Raiders playoff path and play style

The Rice Raiders are looking to sail into the playoffs but to accomplish that goal they needed to put together some wins, and they just picked up a big one.

As the playoffs inch closer and closer the Raiders are finding themselves in a weird spot.

Sitting at 9-3 and holding the second-place spot in the district standings, the Raiders have yet to clinch a playoff spot. After losing to Columbus and Hallettsville, then losing to number-one seed Edna, the Raiders needed to win at least two of their last three games to stay in contention.

They welcomed in Industrial on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and wasted no time getting down to business. The Raiders looked like they had looked all season long and they did not change a thing.

They were aggressive and on the ball from the opening tip-off and barely gave Industrial room to breathe let alone make a play. The Raiders down the stretch have remained aggressive but they have been fine tuning that part of their game a bit.

With aggressive play it is easy to get into foul trouble and that is something that has plagued the Raiders all season long. But now they are using some controlled aggression.

They know where the opportunities to poke the ball loose are at and jump all over them. Usually, they would jump right at it and often lead to a foul and slow the game’s momentum down.

That’s how the Raiders want to play though they want to speed the game up and use their athleticism to their advantage. When they got into foul trouble it made it difficult for them to establish the pace they like to play at.

But recently they have been adding a patience factor to their game, where they wait for the opportunity to strike. When they strike, they strike hard and fast.

This was the big story in the Industrial game because while the Raiders looked like their old selves again, it was different but in a good way. With two games left on their schedule the Raiders have to play two teams that are going to be tough.

Yoakum lost to the Raiders in overtime then the Raiders lost to Columbus in overtime so these games will be intense but if the Raiders find a way to win one of those games, they will have a spot in the playoffs.