2019-20 Schedule (top post is current)

[UCH21377]

I'm going to try too. Got family down there.

[Taylor Swift]

I might be able to make the FGCU game as well if the dates work. My brother is on the east coast, but just a road Rhode soda away.

Rhode trip! woohooo!!!!!

A Rhode.PNG

[NC_Ram]

I'm going to either FGCU or MTSU outside of Nashville.

Hattie B's hot chicken in Nashville is a bucket list event.

[TruePoint]

I'm going to either FGCU or MTSU outside of Nashville.

Hattie B's hot chicken in Nashville is a bucket list event.

Hot chicken is worth the trip on its own. Love Hattie B’s. Gotta get at least one Shut the Cluck Up.

[steviep123]

I'm going to either FGCU or MTSU outside of Nashville.

Hattie B's hot chicken in Nashville is a bucket list event.

I hear Lonnie’s is a fun bar in Nashville

[Rhody83]

[JimSidd]

My source tells me there will be six out of conference home games next season and the PC game will be Friday, December 6.

[reef]

Wow Friday that’s interesting

[Rhody15]

My source tells me there will be six out of conference home games next season and the PC game will be Friday, December 6.

PC game on a Friday?

Saturday has always been the perfect day for that game, let’s hope they work something out.

[RhowdyRam02]

Yuck on the Friday. It should always be Saturday

[steviep123]

I agree...what's wrong with Sat 12/7 instead?

[RF1]

I agree...what's wrong with Sat 12/7 instead?

The URI-PC game is normally always played the first Saturday in December. The only exceptions in the last few decades have been for scheduling issues. My guess is that is likley the case once again.

[RF1]

My source tells me there will be six out of conference home games next season and the PC game will be Friday, December 6.

Only six home games means a majority of the allowed thirteen OOC games is away from the Ryan Center. This is the opposite strategy of nearly every team that typically earns an NCAA at large bid. Teams try to load up on home games as the home team wins nearly 70% of the games played on its court. Given Rhody already has four true road games scheduled, I hope that if there is to be another game away from the Ryan Center, it is played at a neutral site and not on an opponent's home court.

URI 2019-2020 Known OOC Schedule (13 games allowed)
Home (5)
Alabama
Providence
Western Kentucky
Jamaica Classic Game #1
Jamaica Classic Game #2

Away (4)
Florida Gulf Coast
West Virginia
Brown
Middle Tennessee State

Neutral Site (2)
Jamaica Classic Game #3
Jamaica Classic Game #4

[rambone 78]

Yup. Two more OOC games to be announced.

One home and one away or neutral court.

Will find out soon?

[JimSidd]

One thing that crossed my mind regarding that Friday date is that Texas comes to Providence as part of the Big 12 - Big East challenge and maybe that game will be scheduled for Sunday, December 8. Just a guess on my part, because I didn’t see any dates released for any of those challenge games.

[RamStock]

Yup. Two more OOC games to be announced.

One home and one away or neutral court.

Will find out soon?

I would be surprised if our last two games weren’t home games against a Bryant and/or Holy Cross type program. I’m not sure this team is built for 5 road games and 2 more neutral games. Unless they got an opportunity with a Power 5 for a home and home or a good neutral court than this may be a tough road for this team in terms of any at large bids.

[bigappleram]

In terms of building an NCAA resume that's a really strong OOC when you couple it with the fact that there should be multiple resume building games to be had for us in the A10 this year (VCU, Davidson, Dayton at the very least). It would be great to have home and home with all 3 of these teams, similar to last season.

[adam914]

Friday night for PC could be for TV reasons. ESPN game maybe?

[RF1]

The list below has the number of home OOC regular season games at the Ryan Center since it opened. Note that the total number of regular season games played each year was not always the same. The maximum number of games that could ever be played in any of these years was 31. Many seasons however had less than 31 games played.

Ryan Center Home OOC Regular Season Games by Year
2002-03 6
2003-04 8
2004-05 6
2005-06 8
2006-07 7
2007-08 7
2008-09 6
2009-10 7
2010-11 7
2011-12 7
2012-13 7
2013-14 8
2014-15 6
2015-16 8
2016-17 7
2017-18 7
2018-19 5

Note: Since the 2014-15 season, the A-10 has had a 18 game schedule. It had been 16 games prior to that. This eliminated two OOC games.


As you will see, last year had the least number of home OOC games ever since the Ryan Center opened. The 17 year average has been approximately 7 home games per season.

[TruePoint]

Oh good the annual obsession with the number of homes games. Like it’s a scandal! Five, six, seven...four, nine...literally couldn’t care less. Play winnable games against good teams, I don’t care if you play them on the moon. The metrics put such a premium on winning road and neutral wins that I honestly think I have a preference to have more and not less of them.

