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11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 1:40 am
by TruePoint
University of Rhode Island at University of Nevada
Lawlor Events Center - Reno, NV
Monday, November 13, 2017
11:30PM


Media

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 101.5 AM

Previews:
Projo: URI Rams on right track as they head West
gorhody: Rams Travel to Nevada for Monday Night Tilt on ESPNU
Reno Gazette: Three keys and a prediction for Nevada basketball's game vs. Rhode Island

Vegas: URI +2

Opponent

Record:
1-0, 0-0 in Mountain West
Home: 1-0
Streak: W1
Last season: 28-7, 14-4 in Mountain West

Rankings:
RPI: 35 (final 2017)
BPI: 49 (final 2017)
KenPom: 73 (preseason)

Leaders (returning from 2016-17):
Points - Jordan Caroline, 15.0
Rebounds - Jordan Caroline, 9.0
Assists - Lindsey Drew, 4.7

Image

Preview

Former NBA head coach Eric Musselman is in his third season at Nevada, and he has the Wolfback on an upward trajectory. After going 24-14 and winning the CBI in his first season, last year Nevada won the MWC regular season and tournament titles en route to returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since making four straight from 2004-2007. Like UNC Asheville, Nevada is picked to repeat as champions in their conference by the media.

Musselman's dramatic rebuild (Nevada was 9-22, 5-13 in 2014-15) has relied primarily on transfers. This year's team is led by three transfers: Jordan Caroline (Southern Illinois) and twins Cody and Caleb Martin (NC State). Caroline's first year at Nevada was the '16-17 season, in which he led the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament along with the departed Cameron Oliver and Marcus Marshall. (Marshall, who graduated, was a transfer from Missouri State; Oliver, who declared for the draft but went undrafted, did not technically transfer but committed first to Oregon State, never played there and had to sit out a year upon coming to Nevada.) The Martin twins played their first game for Nevada against Idaho on Friday, combining for 41 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline were joined in Nevada's starting lineup on Friday by fellow transfer Kendall Stephens (Purdue), Lindsey Drew and Elijah Carter. Caleb Martin played 29 minutes off the bench, less than only his brother Cody and Caroline. Other guys receiving minutes off the bench were Josh Hall, familiar name Halice Cooke (Iowa State/Oregon State transfer) and Darien Williams (St. John's transfer). The Nevada bench is not terribly deep because they have four transfers sitting out this year using scholarships (interesting to note that Nevada had a zero player recruiting class in 2017, instead bringing in the four transfers to fill all their open scholarships). Tooley, Jones and Amadi are walk-ons. Jones is the son of new Nevada AHC and former LSU head coach Johnny Jones. Musselman was an assistant on Jones' LSU staff before taking the Nevada job.

Truthfully, I don't know what to expect from Nevada on Monday. I know they are good, but I haven't seen a ton of Musselman's Nevada teams because they are on TV late when they're on at all, and they have so many new players. Because of Musselman's background, I expect this to be a well-coached team and the roster clearly has talent. I'll be interested to see where Nevada ends up as far as quality OOC opponents compared to Providence, Alabama, Seton Hall and Virginia/Vanderbilt. I think they are clearly in that group. I don't know if they are the best of that group, but this being the first road game of the season and playing it at 11:30 at night could make it the toughest test for URI in the first half of the season. I know that URI's typical approach of trying to shut down the opponent's first and maybe even second options (which it pulled off in holding down Thomas and Teague from UNCA) may be difficult against a Nevada team with several players that could really hurt you.

