stop--he had 19 and 18 points last weekend, his two highest scoring games since November of 2018. Jon Williams, the Colonials best player with AJ Bramah gone, was effective on Friday (14 points, 4-8 from three), but had perhaps his worst game of the year in Saturday's blow out, going 0-5 from three (he's a 43% shooter on the year) and turning it over a season high 4 times (he's been at the top of the country in assist/turnover ratio--his previous turnover high in a game was 2). Freshman Kam Farris was 5-11 from behind the arc over the two games, and got too many wide open looks. The Titan zone gave RMU fits on Friday, but the Colonials seem to have figured it out by Saturday. The Titans then stayed 1 step ahead by switching to man-to-man, which again gave RMU problems. Perhaps on Thursday the Colonials will be ready for both.
The Titans ought to win this game--Rogobob dug around and found the stats: "the team that won the first 2 games won the third meeting 72.4% of the time." We're better. We're at home. But there is no room for complacency. Robert Morris has some shooters. They are well-coached, and they play hard. This is it, one bad night, one big upset, one game caught snoozing or looking ahead, and your season is done.
Go Titans!
Robert Morris Starters
PG: Jon Williams, 6-1 Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.9 apg, 42.7% 3PtFG)
G: Deante Treacy, 6-0 Jr. (6.9 ppg, 4.8 apg, 30.3% 3PtFG)
G: Kam Farris, 6-3 Fr. (7.9 ppg, 46.4% 3PtFG)
F: Charles Bain, 6-8 Sr. (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 25.5% 3PtFG)
F: Khaliel Spear, 6-7 Jr. (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 27.3% 3PtFG)
Key Reserves
G: Trayden Williams, 5-11 Fr. (7.4 ppg, 2.0 apg, 33.3% 3PtFG)
G: Enoch Cheeks, 6-3 Fr. (5.3 ppg, 25.0% 3PtFG)
SF: Cameron Wilbon, 6-5 RS Soph. (5.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
PF: Patrick Suemnick, 6-8 Fr. (2.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg)