2/8 | George Washington | 12:00PM (CBSSN)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs George Washington University
Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, DC
Saturday, February 8, 2020
12:00PM

Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio

Previews:
GW’s Fan Forum

Rhody, winners of 9 straight conference games, head to the District to take on the George Washington Colonials. To quote one well known Admiral, “It’s a trap!” George Washington is coming off back to back 20+ losses on the road. The Colonials may be hovering just below .500 but Rhody can’t slip up on this game thinking about playing in Dayton next week. URI must take care of business in our nation’s capital before setting their sights on the Flyers. Like Rhody, GW has 4 players averaging 30+ minutes a game. Contain Armel Potter, their point guard who dishes the ball very well & is also their leading scorer & it may be tough for GW to find the needed points to pull out the victory. The Colonials have 2 freshmen in their starting frontcourt, so look for Cyril to get back to his double double ways (He has only 1 in his last 6 games). We were robbed of another RI connection in this match-up because RI native Justin Mazzulla is transferring from GW to UVM. During this 9 game win streak URI has outscored their opponents 74-67, so that is what I am going with for a final score in this one. Go Rhody!!

Opponent
Record:
*Numbers updated*
10-13, 4-6 in the A10
Last season: 9-24, 4-14 in the A10

Rankings:
RPI: 215
KenPom: 212
NCAA NET: 201
BPI: 210

Leaders :
Points – Armel Potter 14.5 (Sr., G)
Rebounds – Jamison Battle, 5.4 (Fr., F)
Assists – Armel Potter, 5.5 (Sr., G) (2.9 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 29-31
H: 15-11, A: 11-17, N: 3-3
Most Recent Matchup: 2/26/19 80-53 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 3 – URI
Match-up Predictor: 77.6% Chance of URI Winning

[ramster]

MUST WIN

[HASwatTeam]

Can't slow down, absolute must win.

[DC_Rams]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

[Blue Man]

MUST. WIN.

[SmartyBarrett]

Something to keep an eye on tonight.

[section(105)]

........Team Rankings now sez; finish season at 22-8, 14-4, in A-10.....85% Dance, 78% to beat their #196 ranked GW, they rank us at #59......

[FDshoes]

Noon tipoffs on the road can result in sluggish starts. Waking up in a hotel room to get to an unfamiliar gym early in the AM can really throw pre game routines out of whack.

Just find a way to leave Saturday with a dub.

[wgracie99]

Uneasy feeling about this game. Hope I'm wrong.

[Rhody15]

........Team Rankings now sez; finish season at 22-8, 14-4, in A-10.....85% Dance, 78% to beat their #196 ranked GW, they rank us at #59......

Assuming they have us losing twice to Dayton and @ Davidson.

[steviep123]

https://images.app.goo.gl/p4pebjDPBR1fxQxG8

[adam914]

Just realized we have 4 of the next 5 on the road. Going to be a big stretch of games here!

[RF1]

Just realized we have 4 of the next 5 on the road. Going to be a big stretch of games here!

Most of the remaining games are potential landmines save for the two with Dayton. St Louis is a bubble team but URI will be expected to beat them at home. Wins versus any of the other opponents (@GW, @Davidson, St Joe's, @ Fordham, and @UMass) will not add much value to Rhody's resume. Losses to any of them will however very much damage the resume. Far more to lose than gain in the bulk of the remaining nine games.

[Ramulous]

Biggest game of the year

[Section104]

I'm terrified of this game. Game before Dayton. Noon Start. Sleepy arena. Underwhelming (but young and talented) opponent. Young, hungry, opposing coach.

Hopefully we get some serious friends and family ticket requests from Fatts, Long, Dowtin, Tyrese, Harris, and Walker and we show up for those in attendance.

Thankfully, I'm not the one suiting up. Jeff, Fatts, and Cyril know what's at stake - they've had a taste of the ultimate reward.

Just win.

[PeterRamTime]

This is a family game for our DC and Maryland players.

SHOW OUT.

