Game #10: Providence College - Thur Dec 5 @ 8:00pm ET

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

The place went nuts on that play, so I'm thinking they saw what I saw.
How many shots did we have go halfway down and pop out?

peeps4life · Unread post by **peeps4life** » 10 years ago

both teams looked absolutely awful. i can't speak to where uri has been strong this year or if you should have played better... but coming into tonight PC was ranked 2nd in the nation in FT% at 81%. that was certainly out of character for us. kadeem batts played like his vagina was strained. last year he was a man in this game. this year he was a tiny little girl.

we also rebounded like poop and bryce cotton couldn't hit anything inside the arc.

with kris dunn alone we literally are a completely different team that would have romped tonight. he opens up cotton and can get the ball in the hands of our bigs where they can catch it. it opens up the entire floor.

tonight, we couldn't execute anything AND uri played tough bumpy defense that disrupted our only ball handler and outside threat in cotton.

also... regarding the fortune play... definite tech is a very strong homer opinion. he ran into the guy on purpose after the whistle, but isn't wasn't nearly as egregious as you make it sound.

rod, that was not goaltending. the pc player slapped the backboard trying to block it.

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 10 years ago

No, that's not the one he meant.

There was one in the second half, right in front of me, where the PC player touched it when it was sitting on the rim. It was on the side of the rim, balanced like you would do with your finger. And he tapped it to make it fall off the side. It's not a goal tend either way, it has to be in the cylinder, right?

PC did play like turtle poop though. Wow, this would have been the night to steal one.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

As far as upsides of programs go, don't forget, PC has had a wonderful
recruiting cycle, and we've only come up with a juco.
Lots of work to do.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

I dont get being upset over the final play. They had a plan and it didn't work. Thats going to happen sometimes. PC knew it was coming and they stopped it. If you think every play thats ever called with a few seconds left on the clock is going to work perfectly every time then you're going to be real upset more often than not. And even so, if EC had a few more seconds to take that ball to the hoop things could have turned out very differently.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:As far as upsides of programs go, don't forget, PC has had a wonderful
recruiting cycle, and we've only come up with a juco.
Lots of work to do.

Thats still my biggest concern as well Rod. I don't see our frontcourt issues going away next year at this pace.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Well, Adam, you would have hated being in the crowd walking out.
Everyone was bitching about the "Baron" play at the end.
Geez, at least we could have gotten a shot up to the rim!

peeps4life · Unread post by **peeps4life** » 10 years ago

i would blame munford a little too. EC looked totally unprepared to receive the ball when he did. and if he gets the ball he needs to know what to do with it. a kobe bryant turnaround fade away jump shot from behind the foul line is not a high percentage shot that i imagine was drawn up. you scored 80% of your points in the paint... the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd option guys need to take it to the rack.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Well, Adam, you would have hated being in the crowd walking out.
Everyone was bitching about the "Baron" play at the end.
Geez, at least we could have gotten a shot up to the rim!

Yeah I mean I totally get that, all I'm trying to say is that there was a play, it just didnt work the way it was supposed to. I don't think the play was "give it to Munford and let him run around all alone". I've watched it back a few times, there were screens being set to try and get Munford into the lane, they just didnt work.

Under Baron, the play literally would have been dribble around until there is a second left and then hope for the best.

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 10 years ago

Yeah, people were bitching big time. The wanted someone to attack the rim. Of course, the likelihood is that someone would have probably gotten stuffed, which is why Mun didn't attempt it. EC did have a little bit of a lane. So, there would have been bitching either way.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

pc also did a good job of packing in the zone and not allowing anyone in the lane. Not the best play but also some good defense

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 10 years ago

From my perspective, which was the lane. They were ready for Mun, as peeps said. They gave him nothing. He passed the ball to EC. I don't think he was intentionally trying to overwhelm the frosh. The crowd immediately started trying to encourage him "EC, you're the man". There was a lane open for him, it was tight but it was something. He would have likely at least drew the foul on a close call, in the last play of the game with the crowd going apeshit. He elected for the jumper and miss. It happens.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

he didn't have much time and I think he wanted to make sure he got a shot off. he got the ball with about 6 seconds remaining

SmartyBarrett · Unread post by **SmartyBarrett** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:How about the non goaltending call on Munford's shot in the first half?
It was clearly touched out of the cylinder. Somehow Munford wound up with a one and one and missed
the free throw.
A really botched play by the refs.