[RF1]

The point is the more home games there are on the schedule, the likelihood is better for more wins. Home teams win approximately 70% of games. More wins typically translates into a higher probability for an NCAA at large invite. Very few teams that garner at large bids over the last several seasons played more games away than at home.

URI has not fared well in away OOC games over the last five seasons, an unusually good era by URI standards (no overall losing seasons):

Season | True Road | Neutral
2018-19 | 1-3 | 2-1
2017-18 | 0-2 | 1-1
2016-17 | 0-3 | 1-1
2015-16 | 1-2 | 1-1
2014-15 | 1-1 | 1-2
TOTALS: 3-11 | 6-6

The true road wins were over Holy Cross, Brown, and Southern Miss. The road losses were to Charleston, Hawaii, PC (3x), Nevada, Alabama, Houston, Nebraska, Old Dominion, and Valpo.

[RF1]

Oh good the annual obsession with the number of homes games. Like it’s a scandal! Five, six, seven...four, nine...literally couldn’t care less. Play winnable games against good teams, I don’t care if you play them on the moon. The metrics put such a premium on winning road and neutral wins that I honestly think I have a preference to have more and not less of them.

High risk/high reward metrics. Benefit is mainly only attained provided you win. URI has gone 3-11 in true road games and 6-6 in neutral site games over the last five seasons.

[bigappleram]

But if you assume we cannot get a high quality team to come to Ryan, you would prefer we add a bunch of 200+ NET teams just to load up on home games?

[RF1]

But if you assume we cannot get a high quality team to come to Ryan, you would prefer we add a bunch of 200+ NET teams just to load up on home games?

Not necessarily. P-5's will be tough. Try to get a team from a league just outside the P-5's (AAC, CAA, CUSA, MWC, MAC, MVC). Try to start the series at home this year and put the return game off for another season. I want a schedule with as few true road games as possible. My preference would be for more neutral site games instead. Would always want a slight majority of OOC games at home. A 7-6 road to away (inc neutral) split would be ideal. Rhody should try to play in one of the many one game classics in places such as NYC and Mohegan Sun nearly every season.

[TruePoint]

The point is the more home games there are on the schedule, the likelihood is better for more wins. Home teams win approximately 70% of games. More wins typically translates into a higher probability for an NCAA at large invite. Very few teams that garner at large bids over the last several seasons played more games away than at home.

URI has not fared well in away OOC games over the last five seasons, an unusually good era by URI standards (no overall losing seasons):

Season | True Road | Neutral
2018-19 | 1-3 | 2-1
2017-18 | 0-2 | 1-1
2016-17 | 0-3 | 1-1
2015-16 | 1-2 | 1-1
2014-15 | 1-1 | 1-2
TOTALS: 3-11 | 6-6

The true road wins were over Holy Cross, Brown, and Southern Miss. The road losses were to Charleston, Hawaii, PC (3x), Nevada, Alabama, Houston, Nebraska, Old Dominion, and Valpo.

Yeah, I get that you have a better chance at MORE wins at home but counting wins has become essentially meaningless in this era of college basketball. I think I’d rather take a couple more shots at getting meaningful wins that could potentially help me at tournament selection time than just padding my win column with hollow victories over opponents I had to pay to come play me at home. I concede that there is a balance there that has to monitored, but I just don’t see it as clear cut at all that a program like URI should be focused on maxing out the quantity of home games rather than the quality of the schedule overall, so I’m not going to lose any sleep over it as long as the schedule presents good chances to get significant wins. That’s what I’m really focused on when it comes to scheduling.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I think a lot of their road losses over the past few years have been more tied to their attitude/approach in those games. The Houston game, the Valpo, the game at Bama, at Nevada. All of these games URI came out and played like they were the favorite and didn't fight and claw until the end of the games.

They coasted early like they were the best and it would carry them. I don't think they ever really learned (previous regime/players or current group) how to win on the road. True road games, which are a different animal against teams expecting to be in the mix in March.

I do think they have been great in neutral site games for the most part and expect that to return this upcoming year with the (hopefully) added maturity.

[bigappleram]

But if you assume we cannot get a high quality team to come to Ryan, you would prefer we add a bunch of 200+ NET teams just to load up on home games?

Not necessarily. P-5's will be tough. Try to get a team from a league just outside the P-5's (AAC, CAA, CUSA, MWC, MAC, MVC). Try to start the series at home this year and put the return game off for another season. I want a schedule with as few true road games as possible. My preference would be for more neutral site games instead. Would always want a slight majority of OOC games at home. A 7-6 road to away (inc neutral) split would be ideal. Rhody should try to play in one of the many one game classics in places such as NYC and Mohegan Sun nearly every season.

