Week #8 – Games of Interest

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

A look at both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches as we start week #8 shows no A-10 teams in the top 25. VCU is #27 in the AP poll and #26 in the USA Today poll. GW and Davidson are also getting votes in AP poll. GW also gets votes in the USA Today poll. With the loss to Temple, Kansas falls to #13 in the AP poll, #14 in the USA Today. Kentucky remains #1 in both polls.

Right now the combined record of our ten D1 opponents is 69-50, 0.580 the third straight weekly decline in the winning percentage which largely explains URI’s RPI decline in the week. Santa Clara, Detroit and Delaware State are the URI OOC opponents with losing records.

Current URI Ratings

RPI 57
Sagarin 53
KenPom 50
BPI 52

Monday night action in the A-10:

Cleveland State at VCU. 7 PM.

St. Joseph’s at Denver. 9 PM.

In games involving URI OOC Opponents:

UMass-Lowell at Boston V College. 2 PM. On ESPN3.

Southern Miss at LSU. 7 PM. On SECN. LSU is 16 point favorite.

Santa Clara at Pacific. 10 PM.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

VCU wins over Cleveland State, 72-63. VCU rushed out to a 12-0 lead , but CSU fought back to a 24-24 tie before VCU spurted to a 6 point halftime lead. In the second half VCU put on the gas from the outset and built a 18 point lead which CSU whittled down at the end, but outcome was never in doubt.

As expected, Southern Miss was routed at LSU, 87-67. Who would have thought that USM which had gone to the post season in the last three years would disintegrate so completely.

UMass-Lowell lost at BC, 70-47. Another tale of two halves, after BC quickly built a 13 point lead, UML closed the gap to two, but the second half was all BC.

St. Joe's in OT in Denver.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

St. Joe's was leading the entire game but couldn't put them away. Hope they get it done in ot. Down three

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

and they lose. 77-73

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 9 years ago

btw Bryant won at Denver just before Christmas

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

Some good news is Santa Clara took home a nice road win over Pacific, 57-40. Going into the game, Pacific had a record of 8-5 and a RPI of 170, so the win helps URI's RPI and every little bit helps.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

EAT Santa Clara EAT

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

Lots of Tuesday night action in the A-10:

Davidson faces a huge task when it takes on unbeaten, #3 Virginia. 6PM. On ESPNU.

Iona at UMass. After a succession of tough road games, UMass returns home to try and get its OOC record over .500. 7 PM.

UT Pan American at Duquesne. 7 PM. The Broncs have lost three straight including a close one to Saint Louis and the Dukes have lost 5 of their last six, so both could use a win to gain confidence going into conference play.

GW returns to Smith Center to square off against VMI, a team that has struggled against quality teams and also lost by 18 to a mediocre Navy team. Other than some travel rust, the Colonials should take this one easily and strength their position in the polls. 7 PM.

St. Bonaventure at Delaware. 7 PM. UD is winless in ten games and the Bonnies in their last game suffered an upset loss at home to UMES, but this road test should fall to SBU.

In a Big Five game, La Salle plays at Penn. 7 PM.This is a bad Penn team. Chalk another one up for the A-10.

Ole Miss at Dayton. 8 PM. Ole Miss has been so-so, but the Rebels did knock Creighton out of the Top 25, won at Oregon, and beat Cincy, but Dayton has won seven of their last eight, losing only at Arkansas, and the home court is an advantage Ole Miss will not overcome.

In games involving URI OOC Opponents:

Oral Roberts at Detroit 7 PM. On ESPN3. The Titans return home after a rugged 7,000 mile transcontinental trip in which they lost all three games. ORU is 0-6 on the road and have not been inspiring in OOC play. Detroit should even its record before it opens league play.

Charlotte at Georgia Tech. 7 PM. On ESPN3. GT will notch a win and take their OOC record to 9-3 before they open ACC play with a big game at #14 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Kent State at Kansas. 8 PM. On ESPN3. The Jayhawks move to 5-0 at home.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

Hmmm. Not sure what to expect from Davidson tonight.

