2/11 | Dayton | 7:30PM (CBSSN)

[DC_Rams]

I don’t think it was a slight to Bill.

I also don’t think that, right now, Cox and crew care about the “potential” miss on hyping this game up. I can almost assure you that, right now, the team in syncing and staying laser focused on the task at hand. They will need every bit of edge the can get going into tonight.

I really PERSONALLY don’t care about the media having a “woe is me” moment.

If Cox & Co. deem it as a potential distraction, whether it be for him or the team, then that’s what it is. What really matters is tonight....let’s move on from this non-story.

To be clear, I didn't take it as a personal slight whatsoever. I already had quotes from being on the road at GW. A day with no access actually gives me some time off in the grand scheme of things.

I didn't like it for my colleagues. They weren't given opportunity. And I've outlined my other points above. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree, but I wanted to make a genuine attempt at being transparent.

Of course the actual game deserves the headlines, and it will get them tonight.

to be fair, your colleagues at The Journal dont deserve it. They are nothing but PC cheerleaders that never pass up a chance to take put down URI or to promote anything PC does as the greatest thing as sliced bread. They can go pound tar.

Dont get me wrong, I may not always agree with you but I am a fan of your coverage. You cover the team as they should be and are a very good jounralist, and a worthy "successor" to Paul Kenyon.

Cox's #1 job is to win games. If he feels avoiding any unnecessary distractions is what's best for the team given the short turn around, then no one is qualified enough to question it.

As for promotion...a road game at #6 in the country promotes itself, they dont exactly need to trot out the players to convince the public that it's a major game with huge importance on their season.

I get your perspective as a journalist, but you had the foresight to plan ahead expecting this to happen. For your colleagues, I go back to what people say about Belichick and journalists, "its not his job to do yours for you and give you quotes"

Bravo, DPS.

[Billyboy78]

I've been following Rams for near 50 years, I would or could argue that this is the biggest regular season ever. Considering all the factors, Dayton being ranked so high, Rhody chasing them a game behind and right outside of rankings, as well as being red hot riding a 10 game winning streak, Dayton with a POY candidate, Fatts having an A 10 POY season if not for Toppin, being on national tv for the nation to see. We played a St Joes who was #2 ( I believe) as a few have said, but e weren't as good as this year. One game that does stick out in my mind is 1988 vs Mark Macon and Temple coming to Keaney vs the great '88 team with Tommy Garrick and Silk. Temple if my mind serves me correctly was also about # 5 or 6 at the time and had reached #1 and was truly a great team and obviously that was one of the better URI teams of all time. Some of the older guys can correct me if I am incorrect on some of the details of that game. Either way, we are now in the present day so this is the biggest game and Tuesday if finally here, very excited. Go Rhody!

I was at that Temple game in '88. That was probably the most anticipated home game I can remember. Macon was only a freshman but was already considered to be one of the best players in the country. We only lost 7 games that year and 3 were to Temple (and obviously, 1 was to Duke). If we can win tonight and both teams hold serve until the final regular season game against Dayton, we'll both be 16-1 and playing for the title. That would be the game that might top the Temple game in '88. But once again, let's not get ahead of ourselves (or more accurately, myself) here .

[steviep123]

Then again, the lack of doing interviews, being available in public, becomes a storyline in itself. Kind of a reverse type of marketing.

Maybe Cox is saying since the Projo doesn’t bother to come to other road games like Saint Louis, VCU, Davidson, etc then why should I change my schedule now and talk to you because you are finally coming to Dayton where the rest of the College a Basketball world or reporting will also be tonight?

DC_Rams I’d be interested in your take on this?

The basic premise of this is patently false. I missed St. Bonaventure for my brother's bachelor party. I'll miss UMass for his wedding.

Otherwise, we're attending all conference road games. Did the same last year and the year before and the year before -- just look up the stories. I've been traveling with URI since the day I was hired in 2013-14.

Also, I'm one of two writers in the league who still actually travel on a regular basis for road games. Dayton Daily News is the other -- David Jablonski is fantastic. Richmond Times Dispatch didn't have a staff writer at the Ryan Center for Richmond or VCU. None of the D.C. schools or Philadelphia schools put anybody on the road.

