2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

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TruePoint
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2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by TruePoint »

Davidson University at #18 University of Rhode Island
Thomas M. Ryan Center
Friday, February 9, 2018
7:00PM - ESPN2


Media

TV: ESPN2

Stream: WatchESPN app

Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or iHeart Radio App

Previews:

Vegas:

Opponent

Record:
13-9, 8-3 in the Atlantic 10
Away: 4-6
Last season: 17-15, 8-10 in Atlantic 10

Rankings:
RPI: 126 (92.8 expected)
BPI: 39
KenPom: 57

Leaders:
Points - Peyton Aldridge, 20.2
Rebounds - Peyton Aldridge, 6.9
Assists - Jon Axel Gudmundsson, 5.0

Last Five (3-2)
2/6/18    JOES    W  91-62
2/3/18    @GW     W  87-58
1/31/18   LAS     W  84-65
1/28/18   RICH    L  66-63
1/14/18   @DAY    L  65-64
Roster and Statistics

Image

Coaching Staff
Bob McKillop, Head Coach (29th Year) - Hofstra '04
Matt McKillop, Assoc. Head Coach - Davidson '06
Ryan Mee, Asst. Coach - Rochester '05
Will Reigel, Asst. Coach - Davidson '12

Preview

I'm not quite sure what to make of this Davidson team.

On the one hand, they're 13-9 with an RPI of 126 - a full 120 spots behind your Rhody Rams. They are 4-6 on the road and 1-4 vs. the RPI top-25 as they travel to Kingston to take on solidly top-25 RPI Rhode Island. They were blown out by Appalachian State (xRPI 268), lost to Hawaii (xRPI 199) and to Richmond (xRPI 184) twice. In a game I happened to watch late at night while visiting my in-laws for the holidays, Davidson suffered a 69-68 loss to New Mexico State where they trailed much of the game but came back and had plenty of chances to win - which, at the time, I considered a pretty bad loss and basically wrote them off at that point (or maybe it was the next day, when they lost to host Hawaii and fell to 4-6). The game on Friday will fall into the Quadrant 3 bucket on URI's tournament team sheet, a quadrant in which URI is currently 6-0.

But, on the other hand, it turns out that the New Mexico State team that beat them in Hawaii was actually pretty good, and save for a little blip at the end of January where they lost back-to-back at Dayton and home against Richmond, they've played pretty well since. (Weirdly, the emerging but seemingly still subpar Richmond team accounts for 2 of their 3 losses since leaving Hawaii on Christmas.) While RPI views Rhode Island and Davidson in two entirely different classes, advanced metrics like Kenpom and BPI view the programs more as being of similar quality: Kenpom has URI at 30 and Davidson at 57, while BPI has URI at 27 and Davidson at 39. Davidson comes into the Ryan Center alone in second place in the league, and included in Davidson's current 9-3 run are victories in its latest 3 games by an average of almost 26 points. In addition, Davidson features the potential A10 Player and Rookie of the Year (and surefire 1st team all-conference and all-rookie) in Peyton Aldridge and Boston native Kellan Grady, respectively.

Looking at Davidson in the simplest way possible, when they get off on the offensive end, they win. In their 13 wins, they've averaged 84.6 points, and in their 9 losses, they've averaged 65.4 points. The target for URI might be to hold them 72 points: Davidson has only won 1 game where they scored fewer than 72 points, and they've only lost one game in which they've scored more than 72 points. URI on the season gives 66.7 points per game.

Whether URI is able to hold down Davidson's potentially potent offense will likely come down to battles of strength vs strength in two areas:

The first is URI trying to defend against Davidson's three point barrage. Davidson shoots almost 30 threes per game (good for 7th in the country), and makes 39% (32nd best in the country). URI gives up the second least three point attempts per game in the country, at just a tick over 14, and on those limited attempts teams make 32.2% (45th in the country). This is the first game within the game, to me. If URI is able to do its usual thing and chase Wildcat shooters off the three point line and/or contest the three attempts they inevitably will take, it should handle Davidson rather easily in front of a raucous sellout crowd. On the other hand, if Davidson wins this battle it would make them a real threat to win the game, as well.

Another area where URI has really excelled is in turning over its opponents, but Davidson - as is typical of a McKillop coached team - has taken pretty good care of the basketball. URI causes the eighth most turnovers per game in the country; Davidson turns it over the fifth fewest times per game in the country. This is the second crucial game within the game. If URI can turn Davidson over more than it is accustomed to, it may make it too hard for Davidson to get the number of possessions they need to run up a really high score. If Davidson takes care of the ball as it usually does, limiting their three point looks becomes even more crucial.

Despite the fact that Davidson may have the league's best player and best freshmen (although URI has strong contenders in each category, as well), URI has the superior talent between these two rosters. In addition, Davidson can usually rely on Bob McKillop to give them a tremendous advantage on the sideline each game, but Dan Hurley is proving to be among the very high level coaches currently in the college game. So the way I see it, URI needs to win at least one (and preferably both) of the above mentioned battles in order to take care of business Friday night. It will be much easier for them to do so at home now than in early March, when URI visits Belk Arena for the season finale.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Rhody74 »

I’m glad URI had a chance to rest before this game. Their defense will need to be at its best. I predict Stan will draw at least 3 charges.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

URI is Ranked #4 Nationally in Turnover Margin among the 351 D1 Teams
Davidson is Ranked Top 5 Nationally in 3 Categories:
#1 in Assists to Turnover Ration
#5 in 3 Point Attempts
#5 in FT Percentage

Davidson passes the ball quickly and well. They do not dribble much

Will be a very interesting match up of URI's excellent defense against Davidson proficient Passing and Shooting
URI Davidson National Leaders Feb 8.png
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Obadiah »

After stumbling through a OOC schedule with a 5-6 mark, Davidson seems to have righted itself in conference play. Davidson played two common foes to URI - Virginia and Nevada - but apart from that, the Wildcats' OOC SOS ranked #10 in the A-10. The Rams rank #1.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

Our next 3 games are against the 2nd, 4th and 3rd place teams in the A10

Davidson in 2nd place - tomorrow night 13-9 (8-3) with a 3 game winning streak
Richmond in 4th place - Tuesday night 9-14 (7-4) with a 1 game winning streak
St Bonaventure in 3rd place - next Friday night away 17-6 (7-4) with a 5 game winning streak

Our last 7 games:
Feb 9 Fri 7:00 Home Davidson ESPN2
Feb 13 Tue 8:30 Home Richmond CBSSN
Feb 16 Fri 7:00 Away St Bonaventure ESPN2
Feb 20 Tue 7:00 Away LaSalle CBSSN
Feb 23 Sat 7:00 Home Dayton ESPN2
Feb 27 Tue 7:00 Home St Josephs CBSSN
Mar 2 Fri 8:00 Away Davidson CBSSN

URI is 1-0 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
The rest of the A10 is 0-17 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
A10 Standings Feb 8.png
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Section104 »

ramster wrote:Our next 3 games are against the 2nd, 4th and 3rd place teams in the A10

Davidson in 2nd place - tomorrow night 13-9 (8-3) with a 3 game winning streak
Richmond in 4th place - Tuesday night 9-14 (7-4) with a 1 game winning streak
St Bonaventure in 3rd place - next Friday night away 17-6 (7-4) with a 5 game winning streak

Our last 7 games:
Feb 9 Fri 7:00 Home Davidson ESPN2
Feb 13 Tue 8:30 Home Richmond CBSSN
Feb 16 Fri 7:00 Away St Bonaventure ESPN2
Feb 20 Tue 7:00 Away LaSalle CBSSN
Feb 23 Sat 7:00 Home Dayton ESPN2
Feb 27 Tue 7:00 Home St Josephs CBSSN
Mar 2 Fri 8:00 Away Davidson CBSSN

URI is 1-0 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
The rest of the A10 is 0-17 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams

A10 Standings Feb 8.png
We’re 0-2 against top 25 teams (Virginia + Nevada)
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Obadiah »

Before we get carried away with the Davidson stats, you must remember that stats are averages of ALL games and URI Vs. Davidson is a specific situation.

