The post-Antoine Davis era for Detroit Mercy (0-18, 0-7) has been harsh thus far with the Titans currently winless heading into Wednesday night’s matchup with Robert Morris (6-12, 2-5) at the UPMC Events.
Attempting to win its third Horizon League game in four outings, the Colonials have a grand opportunity in front of them to continue to make ground in the standings.
However, the Colonials have had their fair share of letdowns against lowly teams, including a brutal loss at home two years ago to an IUPUI team that had not won a conference game yet and held only six players on their roster that started the season.
RMU’s OUTLOOK
Robert Morris closes out what has been a wild four-game homestand to this point. It started with the Colonials’ biggest in-conference win since joining the Horizon League over IUPUI, 92-48.
It was then followed up by a disappointing performance against the best shooting team in the country in Wright State. A perfect 9 for 9 to open the contest for the Raiders spelled trouble as the Colonials never rebounded in a 101-76 loss.
Most recently, the Colonials completed the shocking upset over Purdue Fort Wayne thanks to a late game-tying three by Josh Corbin in regulation and then an overtime buzzer beater from Markeese Hastings to clinch their second conference win of the year.
Scoring has been inconsistent from Robert Morris’ top players, but Corbin made a huge statement, pouring in 28 points on eight 3-pointers. Jackson Last, Justice Williams and Hastings all finished with double digits on a night that the Colonial hit 51.7 percent of their shots.
The two home victories during this stretched played in Moon Township has seen the Colonials shoot the ball at a higher clip, which the Colonials now average 44.3 percent from the floor, 208th in the country. The Colonials have also found further success when distributing the ball with both conference wins recording 21 assists.
On the other end, the Colonials have been very susceptible on defense and have failed to limit the opposition from filling the basket as they allow team to score 46.9 percent of their shots on a nightly basis, which slots them at 326th in the NCAA.
SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY
As previously mentioned, Detroit Mercy has struggled mightily this year, and it really hasn’t been close.
The only closely contested matchup in Horizon league play so far came in their most recent game against Northern Kentucky where the Titans were tied at 76-76 with two minutes left before the Norse scored the final five points of the night to close them out.
After missing six games, senior Jayden Stone returned to the lineup Saturday and registered 27 points in the losing effort for the Titans.
Detroit Mercy tosses in an average of 60.9 points per game, standing at the fifth fewest in Division I. The Titans sink just 25.8 percent of their 3-point attempts, along with 39.1 percent of their field goals, both in the bottom 10 of the country.
Only one time this season has Detroit Mercy held a team to south of 40 percent on the floor. Additionally, the Titans have a -6-rebounding margin, also in the lower tier of the NCAA.
TOP PLAYERS
#14 Jayden Stone – 6’4” G
Stone made a huge statement in his return for Detroit Mercy against the Norse, scoring a team-high 27 points. The senior leads the Titans, averaging 19.6 points per game and has scored in double figures every game except when he tallied three points in just three minutes before leaving against Loyola Marymount. Stone has also made his presence felt on the boards, grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game.
#4 Marcus Tankersley – 6’4” G
The sophomore guard has been a welcome surprise this season for the Titans, averaging 13.9 points per game. He is tied for the team lead in 33.7 minutes per game after averaging just seven minutes a game last year. Tankersley has reached double figures in his last six games and is coming off his second highest output of the season with 22 points.
#23 Edoardo Del Cadia – 6’8” F
The Nicholls State transfer has been a key addition to the frontcourt for Detroit Mercy this season as he averages 8.1 points per game and a team-high 6.1 rebound per game. Del Cadia has registered three double-doubles this season and will be a key matchup down low against the Colonials.
METRICS
According to the NET Rankings, Detroit Mercy sits just outside of dead last in the NCAA at 361. The KenPom.com ratings, have the Titans only a few slots higher at 359. Robert Morris on the other hand, slots in at 288 on KenPom and 277 in the NET.
SPREAD
DraftKings favors Robert Morris at 8.5 points against Detroit Mercy. The over/under line is currently sitting at 143.5.
STREAMING
The games can be seen on ESPN+ with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. It can also be heard on the RMU Gameday app with Chris Shovlin and Jim Elias on the call.
