Rhode Island Basketball: Keys for the Rams to knock off Oklahoma

Dominate the turnover battle

To me, the turnover battle is where Rhode Island will win this game. On the offensive end of the floor, Rhode Island’s turns the ball over on 15.5% of their total possessions, a mark that ranks 21st in the nation. Thanks to the experience and poise of the Rams’ backcourt, they are not flustered by a late-game press and they always look to make the “right” pass rather than the risky one.

On the other side, Oklahoma struggled to hang onto the ball. As a team, the Sooners give the ball away on 17.3% of their possessions, which is good enough for 99th in the country. Even though Trae Young does a ton of incredible things with the ball in his hands, he also has a high turnover percentage (19.9% of possessions). Considering his usage rate lands at a whopping 38.5%, it is mandatory that he takes care of the battle well in this game.

However, that will not be easy. Rhode Island forces opponents into turnovers on 22.9% of possessions. This is elite opportunistic defense that puts the Rams in third place nationally in the category. In turn, the team is able to get on the fastbreak and pile up a lead in a hurry. If this is to occur, Oklahoma is going to need to force Rhody into mistakes, something that does not happen very often.

I already touched on Rhode Island’s tremendous ability to avoid turnovers but it is also important to notice how poorly Oklahoma creates them. On the season, the Sooners force giveaways on only 22.9% of possessions. This puts them at 256th in this category, a mark that is well below the national average.

Overall, I feel like the tournament experience of Rhode Island will play an even big factor in making the turnover margin even bigger than these numbers express. The Rams were a second-round team last season (who lost to a Final Four team in Oregon) with plenty of returners. Oklahoma, on the other hand, went just 11-20, missed the tournament, and brought in a freshman class that, although talented, has never played in an NCAA Tournament game (All statistics found on T-Rank).