1/6 | Richmond | 6:00PM (CBSSN)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs University of Richmond
Robins Center, Richmond, VA
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
6:00PM

Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App

Previews:
Richmond’s Fan Forum

After winning their last 2 home conference games, albeit in ugly fashion, the Rams head to Richmond to take on the Spiders. Rhody has taken 5 of the last 7 against Richmond, but this is a different Richmond team. The Spiders were picked in the preseason to win the A10 & are led by all-conference & all-defensive team winner Jacob Gilyard. This will be a fun matchup between Gilyard & Fatts. Gilyard has a great supporting cast in both Blake Francis & Grant Golden, both of whom were picked second team all-conference. The Spiders are coming off a home loss to the Bonnies, so their will be coming out for revenge Wednesday night as Gilyard had a Fatts-like night shooting 5-13 & 1-6 from deep. Fatts & Sheppard will need to handle the ball better (both have had 3 or more turnovers in their 4 of their last 5 games) or Gilyard & to a lesser extent Francis will have a field day with steals. Richmond plays their starting 5 a majority of the game & have a rotation of 6. That is the opposite of Rhody who have 10 players seeing significant minutes, so hopefully the Rams can tire them out with all the extra bodies. Rams will need to play better if they expect to get a road win here. I know, I will say it again, but we are desperate for a good Fatts shooting night. As we all are painfully aware of, he is 1 for his last 18 from behind the arc. As the Richmond fan forum says about this game “let this sucker shoot, egg him to shoot” & sadly I would have to agree. Fatts driving & getting to the line is how he gets his points. If he is settling for long jumpers it could be a long night. Hopefully he can draw fouls on them, so they have to go deeper into their bench. Walker & Mitchell need to continue their strong play & hopefully 2 more of the rotating cast have solid games & maybe we have a shot. I am guessing the line will be about Richmond -5.5 & I think we lose this one by 6, 78-72. Really don’t feel good about this one given how poorly we have played as of late. You can play poorly against Saint Joe’s at home & sneak out a victory in overtime but on the road at Richmond is a different story. But hey, stranger things have happened. Wear a Mask & Go Rhody!

Opponent
Record:
7-3, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10
Last season: 24-7, 14-4 in the Atlantic 10

Rankings (URI):
RPI: 41 (87)
KenPom: 59 (77)
NCAA NET: 68 (79)
BPI: 39 (82)
Sagarin: 55 (80)

Leaders:
Points – Blake Francis 16.5 (Sr., G)
Rebounds – Tyler Burton 8.4 (Soph., G)
Assists – Jacob Gilyard 5.7 (Sr., G) (1.4 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 11-15
H: 8-4, A: 3-9, N: 0-2
Most Recent Matchup: 1/5/20 69-61 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 – Richmond
Match-up Predictor: 27.2% Chance of URI Winning

[KingstonLane]

We just beat SBU who beat Richmond. That isn’t me saying we’ll be win, but rather we can if we bring a decent effort

[spookydog]

We just beat SBU who beat Richmond. That isn’t me saying we’ll be win, but rather we can if we bring a decent effort

And they won at Davidson who we lost to at home.

So who the F knows what will happen.

[KingstonLane]

We just beat SBU who beat Richmond. That isn’t me saying we’ll be win, but rather we can if we bring a decent effort

And they won at Davidson who we lost to at home.

So who the F knows what will happen.

Ha exactly, you never know. I’d argue there’s two Tiers of teams in the top half of the conference:

Tier 1 - STL
Tier 2 (in no order) - URI, DAV, SBU, RICH, DAY, VCU

Anyone in Tier 2 can beat eachother on any given night. I mentioned this last week in another post. Not a recipe for success for getting tournament bids. Some of these Tier 2 teams will need to separate themselves or we really risk being a one bid league

[Blue Man]

We just beat SBU who beat Richmond. That isn’t me saying we’ll be win, but rather we can if we bring a decent effort

And they won at Davidson who we lost to at home.

So who the F knows what will happen.

We are a box of chocolates. Unfortunately without an identity, we're just rolling the balls out like a pick-up game.

Ride the rollercoaster boys - should be erm...fun!

[Rhodymob05]

Interested to see the lineup for this game. GO BIG?

[Jersey77]

I like the way we match up with them, should be a great game. We definitely need better ball security and must hit some shots to have a chance.
Losing Sherod for them was a much bigger loss than Makhi for us.

[eli#10]

Golden shoots 3s for Richmond. If he is beyond the arc Mitchell and Harris need to get out on him with arms up to make any shot a little more difficult. I would not object to him putting the ball on the floor and trying to get to the rim and make something positive happen for the Spiders.

