12/7 | Sacred Heart | 6:00PM (YurView/ESPN+)

[Jersey77]

I can't believe I thought Shep would be the team leader and our most steady/impactful player. I really missed on that one so far, hopefully that changes.
I don't feel good about the Milwaukee game, especially now that Baldwin is back. They still aren't very good and neither are we.

[RamStock]

Omg 4928 attendance?

Cmon. 2/3 full!?

I doubt there were even that many tickets sold.

Tell me they’re just scanning extra tickets to say they’re filling the stands.

What a joke! That is so embarrassing to the program that both they make up fake numbers, but also that there is no interest in this program. Those attendance number predictions at the beginning of the year should be thrown out. My friend sent me a video of the arena. Low 3,000’s most likely he said

[RIFan]

Glad they pulled it out in the end, we really do have an advantage inside but unlike the Pats we can’t rely on one facet to win. We really do need to hit 5+ 3’s a game to have a chance.

[rambone 78]

So if Sacred Heart is awful, does that mean we're slightly better than awful?

Comforting thought, that.

Thomas is going to be a nice player. Hopefully he stays for the new coach.

[RhodyRams916]

Omg 4928 attendance?

Cmon. 2/3 full!?

I doubt there were even that many tickets sold.

Tell me they’re just scanning extra tickets to say they’re filling the stands.

What a joke! That is so embarrassing to the program that both they make up fake numbers, but also that there is no interest in this program. Those attendance number predictions at the beginning of the year should be thrown out. My friend sent me a video of the arena. Low 3,000’s most likely he said

I'll go to any game, but let's be real. Is Cox really earning himself good crowds so far this year? Weak schedule and starting games off terribly doesn't get many excited.

[ramster]

Omg 4928 attendance?

Cmon. 2/3 full!?

I doubt there were even that many tickets sold.

Tell me they’re just scanning extra tickets to say they’re filling the stands.

Blue Man,

Every time I bring up attendance I get crapped on that it really was 4000, or 5000 when I know it can’t be right.

So tonight I’m sitting there thinking there must be only 2500 here. In the 200 section seats on both sides there were easily half the seats empty. 300 level was very low.
Students were ok but I think the lowest I’ve seen this season and I’ve seen all games.

Attendance was so low I was thinking of counting people in each section, then go to the other side and count the team bench side of the floor (section 205……), just to prove to myself these announced numbers can’t be right.

Nobody can tell me the announced is scanned tickets.

Maybe for Brown I’ll count

Tickets are free for teachers for Brown btw

Go Rhody!

[rambone 78]

If we haven't been already, we are going to be exposed come conference play.

I don't see any improvement over the last few games. At least Thomas got more minutes.

If that trend continues, which looks likely as usual with this coach, watch out below.

[Jersey77]

If we haven't been already, we are going to be exposed come conference play.

I don't see any improvement over the last few games. At least Thomas got more minutes.

If that trend continues, which looks likely as usual with this coach, watch out below.

I do agree.
We open with Dayton, if this team doesn't improve, it won't be pretty.

[ramster]

El Amin and Leggett both shot 3’s well. El Amin must shoot more for the teams benefit and also I’ve got him in the contest - haha. But seriously he needs to be more aggressive in shooting.

Leggett also needs to shoot more.

Nice game by Walker

Entire starting 5 removed as stated earlier

Both Mitchell’s were not in the game together as often

Even though the same starting lineup all 10 games now I found myself thinking Cox might insert Walker and Thomas into the starting line up with Sheppard and 1 Mitchell coming in off the bench. Just a hunch based on tonight’s substitution pattern. Probably wrong but let’s see for Milwaukee.

Martin could also get a start based on his hustle, defense, rebounding, scoring ability and energy.

[steviep123]

I haven't watched yet - about to in a few mins. How did Berry and Ileri look?

[ramster]

I haven't watched yet - about to in a few mins. How did Berry and Ileri look?

You decide.

[KingstonLane]

If we haven't been already, we are going to be exposed come conference play.

I don't see any improvement over the last few games. At least Thomas got more minutes.

If that trend continues, which looks likely as usual with this coach, watch out below.

Only thing we have going for us is the whole conference for the most part is flawed. Outside of SBU all the “good” teams have struggled at times against weak competition. No idea how well fare but I’m not scared of many of the rosters we’ll be up against

[rambone 78]

Does anybody think we'll beat any of the top teams in the league?