I don't disagree with that but it's much easier said than done. You have to find a willing partner. And I am sure our staff is trying to find those schools like College of Charleston or Harvard to come to the RC. We get Alabama, PC and Western Kentucky to come to Ryan Center for a true home game, show me an A10 team with a comparable home slate this year? Dayton has the best chance to attract teams given their history, stature and atmosphere but it's not like they have an easy time getting teams to come play them either. Net net, it's not easy and I am sure our staff is doing their best to maximize our NCAA resume potential this season.

[RF1]

Northeastern has had some decent teams under Bill Coen, a former assistant at URI under Al Skinner. They are in the CAA and are not typically bad for computer ratings most seasons. Located nearby in Boston. I would not mind a H&H with them as the Boston area has many URI alums and is an easy drive from RI. Gets the team into a good recruiting area. Play at historic Matthews Arena which is not a very hostile environment with little home court advantage. Minimal travel expense. Would seem to fit the mold of other recent series with teams such as Charleston, Mid TN St, Harvard, Western Kentucky, and FCGU. Makes sense for a Boston game in a season if not playing at Harvard.

[Shaolin Swat]

Northeastern has had some decent teams under Bill Coen, a former assistant at URI under Al Skinner. They are in the CAA and are not typically bad for computer ratings most seasons. Located nearby in Boston. I would not mind a H&H with them as the Boston area has many URI alums and is an easy drive from RI. Gets the team into a good recruiting area. Play at historic Matthews Arena which is not a very hostile environment with little home court advantage. Minimal travel expense. Would seem to fit the mold of other recent series with teams such as Charleston, Mid TN St, Harvard, Western Kentucky, and FCGU. Makes sense for a Boston game in a season if not playing at Harvard.

Here's Northeastern's KenPom Rankings since Coen took over (post-season appearances in bold):

2019: 89 (NCAA Appearance)
2018: 96
2017: 159
2016: 132
2015: 117 (NCAA Appearance)
2014: 203
2013:178 (NIT Appearance)
2012: 189
2011: 194
2010: 71 (NIT Appearance)
2009: 97 (CBI Appearance)
2008: 153
2007: 188

Since Coen took over, they've been a KenPom top 150 team 6 times in 13 seasons.

[steviep123]

Northeastern has had some decent teams under Bill Coen, a former assistant at URI under Al Skinner. They are in the CAA and are not typically bad for computer ratings most seasons. Located nearby in Boston. I would not mind a H&H with them as the Boston area has many URI alums and is an easy drive from RI. Gets the team into a good recruiting area. Play at historic Matthews Arena which is not a very hostile environment with little home court advantage. Minimal travel expense. Would seem to fit the mold of other recent series with teams such as Charleston, Mid TN St, Harvard, Western Kentucky, and FCGU. Makes sense for a Boston game in a season if not playing at Harvard.

I thought we had a return game at Harvard this year. Is that incorrect? I hope so as it's less than 5 miles from me. That said, selfishly I'd love to see them have a Boston area game every season or two. We've played BC, BU, NU, and Harvard in the Boston area now and then, though not really recently. I'd definitely love to see more home and homes with BC. While they are not a great team, it's an ACC team that has shown willingness to have us on the schedule.

[RamStock]

Northeastern has had some decent teams under Bill Coen, a former assistant at URI under Al Skinner. They are in the CAA and are not typically bad for computer ratings most seasons. Located nearby in Boston. I would not mind a H&H with them as the Boston area has many URI alums and is an easy drive from RI. Gets the team into a good recruiting area. Play at historic Matthews Arena which is not a very hostile environment with little home court advantage. Minimal travel expense. Would seem to fit the mold of other recent series with teams such as Charleston, Mid TN St, Harvard, Western Kentucky, and FCGU. Makes sense for a Boston game in a season if not playing at Harvard.

I thought we had a return game at Harvard this year. Is that incorrect? I hope so as it's less than 5 miles from me. That said, selfishly I'd love to see them have a Boston area game every season or two. We've played BC, BU, NU, and Harvard in the Boston area now and then, though not really recently. I'd definitely love to see more home and homes with BC. While they are not a great team, it's an ACC team that has shown willingness to have us on the schedule.

They are playing at Harvard in two years 2020-21 similar to the setup with Alabama the last 3 years with a year off between games due to scheduling conflicts.

[steviep123]

Northeastern has had some decent teams under Bill Coen, a former assistant at URI under Al Skinner. They are in the CAA and are not typically bad for computer ratings most seasons. Located nearby in Boston. I would not mind a H&H with them as the Boston area has many URI alums and is an easy drive from RI. Gets the team into a good recruiting area. Play at historic Matthews Arena which is not a very hostile environment with little home court advantage. Minimal travel expense. Would seem to fit the mold of other recent series with teams such as Charleston, Mid TN St, Harvard, Western Kentucky, and FCGU. Makes sense for a Boston game in a season if not playing at Harvard.