If I call correctly, we gave the projo cr@p for not sending a reporter to either the Jamaica tournament or one of the big road games (at Md or at WVU) - I could look it up, but I don't have a lot of time today. Bill's response was skipping that game and using a stringer would allow the projo to send him or someone to the big conference road games. It's an unfortunate trade off. Also, KMac didn't go to Xavier for their game vs. Providence on Saturday (I think KMac covered Brown that night?). While I agree the projo can seem biased towards PC a lot, we are fortunate to have Bill Koch as our beat writer and that he goes to nearly every game over the past several years. While it would be great to have him at every game possible, this is not the world we live in.

Bill, congrats to your brother.

The local paper doesn't send someone for VCU? That's shocking!

[Section104]

The theme of local and national media heading into this game, with the exception of Rothstein pushing Obi/Fatts, is the Toppin Brothers going against each other. That, coupled with Cyril getting POW in A10, is allowing Fatts to sneak a little bit under the radar for this one. I'm not sure if that's by design or not, but if all the focus is on Toppin/Toppin there should be a sense of calm around the rest of the group. We're playing with house money.

We can only hope Obi tries to do too much. IMO I'd rather have him shooting 3's than Crutcher or Watson and I'd rather have a more one dimensional offense with the ball stuck in his hands. I'm not saying he'll necessarily do that, but my hope is he tries to be a little more selfish with his little brother in town. He can takeover a game, but he normally does so with his scoring and his ability to find open teammates. Dayton is the #2 offense in the country behind Gonzaga. Do whatever it takes to make it uncomfortable for them and hope that Fatts/Tyrese/Dowtin/Cyril find their groove on offense.

[steviep123]

10 hours to go!!!

[DC_Rams]

Let Obi score 30, SHUT DOWN EVERYONE ELSE.

I love having Dowtin/Fatts on Crutcher.

I love having Rese on Mikesell.(sp?)

[ramster]

Then again, the lack of doing interviews, being available in public, becomes a storyline in itself. Kind of a reverse type of marketing.

Maybe Cox is saying since the Projo doesn’t bother to come to other road games like Saint Louis, VCU, Davidson, etc then why should I change my schedule now and talk to you because you are finally coming to Dayton where the rest of the College a Basketball world or reporting will also be tonight?

DC_Rams I’d be interested in your take on this?

The basic premise of this is patently false. I missed St. Bonaventure for my brother's bachelor party. I'll miss UMass for his wedding.

Otherwise, we're attending all conference road games. Did the same last year and the year before and the year before -- just look up the stories. I've been traveling with URI since the day I was hired in 2013-14.

Also, I'm one of two writers in the league who still actually travel on a regular basis for road games. Dayton Daily News is the other -- David Jablonski is fantastic. Richmond Times Dispatch didn't have a staff writer at the Ryan Center for Richmond or VCU. None of the D.C. schools or Philadelphia schools put anybody on the road.

If I call correctly, we gave the projo cr@p for not sending a reporter to either the Jamaica tournament or one of the big road games (at Md or at WVU) - I could look it up, but I don't have a lot of time today. Bill's response was skipping that game and using a stringer would allow the projo to send him or someone to the big conference road games. It's an unfortunate trade off. Also, KMac didn't go to Xavier for their game vs. Providence on Saturday (I think KMac covered Brown that night?). While I agree the projo can seem biased towards PC a lot, we are fortunate to have Bill Koch as our beat writer and that he goes to nearly every game over the past several years. While it would be great to have him at every game possible, this is not the world we live in.

Bill, congrats to your brother.

The local paper doesn't send someone for VCU? That's shocking!

Bill referred to A10 Conference Road Games. I was wrong in thinking the PROJO did not always send reporters to A10 Road Games. I could have sworn I had heard it mentioned numerous times in KB that the PROJO did not always support A10 Conference games due to Money. My bad.

[Rhody74]

I, for one, am happy Bill Koch is being more active here. He’s not perfect (no one is) but we could do a heckuva lot worse for a beat writer.

[steviep123]

The basic premise of this is patently false. I missed St. Bonaventure for my brother's bachelor party. I'll miss UMass for his wedding.

Otherwise, we're attending all conference road games. Did the same last year and the year before and the year before -- just look up the stories. I've been traveling with URI since the day I was hired in 2013-14.

Also, I'm one of two writers in the league who still actually travel on a regular basis for road games. Dayton Daily News is the other -- David Jablonski is fantastic. Richmond Times Dispatch didn't have a staff writer at the Ryan Center for Richmond or VCU. None of the D.C. schools or Philadelphia schools put anybody on the road.