It's possible I guess, but how many will we lose to the bottom of the league....especially since we play more games against them this season.

Consistently struggling to beat bad teams is a bad omen.

[Rhody_NYCT]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

[section(105)]

………nothing to look forward to, nothing from this game, against this 280ish ranked team leaves me with zero reason things will get fixed to compete for upper third A-10……coach mentioned in post game radio…….”lack of energy……..”……..yeah, ya think?……….

[ram1980]

That was a pretty uninspiring performance.. at least Steve McDonald thanked everyone for coming on post game show.. even that is disappointing. Used to get us 3/4 of way home. Only 1/2 way now. Need don kaull and Chris disano back.. only positive I have is ish Al Amin finally became more assertive on both ends of court in the second half. Would like to see that continue..

[bigappleram]

Our best starting lineup includes Walker IMO. He’s shooting close to 70% from the field and has zero offense run for him. Against most teams we play and will play he is being covered by a guy smaller than him that he can go right over. Yet we never intentionally go to him. He is our most polished player with his back to the basket. Perplexing.

[bigappleram]

And Thomas is our most gifted passer but needs to get a shooting coach and take like 6,000,000 shots this off season. It’s really ugly coming off his hand. Once he’s scouted it will limit his effectiveness if teams can play off him.

[Billyboy78]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

DCRams/TJRams has a 3rd account?

[Billyboy78]

And Thomas is our most gifted passer but needs to get a shooting coach and take like 6,000,000 shots this off season. It’s really ugly coming off his hand. Once he’s scouted it will limit his effectiveness if teams can play off him.

Exactly what I was thinking. He needs to put up 1000 shots every day during the off season. Is Jimmy Baron busy?

[Billyboy78]

You know who has the toughest job in the building? JV. He has to try and get the crowd excited about watching this. I feel bad for him when he's out there.

[gorhody89]

Our best starting lineup includes Walker IMO. He’s shooting close to 70% from the field and has zero offense run for him. Against most teams we play and will play he is being covered by a guy smaller than him that he can go right over. Yet we never intentionally go to him. He is our most polished player with his back to the basket. Perplexing.

Makes zero sense that Walker isn’t starting, if I were him how could I not be considering transferring.

[Rhody_NYCT]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

DCRams/TJRams has a 3rd account?

Haha. I have no idea who they are. Sorry, but I'm just not going to whine and bitch about every single thing. I appreciate that you want a winner. So do I. As far as the game tonight...we won. I am good with that.

[RhowdyRam02]

Building looks empty.

I’m sure the announced attendance will be 4400.

4928. I know they count tickets distributed and not actual attendees, but I didn't think it was nearly that. There were entire sections of the upper deck that were almost empty

[Blue Man]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

Imagine comparing this program to Kentucky?

[PeteRI]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

Imagine comparing this program to Kentucky?

Kentucky makes bourbon and this team makes me drink more.

[TruePoint]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

I admit to not even trying to watch this game and also haven’t read this thread yet, but this is nonsense. First of all, I’m sure that the fans all of the “other teams around the country” that let bad teams hang tough with them get on their message boards and complain afterwards. But that aside, good teams will occasionally struggle with bad teams - this is sports and these are kids, so that happens. Everyone here gets that. The difference between those good teams and us is that sometimes good teams win big important games; sometimes they win 8 or 10 or 12 games in a row; sometimes (most of the time) they run bad teams out of the gym. None of that is true for this team over the last couple of years. If you do all of those things and then throw in an occasional clunker you can forgive that or excuse it as an aberration. When you don’t ever do any of those things then clunkers are just who you are, and that’s what people are frustrated about.

For what it’s worth, among the people that have been “whining” about the team’s performance and the overall state of the program over the last few weeks are some of our most knowledgeable fans. Telling them that they don’t watch college basketball and that they need to wake up is a bad look for you.

[Jersey77]

This team doesn't play again until 12/13 and after that 12/19.
They have plenty of time between these road games to try and get their act together, no excuses.
The staff and players better figure it out, and try and play a complete game.

[ramster]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

DCRams/TJRams has a 3rd account?

I agree NYCT. We won and this game was not always decided even with 5 minutes left.
Thomas with a career high 26 minutes eclipsing his previous high of 20 minutes vs Harvard was noteworthy.