[wpbrown8267]

I'm terrified of this game. Game before Dayton. Noon Start. Sleepy arena. Underwhelming (but young and talented) opponent. Young, hungry, opposing coach.

Hopefully we get some serious friends and family ticket requests from Fatts, Long, Dowtin, Tyrese, Harris, and Walker and we show up for those in attendance.

Thankfully, I'm not the one suiting up. Jeff, Fatts, and Cyril know what's at stake - they've had a taste of the ultimate reward.

Just win.

I'm hoping the poor close to the UMASS game lights a fire for them on Sat. But yes, just simply win and move on is what I will take, just get the W

[Rhodymob05]

For whatever reason, I feel better about this game then UMASS.

[Rhody15]

I was sorta hoping we’d struggle against UMASS to make us realize we can’t take any opponent lightly before playing Dayton. Feel like we play much better and win by more than 6 against GW

[rhodyfan3000]

Must Win .

[rhodyfan3000]

Expect another chippy A-10 conference game, against another team, in their house, that feels disrespected and is looking to take out their frustrations against Rhody.

I'm thinking something along the lines of St. Joes, but I admit I don't know much about GW. Just expect hell, and everything will sort itself out.

No one ever said this was going to be an easy road.

[bigappleram]

I'm terrified of this game. Game before Dayton. Noon Start. Sleepy arena. Underwhelming (but young and talented) opponent. Young, hungry, opposing coach.

Hopefully we get some serious friends and family ticket requests from Fatts, Long, Dowtin, Tyrese, Harris, and Walker and we show up for those in attendance.

Thankfully, I'm not the one suiting up. Jeff, Fatts, and Cyril know what's at stake - they've had a taste of the ultimate reward.

Just win.

I'll be making the trip down to the Smith Center. And will be extra loud and proud to rep Keaney Blue. Must win.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Uneasy feeling about this game. Hope I'm wrong.

Shouldn't this be in the cliche thread?

[Rhody83]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

I hate the phrase trap game. So overused. I poke myself in the eye after time I read it on KB.
They might have an off game. Most college teams have several during the year. They aren’t looking past anyone.
Jeff, Cyril & Fatts are focused and the coaches are staying on top of it. Not let up.

[NYGFan_Section208]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

I hate the phrase trap game. So overused. I poke myself in the eye after time I read it on KB.
They might have an off game. Most college teams have several during the year. They aren’t looking past anyone.
Jeff, Cyril & Fatts are focused and the coaches are staying on top of it. Not let up.

Then just do a find/replace 'trap game', with 'landmine'....

[TruePoint]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

We are just going to say this before every game until we lose so we can say “ah I knew it!” afterwards? That’s the play?

I think it’s more likely than not that at some point there will be a slip up. It’s the law of averages. I’m hoping it’s not this weekend heading to Dayton. Would love to keep the momentum going, plus the longer we go without it happening, the less chance there is that there will be multiple.

[Obadiah]

Justin Mazzulla, the former Hendricken star, who started in all 33 games for GW last season has transferred to Vermont after playing four games for the Colonials. Does anyone know if he will get a waiver from NCAA and get two years eligibility as opposed to the way URI got screwed by Georgetown in the Antwan Walker transfer??

[eli#10]

Heading down also BAR--I'll be looking for you.

[eli#10]

Bonnies hammered them tonight 72-47.

[SmartyBarrett]

Potter did not play for GW.

[PeterRamTime]

If Potter doesnt play we are going to be finnee.

[Urifan91]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

I hate the phrase trap game. So overused. I poke myself in the eye after time I read it on KB.
They might have an off game. Most college teams have several during the year. They aren’t looking past anyone.
Jeff, Cyril & Fatts are focused and the coaches are staying on top of it. Not let up.

I agree the phrase is way overused, but as DC said this game vs GW is exactly the definition of the phrase as I have always known it. The game just before the big game. It’s a trap because you overlook the lesser opponent, assuming a win with your focus on the big game right after it.

So by definition UMess could not have been a trap game. But it could have been a let down game after the big VCU win.