If I call correctly, we gave the projo cr@p for not sending a reporter to either the Jamaica tournament or one of the big road games (at Md or at WVU) - I could look it up, but I don't have a lot of time today. Bill's response was skipping that game and using a stringer would allow the projo to send him or someone to the big conference road games. It's an unfortunate trade off. Also, KMac didn't go to Xavier for their game vs. Providence on Saturday (I think KMac covered Brown that night?). While I agree the projo can seem biased towards PC a lot, we are fortunate to have Bill Koch as our beat writer and that he goes to nearly every game over the past several years. While it would be great to have him at every game possible, this is not the world we live in.

Bill, congrats to your brother.

The local paper doesn't send someone for VCU? That's shocking!

Bill referred to A10 Conference Road Games. I was wrong in thinking the PROJO did not always send reporters to A10 Road Games. I could have sworn I had heard it mentioned numerous times in KB that the PROJO did not always support A10 Conference games due to Money. My bad.

They may have in the past, in fact, I know they have, but that may have been before the last few seasons, maybe even before Koch, as Kenyon's career was winding down. Hiring Hurley certainly changed some of that, and hiring Koch after Kenyon retired also did. If URI men's hoops wasn't at least somewhat important to the projo, they could have easily have cut way back on coverage after Kenyon retired. And frankly, if they don't fire Baron and hire Hurley, it may have happened (in my opinion. I have no evidence to support this).

[ElmCityRhody]

front page of local newspaper sports section

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/coll ... 709539002/

[Billyboy78]

Is there a way to find out who the officiating crew is tonight? I think this is so important. I'm curious to see where the crew ranks in number of fouls called per game. If we get a crew that let's 'em play, we have a great shot at winning. If we have a crew that's going to call it tight and call fouls on Cyril for muscling Obi or for Fatts getting in Crutcher's jock strap, we could be in trouble. If we're allowed to play our physical style of defense, we have a great shot of winning this game.

[Rhody74]

front page of local newspaper sports section

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/coll ... 709539002/

Good story.

[DC_Rams]

Obi, obviously is used to being in the spotlight, however, personally speaking, I don’t like this tag line, at all. I’m hoping it doesn’t cause Jacob to force the issue and get beside himself. He’s still a freshman. He’s still a reserve player. He’s never played in front of 13,500. He’s been made the center of attention.

Maybe this is a good thing, maybe not...just another one of those things that make me a nervous Nellie.

End rant.

LFG!!!

[OhioRam32]

I go to Miami (OH) which is 1 hr from Dayton. I saw tix for this game back in January and they were $18 for nosebleeds but my syllabi had not been posted yet so I held off so I could see if I had anything important due the next day. Dayton was #13 at this point. My syllabi were posted right after Dayton became #7. I checked tix....$110 for the same nosebleeds. See where being responsible got me?? It got me stuck in my apartment tonight dealing with buffering every few minutes trying to watch the biggest URI regular season game I can remember. There's a valuable lesson in that. Screw being responsible!!! Anyway, let's fucking win.

[TulaneGradRamFan]

I, for one, am happy Bill Koch is being more active here. He’s not perfect (no one is) but we could do a heckuva lot worse for a beat writer.

Bill said to Kevin in their last "Pick and Pop" podcast, after Kevin said he wouldn't mind seeing the game live and covering it for Bill if he was sick or couldn't cover it, "Wild horses couldn't drag me away from covering [this URI game at Dayton]" and "It is games like these are what sports writers look forward to".

[RF1]

front page of local newspaper sports section

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/coll ... 709539002/

The Toppin brothers in earlier days:

[Rhodymob05]

This game is gonna take some HUGE balls. GET EM

[adam914]

Is it game time yet?

[Section104]

I do think it's important to take a step back and call out a few things so that in the event things don't go as planned tonight - it is college basketball after-all - we don't all jump off the ledge and can understand what we're up against.

• This would be the fourth best win in all of college basketball this year. San Diego State, Baylor, and Gonzaga are all undefeated at home (the teams in front of Dayton in Ken Pom or NET), Duke has losses to Stephen F. Austin and Louisville at home and Kansas lost to Baylor at home...this would be one of our best wins of all time from a metrics standpoint

• This isn't a normal A10 team. They are #2 in offensive efficiency behind only Gonzaga and have a wealth of upperclassmen experience and a balanced scoring attack

• They have arguably the best A10 player EVER on their team. A legitimate frontrunner for NPOY and lottery pick. We're talking Lamar Odom, Marcus Camby, David West, Jameer Nelson etc. type talent.

