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

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

Well, here it is folks... Game 10, against our hated in-state rivals, Providence College.

PC is led by their Point Guard, Bryce Cotton. Cotton led the Big East in scoring last season but as his name indicates he is definitely soft. Josh Fortune is the other starting Guard and last year he took more than half his shots from the 3-point line. Let's hope he has the misFortune of missing all of his shot attempts. LaDontae Henton averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds last year and has similar numbers to start this season. He had a double-double against us last year but this year we should be able to keep this weakling off the glass. Kadeem Batts is another 13 point and 8 rebound guy for PC. His shooting percentage is down this year. We should expect him to keep firing up some bricks Thursday night. Finally, Tyler Harris, who is the younger brother of Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris. Harris is averaging 13 points this year but his brother clearly has all the basketball talent in the family.

PC is not a deep team with Kris Dunn being out with a shoulder injury and bad boy Brandon Austin suspended. The one option they do have off the bench is Carson Desrosiers. He is a 7-foot transfer from Wake Forest. He isn't much of a scoring threat but he is an intimidating presence on defense. I'm expecting to see a lot of awkward and dorky 7-footed play from him against us.

Expect a PC starting line-up of:
#11 Bryce Cotton G Sr 6'1 165
#10 Kadeem Batts F Sr 6'9 245
#25 Tyler Harris F So 6'9 215
#23 LaDontae Henton F 6'6 215
#4 Josh Fortune G So 6'5 205

Key reserves:
#33 Carson Desrosiers F Jr 7'0 250

We should beat these guys handily. They are not deep and I expect we will wear them out and put the away in the second half by quite a good margin. The Ryan Center will be rockin' and the bums in the State House and PC rump swabs at the Projo will be in tears.

Watch: CBS Sports Network - Dave Ryan, Pete Gillen
Where to Find CBSSN Locally: (Cox - ch. 135; Verizon FiOS - ch. 94; Comcast - 261 / 856 HD)
Listen: B101 (101.5) - Steve McDonald, Don Kaull
Internet - iHeart.com (audio)

Game Notes: http://www.gorhody.com/sports/m-baskbl/ ... idence.pdf

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

I just suggested to Adam Schemm, that when the lights go out
for the first time ever at The Ryan Center,
that we have the Ninja kidnap the PC team.
We win by forfeit!

Stop! Rammer Time · Unread post by **Stop! Rammer Time** » 10 years ago

Haven't seen this posted yet anywhere else and it seems to be relevant here. As Rod said, they weren't exactly full strength when they beat us last year but this doesn't hurt our chances anyway.

According to Cooley, none of the three sound like they'll return anytime soon

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... uspensions

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

I think the key to this game is to hang with them for the 1st half and we have a shot in the 2nd half as PC's depth is a vulnerability. PC has a talented starting five but beyond that there is no depth.

Look at these minutes against Kentucky:
Batts 36 min
Henton 37 min
Harris 36 min
Cotton 40 min

PC ran out of gas in the 2nd half.

Stay close in the 1st half, have the Ryan Center rockin', and we can beat these guys.

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

Our big two up front, Biruta and Oneykaba,
need to stay on the floor and not get silly fouls.
Our front court lack of depth more than offsets their
teamwide lack of depth.
Desrosiers, Henton, Batts and Harris are a handful for our
shallow front court.
Henton went wild on us last year. Cotton is better than
any of our guards. Maybe Biggie can slow him down?
Harris is a nightmare matchup for us.
We need X to have his second good shooting night of the year.
We also need to put two good halves together for the first time all season,
to have a chance.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 10 years ago

Better yet, when the lights go off, keep them off. It won't hurt our shooting percentages.

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

PC has not played a legitimate road game yet this year. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

Stop! Rammer Time · Unread post by **Stop! Rammer Time** » 10 years ago

Well then I sure hope the RC is rocking and it's a legitimate road environment.

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

Stop! Rammer Time wrote:Well then I sure hope the RC is rocking and it's a legitimate road environment.

I agree! I will be embarrassed and angry if we don't rock that place Thursday night. Students better be out in full force.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 10 years ago

In my opinion, the key to this game is going to be Rhody's attitude. They need to come out slamming dunks down PC's throat to send a message early and to set the tone for the game. Crossing my fingers that we don't lose this game….again.