Sure looks to me like he could be our starting PG soon. My mind changed tonight when Cox played him so much and he is showing to be the best at running the team, making things happen and making others look better.
He has things to work on but he is beating out players in front of him just like he made himself not be redshirted and has continued to get more and more playing time.

I heard some good things from PC fans about Thomas on Saturday.

I think he is starting as soon as Milwaukee and latest by Brown. Just my hunch based on what I’m seeing Cox do.

Walker could be starting soon too. Mitchell’s were not in together as much tonight and Walker and Martin continue to impress.

Thomas getting the ball to El Amin and Leggett could move this teams needle.

Sheppard is struggling. Only played 12 minutes. He is leaving an opening for Thomas.

[PeteRI]

Instead of going to the game tonight I got a booster shot. I had a worse reaction watching this game.

[Rhody_NYCT]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

Imagine comparing this program to Kentucky?

Give me a break. It's not a comparison. It's one little example, in one moment, on one night of college basketball. Please stop watching Rhode Island and become a Kentucky fan. Maybe that will make you happy and satisfy you more. I doubt it.

[steveystuds06]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

I admit to not even trying to watch this game and also haven’t read this thread yet, but this is nonsense. First of all, I’m sure that the fans all of the “other teams around the country” that let bad teams hang tough with them get on their message boards and complain afterwards. But that aside, good teams will occasionally struggle with bad teams - this is sports and these are kids, so that happens. Everyone here gets that. The difference between those good teams and us is that sometimes good teams win big important games; sometimes they win 8 or 10 or 12 games in a row; sometimes (most of the time) they run bad teams out of the gym. None of that is true for this team over the last couple of years. If you do all of those things and then throw in an occasional clunker you can forgive that or excuse it as an aberration. When you don’t ever do any of those things then clunkers are just who you are, and that’s what people are frustrated about.

For what it’s worth, among the people that have been “whining” about the team’s performance and the overall state of the program over the last few weeks are some of our most knowledgeable fans. Telling them that they don’t watch college basketball and that they need to wake up is a bad look for you.

THANK YOU...

[steveystuds06]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

Imagine comparing this program to Kentucky?

DC Rams compared us to Kentucky all the time last season. Interesting...

Clearly, you don't understand the difference between a good team with a lousy game and what we are right now.

[Billyboy78]

Methinks DC Rams has about 10 different personalities.

[Blue Man]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

Imagine comparing this program to Kentucky?

Give me a break. It's not a comparison. It's one little example, in one moment, on one night of college basketball. Please stop watching Rhode Island and become a Kentucky fan. Maybe that will make you happy and satisfy you more. I doubt it.

There’s a huge ocean between what we are now and Kentucky. A short time ago I was happy. One of the only ones on this board actually.

[Rhody_NYCT]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

I admit to not even trying to watch this game and also haven’t read this thread yet, but this is nonsense. First of all, I’m sure that the fans all of the “other teams around the country” that let bad teams hang tough with them get on their message boards and complain afterwards. But that aside, good teams will occasionally struggle with bad teams - this is sports and these are kids, so that happens. Everyone here gets that. The difference between those good teams and us is that sometimes good teams win big important games; sometimes they win 8 or 10 or 12 games in a row; sometimes (most of the time) they run bad teams out of the gym. None of that is true for this team over the last couple of years. If you do all of those things and then throw in an occasional clunker you can forgive that or excuse it as an aberration. When you don’t ever do any of those things then clunkers are just who you are, and that’s what people are frustrated about.

For what it’s worth, among the people that have been “whining” about the team’s performance and the overall state of the program over the last few weeks are some of our most knowledgeable fans. Telling them that they don’t watch college basketball and that they need to wake up is a bad look for you.

What are you talking about that teams win 8,10, or 12 games in a row? Like who? What are you smoking? Anyway, some of the people whining may be knowledgeable for sure, but that doesn't mean they can't be unreasonable. Like I said before, I am a die hard Rhody fan and have been for almost 30 years. I want a winner. I just can't stand the negativity on this board. It's toxic. I'm done.

