Back in December, ORU basically played seven guys, with one other guy playing three minutes. In their last four games-Summit tournament and NCAAs, they still basically play seven guys, with only six getting consistent large minutes.
The big difference now is that Glasper is not in the rotation(played 33 minutes against us, maybe he’s hurt). Four of their guys are on the floor for at least 33 minutes a game- Abmas, Obaner, Thompson and Jurgens.
We look a bit different now than December. Vanover played nine minutes, Jackson played ten and Sills played 33 minutes, while Devo only played 8 and Williams did not play at all.
You would think they would try something different this time for Justin Smith-who had twenty points and seventeen rebounds in December. But they also had trouble stopping Notae, Moody and Sills that night too.
I actually think it helps that we’ve played them before, since basically the same ORU guys are still getting the heavy minutes. On the other hand, Williams and Devo’s rise to prominence gives the Hogs a different vibe than what ORU saw earlier in the year. Notae’s improvement on defense really gives us three guys to guard Abmas(Sills and Devo being the other two). Williams gives us some options on how to play Obaner, who really has been tearing it up lately.