For example, Davidson played a weak Charleston Southern team to open season and won by 48 points and racked up 29 assists to one turnover! That game alone added one half percentage to their assist/TO ratio. But let's look at the stats when they played the better teams with the big boys - the Charleston So. 29-1 turned into 18-15 versus Nevada, 14-13 versus Virginia, 14-14 versus New Mexico State, and 14-12 versus Hawaii.

As for proficient passing, in most of their losses Davidson had the ball stolen more often than they stole it, 5-11 versus Nevada, 3-7 versus Virginia, 2-9 versus New Mexico State. The only tough foe where some of these stats were different was in the great game they played against UNC. In most of their wins Davidson out rebounded their opponents, in practically all their losses they were out rebounded.

My message is good analysis requires going beyond the "average" stats to foresee a specific match-up and develop a game plan. No question that is what Dan is doing.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

Section104 wrote:
ramster wrote:Our next 3 games are against the 2nd, 4th and 3rd place teams in the A10

Davidson in 2nd place - tomorrow night 13-9 (8-3) with a 3 game winning streak
Richmond in 4th place - Tuesday night 9-14 (7-4) with a 1 game winning streak
St Bonaventure in 3rd place - next Friday night away 17-6 (7-4) with a 5 game winning streak

Our last 7 games:
Feb 9 Fri 7:00 Home Davidson ESPN2
Feb 13 Tue 8:30 Home Richmond CBSSN
Feb 16 Fri 7:00 Away St Bonaventure ESPN2
Feb 20 Tue 7:00 Away LaSalle CBSSN
Feb 23 Sat 7:00 Home Dayton ESPN2
Feb 27 Tue 7:00 Home St Josephs CBSSN
Mar 2 Fri 8:00 Away Davidson CBSSN

URI is 1-0 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
The rest of the A10 is 0-17 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams

A10 Standings Feb 8.png
We’re 0-2 against top 25 teams (Virginia + Nevada)
Wins and Losses against Top 25 Teams only count as to where the team was ranked when you played them

When we Played Virginia and Seton Hall at Thanksgiving, Seton Hall was ranked 20, Virginia was just out of the Top 25, at the 26th spot.
Others receiving votes: Virginia 93, Texas Tech 81, TCU 36, Northwestern 20, Nevada 19, Providence 11, Maryland 9, Michigan 9, Texas 7, Creighton 6, Oklahoma 5, Temple 4, Oregon 4, Arkansas 3, Texas Arlington 2, Rhode Island 1, Belmont 1, Stephen F Austin 1.d Seton Hall, Virginia

When we played Nevada on November 13, Nevada only had 2 votes for the Top 25

Others receiving votes: Alabama 98, Rhode Island 55, Virginia 45, TCU 43, Providence 36, Missouri 32, Virginia Tech 17, Wisconsin 9, Texas 7, Michigan 7, Texas Tech 6, Butler 6, Oklahoma 5, Mount St Marys 4, Arkansas 4, SMU 4, Middle Tennessee 3, Maryland 2, Nevada 2, Oakland 2, Dayton 2, Harvard 1, South Carolina 1, Oregon 1...
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by section(105) »

.......reminder.......get in the building early enough to give this deserving top 25 team a huge loud welcome home......as they take the floor
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Da_Process_Survivor »

just have to stay on the shooters.

they dont dribble to create. so no doubling down on Aldridge, and play the typical in their face man defense and they shouldn't get enough looks to win.

similar to the Dayton game, they need to go off from deep to win. Prevent that.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

Obadiah wrote:Before we get carried away with the Davidson stats, you must remember that stats are averages of ALL games and URI Vs. Davidson is a specific situation.