SmartyBarrett · Unread post by **SmartyBarrett** » 9 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Hmmm. Not sure what to expect from Davidson tonight.

UVA opened as 16-point favorites. I'm interested to watch either way - Davidson could certainly surprise some teams in the A-10 this year, especially with some of the losses we're seeing around the league.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 9 years ago

Gotta think that UVA will do to Davidson what they've done to all other teams so far this year - smother them pretty effectively. Bet the under, and I'd probably take UVA -16

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

A thriller.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

By putting in three 3-pointers Davidson has made a good start in the game, but time will tell......

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

Don't want to jinx this Davidson team, but they are up 10 on UVA with three minutes left in half and their athleticism and shooting ability is impressive so far.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

Davidson holds a 36-32 halftime lead….

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

It looks like Davidson can play with these guys.

How did people think they would struggle big time in the A10 this year?

The way they're playing, they could win the whole shooting match!

I don't think they will end up winning this game, but they are more competitive than VCU was against Virginia. And VCU was at home.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 9 years ago

Thanks to 11 threes and only 5 turnovers, Davidson hanging tough with UVa.

They will be a tough out for sure. In terms of matchups we are currently a Top 40 defense in terms of defending the 3 and forcing turnovers. Strength against strength. They are very light inside, getting killed on the boards.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

Davidson has 3 stud guards. Man can they shoot it.

Think about how good we could be if we had just 1 or 2 that could light it up like they can....

When we play them, TJ and Terrell will have their work cut out for them on defense.....

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 9 years ago

i'm not sure i'm willing to say they have 3 stud guards...and i would take our 3 studs (jarvis, jared, ec) over theirs in a heartbeat.
jack gibbs, their PG, is the real deal. averaging 14, 5 and 5. the other 2 white kids can be defended. pretty much catch and shoot guys exclusively.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

Well we've seen what a good PG can do. Gets guys the ball where they can score.

TJ will most likely get the job of slowing Gibbs down.

In other news, St.Bonnie just crapped all over themselves losing to a previously 0-10 Delaware squad.

UMass and Duquesne hung on to win their games. Impressively? Not hardly.

LaSalle looks better. GW did their thing.

Dayton looks good again. Hard to say how good Ole Miss is though.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 9 years ago

Iona is a good team, should win the MAAC

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Maybe an advantage our D would have against UVA's would be the fact that we play man to man.
We're probably going to have to score. But we won't play them for a while. Glad Davidson is so good!
Pretty good day by the A-10. Dayton is probably going to pull it out against ole miss. They're good.
Don't know what the hell is up with St.Bonaventure. Hopefully they play like the team who loses to 0-10 teams when they play us.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Gerogia Tech beat Charlotte on a last second shot. Good for our RPI

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

And Detroit lost in OT at home to powerhouse Oral Roberts. Yikes. Even our decent [we thought] wins are looking more and more like crap.

It's becoming pretty clear that we have to win, and not worry about anybody else.

Just win and win and win. Take it one game at a time.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Yes. One game at a time and play your ass off each game.
Dayton avoided a horrible collapse against Ole Miss. Were up 75-62 with about three minutes left and ole miss got it down to 3 with 14 seconds left and Dayton made one of their free throws. They would've put them away much easier if they just made their free throws.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

Detroit was still a good win. They beat a team they lost to last year, contained a good player, and learned something about their own team. Nebraska was still a good win. That game was hyped, and they came through. They could have won on the last play- and should have- but didn't. They shook it off and finished it in OT. Of course they have to take each game as it comes and try to win, but it's not necessary to pick apart every win they already have. RPI, BPI, rankings, tournament projections, etc. will all play out.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 9 years ago

It doesn't feature a URI opponent, but still, crazy end to Florida vs. Florida State tonight:

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

I saw that happen. So tragically hilarious!
I hate Florida so I enjoyed this. Feel sorry for that guy though, the commentators mentioned how he was a walk on and gave him all thi praise and then he did that....

