University of Rhode Island vs Illinois State University
John Gray Gymnasium, George Town, Cayman Islands
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
11:00AM
John Gray Gymnasium, George Town, Cayman Islands
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
11:00AM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: FloSports
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews:
Illinois State Fan Forum
After playing a MUCH better game against Tulane in the second round of the Cayman Islands Classic, the Rams will take on the Illinois State Redbirds Wednesday morning in a battle to not leave paradise winless. Illinois State come into this game at 2-4, having lost both tournament games by double digits to LSU & Western Kentucky. On a side note, they also split an out of conference home & home series with Northwestern State that were played a few days apart. That is something you don’t see too often (excluding the COVID years).
In the preseason, Illinois State was picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds are led by two upperclassmen in Darius Burford & Kendall Lewis. Both are averaging in double figures but have been a bit inconsistent. Lewis had 2 games where he scored in the 20s but also had 2 games where he scored 4 or less. He also has struggled from deep, shooting just 2 for 11. After starting slow this season, Elon transfer Darius Burford has been playing much better as of late, averaging over 17 in his last 4 games. Rhody will have to keep an eye on the transfer from Kansas State, Luke Kasubke. He is by far their best shooter from behind the arc. Illinois State has an 8 man rotation with 2 guys in that rotation at 6’10” but they aren’t too much of an offensive threat. Both teams are averaging over 16 turnovers per contest, so this game could potentially be a bit sloppy.
As for Rhody, I just want to talk about Ish Leggett & how much of a beast he has been this season. I know that Rhody is only 1-5, but if it wasn’t for Ish this team would be winless with all double digit losses. He is the only Ram who has been able to shoot the ball with any consistency. After struggling a bit last season, he is back with a vengeance. He has been the team’s leading scorer in every game, led the teams in half of the games in assists, & even lead the team in rebounds one game. The only aspect of his game that he struggled a bit was 3 point shooting, but that all changed when he went a blistering 7 of 10. He is the first Rhody player since Fatts to hit seven threes in one game, but he shot 3 more than Ish to get 7 made. If you are not there already, jump on the Ish bandwagon cause it’s going to be a fun ride. On a non-Ish related note, it was great to see Freeman play much better, let the game come to him & score how all of us expected. Thank goodness for that. Keep it rolling Bray.
I would like to think Rhody is going to build on how they played against Tulane. I think Rhody might by favored by a couple points. It is never good when you are playing a morning game, but it is what it is. Whichever team can overcome the fatigue of playing its 3rd game in 3 days will win this one. My prediction URI 64 – Illinois St 61. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
2-4, 0-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference
13-20, 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 200 (142)*
RPI: 270 (325)
KenPom: 262 (177)
BPI: 184 (231)
Sagarin: 256 (189)
Barttovik: 248 (176)
* Denotes last season
Leaders:
Points – Darius Burford 12.6 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Kendall Lewis 8.8 (Sr., F)
Assists – Darius Burford 2.5 (Jr., G) (3.0 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 0-0
H: 0-0, A: 0-0, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: N/A
Most Recent Win Streak: N/A
Match-up Predictor: N/A