For example, Davidson played a weak Charleston Southern team to open season and won by 48 points and racked up 29 assists to one turnover! That game alone added one half percentage to their assist/TO ratio. But let's look at the stats when they played the better teams with the big boys - the Charleston So. 29-1 turned into 18-15 versus Nevada, 14-13 versus Virginia, 14-14 versus New Mexico State, and 14-12 versus Hawaii.

As for proficient passing, in most of their losses Davidson had the ball stolen more often than they stole it, 5-11 versus Nevada, 3-7 versus Virginia, 2-9 versus New Mexico State. The only tough foe where some of these stats were different was in the great game they played against UNC. In most of their wins Davidson out rebounded their opponents, in practically all their losses they were out rebounded.

My message is good analysis requires going beyond the "average" stats to foresee a specific match-up and develop a game plan. No question that is what Dan is doing.
Great points Obadiah. Virginia and Nevada are excellent comparison games to URI. And launching 3's against a great defense like URI will be much more difficult.

I think it's a great classic match-up of Defensive minded team versus an Offensive minded team on Friday Night.

I looked back at the Virginia and Nevada games and Davidson still has the same starting line up today as back then. Consider they were quite young then with Grady just a Freshman and Gudmundson and Pritchett only Sophs. So maybe they are coming together better now because of that youth. Certainly would seem that they are better than their 13-9 record would indicate. Somewhat surprising that they could be so great with A/TO Ration and have 9 losses.

15 MICHELSEN - Senior
23 ALDRIDGE - Senior
03 GUDMUNDSSON - Sophomore
20 PRITCHETT - Sophomore
31 GRADY - Freshman
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rambone 78
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by rambone 78 »

This game, and the next 2 after this, are looking to be tougher than thought just a couple of weeks ago.

All 3 are playing well. Can we win all 3?
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by twisted3829 »

ramster wrote:
URI is 1-0 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
The rest of the A10 is 0-17 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
4 of those loses by the others are from losing to us (Fordham, Duquesne, UMass, VCU)
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Seawrightspostgame »

The break gives coach a chance to re frame the narrative. Re package and sell it to the team to focus them. Only two full weeks left in February for these seniors' careers.

Hey make the push and put your names up there. Right now it's "no team since GW in '06...."

How about "no team since Rhody '18."

Just sweep it all.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

twisted3829 wrote:
ramster wrote:
URI is 1-0 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
The rest of the A10 is 0-17 against Top 25 AP/ESPN Teams
4 of those loses by the others are from losing to us (Fordham, Duquesne, UMass, VCU)
Yes,
and hopefully that continues to be the case
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Rhodymob05 »

A well-coached team is also scrappy, no matter the talent, but in this case there's talent as well. Surprised they don't have a better record.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Seawrightspostgame »

How is URI 1-0?

Lost to UVA.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by rambone 78 »

Other than their 2 seniors, they are young. Have improved a lot since conference play began.....of course being so reliant on the 3 ball makes them more one dimensional......

Richmond is another young team that is improving......and the Bonnies? As Adams goes, so go they.

We will need no less than a B effort to win these games.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

rambone 78 wrote:This game, and the next 2 after this, are looking to be tougher than thought just a couple of weeks ago.

All 3 are playing well. Can we win all 3?
Right Rambone,

And the Davidson Game tomorrow night promises the toughest game at the Ryan Center the rest of the Season - so people need to get to this game.

And now, believe it or not, Richmond looks like the 2nd toughest remaining home game, next Tuesday night considering how Dayton and St Joe's have been struggling this year. St Joe's started off 4-2 but they have now lost 5 straight.


