Why Rhody MBB Could Be Eliminated Early in the 2018 NCAA Tournament

The foundation for the reasons why URI could be eliminated early in the 2018 NCAA tournament is rooted from their Achilles heels (that I covered previously). To my dismay, not many improvements have been made on their fatal flaws and the Achilles heels continue to shine through.

To start, a perfect example of the Rams turning the ball over in key situations was shown when E.C. Matthews turned the ball over with 1:26 remaining in the Atlantic 10 championship game. With his team leading 57-56 and a Davidson double team following him all over the basketball court, URI's #0 dribbled in a circle until he lost the ball on his own.

Second, URI's free throw shooting has been abysmal in recent history, including in the 2018 Atlantic 10 tournament. Every time that Cyril Langevine went to the charity stripe for big free throws against Davidson, a split of the pair was considered an accomplishment. In fact, the CBS announcers assumed that the East Orange native would miss both. Even in their quarterfinal win over VCU, they shot 11-19 (57.9%) from the free throw line.

Third, when Dan Hurley's team needed big baskets to seal the deal versus Davidson, they were not able to do so. URI rallying back and grabbing a 57-56 lead was great but their loss after that seemed inevitable. On their final offensive possession of the game, there was no continuity on the play and it led to a Jeff Dowtin air ball for the loss. As previously mentioned in the article that highlighted URI's Achilles heels, there was too much standing around on the final play. E.C. Matthews got denied of any good shooting angle on his drive and the play looked in total disarray at that point. There was not enough cutting or movement by the other four Rhode Island players.

In general, URI has been falling in love with the jump shot to the cause of their demise. Against zone defenses like that of Saint Joseph's, the Rams have struggled. The intention of Phil Martelli's zone was to take away all Rhode Island drives to the basket and only allow jump shots to possibly beat his team. In their first matchup of 2018 that shocked the college basketball world, the Hawks' zone helped them destroy the Atlantic 10 regular season champions by 30 in the Ryan Center. In that game on February 27, 2018, URI shot 3-29 from beyond the arc. Moreover, in their semifinal game in the 2018 Atlantic 10 tournament, URI escaped with a three-point win (thanks to an injury to Shavar Newkirk). Luckily, they shot 14-31 from deep but they do not want to "live and die" by the three ball on a consistent basis. Furthermore, in their loss to Davidson in the championship game, they shot just 38.5% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range (8-23). If your shot from the perimeter is not falling in a single game in March Madness, you're going home.