Brendon Mulvihill is an RTC contributor. You can find him @themulv on Twitter.  See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

Thanksgiving is for food, family, and football.  But around these parts, we like to throw a big heaping pile of college hoops on our plate also.  Keep an eye on these games as you sit around the table with your loved ones.  Happy Thanksgiving from RTC!

Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles Look Solid on Defense Once Again

#19 Florida State vs. Massachusetts  – 4:30PM EST on Versus (**)

• Florida State’s defense is picking-up right where it left off last season. While the Seminoles have not played any offensive juggernauts to this point in the season, they are still holding teams to an impossibly low .86 points per possession (adjusted). Keep an eye on the perimeter defense, as FSU’s set of 6’5” guards, Michael Snaer and Delvidas Dulkys, will likely have to deal with UMass’s 5’11” point guard Chaz Williams. Williams is currently lighting things up at 17 points per game and hitting 42% of his three-point shots. Watch how the length of Snaer and Dulkys affects Williams’ shot throughout the night.
• Not to be outdone, Massachusetts brings its own set of defensive credentials into this game, ranking in the top ten in both block rate and turnover rate. Florida State has had trouble with turning the ball over this season. Since scoring will be difficult against the Seminoles, Derek Kellogg’s team needs to figure out a way to continue to create turnovers to give his offense more opportunities to score. They have to do this without fouling, however. Teams are getting to the line frequently against UMass (50% FT rate). The Seminole offense thrives on free throws. If you see FSU in the bonus early in either half, you know things are not going well for Massachusetts.
• This game is shaping up to be a defensive battle. The game will hinge on UMass’s ability to deal with the ‘Noles length in the front court. Williams needs to figure out a way to get his shot off on offense and defend players much larger than him. Again, if he and the rest of the Minutemen can create steals without fouling, they have a shot in this game. However, if FSU plays their usual lights out defense and continue to shoot the ball well, they will win.

Oklahoma vs. Washington State – 11:30PM EST on ESPN2 HD (**)

• Oklahoma is still developing its identity under new coach Lon Kruger. His Sooners are off to a 2-0 start but we still do not know a lot about this team. Through two games, it’s clear Oklahoma has work to do on both sides of the ball particularly shooting the ball. Kruger’s team is under 50% eFG thus far, which is concerning given their two opponents were Idaho State and Coppin State. The Sooners are winning games on the offensive boards. While they are missing shots, players like Romero Osby are giving the team second looks. Considering Washington State is struggling on the boards, Oklahoma needs to out-rebound the Cougars if they want to win this game.
• Washington State opened the season with a tough loss against Gonzaga. They outshot the Bulldogs but ultimately lost the rebounding battle and got crushed from the free throw line. The Cougars have an opportunity to pick up a nice non-conference win against the Sooners if they can continue to shoot the ball well.  However, they have to figure out a way to prevent Oklahoma from eating up the offensive glass.  Keep an eye on junior forward Brock Motum to see if he can keep Osby off the boards.
• Free throws and rebounds will determine the winner of this one. Oklahoma can win this game if they control the glass and can get to the free throw line. They have the rebounding part down but are not getting to the line yet.  WSU needs to box out and not foul. The team that wins those two battles will win the game.

The Official RTC Star System

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2014
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

bmulvihill (74 Posts)

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 24th, 2011 at 8:30 am by bmulvihill and is filed under Regular Features, set your dvr. Tagged: brock motum, chaz williams, delvidas dulkys, derek kellogg, florida state, lon kruger, massachsetts, michael snaer, oklahoma, romero osby, washington state. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.