Call it what you will, I hope to call it another W!

[ramster]

DEFINITION OF A TRAP GAME.

Cliche, I know, but the fact remains.

I hate the phrase trap game. So overused. I poke myself in the eye after time I read it on KB.
They might have an off game. Most college teams have several during the year. They aren’t looking past anyone.
Jeff, Cyril & Fatts are focused and the coaches are staying on top of it. Not let up.

I agree the phrase is way overused, but as DC said this game vs GW is exactly the definition of the phrase as I have always known it. The game just before the big game. It’s a trap because you overlook the lesser opponent, assuming a win with your focus on the big game right after it.

So by definition UMess could not have been a trap game. But it could have been a let down game after the big VCU win.

Call it what you will, I hope to call it another W!

So then could UMASS be a land mine and George Washington is a trap game? Would that already have been known when the schedule was created back last spring or summer?

Is Cox saying let’s schedule a trap game here and a land mine game there?

[rhodyfan3000]

I think this entire season has been like a coming of age for this fanbase in regards to the A-10 Schedule.

I don't want to ruffle too many feathers, but I know in some of the years past, a lot of people saw the non Conference schedule as the meat and potatoes and simply saw the A-10 Schedule as a bunch of "gimmie" games that Rhody should plow through with no problem.

Well, the vast majority of the rest of the Conference never saw the Conference schedule like that. They see the non con as a necessary evil and the in-Conference as the testing ground to see if you belong in the post season. So when they saw us acting like we should just run roughshod over everyone, the natural reaction is they feel completely disrespected and mark URI on their calendar as a "must win" game, to teach those "idiots in RI" some respect and knock them back down to Earth.

So, there are so many pluses that came along from hiring Cox as head coach. One of them, is that he comes from the VA/DC area, so he doesn't need to be taught respect of his peers in this Conference. He puts on his hard hat every day and goes to work, and you can see it in how he has the team prepare, the late season performance, and even in how the fans have an healthy amount of respect for the A-10. When we say every game is "must win" and that they are landmines and trap games, it's because we are acknowledging that even the mid to bottom parts of the Conference can beat you on any given day, so don't overlook anyone. Bring it every time out.

[DanInAZ]

It comes with the territory in the A10. URI (or any team fighting for a bid) can never lose a game from a team below them to have chance at an At-Large bid. Every game is a play it not to lose that turns into a loss. URI is allowed one mess up each season.

It is the exact opposite in the ACC or B10 or BE. A team can lose multiple games in a row, then win one game to have writers/coaches raise their eyebrows and give that team consideration for votes in the top 25. North Carolina can be the worst team in the league, mess up game after game, then could beat their rival, get to over .500 win %, and there will be someone thinking they should have a better chance than URI because they play in the ACC and we don't.

[rhodyfan3000]

The A-10 is a true mid-major, next tier Conference. We aren't P5 and we aren't the MAAC. Jim Harrick came here from UCLA and the PAC-10, and even he was saying during the second half of the season, prior to the Elite 8 run, things like "wow, this Conference is tough, and you have to be prepared every night" at his coaches shows, of which he had many. Those were the days of Temple and Xavier being in the A-10. Xavier thrashed us in the A-10 tourney game, right before that run. They "only" won by 15, because they pulled everyone with 2-3 mins to go, and allowed us to close 5-10 points back, before the end of the game.

Any team in the A-10 can beat you if you just "show up". Fordham can beat you in the Bronx. UMass in Amherst is actually a scary game, every year. You have to play every game like it's sudden death.

[NC_Ram]

heading up from NC. Would be great to meet a couple of KB faithful.

[rhodylaw]

It comes with the territory in the A10. URI (or any team fighting for a bid) can never lose a game from a team below them to have chance at an At-Large bid. Every game is a play it not to lose that turns into a loss. URI is allowed one mess up each season.

