Numbers do the talking: Edmond Memorial vs. Norman
No. 1 Edmond Memorial survived a close call with Norman on Saturday when the Bulldogs won 52-41 in the 6A Boys West Region I Championship. Both teams will advance to the Area tournament. Below is four entities from the numbers…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingNo. 1 Edmond Memorial survived a close call with Norman on Saturday when the Bulldogs won 52-41 in the 6A Boys West Region I Championship. Both teams will advance to the Area tournament. Below is four entities from the numbers game that may make your head spin:
Early bird gets the worm
You could probably guess that I have the privilege of watching a lot of really good basketball, and you’re right if you do. I haven’t seen much that rivals what I saw from Edmond Memorial in the first five minutes of the game, however. The Bulldogs opened up on a 15-0 run before Norman scored its first 3-pointer and did so in dominating fashion. A lot of times, teams that get a lot of steals can go on these big scoring runs, but that wasn’t necessarily the case with Memorial tonight. They actually allowed Norman to advance into their territory and set up an offense, but their defense was just so good that the Tigers could hardly get up a shot. Their fast-break greatness came on the consequent offensive possessions, however.
Norman did WHAT?
The Norman Tigers trailed by as few as four points in the final three minutes of play. It’s not every day that an unranked team goes toe-to-toe with the best team in the state. Despite the loss, the Tigers proved something big. Even the leading scorer, who accounted for 66 percent of his team’s total points, made a point of mentioning team defense;
“Our defensive energy was really, really good tonight, especially when we played in the zone,” Emmer said. “I feel like if we carry that over, we can make it to the State Tournament.”
Here’s analytics for you: The Tigers managed to hold the Bulldogs to nine points in a twelve-minute period in the second and third quarters. That’s nearly 38 percent of the game. They managed to out-defense the best defensive team in the state for nice chunk of the game.
Even more mind-blowing is that if the first quarter was cut out from the equation, Norman would have won the night 32-29.
Turn Ben Emmert up
Ben Emmert, a 6-foot-5 junior forward from Norman, knocked down seven 3-pointers for the night en route to a 27-point performance, leading all scorers in the process. He accounted for 66 percent of the Tigers’ score book for the night. It may just be me, but Emmert has consistently played well when the camera was in the gym this season and I think it’s time to start taking the 2020 star a little more seriously. It’s hard to define Emmert as a forward, because he’s simply just one of the most versatile players in the OKC metro. He’s truly a swingman, but you have to acknowledge that he opens most offensive sets at the high post.
Jacob Thionnet early dominance
Jacob Thionnet continued on what has been a phenomenal senior campaign. The 6-foot-5-inch forward, much like his aforementioned counterpart in Ben Emmert, is a true swingman who can stretch the floor. He’s gained the nickname “stretch” from the Memorial student section; I’m not sure if that’s based on his style of play, but it suits him well. He accounted for eight points before the Tigers scored their first basket. He was slashing, beating defenders off-the-dribble, posting up, and even hit a 3-pointer in that early period.
For more information, DM @McKinnisBryce via Twitter.