Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, March 2, 2024
4:00PM
Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Previews
Saint Louis’ Fan Forum
After getting trounced by 20+ in back-to-back road games, the University of Rhode Island Rams head back to Kingston to take on Saint Louis Saturday afternoon. The 12th place Rams take on the last place Billikens to determine who sucks the least. Get pumped!! Coach Travis Ford is in his 8th season at the helm & it will probably be his last. Hold on, I just got a few messages from his son Shane’s various burner accounts saying I got a lot to learn. Hmm…maybe he is right & I am wrong. Nah.
In some fairness to Coach Ford, one of the Billikens best player’s, Sincere Parker, has missed significant time because of an injury plagued season. He broke a bone in his foot just four games into the season & missed roughly the next 2 months. He has played much of conference play until hurting his leg against Duquesne a week & a half ago & is questionable for Saturday’s game. He has played roughly half of his team’s games this year & is averaging almost 16 points per game. The Billikens do have preseason all-conference first team player in Gibson Jimerson. Jimerson, who I submit is just Jimmer Fredette in a disguise & a slight name change, is leading the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. I am just going to pencil him in for 20+ now with at least 4 made threes. Junior forward Bradley Ezewiro is a three-time transfer from both LSU & Georgetown & he became eligible at the same time David Green did. Ezewiro is a big-bodied forward who is leading the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game & is averaging almost 13 points per contest. Much like Green, he came out like a house of fire once eligible but is also susceptible to getting into foul trouble. In the only game he struggled in during the month of February was against Saint Joseph’s where he fouled out in 14 minutes & scored just 2 points. The Rams will need Fuchs back to defend him downlow, although Ezewiro has 40 pounds on him. Fifth year senior Terrence Hargrove Jr made a big jump this season. After averaging almost 6 points last season he increased his output to almost 13 per game. He is also second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game. The Billikens brought in Tulsa transfer Tim Dalger. He had been playing well averaging roughly 10 & 4 but left the team at the end of January due to a personal family matter. Had David Cox still been the coach here, he would have centered his game plan around stopping him.
As for the Rams, lets start with the “good” news. Thankfully VCU missed 4 out of their 5 last shots to keep them under 90. That also kept them from shooting over 50% from the field. And you guys thought the packline wasn’t working for this team? Defense, clap, clap, Defense!! Dubsky played the most minutes of the season & made the most of it. (I am not counting the fever dream that I had where URI inexplicably played Johnson & Wales during the season.) He also had a sweet block, but probably only about 8 Ram fans were still watching the game at that time. House struggled in his homecoming back to Richmond shooting just 3-11. He has struggled from the field in 3 of his last 4. He is also 0 for his last 9 from deep.
This game on Saturday afternoon is the best chance the Rams have of getting a win until next November. If that is the last win of the regular season, they will finish with a 6-12 conference record, which just so happens to be what I predicted before the season started. If you think the Rams defense is porous, wait to you watch Saint Louis. They are giving up almost 2 more points per game than Rhody is. Could it be first one to 90 wins? If Sincere Parker does not play & David Fuchs does play, the Rams have a solid chance of winning since the game is at the Ryan Center. Both teams have won just 2 of their last 12 games. If it comes down to free throw shooting at the end, we are screwed as the Billikens shoot it 10% better than the Rams. My prediction, URI 84 – Saint Louis 80. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
10-18, 3-12 in the A10
21-12, 12-6 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 223 (200)
RPI: 193 (157)
KenPom: 219 (200)
BPI: 229 (213)
Barttovik: 193 (192)
Leaders:
Points – Gibson Jimerson 14.5 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Bradley Ezewiro 6.5 (Jr., F)
Assists – Cian Medley 3.5 (Fr., G) (2.2 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 13-11
H: 6-4, A: 6-7, N: 1-0
Most Recent Matchup: 2/7/23 76-71 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 4 – Saint Louis
Match-up Predictor: 71.2% Chance of URI Winning