Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, January 21, 2023
12:00PM
Media
TV: YurView
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
George Mason Fan Forum
After back-to-back road losses, Rhody heads back home to open up a three game homestand in Kingston to take on George Mason this Saturday at noon. This is the first time they have played the Patriots in two years as last year’s tilt was canceled due to COVID. George Mason has yet to win a conference road game while URI has yet to lose a conference home game. The Patriots enter this contest with a 11-8 record and are 3-3 in the conference. They have played 2 common out of conference opponents, Boston College which was a 15 point loss & Tulane which was a 6 point win.
Second year coach Kim English’s Patriots were picked to finish 5th in the A10 preseason poll. Rhody will have to deal with another preseason all-conference 1st team player in Josh Oduro. Oduro is another big bodied scorer that Rhody will have trouble trying to guard. He is an efficient scorer who is shooting over 50% from the field this season. His scoring is down from last year from 17.7 to 14.4. He is leading the team in both scoring, rebounding and blocks and is second on the team in assists. Some negatives regarding his game are that he is prone to turnovers with almost 3 per game & is a lousy free throw shooter at just 60%. In his 4 true road game he is shooting an appalling 53% from the line. The Patriots have 3 other double-digit scorers on the team, all guards, in Victor Bailey Jr (12.4), Ronald Polite III (10.8), & DeVon Cooper (10.6). The Rams will have to defend Bailey Jr as soon as he crosses midcourt cause this kid is a shooter. The Tennessee transfer has 4 or more made 3s in 5 games this season & is shooting it at an eyepopping 49% from deep. In his last 5 games he is shooting it from behind the arc at 63.3%. He is the type of player the Rams will be desperate to pick-up next season.
Size wise, both teams are comparable. Shooting stats wise is where things divulge. George Mason shoots the ball 7% better from the field as well as from three better than Rhody. From the charity stripe is where Rhode Island has a big advantage as they shoot it over 10% better than George Mason. I know this sounds like a broken record, but Rhody must clean up the wasted possessions of either careless turnovers or Bray or Carey trying to do too much with the ball. Rhody’s shooting defense has done well this season as they are holding teams to just 41.5% shooting from the field & 30.9% from deep. The problem is URI’s numbers are worse in both accounts.
Will Rhody keep their home conference win streak going? The Rams have won 7 of the last 8 contests against the Patriots & 4 of last 5 at home. Even though on the road, my guess is that George Mason will be favored by a couple of points. Although the students are starting to trickle back to campus & not fully there year, the crowd could potentially be decent, 5000+ announced attendance with 4000+ in the stands as this game was part of the 5-game mini plan. Will the crowd be enough to get Rhody over the finish line? Probably not. My prediction George Mason 71 – URI 68. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
11-8, 3-3 in the A10
14-16, 7-9 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 133 (236)
RPI: 135 (224)
KenPom: 120 (211)
BPI: 113 (225)
Sagarin: 117 (200)
Barttovik: 143 (209)
Leaders:
Points – Josh Oduro 14.4 (Sr., F)
Rebounds – Josh Oduro 7.8 (Sr., F)
Assists – Ronald Polite III 3.8 (Jr., G) (2.2 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 7-4
H: 4-3, A: 3-1, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 1/16/21 80-60 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 – URI
Match-up Predictor: 40.0% Chance of URI Winning