Feb 9 Fri 7:00 Home Davidson ESPN2
Feb 13 Tue 8:30 Home Richmond CBSSN
Feb 23 Sat 7:00 Home Dayton ESPN2
Feb 27 Tue 7:00 Home St Josephs CBSSN

Current Standings
1-Rhode Island (11-0)19-3
2-Davidson (8-3) 13-9
3-St. Bonaventure (7-4) 17-6
4-Richmond (7-4) 9-14
5-VCU (6-5) 14-10
6-Duquesne (6-6) 15-10
7-Saint Louis (6-6) 13-12
8-Dayton (5-6) 11-12
9-Massachusetts (4-7) 11-13
10-George Mason (4-7) 10-14
11-La Salle (4-7) 10-14
12-Saint Joseph's (4-7) 9-14
13-George Washington (3-8) 10-14
14-Fordham (3-8) 8-15
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by DC_Rams »

This game is the one I worry about the most. If they drain 3s early and shoot them at the clip they have been, I don’t see how we keep up, as we are not a 3pt shooting team. If our defense somehow stifles them and spreads them out just far enough out to lower their percentage points and we capitalize on those misses, we should be okay. I honestly believe we will split the series with them.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

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DC_Rams wrote:This game is the one I worry about the most. If they drain 3s early and shoot them at the clip they have been, I don’t see how we keep up, as we are not a 3pt shooting team. If our defense somehow stifles them and spreads them out just far enough out to lower their percentage points and we capitalize on those misses, we should be okay. I honestly believe we will split the series with them.
thing is, we always give Davidson fits on defense and have held them well below their average scoring every time:

2014-15: averaged 79ppg, held to 60 (-19)
2015-16: averaged 79ppg, held to 65 (-14)
2016-17: averaged 73ppg, held to...59 (-14), 70 (-3), 60 (-13)

On average Davidson scores 12.6 points below their average against us.

They do not match up well against athletic, man defense. They cant get their shooters free.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by DC_Rams »

Da_Process_Survivor wrote:
DC_Rams wrote:This game is the one I worry about the most. If they drain 3s early and shoot them at the clip they have been, I don’t see how we keep up, as we are not a 3pt shooting team. If our defense somehow stifles them and spreads them out just far enough out to lower their percentage points and we capitalize on those misses, we should be okay. I honestly believe we will split the series with them.
thing is, we always give Davidson fits on defense and have held them well below their average scoring every time:

2014-15: averaged 79ppg, held to 60 (-19)
2015-16: averaged 79ppg, held to 65 (-14)
2016-17: averaged 73ppg, held to...59 (-14), 70 (-3), 60 (-13)

On average Davidson scores 12.6 points below their average against us.

They do not match up well against athletic, man defense. They cant get their shooters free.
I pray this trend holds up!
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by RhowdyRam02 »

For all the talk about their offense, rightfully so, they're 24th in the country for kenpom, we're not just a defensive team anymore. We're 50th ourselves, no slouch. How are they going to score enough against us to keep up with our offense?
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

Obviously we should win, RPIForecast has URI by 6.4 points and a 72% probability to win

But Davidson has won 8 of their last 10 A10 games with losses AT Dayton by 1 point and a loss at Home to Richmond by 3 points
What is interesting is the margin by which Davidson is winning many games by. In the last 10 games their 8 wins have been by 3,27,27,30,10,19,29 and 29
While Davidson's current RPI is 130, their expected RPI is 92.3 for 3rd in the A10

Should be the toughest game of the season to be played at the Ryan Center.

1-3 Saint Louis (149.3) H 54-51 W
1-7 George Mason (226.0) A 59-86 W - 27 points
1-10 George Washington (217.1) H 72-45 W - 27 points
1-14 Fordham (281.0) A10 A 45-75 W - 30 points
1-19 St. Bonaventure (45.4) 83-73 W
1-23 Dayton (115.6) A 65-64 L
1-28 Richmond (184.1) H 63-66 L
1-31 La Salle (165.3) 84-65 W - 19 points
2-3 George Washington (217.1) A 58-87 W - 29 points
2-6 Saint Joseph's (192.1) H 91-62 W - 29 points
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by urirx »

We are not St. Joseph's. We do not do the "when did they get so good" counter curse. This game is going to be tougher then many games we have played this year no question. BUT we have an experienced and deep backcourt that I would put up against any team in the country. We generally play a strong defense that is so sneaky good that it makes every other fan base say their team just didn't play their game. Davidson has one of the better coaches in the A10, But Dan has shown, Especially this year, his growth as a coach, the better scout of the opposing teams, and in game adjustments to find who fits the game that is being played, not the game it was predicted to play. I will suffer every missed shot at the Ryan Center Friday, but have faith that we will come out victorious, and that we will have beaten a strong and respectable team.
Go Rhody!
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by steviep123 »