[luke]

I don't know , to me it seemed that the team was sluggish for the first half of the first half against a team that was there to compete as hard as they could. Another thing, if sacred Heart is such an awful team , they did not look so awful tonight. The Thomas kid was the best player on the floor all night and as good as he was URI virtually ignored him for the first eight minutes of the game and let him get in rhythm and stoke his confidence . He was very impressive . As a matter of fact Sacred Heart was not awful tonight . They shot the ball well for 2/3 of the game and played tough defense . I think the refs allowed SHU to play very aggressive on D in the paint . URI took only 5 fts in the first 38 minutes of the game . Both Mitchells and Walker absorbed quite a bit of contact without calls being made . If SHU had not been allowed to play that way they would have gotten killed inside .URI shot well, had fewer turnovers and cutback on fouls . They did not play smart defense all night . SHU had one guy capable of hurting them , yet as mentioned they continued to help off of him which was just plain stupid . but as stupid as URI was , I credit SHU with taking full advantage and playing well for the most part .They deserve some credit for how they approached the game and executed to the best of their ability. It wasn't just a poor game by URI it was a good game by SHU . They probably could have beaten some other lower level A 10 teams tonight the same as they beat Lasalle already this season .

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

I live about 10 minutes from Sacred Heart's campus. I've seen them play three times this season before tonight. (I'm not invested in their sorry program the way I am in URI's, but I follow them closely enough to be able to confirm with some credibility that they are an atrocious team.) Thomas is their best player, and it helped that his shots were falling tonight and the refs were letting everybody play, but in their games I saw last month against Binghamton and Fairfield they were pretty much out of it in the first 10 minutes.

I'll always take the W, but tonight was not exactly one to be excited about.

[PeterRamTime]

How bad was Jalen Carey's concussion? I mean damn

[RoadyJay]

We pulled away in this one with El Amin, Martin, Walker, Leggett, and only one of the Mitchell twins on the floor. Throw Bassy in there for Martin too. Let’s see more of this 5 (or 6).

I was happy to see Cox send a message early tonight. Also happy to see Sheppard on a short leash. He’s been a non-factor in too many games.

Give me more takes from El Amin. He’s a fan favorite for me. Solid defense and can make big shots. I want to see more minutes and more offense from him.

Give me more back to the basket offense from the Mitchells. Much more productive down low or hitting them moving to the basket. I just can help but cringe when they get the ball at the three point line and make some wild move. Ten games in and I don’t know why this is still a thing.

Antwan Walker is our best player… prove me wrong. So, shouldn’t our best player start?

Start Bassy too, if Sheppard’s woes continue.

[steveystuds06]

We pulled away in this one with El Amin, Martin, Walker, Leggett, and only one of the Mitchell twins on the floor. Throw Bassy in there for Martin too. Let’s see more of this 5 (or 6).

I was happy to see Cox send a message early tonight. Also happy to see Sheppard on a short leash. He’s been a non-factor in too many games.

Give me more takes from El Amin. He’s a fan favorite for me. Solid defense and can make big shots. I want to see more minutes and more offense from him.

Give me more back to the basket offense from the Mitchells. Much more productive down low or hitting them moving to the basket. I just can help but cringe when they get the ball at the three point line and make some wild move. Ten games in and I don’t know why this is still a thing.

Antwan Walker is our best player… prove me wrong. So, shouldn’t our best player start?

Start Bassy too, if Sheppard’s woes continue.

I’ve been saying start Walker for a long time. DC and TJ said I was an idiot. I totally agree that our best player should start

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

Right now I'm starting Walker, Makhel, El Amin, Leggett and Thomas. With a healthy dose of Martin, Sheppard and Makhi off the bench.

[reef]

I don’t think Cox will ever start Twan over 1 of the twins

I don’t think he takes Shep out of the starting lineup but I think Thomas will be getting about 25 minutes like he did tonight

[SimpleJack]

I’ve been a longtime follower of this team and have read every message posted on this board for over three years now. Happy to be able to be a part of it. I just want to say I think it’s time we stop referring to the twins as “the Mitchell’s” and start distinguishing between the two because Makhel is clearly much better than Makhi, IMO, and it seems like Makhi’s mistakes attach to Makhel unfairly at times. Not that Makhel is perfect but he seems to play much more under control than his brother and also exemplifies a much higher basketball IQ between the two.

[SimpleJack]

The negativity on this board is so pathetic. I mean we won the game by 10. Have you ever watched college basketball before? Do you see what happens with other teams around the country? I just watched Kentucky beat Southern by 12. Kentucky was favored by 28. I guess Kentucky sucks with all of their 5 stars. Teams have ugly wins all the time. Wake up. Stop being whiny bitches.