• They are playing in front of 13,000+ fans. Tickets are moving for $300-500. There's some serious hype around this game and they haven't lost at home this year. In fact, they haven't lost in regulation this year.

Are they beatable? Absolutely. We have incredible talent and the type of physicality required to give them a game. But this isn't a top 20 team, they are top 5, and I think they are the A10s most likely final four team since Nelson and West were wearing a St. Joseph's uniform.

We also get two shots at them...win or lose tonight we see them at least once more this year - and maybe even a third time in Brooklyn.

[Rhodyram]

Let Obi score 30, SHUT DOWN EVERYONE ELSE.

I love having Dowtin/Fatts on Crutcher.

I love having Rese on Mikesell.(sp?)

If Obi scores 30 I think we are in big trouble

[RI_Bred]

I do think it's important to take a step back and call out a few things so that in the event things don't go as planned tonight - it is college basketball after-all - we don't all jump off the ledge and can understand what we're up against.

• This would be the fourth best win in all of college basketball this year. San Diego State, Baylor, and Gonzaga are all undefeated at home (the teams in front of Dayton in Ken Pom or NET), Duke has losses to Stephen F. Austin and Louisville at home and Kansas lost to Baylor at home...this would be one of our best wins of all time from a metrics standpoint

• This isn't a normal A10 team. They are #2 in offensive efficiency behind only Gonzaga and have a wealth of upperclassmen experience and a balanced scoring attack

• They have arguably the best A10 player EVER on their team. A legitimate frontrunner for NPOY and lottery pick. We're talking Lamar Odom, Marcus Camby, David West, Jameer Nelson etc. type talent.

• They are playing in front of 13,000+ fans. Tickets are moving for $300-500. There's some serious hype around this game and they haven't lost at home this year. In fact, they haven't lost in regulation this year.

Are they beatable? Absolutely. We have incredible talent and the type of physicality required to give them a game. But this isn't a top 20 team, they are top 5, and I think they are the A10s most likely final four team since Nelson and West were wearing a St. Joseph's uniform.

We also get two shots at them...win or lose tonight we see them at least once more this year - and maybe even a third time in Brooklyn.

Agree. Perspective is always a prudent thing to marry with hope.

[wpbrown8267]

• They are playing in front of 13,000+ fans. Tickets are moving for $300-500. There's some serious hype around this game and they haven't lost at home this year. In fact, they haven't lost in regulation this year.

Great post 104

I think what is incredible with this Dayton team is they have not lost in regulation (Kansas in Maui, Colorado in Boulder)

Crazy to think if a possession or two went differently, we could be playing an undefeated team. Dayton is that damn good, but like you alluded to, they can be beat (SLU twice, Duquesne). Lets go boys!!! Lets be ready for the big lights and play your best basketball of the season

[wpbrown8267]

Let Obi score 30, SHUT DOWN EVERYONE ELSE.

I love having Dowtin/Fatts on Crutcher.

I love having Rese on Mikesell.(sp?)

If Obi scores 30 I think we are in big trouble

Agreed, if Crutcher, Landers, Watson get hot look out, in addition to Obi going off

[jcru]

The Toppin brothers in earlier days:

Obi might be the star, but having that as your sparring partner, not to mention dad, everyday since you could walk, has got to be good for your game.

[RF1]

Beating Dayton is very much an uphill climb. Just keeping it close however will still be a win by most measures. Unlike other recent games, a loss tonight will not really damage URI.

[rhodyruckus]

Agreed with above, everyone keep in mind this is a TOUGH game. I don't care how we fared last year, this Dayton team is out for blood and it is just as probable we lose by 20+ than win. This is our "gravy" game; a win to Dayton at home would still count as Q1.

That said, what I most want is to put our best foot forward in terms of effort and smart decisions. If the shots don't fall, they don't, and I'll accept whatever result. We likely need our shooting and 3-point percentages north of 50/40 respectively.

[jcru]

I'm thinking URI does what they did at VCU, and jumps out to a double digit lead and shuts down the crowd.

