University of Rhode Island vs Saint Louis University
Atlantic 10 – 1st Round
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
4:30PM
Atlantic 10 – 1st Round
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
4:30PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Game Notes: Go Rhody
Previews
Saint Louis’ Fan Forum
Here we go. It is a whole new season. Anything can happen now…well, almost anything. Can the Rams win 5 games in 6 days? Can they roll through Saint Louis, Duquesne, Dayton, and probably then Loyola Chicago & maybe Richmond? Phew that is definitely a tall order given we basically need to match our conference wins on the season in one week. Well, it all starts Tuesday afternoon.
Could we be witnessing Billiken’s coach Travis Ford’s last game? Chances are quite strong that unless a crazy St. Louis run happens, Coach Ford should be on the chopping block. Like I mentioned in the last preview, 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 recently hurting his leg against Duquesne a couple weeks ago & then he came back for the Rhody game but got hurt again, this time it was his shoulder. I don’t expect him to play Tuesday afternoon. 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 the name of a fancy cocktail from the prohibition era, is leading the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Prior to the last game I sold him short by saying, I am just going to pencil him in for 20+ now with at least 4 made threes. Silly me, because he went for 30 with 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 6.1 per game & is averaging 12.4 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. The last time they played the Rams, he got hurt in the game & only played 7 minutes but still ended on scoring 6 points. Fifth year senior Terrence Hargrove Jr made a big jump this season. After averaging almost 6 points last season he increased his output to 13 per game. He is also second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game. Freshman Cian Medley leads the point for the Billikens & is averaging 3.7 assists per game. He is certainly a pass first guard, so not much of a scoring threat but he did almost have a triple double in their last game against the Bonnies where he went for 7, 10, & 10. Finally, we have Larry Hughes. The Rams struggled with sophomore guard, where he went for 17 on just 5-8 from the field. He had way too many open looks. Shocking, I know.
As for the Rams, they showed signs of life in the regular season finally against Fordham. After going through the motions the last couple games (or maybe it was last couple seasons?), they looked more engaged. The defense was there on Saturday, holding Fordham to just 50 points & there was a 7-minute or so stretch where Fordham didn’t score. Hard to determine if that happened because of how much Fordham sucks or was it because of Rhody’s defense? And props to Tyson Brown for notching a career high in both points & rebounds with the end result being his first ever double-double going for 12 & 11. The Jaden House 3-point struggles continue as he missed all 4 of his attempts & is now 1 for his last 18.
The last time these teams played less than two weeks ago, it was an offensive shootout at the Ryan Center. The Rams put up 91 & still lost without Sincere Parker playing much & St. Louis losing other players to injury or fouling out. The stat that was most alarming to me in that game was the points off of turnovers. The Rams turned the ball over "just" 12 times but the Billikens scored 27 points off of those turnovers. I have never seen anything like that & there is no way a team can win with a repeat performance. Both teams closed out the regular season with conference road wins, URI at Fordham & St. Louis at St. Bonaventure. Which team gets to back-to-back conference wins? St. Louis didn’t do that all season. St. Louis has won the last 5 match-ups, but the Rams are 1-0 in the A10 tournament against the Billikens, having beaten them in 2010. Can they remain undefeated or will Rhody fans just be defeated? My prediction, Saint Louis 82 – URI 79. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
12-19, 5-13 in the A10
21-12, 12-6 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 196 (211)
RPI: 165 (172)
KenPom: 196 (208)
BPI: 211 (221)
Barttovik: 179 (194)
Leaders:
Points – Gibson Jimerson 15.3 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Bradley Ezewiro 6.1 (Jr., F)
Assists – Cian Medley 3.7 (Fr., G) (2.2 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 13-12
H: 6-5, A: 6-7, N: 1-0
Most Recent Matchup: 3/2/24 94-91 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 5 – Saint Louis
Match-up Predictor: 51.3% Chance of URI Winning
