The win streak for RMU Basketball ended up at three on Thursday, falling 78-76 in overtime at Detroit Mercy. They don’t have to travel far for their next opponent, taking on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies this weekend.
Oakland, the Cinderella darling of the NCAA Tournament last season, is 5-10 overall and 2-2 in Horizon League play, though they’re coming off a 65-49 win over first-place Milwaukee. Here’s a look at what the Colonials need to do to win the game.
1. Alvaro Folgueiras two-way bounce-back game
It was arguably the worst game for the sophomore star in his last outing, with Folgueiras scoring just nine points on 2/11 FG. He did have eight rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks but the team needed his scoring offense to beat Detroit Mercy. They’ll also need him to have a good defensive game, taking on Oakland’s lead scorer, Allen David Mukeba (13.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg).
2. Running Malcolm Christie off the 3-point line
Oakland has one of the worst scoring offenses in the country, scoring 64.7 ppg (349th). One of the few ways they’ve been able to score is when Christie, a 6’5 transfer guard from Canada, goes off. He’s averaging 10.3 ppg on 31% shooting from deep, including a pair of 20+ point games in the Diamond Head Classic. Christie also can go cold, making two of his last 17 shot attempts. If he doesn’t go off, the Colonials’ odds of winning will be good.
3. Battle of (lack of) 3-pointers
Neither team is very good from beyond the arc. Oakland is ranked 359 out of 364 teams with 27%, while RMU has fallen to 346th at under 29% after going 4/23 in the loss at Detroit. In four games in league play, the Colonials rank dead last at just 20% shooting from deep. They do rank near the top in three-point defense, which has kept them in games.
They’ll need to not only keep it that way but find a way to make shots of their own to get the victory and avoid going 1-4 in league play.