Second half the lead dwindles and it's a -3/3+ game either way at the end, right to the final minute.

[OhioRam32]

I go to Miami (OH) which is 1 hr from Dayton. I saw tix for this game back in January and they were $18 for nosebleeds but my syllabi had not been posted yet so I held off so I could see if I had anything important due the next day. Dayton was #13 at this point. My syllabi were posted right after Dayton became #7. I checked tix....$110 for the same nosebleeds. See where being responsible got me?? It got me stuck in my apartment tonight dealing with buffering every few minutes trying to watch the biggest URI regular season game I can remember. There's a valuable lesson in that. Screw being responsible!!! Anyway, let's fucking win.

THEY ARE DOWN TO $35, ALMOST TO MY TARGET. THAT DAMNED COLLEGE KID BUDGET. I AM PLAYIN THE GAME BABY, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. Would really appreciate everyone's support during this mentally trying time.

[jcru]

URI is a race car. But, against a team like Dayton, they only have enough gas in the tank to dominate one half. You kind of have to pick your poison.

Do you want to paste them in the first half and hold on for dear life or do you want to try and keep it close in the first half and be the comeback kids in the second?

[gazakaza]

I go to Miami (OH) which is 1 hr from Dayton. I saw tix for this game back in January and they were $18 for nosebleeds but my syllabi had not been posted yet so I held off so I could see if I had anything important due the next day. Dayton was #13 at this point. My syllabi were posted right after Dayton became #7. I checked tix....$110 for the same nosebleeds. See where being responsible got me?? It got me stuck in my apartment tonight dealing with buffering every few minutes trying to watch the biggest URI regular season game I can remember. There's a valuable lesson in that. Screw being responsible!!! Anyway, let's fucking win.

THEY ARE DOWN TO $35, ALMOST TO MY TARGET. THAT DAMNED COLLEGE KID BUDGET. I AM PLAYIN THE GAME BABY, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. Would really appreciate everyone's support during this mentally trying time.

Anybody else feel like contributing to get this kid in the building? We've all been there. I'm down

[OhioRam32]

I go to Miami (OH) which is 1 hr from Dayton. I saw tix for this game back in January and they were $18 for nosebleeds but my syllabi had not been posted yet so I held off so I could see if I had anything important due the next day. Dayton was #13 at this point. My syllabi were posted right after Dayton became #7. I checked tix....$110 for the same nosebleeds. See where being responsible got me?? It got me stuck in my apartment tonight dealing with buffering every few minutes trying to watch the biggest URI regular season game I can remember. There's a valuable lesson in that. Screw being responsible!!! Anyway, let's fucking win.

THEY ARE DOWN TO $35, ALMOST TO MY TARGET. THAT DAMNED COLLEGE KID BUDGET. I AM PLAYIN THE GAME BABY, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. Would really appreciate everyone's support during this mentally trying time.

Anybody else feel like contributing to get this kid in the building? We've all been there. I'm down

Oh wow, that is incredibly generous. I did not mean "support" in that way, just meant well wishes but thank you so much. This really is the best fanbase in the world

[UD90]

Good thread. The more I think about this game the more I realize this is the biggest game of the regular season for Dayton. It is critical Dayton at least splits the series if they want to keep a realistic shot at a NCAA 2 seed. Lose this one and URI is in the driver's seat for the A10 1 seed. We fall to a 4 or maybe 5 NCAA seed without this home win. URI only has SLU at home. All road games are probable wins. Dayton still has VCU and URI on the road. I'm guessing the game in Kingston will be for the regular season title. Is it 7pm.yet?

[Running Ram]

My bet online account has URI +9.5 I think we cover that

I feel like this will either be a wire to wire game of runs, or a 10+ point win that could go either way.

um, DC, lol you said either one of the two teams will win a close one, or one of the two teams will win going away. That's a good bet, I'd like action on that one. Not being snarky bro, just sayin, that covers about 90% of possible outcomes.

[rhodysurf]

https://www.blackburnreview.com/2020/02 ... -island-9/

[RhowdyRam02]

To be clear, I didn't take it as a personal slight whatsoever. I already had quotes from being on the road at GW. A day with no access actually gives me some time off in the grand scheme of things.

I didn't like it for my colleagues. They weren't given opportunity. And I've outlined my other points above. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree, but I wanted to make a genuine attempt at being transparent.