I thought we had a return game at Harvard this year. Is that incorrect? I hope so as it's less than 5 miles from me. That said, selfishly I'd love to see them have a Boston area game every season or two. We've played BC, BU, NU, and Harvard in the Boston area now and then, though not really recently. I'd definitely love to see more home and homes with BC. While they are not a great team, it's an ACC team that has shown willingness to have us on the schedule.

They are playing at Harvard in two years 2020-21 similar to the setup with Alabama the last 3 years with a year off between games due to scheduling conflicts.

Thanks Ramstock. I didn't know that about Harvard. The Alabama game here was originally supposed to be this past season. Rhody asked for a delay in order to get the Neutral and home vs. West Virginia started this season.

[SmartyBarrett]

[rambone 78]

A Q1 road win opportunity. Nice.

Leaves just one more home game opponent to be announced, along with the 2 teams we're playing at home in the Jamaica tourney.

[bigappleram]

Wow, tough game but I like it in a year where there should be some Q1/Q2 opps in league. Big road test.

[bigappleram]

I wonder if giving Jeff a chance to play in Maryland before he graduates played a part here

[Rhodyram]

Wonder if there's a return game. Or maybe like the WV deal they'll come to Mohegan

[Rhody74]

I wonder if giving Jeff a chance to play in Maryland before he graduates played a part here

Not only Jeff but it will be local to families of a few others.

[Rhody83]

List of away & neutral site games

[RF1]

This schedule will likely result in many losses early in the OOC schedule (6 home, 2 neutral, 5 road) based on recent history. URI will have to make up for that with very strong home OOC and A-10 records should it want to be considered for an NCAA at large bid.


URI's last five years away from home in the OOC:
Away: 3-11 (.214) | Neutral Site: 6-6 (.500)

If these past percentages applied to next year's OOC non Ryan Center Schedule (7 games), the record would be:
Away: 1-4
Neutral Site: 1-1
Overall: 2-5

[RF1]

OOC League breakdown for known possible opponents

Big Ten (@Maryland)
Big 12 (@WVU)
SEC (Alabama and possibly vs LSU)
Big East (PC)
MWC (possibly vs Utah St)
CUSA (Western Kentucky and @ MTSU)
Ivy (@Brown)
ASUN (@FGCU)



URI 2019-2020 Known OOC Schedule (13 games allowed)
Home (6)
Alabama
Providence
Western Kentucky
Jamaica Classic Game #1 TBD
Jamaica Classic Game #2 TBD
TBD

Away (5)
Maryland
Florida Gulf Coast
West Virginia
Brown
Middle Tennessee State

Neutral Site (2)
Jamaica Classic Game #3
Jamaica Classic Game #4

The two neutral site games in Jamaica will come from a pool of three opponents that already includes LSU and Utah State

[RhowdyRam02]

Wonder if there's a return game. Or maybe like the WV deal they'll come to Mohegan

My guess is no. Normally Rothstein includes that in his tweet, the way he worded it suggests we're getting bought

[adam914]

At least we won't have to deal with Bruno. Jalen Smith is going to be a problem though!

[steviep123]

I love this game. I'd prefer a home and home, or neutral and home like we had with W. Va, but I'll still take at Maryland than not at all.

[SmartyBarrett]

The way the schedule is shaping up, I wouldn't mind seeing them fill that last home game slot with a beatable local team (UMass Lowell, UNH, etc.) There's a lot of iron there... need to break it up with an easy one.

[RF1]

The way the schedule is shaping up, I wouldn't mind seeing them fill that last home game slot with a beatable local team (UMass Lowell, UNH, etc.) There's a lot of iron there... need to break it up with an easy one.

I think it is almost a given the last home game will be a buy since all the other known home OOC opponents are part of H&H series. Keep in mind that the two Jamaica Classic home game opponents are also not yet determined. They are not likely to be strong teams.

[RamStock]

The way the schedule is shaping up, I wouldn't mind seeing them fill that last home game slot with a beatable local team (UMass Lowell, UNH, etc.) There's a lot of iron there... need to break it up with an easy one.

I think they have to add a very winnable home game. It is a very interesting and difficult schedule to say the least with PC and WVU expected to be much improved and Oats building a strong team already at Alabama. It might be too tough for this team, but you have to hand it to Cox and the athletic staff. No one nationally will say that URI didn’t look to take on a strong non conference schedule for sure. It would be great to get Maryland at the Mohegan Sun next year, but highly unlikely.

[URI96]

They do need a marquee name for the 2020-1 Ryan Center non-league schedule

[ace]

Pulling a Nevada!

(calm down. it’s a joke)
It does suck for FGCU, though.

[Rhody83]

Cox & Thorr saw RF1’s posts so they moved the FGC game. This way Rhody will have 7 home and 6 away/neutral OOC games.