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

Sorry for posting this here but figured everyone will be looking here today and it's worth the reminder.

Please, if you can, come out to the Mews tonight for The Dan Hurley Radio Show and support the program. Would be great to have a big turnout.

The Dan Hurley Radio Show at The Mews Tavern
Mews Tavern – 456 Main Street, Wakefield, R.I. - 7-8 p.m.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 10 years ago

There have been a lot of strange twists and turns in this series through the years. Many times, the weaker team has won. We're going to need another one of these games, because we are definitely the weaker team. The crowd could be a factor if it's close.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 10 years ago

All I want for Christmas...

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

Last couple of posts took my thoughts away. Make it a true road game for the Friars. Don't wait until the announcer says to get up on your feet. If you have to be reminded on Thursday, you have major problems. The game, to me, is the essence of college basketball. A packed house against a hated rival. We only seem to get these situations a couple of times. They should be the favorites, but not necessarily the winners.

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

Anyone still looking for tickets, I have 2 for sale at cost (PM me)

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

I don't know what exactly we can do to hang with these guys.

Their guards I'm not worried about as much as their front court. I mean Cotton and Fortune can shoot the lights out of a building...but their front court is so big/skilled...idk how we handle it.

If they go with a big lineup (cotton at the point - harris, henton, batts, desrosiers) we will have literally no answer.

Biruta needs to be the player we thought he was going to be and battle batts. He's their weak link because he won't go in and bang, he'd rather shoot those fade away hook shots. More importantly not take those stupid reach in fouls on rebounds.

If they don't swap and leave Iffy on Batts at the 5, then he needs to body him up. Batts is a weak finisher at the hole and can be beaten that way - you just need to force him to take off balance shots.

Henton is a monster. Iffy or Biruta will need to body him up and get good inside position, because without that he'll take every single rebound around him.

Harris is the outlier here - and EC/Rieshel will have all they can handle with it. He's too big and moves to well. He's going to be the guy who has to beat us.

Cotton is going to score. No doubt about that. He's ridiculous. Can get hot instantly. Hit from everywhere. He kills zone defense, but it's not like we can really go into a total man-man situation with our front court.

Maybe we go to a man/zone combo? Worry there is that batts can stroke from 15-18 feet.

We need to drive aggressively and hope we get them into foul trouble. NEED to finish with 2 hands and don't let weak floaters go in the lane. Then we need to hit our free throws.

We also need to start praying that we can shoot something absurd like 60-70% from 3.

I'm ill. I'm going to vomit everywhere all day Thursday. I mean, certainly anything can happen, especially if the RC is packed and loud. But I am struggling dealing with the reality of this game, and based on what we've seen through 9 games now - I do not see how we can even hang in this game. I'm gonna brace for losing to PC for the FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW.

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

Won't be able to make it down to the Mews tonight, but will be down for the game Thursday. I don't think the size of the crowd will be an issue, and as long as we don't completely stumble out of the gates, energy won't be an issue, either.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

neil wrote:Last couple of posts took my thoughts away. Make it a true road game for the Friars. Don't wait until the announcer says to get up on your feet. If you have to be reminded on Thursday, you have major problems. The game, to me, is the essence of college basketball. A packed house against a hated rival. We only seem to get these situations a couple of times. They should be the favorites, but not necessarily the winners.

Like

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

I would think that Hurley would be practicing zone this week. That's the best way to protect a thin frontcourt. And there's very little film of URI in a zone so there would be the surprise factor.
Is Amaan definitely out? They said 2-3 weeks and it's been right about that. Even if he could play 8 minutes that would be huge.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

If I'm URI, I go against conventional wisdom. Usually they say slow it down, keep it close, make it a rock fight. Heck no, I speed the game up, try to turn it up in up-and-down, press and run and play tight man defense, wear down Cotton and the others. PC has won plenty of rock fights, this year and last. Slowing it down and sitting on your heels allows PC to rest and it's depth becames less of a factor, you might keep the game closer but don't know if thats winnable. If you slow the game down, you play to their advantage. The question is, can URI speed it up without spotting PC a big lead? PC has a lot of guys comfortable on the break.