There was a blatant basket interference on PC when Harris tipped in a miss that was still above the cylinder.

EDIT: Looks like this was already mentioned. A lot to read through.

RF1, your view from your seats coincides with what I saw on TV. Definite basket interference.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 10 years ago

I watched the game up in 314 tonight, with some college pals and a co-worker. He's from North Carolina and went to Holy Cross, and loved the atmosphere of tonight's game. I was a big fan too, although the Ryan Center probably has to start staffing even more security for PC-URI. I'm not sure how it was on the lower levels, but we had a big PC fan section in 315 or 313 (I'm not sure which one) next to a big URI fan section, and it got pretty bad after the game was over. It's to be expected, given the emotion of the game and (I'm sure) a lot of pre-gaming by both fan bases.

Speaking of intensity... There seemed to be a lot of physical contact and shit-talking by both teams on the court, and it was awesome. I like seeing that sort of emotion between the teams, as long as it doesn't erupt into full-scale brawling or anything. At least from where I was sitting, it legitimately seemed like they didn't like each other.

I thought the game was badly officiated, but evenly officiated. Examples - On the last PC possession, I didn't think there was a foul under the bucket... But I thought whoever drove did get hit, and there wasn't a call for that. Biruta and Cotton both got away with traveling at various points. And it was as if the officiating crew didn't get any of the NCAA memos about fouls from 2012-13 to 2013-14.

Overall though, I thought this was URI's best game of the year. A few defensive lapses in the first half, as it looked like it took them some time to get used to PC's speed at attacking after a rebound. I don't know if PC is a tournament team - I haven't really been following college hoops as much this year because I'm no longer covering it - but they're clearly ahead of URI in the rebuild process, and guys like Cotton and Batts are going to pros for plenty of years, although probably not in the NBA. Last year's URI team got down by 10+ and never really had any chance of getting back into, whereas this team fought back. While I don't think the talent level is where Hurley wants it at yet, I think they are getting about as much as can be expected from the guys on the roster.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 10 years ago

I watched the whole game and it was exciting

It seemed we just could not get over the hump every time we got within a point or 2 PC would seize lead back

WE miss too many layups very frusterating

Hate that last shot attempt we took

RIhoopz14 · Unread post by **RIhoopz14** » 10 years ago

Great game! Loved the atmosphere and especially the intro with dimming the lights and the light show!! Does anybody have video of the intro?!

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 10 years ago

The intro vid has been posted already in this thread somewhere.

That game was the most entertaining game, the effort was outstanding, lots of good, less bad to think about. still, the day after a loss to peecee is the worst day of the year, I'm sick to my stomach. Had we won I'd be ready to float to work on a cloud, instead I want to puke!

Rhodyhooopz · Unread post by **Rhodyhooopz** » 10 years ago

Cant blame the last play for the result. Too many shots that were halfway down that popped out and missed FT's. I think at one point on the broadcast Gillen mentioned that the rims were real tight and that the Rams left too many points off the board with missed layups.

The one thing about the last play I didn't like was the double high post. I would have rather spread the floor. I think there were just too many bodies in the way for EC. Granted there may have been a slight opening but because of high screens we put two defenders in the paint.

Other than that the future looks bright. EC and Hassan are going to be stars. Again this team will continue to get better as the season goes and by February will be a tough matchup for anyone.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 10 years ago

adam914 wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:Well, Adam, you would have hated being in the crowd walking out.
Everyone was bitching about the "Baron" play at the end.
Geez, at least we could have gotten a shot up to the rim!
Yeah I mean I totally get that, all I'm trying to say is that there was a play, it just didnt work the way it was supposed to. I don't think the play was "give it to Munford and let him run around all alone". I've watched it back a few times, there were screens being set to try and get Munford into the lane, they just didnt work.

