01-15-2014, 01:59 PM
Let's not forget about basketball with all of the fun with the head coaching search. Hopefully KevMo will do his breakdown too.
UTSA was one of the worst teams in the country, at one point ranking dead last out of 351 teams in RPI. Somehow, this same UTSA team is 2-0 in conference right now with an impressive win over Charlotte. Their RPI is now all the way up to 313. So which is the real UTSA? The one that lost to D2 McMurry and lost three other games by 30+ points, or the UTSA at the top of the conference standings?
UAB is still leading the nation in rebounding with 47.7 per game. UTSA is not a good rebounding team and only pulls down 33.4 per game. Obviously this is a mismatch we need to exploit. Second chance (and third and fourth chance) buckets will be very helpful. UTSA is in the bottom 10% in assists per game.
UAB is averaging 6 more points scored per game, but UTSA scored well above their average in the two conference games. In fact, that was two of their top three scoring outputs against D1 teams. Again, I don't know if this is a fluke or proof that they are playing better now.
UTSA is led by their backcourt. Their top three scorers are 6-2 or shorter. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of Watts and Frazier in the lineup at the same time. UTSA plays two centers about 20 minutes per game each, one that's 7-0 and one that's 6-7. Neither one has been that effective. Overall, they don't have a lot of team height. I wouldn't be surprised if CJ has a huge game based on potential matchups.
UTSA shoots a lot of free throws (31.6 per game), but they don't make a lot of them (68.4%). Interestingly, UTEP has very similar numbers.
UTSA beat Marshall by shooting very well, including 7-9 from deep. That didn't carry over to the Charlotte game, where they were only 8-24 from deep. For the season, they are a slightly below average 3-point shooting team who just got hot against Marshall.
Final prediction: UTSA might be getting better, but I don't think they are that good. Unless UTSA has a great shooting night, UAB wins by double digits.
UTSA was one of the worst teams in the country, at one point ranking dead last out of 351 teams in RPI. Somehow, this same UTSA team is 2-0 in conference right now with an impressive win over Charlotte. Their RPI is now all the way up to 313. So which is the real UTSA? The one that lost to D2 McMurry and lost three other games by 30+ points, or the UTSA at the top of the conference standings?
UAB is still leading the nation in rebounding with 47.7 per game. UTSA is not a good rebounding team and only pulls down 33.4 per game. Obviously this is a mismatch we need to exploit. Second chance (and third and fourth chance) buckets will be very helpful. UTSA is in the bottom 10% in assists per game.
UAB is averaging 6 more points scored per game, but UTSA scored well above their average in the two conference games. In fact, that was two of their top three scoring outputs against D1 teams. Again, I don't know if this is a fluke or proof that they are playing better now.
UTSA is led by their backcourt. Their top three scorers are 6-2 or shorter. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of Watts and Frazier in the lineup at the same time. UTSA plays two centers about 20 minutes per game each, one that's 7-0 and one that's 6-7. Neither one has been that effective. Overall, they don't have a lot of team height. I wouldn't be surprised if CJ has a huge game based on potential matchups.
UTSA shoots a lot of free throws (31.6 per game), but they don't make a lot of them (68.4%). Interestingly, UTEP has very similar numbers.
UTSA beat Marshall by shooting very well, including 7-9 from deep. That didn't carry over to the Charlotte game, where they were only 8-24 from deep. For the season, they are a slightly below average 3-point shooting team who just got hot against Marshall.
Final prediction: UTSA might be getting better, but I don't think they are that good. Unless UTSA has a great shooting night, UAB wins by double digits.