It is the exact opposite in the ACC or B10 or BE. A team can lose multiple games in a row, then win one game to have writers/coaches raise their eyebrows and give that team consideration for votes in the top 25. North Carolina can be the worst team in the league, mess up game after game, then could beat their rival, get to over .500 win %, and there will be someone thinking they should have a better chance than URI because they play in the ACC and we don't.

I am going to respectfully disagree - I know we sometime feel like if we lose a game we are out. Tourney teams have bad losses. Not the top seeds, but anything under a 4 seed and you start seeing bad losses. We certainly can’t afford too many bad losses, and it sucks we lost ar Brown because that makes this A10 season margin of error slimmer. Any team can absorb a few bad losses as long as it is made up for by some good wins.

Where I will agree is that teams in the bigger conferences who are not really all that much better than UMass have higher metrics due to an ability to schedule better OOC, so a loss to such a team is not as bad.

[DC_Rams]

LSU lost to Vanderbilt. Vandy is the SEC’s equivalent to Fordham (right now). LSU didn’t play like they just could show up and win, Vandy just BEAT them. They scored 99 points.

I say that to say, that’s why they play the game. If GW was a “gimme” then why even drive up to DC for it?

Dayton is in our sights, but can this team put blinders on and focus on the task ahead?

We will see.

[Rhody72]

Just another game against a capable opponent where we have an opportunity to improve by developing greater consistency through playing good offensive and defensive basketball. This will determine how far this rendition of URI basketball will go this season.

[rhodyfan3000]

You sound a lot like my father, DC.

He used to say that: if we knew who was going to win, we wouldn't bother to play the game.

Anyone can beat anyone. Even a 16 seed can beat a 1 seed.

A great team must get up for every game. Aspire to beat every team, no matter what their record is.

[DC_Rams]

You sound a lot like my father, DC.

He used to say that: if we knew who was going to win, we wouldn't bother to play the game.

Anyone can beat anyone. Even a 16 seed can beat a 1 seed.

A great team must get up for every game. Aspire to beat every team, no matter what their record is.

Your father is a very wise man, 3000.

Some days even when those great teams get up, it isn’t enough.

[rhodyfan3000]

Thanks, DC. He passed away in 1994, a week after his 44th birthday. He went to Cranston High School with Rod. He was the captain of a high school football team that was ranked #7 in the entire country in 1967, and he was a blue chip football recruit with offers from Michigan St, Miami, and Tampa, each of which had won a national championship the previous decade. And many others.

That was his philosophy: never disrespect your opponent. The first step to beating your opponent is to respect your opponent and what it is going to take to beat your opponent.

None of his kids, my brothers and I, inherited his athletic abilities, unfortunately.

[DC_Rams]

Thanks, DC. He passed away in 1994, a week after his 44th birthday. He went to Cranston High School with Rod. He was the captain of a high school football team that was ranked #7 in the entire country in 1967, and he was a blue chip football recruit with offers from Michigan St, Miami, and Tampa, each of which had won a national championship the previous decade. And many others.

That was his philosophy: never disrespect your opponent. The first step to beating your opponent is to respect your opponent and what it is going to take to beat your opponent.

None of his kids, my brothers and I, inherited his athletic abilities, unfortunately.

May he continue to Rest In Peace.

Great philosophy!

[ramster]

Thanks, DC. He passed away in 1994, a week after his 44th birthday. He went to Cranston High School with Rod. He was the captain of a high school football team that was ranked #7 in the entire country in 1967, and he was a blue chip football recruit with offers from Michigan St, Miami, and Tampa, each of which had won a national championship the previous decade. And many others.

That was his philosophy: never disrespect your opponent. The first step to beating your opponent is to respect your opponent and what it is going to take to beat your opponent.

None of his kids, my brothers and I, inherited his athletic abilities, unfortunately.

May he continue to Rest In Peace.

Great philosophy!

Good points 3000 and DC. Why it’s so important to go one game at a time, not look ahead, all of those cliches. But talent and luck also play a part, as does teamwork, playing unselfishly, playing smart, bench strength, height, weight, strength, home or visitors, injuries and a big one is talent.