This is exactly what we should have done yesterday when defending Funk.

[RhodyKyle]

I like the way we match up with them, should be a great game. We definitely need better ball security and must hit some shots to have a chance.
Losing Sherod for them was a much bigger loss than Makhi for us.

I do not like how we match up. They play a smart, focused, motion offense, like Davidson, and are experienced and disciplined. The AAU ball where we just try to out-athlete the opponent won't work with Richmond. Richmond doesn't foul much and doesn't turn the ball over so there won't be many points available at the line or fast-break opportunities. URI needs to start playing smart and cohesive ball to beat Richmond.

[SmartyBarrett]

Through a small sample in A-10 play, here's where both teams rank in KenPom efficiency (out of 13 teams as SLU has not played an A-10 game yet):

Richmond offense: 2nd
Rhode Island defense: 2nd

Richmond defense: 12th (ahead of only Fordham)
Rhode Island offense: 11th (ahead of only Fordham and St. Joe's)

Can a bad defensive opponent kick-start URI's offense? Can URI keep up their solid defense against the best A-10 offense they've faced to date?

[PeteRI]

Through a small sample in A-10 play, here's where both teams rank in KenPom efficiency (out of 13 teams as SLU has not played an A-10 game yet):

Richmond offense: 2nd
Rhode Island defense: 2nd

Richmond defense: 12th (ahead of only Fordham)
Rhode Island offense: 11th (ahead of only Fordham and St. Joe's)

Can a bad defensive opponent kick-start URI's offense? Can URI keep up their solid defense against the best A-10 offense they've faced to date?

In the immortal words of
Yogi Berra: "Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa."

[Jersey77]

I like the way we match up with them, should be a great game. We definitely need better ball security and must hit some shots to have a chance.
Losing Sherod for them was a much bigger loss than Makhi for us.

I do not like how we match up. They play a smart, focused, motion offense, like Davidson, and are experienced and disciplined. The AAU ball where we just try to out-athlete the opponent won't work with Richmond. Richmond doesn't foul much and doesn't turn the ball over so there won't be many points available at the line or fast-break opportunities. URI needs to start playing smart and cohesive ball to beat Richmond.

Their defense hasn't been stellar, so hopefully we should be able to score on them.
Richmond's guards (Francis, Gilyard) are both smaller so they won't have a size advantage over us.
Sherod is a big loss for them because he was their best outside threat and had good size at 6'4''
Burton and Cayo should be an interesting matchup for Martin, Walker, and DJ.
Hopefully JH and Makhel can help neutralize Golden, he is good but nowhere near the same level that Mamu is.
Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.
Overall our talent matches up with theirs minus Sherod, and we are deeper.
Yes, they will be favored and it will take a solid all round effort on our part to win, but we were able to pull it off against Seton Hall

[SmartyBarrett]

Feels like Golden has been there since the mid-90s.

[spookydog]

Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

[Jersey77]

Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

True LOL, The fans get emotional. Maybe excellent was an exaggeration but they are usually a well disciplined team. He did take them to the Dance a couple of times and made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" and some success in the NIT. Unfortunately for them because they would of gotten a bid last year and probably again this year if not losing Sherod . It's not an easy situation for him because they are in the backyard of the prized ACC.

And if we beat Richmond, their fans will really be calling for his head.

[KevanBoyles]

I look for the team and Fats to play better during the next two games. The reason is simple. We are in the second week of getting back to a rhythm and a regular schedule where we play two games a week. Hopefully no more start and stop for a while.

[Rhodymob05]

Yea you think we’re bad with Cox lol.

[Ram96]

Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

If we don’t step up our game soon, we may need to get Fire Cox billboards going.

[theblueram]

Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

True LOL, The fans get emotional. Maybe excellent was an exaggeration but they are usually a well disciplined team. He did take them to the Dance a couple of times and made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" and some success in the NIT. Unfortunately for them because they would of gotten a bid last year and probably again this year if not losing Sherod . It's not an easy situation for him because they are in the backyard of the prized ACC.

And if we beat Richmond, their fans will really be calling for his head.

He took them to the Sweet 16 ten years ago. They haven't been in the NCAAT since. Glad he's not our coach.

[Jersey77]

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

True LOL, The fans get emotional. Maybe excellent was an exaggeration but they are usually a well disciplined team. He did take them to the Dance a couple of times and made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" and some success in the NIT. Unfortunately for them because they would of gotten a bid last year and probably again this year if not losing Sherod . It's not an easy situation for him because they are in the backyard of the prized ACC.

And if we beat Richmond, their fans will really be calling for his head.

He took them to the Sweet 16 ten years ago. They haven't been in the NCAAT since. Glad he's not our coach.