Of course the actual game deserves the headlines, and it will get them tonight.

to be fair, your colleagues at The Journal dont deserve it. They are nothing but PC cheerleaders that never pass up a chance to take put down URI or to promote anything PC does as the greatest thing as sliced bread. They can go pound tar.

Dont get me wrong, I may not always agree with you but I am a fan of your coverage. You cover the team as they should be and are a very good jounralist, and a worthy "successor" to Paul Kenyon.

Cox's #1 job is to win games. If he feels avoiding any unnecessary distractions is what's best for the team given the short turn around, then no one is qualified enough to question it.

As for promotion...a road game at #6 in the country promotes itself, they dont exactly need to trot out the players to convince the public that it's a major game with huge importance on their season.

I get your perspective as a journalist, but you had the foresight to plan ahead expecting this to happen. For your colleagues, I go back to what people say about Belichick and journalists, "its not his job to do yours for you and give you quotes"

Bravo, DPS.

If you read Bill's first post on this topic DPS literally got everything wrong

[rhodysurf]

Also

[FDshoes]

URI is a race car. But, against a team like Dayton, they only have enough gas in the tank to dominate one half. You kind of have to pick your poison.

Do you want to paste them in the first half and hold on for dear life or do you want to try and keep it close in the first half and be the comeback kids in the second?

I hate this argument, there are so many teams in college ball that run an 8 man rotation. Insinuating that they cant play balls to the wall for 40 minutes is ludacris. That means you dont have faith in the teams strength and conditioning regiment.

[RhowdyRam02]

I believe Bill is not exactly referring to his colleagues at the Journal, but the ones that work for other newspapers in the state including Will Geoghegan from the Independent, Colby Cotter from the Narragansett Times, the Student Journalists at the Cigar, among others. All who do a fantastic job covering the team, and most definitely do not get the same travel budget as Koch and the Projo. They don't get the same opportunities to get quotes on the road, and then also miss this opportunity for coverage when it is not offered to them.

Bill plainly stated that in his first post on the topic, just some people seem to want to ignore it. Just like this isn't some "locked in" strategy for Dayton, rather a media strategy for Cox going back to last season, a strategy that I believe is wrong and shortsighted

[Rhodyhooopz]

I've been following Rams for near 50 years, I would or could argue that this is the biggest regular season ever. Considering all the factors, Dayton being ranked so high, Rhody chasing them a game behind and right outside of rankings, as well as being red hot riding a 10 game winning streak, Dayton with a POY candidate, Fatts having an A 10 POY season if not for Toppin, being on national tv for the nation to see. We played a St Joes who was #2 ( I believe) as a few have said, but e weren't as good as this year. One game that does stick out in my mind is 1988 vs Mark Macon and Temple coming to Keaney vs the great '88 team with Tommy Garrick and Silk. Temple if my mind serves me correctly was also about # 5 or 6 at the time and had reached #1 and was truly a great team and obviously that was one of the better URI teams of all time. Some of the older guys can correct me if I am incorrect on some of the details of that game. Either way, we are now in the present day so this is the biggest game and Tuesday if finally here, very excited. Go Rhody!

I was at that Temple game in '88. That was probably the most anticipated home game I can remember. Macon was only a freshman but was already considered to be one of the best players in the country. We only lost 7 games that year and 3 were to Temple (and obviously, 1 was to Duke). If we can win tonight and both teams hold serve until the final regular season game against Dayton, we'll both be 16-1 and playing for the title. That would be the game that might top the Temple game in '88. But once again, let's not get ahead of ourselves (or more accurately, myself) here .

Game was at Noon on Superbowl Sunday. One of the best days as a student. party before the game party after the game. Only bad thing was the result. Macon hit a three over Tommy to clinch the game in the last minute. Temple was #1 at the time.Would love to know the attendance that day. People were coming from every door anyone would open for them to get in that building.

[RI_Bred]

https://www.blackburnreview.com/2020/02 ... -island-9/

While David Cox and Rhody will certainly use their depth at the wing spot to try and stop the unstoppable, Obi will most likely be seeing a lot of 12th year senior Cyril Langevine.

That's pretty funny, have to admit. Great article.

[DC_Rams]

I believe Bill is not exactly referring to his colleagues at the Journal, but the ones that work for other newspapers in the state including Will Geoghegan from the Independent, Colby Cotter from the Narragansett Times, the Student Journalists at the Cigar, among others. All who do a fantastic job covering the team, and most definitely do not get the same travel budget as Koch and the Projo. They don't get the same opportunities to get quotes on the road, and then also miss this opportunity for coverage when it is not offered to them.

