After falling at home to Cleveland State, RMU Basketball has an important home game against Wright State on Sunday before a three-game road trip. The Raiders are 3-3 in Horizon League play, coming off wins over Green Bay and Oakland at home.
At 2-4, the Colonials have to find a way to beat Wright State to avoid the bottom-tier of the conference. Here are three specific keys for them in this matchup.
1. Prepare for Andrea Holden
If you don’t know who Holden is, it’s understandable because he’s literally played just two games. The 6’6 freshman forward burned his redshirt and averaged 11 ppg and 9.0 rpg in the last two wins, earning Horizon League Freshman of the Week. He’s a good athlete who can rebound on both ends and the Colonials need to get a body on him when he’s on the floor.
2. Run Alex Huibregtse off the three-point line
Wright State, including Holden, has one of the top frontcourts in the Horizon League. Brandon Noel leads the team with 18.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while Jack Doumbia is averaging around 15 ppg through league games. They’re also a quality shooting team, led by Alex Huibregtse with 14.2 ppg on 39% three-point shooting with seven attempts a game. They'll have a good shot at winning if he has a big game combined with the frontcourt projected to do well.
3. Getting more from DJ Smith and Ryan Prather
The Colonials have four consistent scorers, led by Kam Woods (14.9 ppg), along with the frontcourt duo of Alvaro Folgueiras and Amarion Dickerson. Even Josh Omojafo (11.4 ppg on 42% FG) has been a double-digit threat. The issue has been that if a couple of the four players has off games, they’re vulnerable to lose to anyone.
The key will be getting more from the fifth guy in the rotation. DJ Smith has struggled in the last three games, combining for 11 points on 3/14 FG. Meanwhile, Prather, the team’s 6th man, has six straight games in single-digit scoring, making 7/17 in the last three games. They’ll need more from both of them to keep up with a potent offense like Wright State’s.