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

I don't think, in my time, we've lost four in a row to PC.
We even beat the Barnes, Ernie D team, and the Walker-Riordan-Blair team.
The last two haven't been close, either.
Usually in this game, some player for either team comes out of
nowhere and has a career game.
I'm hoping Matthews breaks out Thursday.
If PC goes zone, I can see us reverting back to just taking perimeter
shots all night. Unless we get hot, it's not a winning formula.
Maybe we could put Aaman in to do a Tom Penders sucker punch and get one of their bigs thrown out? LOL!

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

If any of their starting five gets in foul trouble, that would be huge for us. Aaman coming back for this one?

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

Yes, for one play. Tom Penders is helping design it.

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

If Mike could give us 10-12 minutes that would be huge. I don't think you can hope to play either Iffy or Biruta more than 30-32 minutes and hope to have them finish the game, and I don't think you can survive against PC's front court with a small lineup for more than a minute or two at a time. Hassan will get a chance, too, I'm sure, but I don't know if he is physical enough on the defensive end or on the boards yet. I think 60 minutes for Biruta and Iffy is pretty optimistic, but even then you have to figure out what to do with those other 20 minutes that will give you the best chance.

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

Rhodymob05 wrote:If any of their starting five gets in foul trouble, that would be huge for us. Aaman coming back for this one?

Unfortunately this works both ways. If any of our starting five, big guys especially, get into foul trouble it would be huge for them.

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 10 years ago

We need to be very strong attacking the basket tonight. Biggie/EC/X/JR are all capable of taking the ball to the hoop and drawing contact. I'm sure Hurley is drilling this into them, but the execution will be key. Successful paint touches will lead to fouls on PC/easy baskets for us. We need a best-case scenario to come through for us to have a chance, and I think this is a big part of that.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 10 years ago

the bad feeling, I/ve had about this game remains.....I see Bryce Cotton scoring a bundle, and their bigs having their way with ours on both ends. With a full house and hyped atmosphere, I expect our guys have been prepared and will give a solid effort, but ultimately the talent level will win out....does Dunn play??....maybe the Friars got spent hanging with Kentucky for the first 1/2,....any zone defense deployed as a change of pace, surprise element, if not worked on as part of the teams approach to defense will not be effective.....wanna keep it under 10.....

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

Could be the Friars come out flat after Kentucky.
If we should get a lead, we can't let up.
They have gobbled up big leads in previous games, and show a lot of heart.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 10 years ago

Can't make the Mews tonight. Will the show be streaming?

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

I can see Carson Desrosiers giving us problems on Thursday. He is big, athletic, and can even hit some jumpers. Also a good free throw shooter. When I saw him play in high school, he was lethal. We don't have the size to match up with him.

skwalk47 · Unread post by **skwalk47** » 10 years ago

Funny enough I am sitting across from Kevin McNamara in the cafe car on Amtrak right now...

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

Kevin was intimating all night on Twitter, that there was something
fishy about the refs in last night's game.
I saw bad calls both ways. Don't know what he was getting at.

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

Nice new Banner! Hopefully the banner change spurs our team into great basketball!!

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

rodfromcranston wrote:Kevin was intimating all night on Twitter, that there was something
fishy about the refs in last night's game.
I saw bad calls both ways. Don't know what he was getting at.

I tweeted to him last night asking him if his assignment for the night was to make excuses for PC all game. He was pretty brutal.

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

skwalk47 wrote:Funny enough I am sitting across from Kevin McNamara in the cafe car on Amtrak right now...

awesome timing
headed back to RI from NY?
the big questions for him to respond to (even though he won't) would be will any these guys be playing by January?
Dunn
Bullock
Austin
Hare
Was Tomas Murphy more interested in PC or Kentucky when he sat behind the PC Banch last night?

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Kevin was intimating all night on Twitter, that there was something
fishy about the refs in last night's game.
I saw bad calls both ways. Don't know what he was getting at.

A lot of PC people were upset that a neutral court game had a pro-Kentucky arena setup. I guess due to a Kentucky agreement with Barclays, they got to bring their own scoreboard overlays and it got treated like a home game for them. It might have even been their guy behind the mic, based on the level of excitement every time they scored.

As for the refs, I thought they were also equally inconsistent and bad. Didn't see much favoring one way or the other. Any time you get a jump ball double foul, usually the sign of overmatched officials.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

I thought it was a home game for Kentucky. PC got 1,000 tickets.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

rhodyfan3 wrote:I can see Carson Desrosiers giving us problems on Thursday. He is big, athletic, and can even hit some jumpers. Also a good free throw shooter. When I saw him play in high school, he was lethal. We don't have the size to match up with him.