Under Baron, the play literally would have been dribble around until there is a second left and then hope for the best.

Well, first of all, even with just 49 points I thought it was the best the offense looked all year. Like I have said all year, the key is trying to control the type of shot you get. The reality is we missed a lot of bunnies and shot 50% from the line. If you get those same looks every game, I think we will be happy. X was MUCH better. Attacking, just being in the middle of everything. Gil was great.

As for the end of the game, that was rough to watch. It wasn't even the last possession. It was the last two possessions. The second to last possession was the same thing. X just playing teen wolf and firing up a three pointer. He got bailed out by an offensive rebound (Martin?) and EC's sweet take to the hoop. And, maybe the last possession had a few ball screens but Cooley is no dummy. He knew what was coming. What kills me is that DH took a timeout before each of the last two possessions and didn't come up with anything. You guys tell me how Biruta doesn't get his hands on it once either possession. Guy was great all night when he touched it.

In any event, I'm more of a process guy than an outcome guy. I thought the way the offense played last night will win games. Those shots will fall. Way more often than settling for jumpers and hope they fall, anyway.

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 10 years ago

The view from 205

1. Every Ram who played this evening, played with heart and intensity. It is a tribute to them and their coach (the one who can't coach on a D-1 level) of their efforts for forty minutes.
2. Great comments by all so far. People are looking at the big picture. Hopefully, this game will be a jumping off point for this year and the next.
3. I watched Biruta warm up. No warm up jacket - you could see the intensity on his face. He IS rounding into the player we thought he would be.
4. Back court defense was excellent - we had Cotton playing with the ball without being able to penetrate on a number of possessions (although he is one heck of a ball player)
5. We never took the lead, I thought if we ever did, game might have played differently.
6. Give the team credit for not quitting, everytime the friars pushed the lead back to six or seven, we always had answers to get back in.
7. Shot selection - I would assume that 80% of our shots were within five feet of the basket. It's not that we need better three point shooting, we need someone to hit a 12 footer. Reichelle???
8. Refs - very inconsistent -missed travelling calls and one blatant palming violation drove me crazy. On the other hand, we make our foul shots and it's certainly not an issue.
9. Kudos to 205 for making some noise.
10. Kudos to the students for their enthusiasm. I wonder if the atmosphere last night compares with the Dunk?

11. Got home after midnight, it was definitely worth the ride.
12. Let's take this intensity to the Motor City - Go Rhody!

rhodylaw · Unread post by **rhodylaw** » 10 years ago

RJ - I agree it was inconsistently called both ways. It is frustrating to watch a game like that when one time down the court a little bump is a no call and next time it is a foul.

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 10 years ago

Couple of observations...

1. In the first half, when Rhody was playing D down my end, they actually ran the triangle and two for two trips down the floor back to back, that I noticed, I even tried to point it out to my wife while the second time was taking place. They basically threw everything including the kitchen sink at that offense and when you have that kind of crowd support, it's effective.

2. Take a look at the panoramic pic one more time. I saw something this game, I've never seen before anywhere. The endzone opposite me, they had students in all three tiers. At one point, one of the last times the Friars shot FTs, possibly the last time, the entire Rhody blue crowd including the Rammette section, band, all the way up, across, that whole wall of people, went nuts. It was so dynamic, everyone was going crazy, it looked like a tsunami tidal wave. It looked like that scene in Lord of the Rings II, at the end where the trees come alive and devour the Orcs. It was the most impressive thing I've ever seen in my life in a basketball arena. I wish I had taken a small video of it. It was effective, the PC player missed everything, all clanks. There was no way to ignore that.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

adam914 wrote:I dont get being upset over the final play. They had a plan and it didn't work. Thats going to happen sometimes. PC knew it was coming and they stopped it. If you think every play thats ever called with a few seconds left on the clock is going to work perfectly every time then you're going to be real upset more often than not. And even so, if EC had a few more seconds to take that ball to the hoop things could have turned out very differently.