I'm nervous about this game and at SBU for sure. Also at Davidson to close the season.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

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I worry about every game.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by wpbrown8267 »

steviep123 wrote:I'm nervous about this game and at SBU for sure. Also at Davidson to close the season.
These 3 games will be tough, not saying we will lose, but definitely nail biters, especially how Davidson and SBU are playing lately. If our defense is playing like they have been, and shoot decent i think we take care of business. Both teams do scare me with how hot they can get shooting from deep
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Obadiah »

No question Davidson will be keyed up for this game since after its rough early start, it is a chance to beat a ranked team, resurrect their credentials/resume for post season and get a bye in the A-10 tourney. URI, on the other hand, will fight to keep their win streak going, protect their national ranking and growing national respect. It should be a great game!
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

steviep123 wrote:I'm nervous about this game and at SBU for sure. Also at Davidson to close the season.
Yep. This is a 72% chance win, 6.3 point favorite
SBU is only a 52% chance to win, .5 point favorite
Davidson is a 50% chance to win, dead even point spread

Davidson Home 72% 6.3
Richmond Home 93% 16.0
St. Bonaventure Away 52% 0.5
La Salle Away 77% 8.1
Dayton Home 86% 11.8
Saint Joseph's Home 89% 13.4
Davidson Away 50% -0.0
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Obadiah »

I guess I'm like Dan Hurley, the only thing I care about is the upcoming game against Davidson, nothing else matters now.

A look at Davidson's depth and rotation shows the Wildcats, essentially use 7-8 man rotation, 7 guys have played in all 22 games. Aldridge, Gundmundsson, Grady are the mainstays, averaging PT of 35 minutes, but in close games, either wins or losses, their PT increases, and each of them has played the full 40 minutes in recent games. The trio provides most of the scoring punch and the contribution from the Davidson bench has diminished from the early season - the bench high contribution was 26 points in the Nevada game. In both Richmond games the bench scoring was 8 and 5 points respectively. So Davidson is susceptible to being worn down. How you shoot in the early going with fresh legs is quite different from the late stages of game. The Rams must exploit this feature.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Taylor Swift »

I have an extra ticket for tomorrow night that I am looking to sell. I have seats in another section. Ticket is Sec 308, Row H, Seat 27. Inbox me with an offer.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by hrstrat57 »

Feel free to disagree with me but I think Aldridge is the toughest player we will face all year in the regular season.

Just a basketball animal.

Like Jimmy in Hoosiers yep that good.

We better be ready to double team.

Go Rhody
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by eli#10 »

I think Stan will do a good job on Aldridge. Stan gives up a few inches to Aldridge but with his quickness and active hands should make it difficult for him. Also, Davidson will be facing intense in your face defense that they have not seen in a long time. I expect our defense and a fast pace on offense to work in our favor big time.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Obadiah »

URI has to avoid the slow starts we saw in both halves of the Duquesne game. We know Davidson will try to come out fast and hit on threes to put URI in a hole. If you look at the Wildcats' game against Virginia you see that pattern. Before a hostile crowd, Davidson hit 4 three pointers plus a conventional lay-up in the first 8 minutes to take a 14-6 lead, but Virginia being an excellent defensive team, was able to control the tempo from that point, getting a 7 point lead at the half and then coming out in the second to build a 20 point margin in the first ten minutes and the game was essentially over. Davidson was 8-26 on threes in that game and if you take out the first eight minutes, the Cavaliers held Davidson the rest of the way to 4-19, 21% performance. Virginia also controlled the boards and their guards were effective in snaring long ball on Davidson three point misses. Virginia out hustled Davidson on steals 7-3. URI has to follow the Virginia pattern.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by TruePoint »

I alluded to this in the preview, but it is interesting to me that the RPI likes Rhody so much compared to the more advanced metrics like kenpom and BPI, where those metrics like Davidson much better than RPI does. URI is obviously still rated better than Davidson in the advanced metrics, but not by nearly as much.