I am good with Cox, we shall see.
Going to the NCAAT last year would of probably bought Mooney some more years. Too bad he lost Sherod, possibly costing him another bid this year.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Interested to see the lineup for this game. GO BIG?

I understand...new guys...but is it unrealistic to think that after 10 games, the starting lineup would be set?

[rambone 78]

I like the way we match up with them, should be a great game. We definitely need better ball security and must hit some shots to have a chance.
Losing Sherod for them was a much bigger loss than Makhi for us.

I do not like how we match up. They play a smart, focused, motion offense, like Davidson, and are experienced and disciplined. The AAU ball where we just try to out-athlete the opponent won't work with Richmond. Richmond doesn't foul much and doesn't turn the ball over so there won't be many points available at the line or fast-break opportunities. URI needs to start playing smart and cohesive ball to beat Richmond.

I agree with RhodyKyle.

Their style will give us fits, with our poor defense.

I will be very surprised if we win this game.

[Jersey77]

I like the way we match up with them, should be a great game. We definitely need better ball security and must hit some shots to have a chance.
Losing Sherod for them was a much bigger loss than Makhi for us.

I do not like how we match up. They play a smart, focused, motion offense, like Davidson, and are experienced and disciplined. The AAU ball where we just try to out-athlete the opponent won't work with Richmond. Richmond doesn't foul much and doesn't turn the ball over so there won't be many points available at the line or fast-break opportunities. URI needs to start playing smart and cohesive ball to beat Richmond.

I agree with RhodyKyle.

Their style will give us fits, with our poor defense.

I will be very surprised if we win this game.

Unfortunately, many of the teams that we will face, this is what we are dealing with: more seasoned, experienced, and disciplined than us.
It is going to be a grind for us
I like the way our talent matches up, and we have an advantage with depth.
Cox has his work cut out for him, but if our play is solid we have a chance to win these games.
Besides Richmond's defense is suspect.

[reef]

72-67 RU

[luke]

The way they are playing right now thwy won't beat Richmond . However , Richmond is not the powerhouse they have been made out to be : witness Richmond against St Bonaventure .The Spiders are quite beatable , in fact URI has better talent , but the lack of discipline and patience may offset
the advantages . With better passing and better shot selection they can win this game . They cannot win playing as sloppy as they have recently . They
have to stop forcing passes and forcing shots and they have to be much better as a team from three.

[steveystuds06]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

[RIrugger01]

Mooney is an excellent/experienced coach and has been there forever, so they do have an advantage there.

I don't think the Richmond fans think that he is an excellent coach. Hell, they bought Fire Mooney billboards around Richmond. That's dedication!

If we don’t step up our game soon, we may need to get Fire Cox billboards going.

Fire Cox? Is that an STD?

[theblueram]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

I hope you get your bday wish!!!!!!! As do we all.

[Obadiah]

In Richmond, URI faces the third A-10 team in a row that features an experienced, starter dominant team. The playing time (PT) of the five Richmond starters averages 80+%, they account for a like percentage of the scoring. In close match-ups these numbers trend higher. Against the Bonnies the starters accounted for 92% of scoring, versus Davidson it was 97%.

Unlike URI where Fatts is our lone volume shooter, Richmond has three topped by Blake Francis followed closely by Grant Golden and Jake Gilyard. This a good shooting team - less so on the FT line - and commonly have five players with double digit scoring. Expect them to put up between 20-25 treys.

This is a well-poised team, comfortable in playing together, understanding their roles and their deliberate style emphasizes crisp passing. They show good ball control, often keeping turnovers to single digits. Their A/TO ratio has been above one in all ten games, ex their rout by WVU.

Richmond's weakness is their rebounding and their ironman effort gives them little bench contribution. There is some slight evidence they lose their legs in the second half of games.

Given their lack of depth and deliberate style, the Spiders will avoid getting into a track meet with the Rams. URI must use its athleticism to crash the boards and disrupt the Richmond passing lanes.

Richmond has seen their national ranking go puff and they have lost their last two home games, so expect the Spiders to be fully charged for this game. Very hard to see URI getting the win here considering our disorganized and sloppy play of recent games.

[Billyboy78]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

Did you watch that win over Syracuse when you were about 2 months old ?

[theblueram]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

Did you watch that win over Syracuse when you were about 2 months old ?

That was a GREAT game billyboy!

[Jersey77]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

Did you watch that win over Syracuse when you were about 2 months old ?

That was a GREAT game billyboy!

Huge game from Garrick and Green

[PeterRamTime]

Just dont like the feeling of this one, especially since they've dropped a couple and they'll be sure to bring it against us because literally everybody always does.