At first I was upset over the final play, but you know what? i would have a legit reason to be upset about it if someone other than X or EC took it. X was covered, EC had it, he just took a shot that you can make in high school...a fallaway against bigger players. Maybe next time, drive on his guy who he appeared to get by whenever he wanted and shoot a floater in the lane. There were definitely a lot of positives, he took 15 good, unforced shots and probably had 5-6 of them go in and out. X too. The Ryan Center is fun when it gets that full, that is real college bball, need to get it like that every game...if everyone convinces one or two people it's probably not that hard to do. I know that was unexcuseably my first game of the year but I'm hooked now. Oh, and I can't believe how big Desroisiers looked out there. That's the difference between 6'10" and a solid 7'1"....lots of 6'10" seven footers in college basketball

Oh and Cotton is unreal...he makes it look easy...kind of like EC

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

Also I didn't think the refs were that bad. But maybe that's because I've been watching a lot of NFL football.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

Obviously a fallaway is not the shot EC wanted to take. The lane was all clogged and the clock was running out. He had no choice at that point.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

I was there, and when X took that three pointer late, I said to muy daughter,
"There's the shot we want". X had a clear look. The ball went in and out.
So, what's the beef GBG, or do you just want to keep your idiotic grinding
on Munford and Hurley?

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

i said the same thing, that was right in front of me...said "shoot it" right when he touched the ball, he was open and it went in and out.

They can't be afraid to shoot the three even though their shooting percentage sucks this year...things even out if you keep shooting.

Biruta I can add to my who I want to take the last shot list (EC, X, Biruta)

Also, I want to take back being down on TJ a little last year and over the summer. He has really improved alot and is definitely someone I'd want playing on my team if I was a couch.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 10 years ago

*coach. But couches are what I do better.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 10 years ago

I am struggling.

while that might have been the most criminally poorly refereed game I've ever seen (if you're going by travels and carries alone...pc got away with 6 travels and 2 clear carries...URI got away with 2 and 1) we killed ourselves.

8 missed layups. Another 6 or 7 shots missed inside of 5 feet. 50% free throw shooting. ..and despite all of that...we had the ball and the chance to win with 18 seconds left.

I get that it was a broken play...but where in the basketball rule book does it say one player needs to dribble all the time off the clock before you can run anything?

Our D played great tonight. Id have much rather seen us just make a play and take a shot whenever and let our D stop them with 8 seconds left rather than the shit show that ensued.

I was proud of the fight we showed tonight. Obviously EC was going to go through his awkward stages..sucks that he just couldnt find the bottom of the net.

Hassan looks a lot more well adjusted at the 4 than the 5. Kid is a freak and will develop into a big time player I have no doubt.

iffy is so raw it's painful. Hes on the development train as well. Just not as game ready as we'd have hoped or expected based on the hype.

I 100% agree with neil. Gils looking like he was promised he'd be.

obviously having practice for a week helps a lot. Proof of dans coaching ability showed tonight based on the adjustments we made since the mason game.

Mike powell was not missed.

would've liked to see aaman get in there just to see how he/the crowd would feed off each other.

Can't understate how big the crowd was tonight. Hopefully they saw enough of a reason to come back.

To the fan who made last night their first game...the rhody team passed the eye test.

I personally am proud of the effort, hustle, and heart of this team for the first time all year. I just wish the talent and skill comes up to match (there's no way scholarship D1 basketball players can be so awful they'd miss layups like that).

For the first time all year I have hope just because we played that controlled hurley defense and gave ourselves the chance to win.

ill take the 50-49 loss to a better team. I actually have confidence going forward. This is something to build off of.

That being said I lost an awful bet with my cousin so my cubicle will have pc stuff in it...and I'll be wearing pc gear for the next few casual fridays.

This blows.

rhodylaw · Unread post by **rhodylaw** » 10 years ago

EC will make that play someday - just needs to keep his head up and learn from this.

