Text Size:
A|
A|
A
Email
Print
Robert Morris men's basketball coach Mike Rice might have been a communications major at Fordham University, but he plays a statistician at news conferences.
Rice insists that if the Colonials (12-8, 7-1) want to win the Northeast Conference, they'll have to finish among the top two in the NEC in field-goal percentage defense.
• Game: : Robert Morris (12-8, 7-1 NEC) vs. Long Island (8-11, 6-2), 7:30 p.m. today, Sewall Center, Moon.
• TV, radio, Internet: WPIT-AM (730); RMUColonials.com.
• Duquesne: Won two games by double digits in road trip last week. ... Is on a five-game winning streak. ... Is tied with Quinnipiac for first place in Northeast Conference. ... Last loss at Long Island, its only loss in conference play.
• Xavier: Beat Mount St. Mary's, 67-58, Saturday. ... Beat Colonials, 74-64, Jan. 7. ... Junior guard Kyle Johnson led all scorers with 22 points in win against Robert Morris.
• Hidden stat: Under Mike Rice, the Colonials are 4-0 when playing a team that beat them earlier that season.
History backs him up. Since the 2003-04 season, four of the six NEC schools to win the conference tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament finished first or second in field-goal percentage defense.
Of the 22 teams to compete in the 2009 NCAA tournament from one-bid leagues, 15 finished first or second in their conference in field-goal percentage defense. Only one school did not finish among the top four in its conference.
Currently, the Colonials are third in the NEC in that category, allowing opponents to make 42.5 percent of their field-goal tries.
Quinnipiac (13-6, 7-1), which is tied with the Colonials for first place in the conference, leads the NEC in field-goal percentage defense at 40.6 percent.
The next opportunity for the Colonials' defense to improve comes tonight when they play host to Long Island (8-11, 6-2) at 7:30 p.m. at the Sewall Center in Moon. The Blackbirds are the only NEC team to beat Robert Morris this season -- a 74-64 win in Brooklyn Jan. 7.
Interior defensive struggles doomed the Colonials in that game. Robert Morris allowed 30 points in the paint, and Long Island freshman forwards Kenny Onyechi and Jamal Olasewere combined for 27 points.
"I was shocked how we backed down from two freshmen," Rice said.
Robert Morris senior forward Dallas Green said the Colonials' defensive attack needs to be more balanced. Last time against the Blackbirds, Robert Morris focused on stopping Long Island's guards.
"We know it's a guard-oriented team, but we need to stop their bigs, too," he said.
Since that game, the Colonials have improved defensively. In four of the five games since the loss, Robert Morris has held opponents under 40 percent shooting en route to five consecutive wins.
Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