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 9 years ago

sf2010 wrote:Gotta think that UVA will do to Davidson what they've done to all other teams so far this year - smother them pretty effectively. Bet the under, and I'd probably take UVA -16

Aaaaaand that's why I don't gamble...

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

In another game played yesterday, Cincinnati defeated NC State on the road, 76-60. This win makes VCU's win over Cincy even better and strengthens the A-10 RPI.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Abu played 25 minutes. Another pipe dream up in smoke.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

In addition to URI hosting Brown, other A-10 action on this last day of the year includes:

South Carolina St. at Fordham. 12PM. This is another MEAC vs. A-10 face off. The Bulldogs have lost 5 of their last six games, a losing streak only interrupted by a surprise win at Houston. Will Severe be back in the line-up for Fordham?

Vanderbilt at Saint Louis. 2 PM. Vanderbilt already owns a win over an A-10 school, La Salle. They should notch another one given the Billikens struggles, but this is only Vandy’s second road game and they lost the first to Georgia Tech.

Northeastern at Richmond. 4 PM. The Huskies suffered two tough losses on their recent West Coast trip; one an OT loss to a good St. Mary’s team. Having played six of the last seven games on the road, the Huskies are a bit road weary which gives the edge to Richmond.

George Mason at #18 Oklahoma. GMU has made a nice comeback in recent games, but the Sooners are too much to handle for the Patriots.

In games involving URI OOC Opponents:

Indiana at Nebraska. 5:30 PM. On BTN. Time for the Huskers to make a statement as Big Ten play opens and protecting the home court is one way to do that.

Creighton at PC. 7:30 PM. On Fox Sports 1.

gorhody89 · Unread post by **gorhody89** » 9 years ago

Is Severe still on Fordham? was he suspended or kicked off

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Very intense game last night between Oklahoma State and Missouri.I was curious to watch Wes Clark, EC's higher rated teammate at Romulous playing on Missouri, and the Newberry kid we recruited as a juco for OSU.
Game went to OT. Very high level athletes on both teams.
Clark is not a very good shooter, and only had one assist at PG. Looks like we got the better player, by far.
Newberry was billed as a PG, but is more of a combo guard. Great leaping ability, more or less
a bench player for OSU. 14.2 minutes a game. Wonder if his "love for football" is making up for
sitting on OSU's bench in his junior season?
OSU won when Missouri botched and inbounds play under their basket, with a few seconds left.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

gorhody89 wrote:Is Severe still on Fordham? was he suspended or kicked off

Neither. He left the team for personal reasons. I'm rooting for him to get himself together and to return to basketball when the time is right.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Very intense game last night between Oklahoma State and Missouri.I was curious to watch Wes Clark, EC's higher rated teammate at Romulous playing on Missouri, and the Newberry kid we recruited as a juco for OSU.
Game went to OT. Very high level athletes on both teams.
Clark is not a very good shooter, and only had one assist at PG. Looks like we got the better player, by far.
Newberry was billed as a PG, but is more of a combo guard. Great leaping ability, more or less
a bench player for OSU. 14.2 minutes a game. Wonder if his "love for football" is making up for
sitting on OSU's bench in his junior season?
OSU won when Missouri botched and inbounds play under their basket, with a few seconds left.

Fun game to watch. Travis Ford continues to make really bad coaching decisions... the beauty of a huge buyout, they almost can't get rid of him.

gorhody89 · Unread post by **gorhody89** » 9 years ago

Fordham taking care of business at home up 20+ in 2nd half

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Richmond just lost a reaaallly tough one. Up 12 at the half against Northeastern and lead throughout thee second half, but starting after the 4:44 Richmond led 55-47 and ended up losing 55-58....
Rough for the itsy bitsy spidies.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

Gross, Spiders!!

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

ATP, they want Mooney's head on a platter, stuffed.