We have so many guys who can drive and get to the rim, I wish we had Nik this year to bury some jumpers. Would make a huge difference. Agree with whoever said it but Jarrelle needs to fill that role.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 10 years ago

Great comments by everyone. The game came off superbly on TV. I hope ESPN took notice for future telecasts of this rivalry game. I couldn't be prouder of the way the team fought and how the crowd supported them. I thought Hurley rushing out on the court after EC missed the final shot to console him was a true reflection of the kind of coach we have.

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 10 years ago

One more thought about the crowd, - wouldn't it be great if we had the same crowd for an a-10 game that would decide who finishes first in the conference.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

As much as Desrosiers doesn't really look like a basketball player at first blush, his length had a ton to do with our inability to finish at the rim. It wasn't just us missing layups; that is the value of having a body like that inside (for all of the people who would say we don't miss Hare).

As for the last play, I don't want to be too critical because I think you have to give Cooley and PC some credit for the way they defended it. But I believe it is a mistake to not just go as soon as you get it in bounds. That way, if you don't make the bucket you have time to rebound or foul if you don't get it. I think you also have a much better chance of getting to the line on the same type of contact with 0:12 left as opposed to 0:02 left. Something everyone can learn from coming away from this game.

I don't think you can ever not be a little disappointed to lose, but last night was a big game for the program. In the short term it showed we're capable of beating better teams than Maine and McNeeae State. We could have and maybe should have won that game, and if we played it again in a month I'd like us a lot. I think we will be tough to deal with come the league portion of the schedule. In the big picture, though, that was the first time this staff and these players saw the potential of the program from a support standpoint. Yes, not every crowd will be that big and fired up until this team is gets a little better, but it is there for them to have if they earn it. I know as a player I would relish playing in that environment.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:I was there, and when X took that three pointer late, I said to muy daughter,
"There's the shot we want". X had a clear look. The ball went in and out.
So, what's the beef GBG, or do you just want to keep your idiotic grinding
on Munford and Hurley?

Did you not read where I said the offense looked a lot better and X played great?

I think when you need two to tie at home, taking a three pointer off the dribble with more than ten seconds on the shot clock without Biruta even touching the ball, is about as bad an offensive set as you can run. Did anyone else even touch it that possession? He has taken over 200 threes for Rhode Island and made 32% of them. I'm sorry, if that is the shot you want, with that much time on the shot clock, without anyone else touching it, we just disagree. Biruta was great. You have to give someone a chance to get fouled, get to the rim. That was settling for a jumper. And, as we have seen this year, it doesn't tend to work out.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Idiots out in force over on the dark side's board.
Hurley is a dirt bag, a punk, a lunatic and is being compared to
Mike Rice and Jerry Sandusky. Daddy must've hit him with the belt too much.
Wonder if any one of these clowns would say it to his face?
Oh, and suddenly, Cooley is Steven Segal. Such a tough guy.
I'll bet Bob Sr. would bounce him all over the lot.
Our team sucks, Hurely will never get a better job, our fans suck, URI
stinks as a school.
I like the morons who said we won't come close to filling the Ryan in our next game.
Gee, geniuses, ya think? UNH on a Sunday afternoon two days before Christmas Eve.
Just ridiculous.
Oh, Blue Man, thanks for the tip. I think we'd still be in the parking lot if it
weren't for you.
By the way, did anyone ever think the traffic problem through, when they
built the Ryan Center?
A two lane road, leading to another two lane road. Of course, the State of RI
wouldn't have paid for widening 138 or Plains Road.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

One more time....we make layups we cruise to a comfortable win....

Rhode Island won the game easily if we make half of the missed layups. This will get fixed in practice, team should play strong going forward.

The last play was extremely well defended, Cooley took away all the screens that were there at the high post all night. Hurley got out coached on the last play. It happens.

Great show last night but the SD picture sucked. Cox needs to add CBSsports to the lineup, channel 1135 is open and avail, I expect this is imminent.