Most posters who participated in Obadiah's prediction contest had URI losing at least 3 or 4 OOC games, and this one has to be one of the game many of those posters were thinking about. I expect Nevada to be favored. Still, URI can win this game, and doing so would send a strong message out to the rest of the college basketball world. I think we will learn a lot about this team Monday night, not just from the result but how they compete in a true road game against a good team. Asheville is a very good and dangerous team for a tune-up game, but Nevada is the first real test for the Rams. Passing it would bode well for a team that is still riding high off last year's strong finish and has put together a schedule with a lot of challenges. The thing about challenges in college basketball is that they are also opportunities.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:48 am
by reef
Can't wait for this one as it's an EspnU game and a very tough road tilt. Can't wait to see the line on this also

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 7:27 am
by RhowdyRam02
Kenpom has Nevada winning 75-74 and gives us a 45% chance of pulling off the upset

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:22 am
by Rhodymob05
If our shooting comes around, win win by double digits.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:42 am
by ramster
Of local interest 2 of the transfers sitting out this season for Nevada are from Bryant............

https://www.fanragsports.com/bryant-tra ... ed-nevada/
https://www.fanragsports.com/bryant-tra ... ed-nevada/

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 9:50 am
by TruePoint
Ramster - I have Zouzoua on the roster above, but Pettway isn't listed on Nevada's roster anywhere I can find. I also just looked and couldn't find anything indicating he left the program, either. If Pettway is actually there and doing a year in residence, that would make five transfers sitting out this year.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:09 am
by RF1
With the A-10 starting tis season looking even weaker than feared (injuries playing a big part), winning OOC games such as this one vs Nevada are even more important for URI. There will be few opportunities for signature wins in A-10 league play this year. Rhody needs to distinguish itself in its early games and do something it was unable to do last year - beat decent OOC opponents on their home court. Rhode Island cannot really afford to go win-less as it did last season at Valpo, PC, and Houston. It would be most advantageous to pick up at least one win at either Nevada or Alabama and at least split the neutral site games in Brooklyn.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:18 am
by rambone 78
This kind of game, even though it's very early, will tell us a lot about how this season will go....

Time to win a few close ones on the road against good teams....am I confident about that?

We'll see, and soon.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:40 am
by bigappleram
This is 1 game. The 2nd game of a long season. Not sure it will tell us anything more than any other early season game will. It will be a tough place to get a win after long travel and late start. I’d rather we be playing our best ball in february and march than in early November.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:38 am
by Roz
If we have the same defensive effort and can shoot the three better than we did I like our chances. Man our defense was suffocating.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:38 am
by adam914
YES! One game into the season and we've already reached the "this game determines our season" point!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:44 am
by rambone 78
Didn't say that.....just bring the defensive intensity right off the bat....I know that's not easy to do when on the road....

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:13 pm
by UCH21377
This team seems like they will be much more difficult to defend. four 6'7 guys and a 6'4. Thinking we may end up testing our depth.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:36 pm
by theblueram
With the new NCAA formulas, this would be a very big win for the resume. Top 40 on the road.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:38 pm
by NorthernRamFan
Is there a particular reason why this game is being played so late?

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:42 pm
by theblueram
West coast

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:45 pm
by ramster
bigappleram wrote:This is 1 game. The 2nd game of a long season. Not sure it will tell us anything more than any other early season game will. It will be a tough place to get a win after long travel and late start. I’d rather we be playing our best ball in february and march than in early November.
Team left early Saturday. Steve Mac did not travel with the team since he had to do the URI Football Game vs Villanova. So team had all Saturday night, all day Sunday then the game is at 8:30pm Monday night, so quite a bit of time out there to get adjusted.
My bigger concern is with the height that Nevada puts on the court. shortest player is 6'4", three are 6'7" and one 6'8"
Will be interesting to see how we handle this length

MARTIN,CODY 6'7"
FOSTER,ELIJAH 6'8"
DREW,LINDSEY 6'4"
STEPHENS,KENDALL 6'7"
CAROLINE,JORDAN 6'7"

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:50 pm
by adam914
NorthernRamFan wrote:Is there a particular reason why this game is being played so late?
Looks like they usually play their home games at 7pm like most schools, so I have to assume its for TV purposes.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:55 pm
by wpbrown8267
ESPN on their matchup predictor gives us a 34.5% chance of winning, what a joke!

I’m ok with us being the under dog but that % is a joke

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:01 pm
by Billyboy78
We'll see if Cyril, Andre, etc., can stay out of foul trouble against a bigger team. Out of necessity, we might see Layssard or even Tertsea in this game.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:04 pm
by theblueram
I think it will depend on how good Nevada is handling the ball. Size is great, but are they guards, or forwards?