He has a monster contract there, for like 6-8 more years. How much of that is guaranteed I don't know, but it certainly reminds me of a certain coach we had here for way too long.

At least he got them to 2 NCAA's, but nowadays, it's what have you done lately, for sure.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 9 years ago

i guess I'll put this here, Lundardi just released his S curve on twitter, he list URI as the 12th team out (not bad entering confernece play) and yes I know it's too early to look at these projections

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

FWIW……BYU 81 def. Santa Clara 46

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

Until O gets here, this is a nice summary of the upcoming conference games-

http://www.pickinsplinters.com/?p=40731

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/ ... story.html

Interesting article from Joe Sulivan of the Boston Glove on this weekend's key games he wants to see.
Highlighted by West Virginia @ TCU - "Nothing was expected of either team, but West Virginia is 12-1 and TCU is 13-0"

Also interesting comment for this A10 Match Up:
"Richmond at Davidson: When teams change conferences, they usually have a difficult adjustment; that’s why I projected Davidson to struggle in the Atlantic 10. But after seeing the Wildcats give Virginia all it could handle this week, I’ve changed my mind. Davidson can win the Atlantic 10 and definitely has the look of an NCAA team."

WVU is favored by 2 points at TCU
Davidson is favored by 7 points at home to Richmond
URI is now favored by 7.5 at SLU

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

After coming close to upsetting Wichita State, Detroit has now lost seven straight by dropping their Horizon League opener last night at Wright State, 70-57. Another tale of two halves for the Titans.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

The OOC schedule is now complete and conference play begins today with six games. In addition to URI at Saint Louis at 3 PM, the other A-10 games are:

Duquesne at Dayton. 1PM. On NBC Sports. Dayton looks to get a good start on building its NCAA resume.

GW at Saint Joseph’s. 2 PM. On CBS Sports. Winning on the road is critical to finishing in the top echelon of the conference.

St. Bonaventure at UMass. 4 PM. The Bonnies have been stumbling of late and UMass benefits from a far stronger OOC schedule and is too potent on their home court.

Richmond at Davidson. 5 PM. On NBC Sports. The Wildcats make their A-10 debut at home against a struggling Richmond team.

La Salle at George Mason. 7 PM. A big chance for the Patriots to show their recent good performance was not just due to weaker OOC foes.

In games involving URI OOC Opponents

PC at Marquette. 2 PM.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame. 2:30 PM. ESPN3. The Irish out to defend their #14 ranking.

Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss. 8 PM. More woe for USM.

San Diego at Santa Clara. 10 PM. Santa Clara’s West Coast season is headed for the trash pile if they can’t take this one.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

Man, Detroit has completely collapsed.

I take that back about them being a mid pack A10 level team.

Some of our what we thought were decent OOC wins, really weren't at all.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

Let's hope the Dayton/Duquesne game doesn't go beyond two hours.

giovanni · Unread post by **giovanni** » 9 years ago

Great day for college hoop fans overall. Plus NFL playoffs, good sports day. Rambone, I watched a little of that Detroit game, they were beyond awful. Wright St seemingly could get uncontested layup anytime they wanted. Announcer commented a few times on lack of discipline for Titans too.

West Virginia good team. As much as Holton is a knucklehead, he, as a player, would be a beautiful compliment to this Ram team. His rebounding, defense and aggressiveness . Huggins seems to have changed his on court presence anyway. Him and Hass could really do some damage on the boards.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 9 years ago

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-bas ... as/?s=2550

For A10 Games this weekend:
URI -8 @ Saint Louis
Dayton -13 Home vs Duquesne
George Washington -5 @ St Joseph's
UMASS -7 Home vs St Bonaventure
Davidson -7 Home vs Richmond
LaSalle -2 @ George Mason

Other games of interest:
Marquette -2 Home vs PC
Notre Dame -12 Home vs Georgia Tech
Duke -23 Home vs Boston College
Louisiana Tech -10 @ Southern Miss
San Diego -3 @ Santa Clara
Buffalo -10.5 Home vs Cornell

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