Gillen was pretty good he played it both ways enough for me as an ex coach of one of the teams. Good show on TV and the RC looked excellent.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

It's funny that they would have something to say about Hurley. Cooley is as big of a punk as I've seen on a college sideline, and to make it worse he is always wearing Steve Harvey's old suits. Which is just morbid, man.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 10 years ago

I think TJ may be the most dominant defender in RI. Hes got more eligibility!
Imagine if JR took a page out of TJ's book! Then he would be who we expected, well if he had a serviceable shot of course, which TJ probably lacks.But TJ has strong D, rebounding, hustle and finishing in traffic. JR needs to get there. He has it in him.

I would like a last play that is drawn up like everyones pound the basketball and go 1-on-1 and then have a forward that sets an off-ball screen slip to the basket. I would go all or nothing on getting a guy open and passing it to him going toward the rim. Doesnt matter which guy because you can spread the floor and ensure there is nobody beneath the hoop. Don't pound the air out of it. Surprise them and go back on D with the burden on them to win the game. Still X is our guy and he has taken the last shot before. Hopefully EC feeds off the end there and waits for the next chance.

As far as that crowd for a10?? I have been turned away before for A10 matchups as a student. It only takes Rhody a few wins to get a buzz on campus. Granted I think i'm referring to URI Dayton maybe in 08.... so that team had a little more going on, but still.

I am liking the thought of 10-5 entering A10 play, but I have been talking trash about LSU to my buddy that is an LSU alum for months now. I need 11-4, bad. They have a serious front court though. Beat Detroit!

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

Just watched the last play vid again, as EC is launching with time left on the clock to pass Munford is wide open on the right wing, no one with in 5 feet of him....

Oh well......shouldn't have come down to that.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

I'm not playing the whole "at least we didn't get blown card" because we should have won that game, or at least could have. I also don't know if that was a fluke defensive game or not but that end of the floor looked stellar. Caused more turnovers/almost turnovers than any other game I remember. Loved our low post toughness against a large front court. PC looked soft down there. They did shoot well from everywhere, ill give em that. Great game, that Josh Fortune Kid was a PUNK by the way, didn't like him. All in all, good game tough loss, that game gave me a little more hope for the season. GO RHODY

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

I haven't yet seen where Hurley commented to the media that it was a great college basketball atmosphere at the Ryan Center and all future games in the series should be played there. Wouldn't that be a classy thing to say?

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

ALSO, did Martin come out of his shell or WHAT! so impressed with his aggressiveness and quickness

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

Yeah, Martin was super impressive. Very excited about his future.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 10 years ago

Interesting game to watch that wasn't destroyed by the refs blowing too many whistles.

URI doesn't have a consistent outside shooter. From what I saw last year, I had every reason to expect XM to be as good or better this season. I also heard that JR was as good if not better than X as a shooter in practice. I thought JR was given the starting job for this reason. The inability of these two to score from the outside has severely limited this team and made it more difficult to score inside.

I never expected EC to be a great outside shooter and he isn't. The minutes that he is getting for what he is producing shows me that DH believes he has great potential. Will DH stick with him? I'm not disappointed in him. Martin is getting better with quality minutes played. I was never a MP believer, and expected him to be replaced. TJ is better than I projected. We have been able to cover the minuses with pluses except for the shooting problems of X and JR.

MARhody · Unread post by **MARhody** » 10 years ago

Will try not to rehash what has already been said (long ride home prevents me from getting on here until now), but a few thoughts from being there:

