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.
(01-15-2014 02:25 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote: UTSA wins:
#260 Texas A&M Corpus Cristi
Non D1 - Huston-Tillotson
#326 Texas Pan American
Non Div I - Cameron
#301 Marshall
#116 Charlotte
That Charlotte win really is an outlier.
UTSA has lost to some bad teams too:
#246 Northern Arizona
Non-D1 McMurry
#326 Texas Pan American (played each other twice this season, road team won both games)
#225 Nicholls State
#289 Cal State-Bakersfield
I think UAB has the opportunity to separate from the rest of the conference over the next eight games. The MTSU game was disappointing, but it might end up being our toughest conference road game and we still went to overtime.
Next eight games:
UTSA (I say the 2-0 in conference is a fluke)
UTEP (recently kicked three players off team for gambling, split games against Charlotte and Marshall at home)
@North Texas (lost to Southern Miss and Tulane at home, the latter is completely unacceptable)
@Tulsa (beat Tulane and Southern Miss at home, likely the toughest game during this stretch)
Old Dominion (beat ECU on the road, improving)
East Carolina (lost at home to ODU, lack size)
@FIU (an easier road game than most)
@FAU (an easier road game than most)
Anything less than 7-1 during that stretch would be disappointing. The next game is Southern Miss at Bartow, possibly the two best teams in the conference.
(01-15-2014 02:44 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: I believe charlotte and Marshall lost because they were in shock they had to travel so far for a conference game.
UTSA, at 2-0 and tied for first in C-USA, is ranked 323rd by KenPom.com. UAB has fallen to 118th.
UTSA is 2nd in the nation with respect to FTA/FGA (60.9%). Conversely, UAB doesn't allow a whole lot of free throws by its opponents (FTA/FGA = 26.6%, or 6th defensively).
Looking at UTSA's win over Charlotte last Saturday -
Charlotte (130) had just won at UTEP (116) by 5 points. They came into San Antonio with victories over Michigan (21) and Kansas State (45) earlier in the season.
UTSA led 38-28 at halftime, and extended that lead to 21 points with 12:54 left in the game. Charlotte fought back, but lost 85-77. Attendance was a dismal 784.
The Roadrunners forced 17 turnovers.
Shooting guard, #1 Devon Agusi (6-0 170 Sr), led the way with 22 points. He has only attempted 17 three-pointers all season. He only took two against Charlotte, and made both of them. He must use his quickness to get layups, as he is 50% inside the arc.
(This post was last modified: 01-15-2014 11:28 PM by KevMo4UAB.)
(01-15-2014 10:06 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote: Looking at UTSA's win over Charlotte last Saturday -
Charlotte (130) had just won at UTEP (116) by 5 points. They came into San Antonio with victories over Michigan (21) and Kansas State (45) earlier in the season.
UTSA led 38-28 at halftime, and extended that lead to 21 points with 12:54 left in the game. Charlotte fought back, but lost 85-77. Attendance was a dismal 784.
The Roadrunners forced 17 turnovers.
Shooting guard Devon Agusi (6-0 170 Sr) led the way with 22 points. He has only attempted 17 three-pointers all season. He only took two against Charlotte, and made both of them. He must use his quickness to get layups, as he is 50% inside the arc.
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Let's talk about UTSA!
Let's talk about UTSA! 