Bill plainly stated that in his first post on the topic, just some people seem to want to ignore it. Just like this isn't some "locked in" strategy for Dayton, rather a media strategy for Cox going back to last season, a strategy that I believe is wrong and shortsighted

RR02, it’s def a locked in strategy.

[PeterRamTime]

Also

Look at our old friend Tate putting in work in crunch time!

[Ramulous]

I am very superstitious. Maybe Cox is also. Hence the media position he took.

I like having Bill Koch as our beat writer. The best we ever had. He’s better than Kevin Mac.

But.....hey...... I like Jim Donaldson....so what do I know?

[bigappleram]

Also a Marial Mading sighting on our bench.

[URI'21]

Bill said to Kevin in their last "Pick and Pop" podcast, after Kevin said he wouldn't mind seeing the game live and covering it for Bill if he was sick or couldn't cover it, "Wild horses couldn't drag me away from covering [this URI game at Dayton]" and "It is games like these are what sports writers look forward to".

Ayyyy!!! Let's go Bill. Fuck off Kevin

[jcru]

But.....hey...... I like Jim Donaldson....so what do I know?

When you and Donaldson walk together, is it like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito in the movie "Twins"?

[Running Ram]

I've been following Rams for near 50 years, I would or could argue that this is the biggest regular season ever. Considering all the factors, Dayton being ranked so high, Rhody chasing them a game behind and right outside of rankings, as well as being red hot riding a 10 game winning streak, Dayton with a POY candidate, Fatts having an A 10 POY season if not for Toppin, being on national tv for the nation to see. We played a St Joes who was #2 ( I believe) as a few have said, but e weren't as good as this year. One game that does stick out in my mind is 1988 vs Mark Macon and Temple coming to Keaney vs the great '88 team with Tommy Garrick and Silk. Temple if my mind serves me correctly was also about # 5 or 6 at the time and had reached #1 and was truly a great team and obviously that was one of the better URI teams of all time. Some of the older guys can correct me if I am incorrect on some of the details of that game. Either way, we are now in the present day so this is the biggest game and Tuesday if finally here, very excited. Go Rhody!

I was at that Temple game in '88. That was probably the most anticipated home game I can remember. Macon was only a freshman but was already considered to be one of the best players in the country. We only lost 7 games that year and 3 were to Temple (and obviously, 1 was to Duke). If we can win tonight and both teams hold serve until the final regular season game against Dayton, we'll both be 16-1 and playing for the title. That would be the game that might top the Temple game in '88. But once again, let's not get ahead of ourselves (or more accurately, myself) here .

In my opinion, this was the biggest game in recent history (if you consider 30+ years recent lol) I was there it was one of the first games I attended. My dad was bonkers about Rhody BB, but 3 of my 4 older sibs didn't show much interest, so he and my mom would go with friends. When my brother and I perked up and showed some interest my pop was psyched, he took us to the PC game (I think we won going away that year) and to the temple game, Temple was ranked #1 for a good part of that season I believe. The game at old Keaney was sold out, my dad somehow got his friends to give up their tix for us bros. I remember my folks talking about this game for at least two weeks leading up to it. By seasons end (sweet sixteen) we obviously were known as one of the best teams in the country. As others have mentioned, its more about the importance of the game vis a vis how good both teams are when the show down occurs and how much respect and attention a win would get us in terms of tournament placement, than it is about just how highly ranked the other team is at the time of the game. PC had good teams the years leading up, and we were coming out of the Brandon Malone years, so the turn around for Rhody was awesome and it had locals interested, enthused really. It was the only time in my primary school years that I remember other kids talking about Rhody hoops. Also to be noted, my love of Rhody hoops was probably the deciding factor in where I went to college, so I'll always be the guy that insists that a high profile BB program will always pay dividends.

[Rhody15]

Can't wait until my guy Jermaine hits a step back game winning 3...

[Running Ram]

Can't wait until my guy Jermaine hits a step back game winning 3...

I can't wait until you have to eat crow when he gets his.

[Rhody74]

Can't wait until my guy Jermaine hits a step back game winning 3...

Or Cyril hits a couple of free throws to clinch.