- Electric atmosphere, the fans came to make noise and did all game. Could not hear much (any?) from PC fans, ticket office did well to make sure most tickets got into the hands of URI fans.
- PC front court was huge, big advantage for Friars but looking at the stats this AM has the rebounds at even; felt like during the game it was in PC's favor, but the hustle and fight from our guys inside was great to see.
- Speaking of hustle, everyone on the court wanted the ball, especially when loose ont he floor; felt like Rhody got unlucky several times during scrums on the floor where PC would end up getting the ball out of a pile of players, but not for lack of effort.
- For the first time that I can remember, Rhody went after a big with three fouls (Batts) and got him to pick up a fourth, sending him to the bench for a while.
- Regarding the coaches dustup, both guys sticking up for their players, didn't have that much of a problem with it, definitely went too far and the refs had to step in and 'T' up both to put out the fire. I was just glad that it ended up even. Love the fire from Hurley, players know that he's got their back. Not sure if it was noted elsewhere here, but after the timeout and before play restarted, both coaches got together at midcourt to shake hands and bury the hatchet - good job by both, fight the opponent to the death but show respect.
- I didn't feel like the officiating was bad, both teams played a slow pace so there were limited offensive sets over the course of the game, Rhody got a bunch of 'grab' type fouls...I dunno, while I never walk out of the Ryan Center feeling that we "caught the breaks" from the officials, I felt it was a pretty even game for both sides. For the most part, they let the boys play, sometimes there was bumping uncalled, but on this night for these teams I felt like that was ok, never got out of control physically. I am at the opposite end of the floor from the final foul call at the end of the game, maybe that was an opportunity to swallow the whistle and let them battle it out...not sure, but the zebras I don't feel affected the outcome of the game.
- What was missing was a three pointer or two from our guys, especially in first half felt like PC couldn't miss from beyond the stripe. The lack of an outside threat allowed the lane to be packed in.
- A lot of missed layup opportunities in the first half (bigs a factor here?), kept the lead in the 4-8 range in the first half when it could/should have been tied.
- Credit the team for not folding in the first half and closing the gap to 4 at the break. They were down by as many as 9 (I believe), so to keep within arm's reach was absoltely key, and they did.
- Never caught a break with the rims, several chances went in and out, not a complaint about the structure themselves, just an observation that Rhody didn't get a shooter's bounce at any point especially in the second half.
- Just never got over the hump, closed the gap and tied the game a couple of times, and had opportunities to take the lead late in the game but just couldn't get that "one more"...would have been very interesting to see how PC reacted to a score that had them trailing, for sure the roof would have blown off the building, crowd was going nuts.
- Final shot, what can you do, it was a struggle all night to get into the lane and get a good shot, that last play was no different. The defense just executed better, which wasn't that much of a surprise given the size of the bigs and the fact that Rhody hadn't hit much from outside all game. This may put me in the minority, but I feel like letting the play go and not calling a time-out there is a better option - doesn't give the defense a chance to prepare and I have to believe that coach can call a play from the sideline to be run. There was plenty of time to get the ball upcourt and get into a set play, as it was, URI took the timeout, then PC took one as well so Friars had plenty of time to prepare.
- So in summary, missed layup opportunities coupled with some unlucky breaks on 50-50 scrambles, to go along with PCs advantage from three point range put them in the loss column...and yet an opportunity was there at the end to steal the game.
- Very encouraged by the effort, looking forward to the rest of the season!

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

TruePoint wrote:It's funny that they would have something to say about Hurley. Cooley is as big of a punk as I've seen on a college sideline, and to make it worse he is always wearing Steve Harvey's old suits. Which is just morbid, man.

I would be very disappointed, if after SEVEN years as a head coach, Dan Hurley has not yet made one NCAA tournament. That is Ed Cooley's resume and I suspect it will be EIGHT years come this March.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

the intros with the lights was spot. on. and should be for every game

rhodyfan3 · Unread post by **rhodyfan3** » 10 years ago

Rhodymob05 wrote:the intros with the lights was spot. on. and should be for every game

Absolutely, especially with the intro song this year. They should do that every game. I wish it was darker though, did anyone else feel like it wasn't as dark as it could have been? I feel like other arenas almost get pitch black.
However, those glow sticks really back fired on the marketing staff. They were useful for about 30 seconds, and then after that you knew they would end up on the court some how. Really disrespectful by the student section, but I guess that can happen at any school.

jcru · Unread post by **jcru** » 10 years ago

I thought it was funny after the game when they announced don't throw anything on the court, and then 50-100 students in the North endzone from the top and middle rafters threw their glowsticks as if on cue.

Disobedience and unruly to the final bitter end, classic URI student body, lol.

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