Game Review, Game 9: Oral Roberts University

One of the most heartbreaking ways to end a game takes place against one of IUPUI's least favorite teams in the Summit League. Two stars battle it out and both come up inexplicably short. 63-61 was the final. Ouch.

Player of the Game: None
While reflecting on the game, as well as looking at the numbers, there are about six guys that could take the title. The problem? Everyone (on both teams) was just average enough to not stand out. Both sides played fantastic TEAM games, but no one stood out enough to be the Player of the Game.

Six Man of the Game: Warren Niles, ORU
Looking at each bench, Niles was the only player to have more than 4 points (he had 11), and his 25 minutes were the most of any non-starter. Oh, and he sprinted about 2/3 of the court and made the game-winning shot all in about 4 seconds.

Stat of the Game: 10, 5.
IUPUI committed just 10 turnovers, six of which were in the first half. Alex Young had five in the entirety of the game. Half of IUPUI's turnovers.

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Et Cetera...

• Ron Hunter seemed to only have five players he really trusted in big game situations, which isn't much of a surprise. His starters played 164 of the 200 total minutes. Anthony Williams played the most off the bench, seeing a little over a quarter of the action (13 minutes).
• Mitchell and Donovan are playing more consistently now as role players and not starters or stars. And that's okay. Alex Young was an extremely anticipated freshman coming in, much to his detriment. If the two young big guys spend more time filling in and less time worrying about letting the team down (let's face it, we would all think the same thing as freshman), they'll be able to provide better minutes while they're in the game. Point in case: Mitchell saw just six minutes on Saturday, but in those six minutes he was able to rip down a defensive board, tip a few balls out to other guys, and fight wear down one of the best inside guys in the league (Damen Bell-Holter). I was asked a few times throughout the game what year he his, and everyone was shocked to hear "Freshman". Both guys have a lot of time to learn and grow, and I think they've finally found their niche.
• IUPUI seemed to be fouling...a lot. Uncharacteristically, too, as they averaged just 17 fouls per game coming in. In fact, that was the first statistic I looked at when I received the stat sheet at the end of the game. Turns out they had just one more foul than usual...But 4 of the 5 starters (Ashworth, Siakam, Young, Nobles) each had four fouls. Only one other player (Williams, two fouls) committed any infractions.
• HOW DO YOU LET SOMEONE DRIVE THE LENGTH OF THE FLOOR IN FOUR SECOND AND TAKE AN UNCONTESTED SHOT?!?!!?!?
• Sigh...I hate Oral Roberts.
• Was that too much opinion? Oh well.
• The Jaguars truly showed their inexperience playing together. They trailed by five at one point, then were up eight, before going down four, scoring quickly to tie, and then losing on a shot with 0.2 seconds left.

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Team Stats

IUPUI	Statistic	ORU
4-5	Record	4-4
153	BB State Rank	099
270	RPI	111
216	SOS	126
66.9	Points/Game	72.2
64.9	Points Against/Game	71.2
41.2%	Fieldgoal%	53.3%
18.2%	3-Point%	20.0%
73.9%	Free Throw%	63.2%
7	Assists	12
0.700	Assists:Turnover	.706
27 (11 O/16 D)	Rebounds	33 (9 O/24 D)
0	Blocks	5
18	Fouls	20

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Review: Keys To The Game

1) Young vs. Morrison. (Morrison.)

"The Battle" I anticipated on being a huge deal turned out to be "Who Can Be Worse". Through the first half, the two combined for 2 points (1-6 shooting), 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 turnovers, and 5 fouls, in 32 (of 40) total minutes. Morrison ended up winning the battle and helping his team to victory. But damn was it ugly on both sides.

2) Turnovers! (Kinda!)

IUPUI committed just 10 total, but in 17 take aways they managed just 18 points. When you win the turnover margin by seven you need to capitalize more than half the time. That being said, WOW. 17-10 on turnovers. Half of a victory I suppose.

3) Keep The Students In It. (Sigh...)

I will be doing a section titled "The State Of The Students" soon. I'm not pleased.

3) 40% FG; 35% 3P; 80% FT. (No.)
41.2% FG; 18.2% 3P; 73.9% FT. A little food for thought: Hitting ONE more three pointer (2-11) would've put them almost at the mark (3-11 = 27.2%). That also would've potentially won them the game. The Jags went 17-23 from the line, but two more made shots (19-23) would've meant overtime and an 82.6% night from the stripe. They were THAT close.