He's the 6th or 7th guy I'd worry about.

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

steviep123 wrote:Can't make the Mews tonight. Will the show be streaming?

Yes! http://www.iheart.com/live/3223/?autoplay=true

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Nice new Banner! Hopefully the banner change spurs our team into great basketball!!

Thanks. Still a work in progress as we don't have too many great high resolution action shots of the guys. Also hopeful to get a great shot of a sold out Ryan Center with new floor from Thursday's action.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Yes, for one play. Tom Penders is helping design it.

I remember a game at Rutgers years ago when their coach complained at half time that we inserted Chris Cummings just to get their center thrown out. It must have been embarrassing for our coach to explain that he's our starting center.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 10 years ago

RoadyJay wrote:PC has not played a legitimate road game yet this year. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

Barclay was a road game. From the UK "kiss cam" to the piped in Kentucky fight song during time-outs.

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

This will not be a "true" road game either. I'm sure 30% of the seats will be filled with black and white fans.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Kevin was intimating all night on Twitter, that there was something
fishy about the refs in last night's game.
I saw bad calls both ways. Don't know what he was getting at.

I thought the refs let UK play pretty physical; while PC wasn't able to breathe on UK players. There were 2 BLATANT open court plays where the UK player lost the ball on their own and juggled it as they traveled down the court. No calls. Refs deff didn't cost PC the game; but they didn't help either. When PC made a run; there was a curious whistle(or lack there of) ready.

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

Blue Man wrote:This will not be a "true" road game either. I'm sure 30% of the seats will be filled with black and white fans.

In terms of the difficulty of the environment, this will be the "truest" road game that they will play this year. I also think 30% is absurdly overstating it. 5410 people were at the Maine game, which is more than 70% full. So if you assume that most of those were URI fans then you are saying there will actually be less URI fans at the PC game than the Maine game. I'd estimate that there will be around 15% Friar fans, which is annoying but not enough to diminish home court in any meaningful way.

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

Makes sense, TruePoint.

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

TruePoint wrote:
Blue Man wrote:This will not be a "true" road game either. I'm sure 30% of the seats will be filled with black and white fans.
In terms of the difficulty of the environment, this will be the "truest" road game that they will play this year. I also think 30% is absurdly overstating it. 5410 people were at the Maine game, which is more than 70% full. So if you assume that most of those were URI fans then you are saying there will actually be less URI fans at the PC game than the Maine game. I'd estimate that there will be around 15% Friar fans, which is annoying but not enough to diminish home court in any meaningful way.

As I remember the last two home games I thought it was more like 5% PC Fans. URI does a pretty good job of making sure these tickets end up in the hands of URI fans. Season Ticket Holders can buy extras, etc. I've always been pleasantly surprised that the PC fandom is as light as it is.

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

I am pumped to see the new court on TV in HD as I will be watching from Jersey. I'm sure it is going to look great!

CT Rhody · Unread post by **CT Rhody** » 10 years ago

Including this game in the 5 pack also helps ensure a pro-URI crowd. Not many PC fans would be 5 tickets to URI games just for the 1 PC game. You have to figure 98%+ of those sales were to real URI fans.

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

Blue Man wrote:This will not be a "true" road game either. I'm sure 30% of the seats will be filled with black and white fans.

I really can't see how that could be possible. It has never been like that in past games versus PC at the Ryan Center. In fact, PC fans are always complaining about not being able to purchase tickets. The RC seats just 7657. Season tickets (full and partial) probably acount for about 3k. All season ticket holders were given the option to buy additional seats which will most likely be populated with Rhody fans. URI then reserves more than the usual norm for students (probably 1-2k). Another 400-600 tickets are given to PC to distribute as they see fit. That does not leave much left for sale to the general public. Even the general public sales are probably heavily skewed to Rhody fans. I would think the tops that PC could get is at 20% and it probably will be less. My guess is that may be 10-15% will be Friar fans.

As for it not being a true road game, I don't buy that. The crowd will be overwelmingly more URI and those there will be more passionate and anti-PC than what PC would encounter in any other road game.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

It will be a shame if PC is able to take the crowd out of the game. Don't get many sellouts in the RC. My favorite all-time game was the St. Joe's game with Dickie V in the house. Loud, fun.