You make it sound like we were unbeaten coming into this game. The problem is I don’t think anyone is actually surprised that we let a team like Sacred Heart hang around.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Instead of going to the game tonight I got a booster shot. I had a worse reaction watching this game.

Every time we play, I need a booster shot ... of Everclear.

[section(105)]

We pulled away in this one with El Amin, Martin, Walker, Leggett, and only one of the Mitchell twins on the floor. Throw Bassy in there for Martin too. Let’s see more of this 5 (or 6).

I was happy to see Cox send a message early tonight. Also happy to see Sheppard on a short leash. He’s been a non-factor in too many games.

Give me more takes from El Amin. He’s a fan favorite for me. Solid defense and can make big shots. I want to see more minutes and more offense from him.

Give me more back to the basket offense from the Mitchells. Much more productive down low or hitting them moving to the basket. I just can help but cringe when they get the ball at the three point line and make some wild move. Ten games in and I don’t know why this is still a thing.

Antwan Walker is our best player… prove me wrong. So, shouldn’t our best player start?

Start Bassy too, if Sheppard’s woes continue.

……..yes, from your post to Coach’s ears……..but I don’t see it happening…….Sheppard continues to disappoint……..players earning more PT need to be rewarded with more PT………hey what do have to loose?………I guess we can hear from those that say the back to the basket positioning is an era gone by……..

[ramster]

I’ve been a longtime follower of this team and have read every message posted on this board for over three years now. Happy to be able to be a part of it. I just want to say I think it’s time we stop referring to the twins as “the Mitchell’s” and start distinguishing between the two because Makhel is clearly much better than Makhi, IMO, and it seems like Makhi’s mistakes attach to Makhel unfairly at times. Not that Makhel is perfect but he seems to play much more under control than his brother and also exemplifies a much higher basketball IQ between the two.

Good point. I’ve been guilty of that.

[Rhody72]

El Amin and Leggett both shot 3’s well. El Amin must shoot more for the teams benefit and also I’ve got him in the contest - haha. But seriously he needs to be more aggressive in shooting.

Leggett also needs to shoot more.

Nice game by Walker

Entire starting 5 removed as stated earlier

Both Mitchell’s were not in the game together as often

Even though the same starting lineup all 10 games now I found myself thinking Cox might insert Walker and Thomas into the starting line up with Sheppard and 1 Mitchell coming in off the bench. Just a hunch based on tonight’s substitution pattern. Probably wrong but let’s see for Milwaukee.

Martin could also get a start based on his hustle, defense, rebounding, scoring ability and energy.

Ramster, you are beginning to see what I have been saying about the line-up and rotation. Thomas is getting better every game - sharp, accurate passer. Bring Makhi off the bench. Get Shepp off the point.

Good sign for Cox's development that he publicly showed his displeasure with players by replacing all of them.

[ramster]

We pulled away in this one with El Amin, Martin, Walker, Leggett, and only one of the Mitchell twins on the floor. Throw Bassy in there for Martin too. Let’s see more of this 5 (or 6).

I was happy to see Cox send a message early tonight. Also happy to see Sheppard on a short leash. He’s been a non-factor in too many games.

Give me more takes from El Amin. He’s a fan favorite for me. Solid defense and can make big shots. I want to see more minutes and more offense from him.

Give me more back to the basket offense from the Mitchells. Much more productive down low or hitting them moving to the basket. I just can help but cringe when they get the ball at the three point line and make some wild move. Ten games in and I don’t know why this is still a thing.

Antwan Walker is our best player… prove me wrong. So, shouldn’t our best player start?

Start Bassy too, if Sheppard’s woes continue.

……..yes, from your post to Coach’s ears……..but I don’t see it happening…….Sheppard continues to disappoint……..players earning more PT need to be rewarded with more PT………hey what do have to loose?………I guess we can hear from those that say the back to the basket positioning is an era gone by……..

105,

But it is happening
Thomas with 3rd most Minutes last night with career hi 26
Martin tied Thomas with 26 minutes
Sheppard only 12
Makhel solid game
Leggett and El Amin were efficient

These next 3 games are key as David Cox looks for best starting line up and best allocation of minutes for Dayton Dec 30

Winning the A10 is only path for NCAA bid for likely all 14 A10 teams