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

Limit free throw attempts and foul trouble

This is fairly obvious, I admit. In any game, each team wants to prevent their opponent from getting to the free throw line. It is not only free points but it can often mean a star player has to sit on the bench due to foul trouble. In this matchup, it is just as important. Even though Oklahoma does not get to the free line a ton (263rd best FTA rate), they are at their best when they do.

On the season, Oklahoma holds an 18-13 record. In games where they have attempted at least 25 free throws, the Sooners are 9-2. This means that they are an under-.500 team (9-11) when held to less than that amount of free throws. And that is only attempts. They rise to 8-1 in games where they actually convert on 20 of their foul shots.

This is where Oklahoma has a huge advantage because Rhode Island consistently allows teams to get to the line (308th in the country in FTA rate allowed). Thankfully, due a relatively slow pace of play (148th in the country), the Rams do not allow their opponents to hit 25 FTA in games often, as it only occurred four times in 32 games.

As most of you would probably expect, Oklahoma’s Young is one of the best in the nation at reaching the charity stripe. On his own, he attempts 8.6 free throws per game, knocking home 86.1% of those shots. If Stanford Robinson (an All-A10 level defender) is the one to be given the matchup with Young, he must avoid fouling on 3-point shots and drives to the hoop.