It was a strong non-conference conclusion for RMU Basketball in the past week, beating Towson and rival Saint Francis to go to 8-5 on the season. They’re back in Horizon League action, where they have to dig out of a 0-2 hole after losing to Youngstown State and Purdue-Fort Wayne earlier on.
The Colonials are still home, taking on Northern Kentucky (7-6, 2-0). After a slow start to the season, the Norse have won five straight games, including over IU Indy and Detroit Mercy, to open league play. In what should be a close matchup, here are the keys to RMU getting the win.
1. Alvaro Folgueiras vs Keeyan Itejere
Folgueiras is coming off a career-high 27 points and 16 rebounds in the last game against Saint Francis and has emerged as RMU’s best player. His expected individual matchup will be against Itejere, a 6’9 athletic forward from NKU. He’s one of the best frontcourt defenders in the Horizon, and if he limits Folguerias, the Norse will have a good shot at winning.
2. Slow down Josh Dilling
The star of NKU’s offense is 6’6 forward Trey Robinson, who leads them with 15.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg. However, the offense overall isn’t great due to some shooting issues. The guy who makes their offense click when he’s on is Dilling, a D-II transfer who is third on the team with 11.2 ppg on 40% from three-point range on over six attempts. If he’s not making his shots, then the Norse will struggle to score enough to win.
3. Make some shots from deep
Neither team is great from beyond the arc, shooting below 31% on the season. In the loss to Youngstown State, RMU shot 3/22 from deep. If they replicate that, they’ll end up being 0-3 in league play.