The important thing for URI is not the "interestingness" of that discrepancy, but rather the opportunity presented. While playing Davidson will not help URI's RPI considerably, we can't go much higher there anyways. But because the other systems regard Davidson so highly, there is an opportunity for URI to boost its standing with them tomorrow night. Unfortunately it isn't as simple as just winning the game like it is with RPI, but rather how efficient we are on both ends of the floor. Still, a good showing could improve our position in those metrics which will put a ceiling on our seeding potential as they stand currently.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by reef »

Got to love the quotes by DH and the guys . They say all the right things
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Rhody72 »

I don't buy the notion that the one week off was good for URI. When a team is playing well as we did against VCU, you want to keep playing. When playing poorly, a lay-off can help. Watch for a slow start because of poor shooting.

We are going to over-play beyond the three point line. Will Andre and Cyril hold up inside? Treys after missed shots is a concern. If Cyril has a big game rebounding and we limit second chance scoring, we will be okay.

I'm not sure the home court and a capacity crowd is a big advantage for us. The Duquesne game haunts me. Home or away, we are best in tight games. If we start well and re-bound well Davidson is toast.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Rhodysk »

Just got word that as of 6am, students are already lined up to get tickets!
Coffee and donuts are being served too.

So this is what big time college basketball feels like!!!
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

It’s been a long time coming since the late 20th century and Jim Harrick but Dan Hurley has delivered in a big way. Senior night will be special for sure. But tonight is a can’t miss game. Good to hear the students are so enthused as this because they should be
- 14 game winning streak
- 19-3 record
- National TV on ESPN
- AP Nationally ranked #18, RPI Ranked #5 both being the highest ever achieved on in season rankings and still climbing
- Strongest opponent we will see at the Ryan Center the rest of this season
- 4 Seniors in the Starting Line Up with only 3 more home games after tonight
- Davidson in 2nd place in A10
- Where would any URI Basketball Fan rather be on a cold February 9th night?
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by ramster »

“This week’s message is now we’ve got to finish,” URI coach Dan Hurley said. “This is the stretch and this is right where we want to be.”
Not since 1939-40 have the Rams won 15 consecutive games, and only one time in program history have they enjoyed a longer run. URI captured its last nine games of 1937-38 and its first 13 of 1938-39 for a 22-game winning streak, one that would carry the current group deep into March’s Atlantic 10 tournament should it be duplicated. Only three times in program history have the Rams reached 20 wins in a season in as few as 23 games.

“Shooters,” URI guard Fatts Russell said, when asked about his team’s defensive area of focus. “The 3-point line. We have to get after them in the backcourt.”

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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Billyboy78 »

Rhodysk wrote:Just got word that as of 6am, students are already lined up to get tickets!
Coffee and donuts are being served too.

So this is what big time college basketball feels like!!!
Awesome! Let us know if they sell out the bracelets.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by RhodyRams12 »

Billyboy78 wrote:
Rhodysk wrote:Just got word that as of 6am, students are already lined up to get tickets!
Coffee and donuts are being served too.

So this is what big time college basketball feels like!!!
Awesome! Let us know if they sell out the bracelets.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by section(105) »

......plenty of time to get to class......and then stay hydrated......after all it is Friday......
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by RhodyRams12 »

The Rhode Island Rams Snapchat shows the line of students passed the football stadium back to burnside
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Rhodymob05 »

What a time to be a student at Uri. “Win and they will come” it’s happening.
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Re: 2/9 | Davidson Wildcats | 7PM (ESPN2)

Unread post by Seawrightspostgame »

Rhodysk wrote:Just got word that as of 6am, students are already lined up to get tickets!
Coffee and donuts are being served too.

So this is what big time college basketball feels like!!!
Wow.
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