We don't win without Fatts playing well. We need end of regulation/overtime Fatts big time because we will be sloppy. Need some of his explosive scoring ability to jump start us.

He also needs a little revenge against Gilyard...

[ramster]

Quite the URI Game Thread from the Richmond message board......bulletin board material for Russell and Cox

https://richmond.forums.rivals.com/thre ... and.12660/

[steveystuds06]

Quite the URI Game Thread from the Richmond message board......bulletin board material for Russell and Cox

https://richmond.forums.rivals.com/thre ... and.12660/

Ya many on there said that Cox isn't a good coach and Fatts can't shoot...Hopefully, Fatts goes off and we shut them up

[PeterRamTime]

Quite the URI Game Thread from the Richmond message board......bulletin board material for Russell and Cox

https://richmond.forums.rivals.com/thre ... and.12660/

Ya many on there said that Cox isn't a good coach and Fatts can't shoot...Hopefully, Fatts goes off and we shut them up

Sounds familiar...

[Rhody15]

Quite the URI Game Thread from the Richmond message board......bulletin board material for Russell and Cox

https://richmond.forums.rivals.com/thre ... and.12660/

Ya many on there said that Cox isn't a good coach and Fatts can't shoot...Hopefully, Fatts goes off and we shut them up

Well, I mean, they aren’t wrong when they say Fatts can’t shoot.

Under 20% from 3 this year.

However I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he goes for 30+ tomorrow.

[Rhody15]

First post I see in the thread says Sheppard is an improvement over Dowtin.

Man oh man...

How clueless can that guy be?

[ramster]

You think that’s bad, keep reading

[Rhody15]

You think that’s bad, keep reading

Also saw one that said Fatts will be the worst player on the floor.

Still, saying Sheppard is an improvement over Dowtin is wild.

[SandorClegane]

I like how the RU forum rips apart opposing teams players. Our forum tends to pick apart our own players. Let’s start making fun of other teams. I’ll start.

...Golden looks like a hippie. Hopefully he gets ‘burned out’ during the game and puts up a turd. Go get stoned and watch a Phish concert (virtually of course) you stupid hippie.

Phew... I feel better already.

[NYGFan_Section208]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

I hope you get your bday wish!!!!!!! As do we all.

My wife's b'day also...baked a cake tonight

[reef]

First post I see in the thread says Sheppard is an improvement over Dowtin.

Man oh man...

How clueless can that guy be?

Yeah that was my thought as well , Dowtin all day long there

1st statement said we are an athletic big team that is not well organized or well coached , kind of spot on

[ramster]

Cayo 2nd in A10 at FG% of 68% and Golden 7th at 60% will represent a challenge for our defensive big men in Mitchell, Walker and Harris.

[Jersey77]

Cayo 2nd in A10 at FG% of 68% and Golden 7th at 60% will represent a challenge for our defensive big men in Mitchell, Walker and Harris.

Their front court of Burton, Cayo, and Golden will be a handful, all capable of scoring double figures regularly. I wonder whose assignment Martin's will be (Burton or Cayo), he is our best defender and plays physical.

[Obadiah]

Don't you love this quote from the Richmond forum:

"The only things Fatts does is shoot and score. He is not really all that good at anything else." Talk about being clueless.

[rhodysurf]

Don't you love this quote from the Richmond forum:

"The only things Fatts does is shoot and score. He is not really all that good at anything else." Talk about being clueless.

I loved that one as he posted the quad nickel last game

[steviep123]

1/6/1988 was the day I became a Rhody fan. It was also the day I was born.

I can't imagine a better present than Rhody picking up an epic road win against arguably the best A10 team.

Let's go!!!!

Happy Larry Bird!

[thatRamBand]

Don't you love this quote from the Richmond forum:

"The only things Fatts does is shoot and score. He is not really all that good at anything else." Talk about being clueless.

A lot of Richmond fan's ire seems to come from the perceived slight of Jacob Gilyard any time that Fatts is mentioned as the best guard in the A10 or added to national watch lists (which neither of them can really claim that title). Looking forward to another matchup between the two of them this game.

[Jersey77]

Don't you love this quote from the Richmond forum:

"The only things Fatts does is shoot and score. He is not really all that good at anything else." Talk about being clueless.

A lot of Richmond fan's ire seems to come from the perceived slight of Jacob Gilyard any time that Fatts is mentioned as the best guard in the A10 or added to national watch lists (which neither of them can really claim that title). Looking forward to another matchup between the two of them this game.

First of all Gilyard may not be the top guard on their team, currently Blake Francis is having a better season. Second, I think Jordan Goodwin and Jalen Crutcher are the two best guards in the A10. IMO