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:10 pm
by ramster
theblueram wrote:I think it will depend on how good Nevada is handling the ball. Size is great, but are they guards, or forwards?

3 guards and 2 forwards
MARTIN,CODY 6'7" -F
FOSTER,ELIJAH 6'8" - F
DREW,LINDSEY 6'4" -G
STEPHENS,KENDALL 6'7" -G
CAROLINE,JORDAN 6'7" -G

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:15 pm
by rodfromcranston
Wow! Those guards are as big as our center!
6'7" guard, who averaged 9.0 rebounds!
Scary.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:19 pm
by TruePoint
ramster wrote:
theblueram wrote:I think it will depend on how good Nevada is handling the ball. Size is great, but are they guards, or forwards?

3 guards and 2 forwards
MARTIN,CODY 6'7" -F
FOSTER,ELIJAH 6'8" - F
DREW,LINDSEY 6'4" -G
STEPHENS,KENDALL 6'7" -G
CAROLINE,JORDAN 6'7" -G
These are their 5 starters against Idaho, but their third best player is Cody Martin's twin brother Caleb (also 6'7"). Against Idaho, Caleb played 29 minutes and led them in scoring with 26 - Stephens only played 11 minutes. The overall idea that they're big remains true, but wanted to point out that it isn't only those 5 guys.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:26 pm
by theblueram
They are a good free throw team.Shot over 80% as a team. Need to limit fouls

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:33 pm
by ramster
TruePoint wrote:
ramster wrote:
theblueram wrote:I think it will depend on how good Nevada is handling the ball. Size is great, but are they guards, or forwards?

3 guards and 2 forwards
MARTIN,CODY 6'7" -F
FOSTER,ELIJAH 6'8" - F
DREW,LINDSEY 6'4" -G
STEPHENS,KENDALL 6'7" -G
CAROLINE,JORDAN 6'7" -G
These are their 5 starters against Idaho, but their third best player is Cody Martin's twin brother Caleb (also 6'7"). Against Idaho, Caleb played 29 minutes and led them in scoring with 26 - Stephens only played 11 minutes. The overall idea that they're big remains true, but wanted to point out that it isn't only those 5 guys.
For sure it's only the starters. But Cody's brother is also 6'7" (hence identical twins) so there is no height lost when Caleb comes in. Both twins were ESPN Ranked Top 100 HS Players
Stephens only played 11 minutes because of an injury

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:34 pm
by RF1
wpbrown8267 wrote:ESPN on their matchup predictor gives us a 34.5% chance of winning, what a joke!

I’m ok with us being the under dog but that % is a joke

That percent actually fits with the norm for a visiting college team as the home teams wins roughly 2/3 of games. That is why high majors so infrequently play on opponents home floors.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:39 pm
by rodfromcranston
I'm pretty sure Jordan Caroline is their best player,
as he lead them in scoring and rebounds on a pretty
successful team, last season.
Pegging a player as the best, because he was the leading
scorer in the opening game is silly.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:51 pm
by ramfan85
rodfromcranston wrote:I'm pretty sure Jordan Caroline is their best player,
as he lead them in scoring and rebounds on a pretty
successful team, last season.
Pegging a player as the best, because he was the leading
scorer in the opening game is silly.
Happy Birthday, Rod.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:58 pm
by rodfromcranston
Thanks '85!
My daughter got me a mini-package with the PC game included.
Guess, Blue Man helped her figure the seating.
She bought one for herself, so she can drive me to URI.
So, a much thinner version of me, will be returning to
The Ryan Center.
I'll be in Section 306, above where I used to sit.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:09 pm
by theblueram
I think those tall guys might have trouble with Fatts.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:35 pm
by TruePoint
rodfromcranston wrote:I'm pretty sure Jordan Caroline is their best player,
as he lead them in scoring and rebounds on a pretty
successful team, last season.
Pegging a player as the best, because he was the leading
scorer in the opening game is silly.

True it would be silly. I said their third best player, but even that's not true probably. He's one of their three best players.

Happy birthday, btw.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:36 pm
by theblueram
I'm going to say we win by 7. Terrell loves to play on the road and I think he will have a huge game. We have a senior heavy team that needs to put it all out there for this one. Think I'll take a nap when I get home from work and get up to watch it.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:44 pm
by ramster
Odds now out.......

Game is even

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 5:25 pm
by hrstrat57
rodfromcranston wrote:Thanks '85!
My daughter got me a mini-package with the PC game included.
Guess, Blue Man helped her figure the seating.
She bought one for herself, so she can drive me to URI.
So, a much thinner version of me, will be returning to
The Ryan Center.
I'll be in Section 306, above where I used to sit.
You can be heard by the bench from there Rod.

Careful

:)

Great seats, happy Birthday!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 5:56 pm
by CT Rhody
rodfromcranston wrote:Thanks '85!
My daughter got me a mini-package with the PC game included.
Guess, Blue Man helped her figure the seating.
She bought one for herself, so she can drive me to URI.
So, a much thinner version of me, will be returning to
The Ryan Center.
I'll be in Section 306, above where I used to sit.
I never met Rod before but this is great to read. Great to see good things happening to great people!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 6:47 pm
by ElmCityRhody
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROD !

good to see you ail be back where you belong - cheering on the Rams !

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 7:16 pm
by Rhody83
Thoughts on playing time vs Nevada.
Not much 4G lineup. Cyril 28 mins if he can stay out of foul trouble. Berry 16-20 mins. Need 20-25 total out of Preston/Akele.
Stan and Dowtin will get a lot of minutes. Less for Garrett and Fatts may not play at all.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 7:20 pm
by rodfromcranston
Thanks, ECR,HRSTRAT,and CT!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:21 pm
by Running Ram
Happy Birthday to the MAN!!! Glad you're going to be at the game when we break the streak and beat PC!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:24 pm
by RhowdyRam02
Here's an article talking about attendance for Nevada

http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/college ... 849448001/

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:25 pm
by PeterRamTime
Happy birthday Rod!

If we play defense like we did Friday we will have a very good chance to win.

I watched the last 7 minutes of their game against Idaho.
They are very athletic, they moved the ball around well to get good shots. They like to play really fast.

Caroline is their best player.
He's like a 3-4 inch taller Jared Terrell.
The martin twins are solid all around players.
This will be tough, but I think they will present an opportunity for us to show that we can play fastbreak basketball and get in a good rhythm offensively.

Anybody have an idea about how they prepare for a game like this? The late start time is so different from what their normal schedule is.
I'm sure they're normally settling down into sleepy time around 11:30pm.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:30 pm
by NYGFan_Section208
RhowdyRam02 wrote:Here's an article talking about attendance for Nevada

http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/college ... 849448001/
Nice, like this:

“When you win, it can kind of bring people together quickly,” Musselman said. “When I played at the University of San Diego, and when we made those NCAA tournaments, the vibe on campus was incredible. People were showing up to games two hours before. When we weren’t winning, it was a dormant, non-supportive type thing. There’s an electricity on a college campus on a game day, and I think that’s really neat.”

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:46 pm
by ramster
ramster wrote:Odds now out.......

Game is even
At 9pm Sunday night the line is Nevada -1

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 9:48 pm
by RIFan
Happy birthday Rod!
FWIW, on Nevada's Twitter they were thanking all the NBA scouts that were at their first game.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:46 pm
by rodfromcranston
Thanks, Runnin Ram, Peter, and RIFan!
Here's hoping the refs put their whistles in their pockets,
Monday night.

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:16 am
by reef
This is going to be an all out war !!

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:32 am
by ramster

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:35 am
by ramster

Re: 11/13 | Nevada Wolf Pack | 11:30PM (ESPNU)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:42 am
by ramster
TruePoint wrote:Ramster - I have Zouzoua on the roster above, but Pettway isn't listed on Nevada's roster anywhere I can find. I also just looked and couldn't find anything indicating he left the program, either. If Pettway is actually there and doing a year in residence, that would make five transfers sitting out this year.
Pettway is there as a walk-on. Cannot play this year, but next year he will have two years of eligility remaining.
http://mynews4.com/sports/back-the-pack ... university