Just look at only a month ago. This board was in meltdown mode following the Brown and Richmond losses. I was at both games. URI was superior to Brown in most all items I listed above, URI was at least 80% or the home crowd at Brown. But Hunsaker and Anderson were on fire at times. Sometimes as a player you can’t buy a basket, sometimes everything you throw up goes in even off balance, miracle shots. Hunsaker had one of those nights. Davidson shot 72% FG vs UMASS recently as they were on fire. So do you so because Davidson beat down UMASS by 30 we should beat them by 50? No way as this week showed on our home court.

Going back to your fathers High School era UCLA dominated College Basketball. Lots of reasons from Coaching in John Wooden but Talent played a huge part as did height.
7 consecutive NCAA titles (1967–1973)
13 NCAA title game appearances*
10 consecutive Final Four appearances (1967–1976)
25 Final Four wins*
38 game NCAA Tournament winning streak (1964–1974)
134 weeks ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25 Poll
221 consecutive weeks ranked in AP Top 25 Poll (1966–1980)
88 game men's regular season winning streak (1971–1974)
4 undefeated seasons (1964, 1967, 1972, 1973)

It was like there was UCLA and everyone else. Seemed like only Houston with Elvin Hayes and Norte Dame with Adrian Dantley Could threaten UCLA. Win streak was broken by Houston as Hayes scored 39. Hayes averaged 38 ppg that year.

UCLA had Lee Alcindor from NYC Power Memorial, then had Bill Walton, Swen Nater - all 7 footers. NCAA even eliminated dunking in warm ups and in games to make the height advantage less. Nobody could dunk. Big man shot off the backboard often.

The 3 point shot has changed the game too. Back in the UCLA domination the ball was worked inside since that’s where the advantage was. Now teams shoot the 3P shot frequently. The mid range jumper has gone the way of the dinosaur, unless your name is Jeff Dowtin.

Today’s game is interesting because the 3 point shot enables David to slay Goliath more often. More upsets, less predictability. The Top 25 changes a lot. It’s more interesting to me than when UCLA was #1 and the best you could hope for was #2.

Did UCLA get up for every game, play them one game at a time, etc? Sure, I guess. But the height, weight and domination on the recruiting trail with the guys I mentioned plus Gail Goodrich, Sydney Wicks, and many more.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Going back to your fathers High School era UCLA dominated College Basketball. Lots of reasons from Coaching in John Wooden but Talent played a huge part as did height.
7 consecutive NCAA titles (1967–1973)
13 NCAA title game appearances*
10 consecutive Final Four appearances (1967–1976)
25 Final Four wins*
38 game NCAA Tournament winning streak (1964–1974)
134 weeks ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25 Poll
221 consecutive weeks ranked in AP Top 25 Poll (1966–1980)
88 game men's regular season winning streak (1971–1974)
4 undefeated seasons (1964, 1967, 1972, 1973)

It was like there was UCLA and everyone else. Seemed like only Houston with Elvin Hayes and Norte Dame with Adrian Dantley Could threaten UCLA. Win streak was broken by Houston as Hayes scored 39. Hayes averaged 38 ppg that year.

UCLA had Lee Alcindor from NYC Power Memorial, then had Bill Walton, Swen Nater - all 7 footers. NCAA even eliminated dunking in warm ups and in games to make the height advantage less. Nobody could dunk. Big man shot off the backboard often.

The 3 point shot has changed the game too. Back in the UCLA domination the ball was worked inside since that’s where the advantage was. Now teams shoot the 3P shot frequently. The mid range jumper has gone the way of the dinosaur, unless your name is Jeff Dowtin.

Today’s game is interesting because the 3 point shot enables David to slay Goliath more often. More upsets, less predictability. The Top 25 changes a lot. It’s more interesting to me than when UCLA was #1 and the best you could hope for was #2.

Did UCLA get up for every game, play them one game at a time, etc? Sure, I guess. But the height, weight and domination on the recruiting trail with the guys I mentioned plus Gail Goodrich, Sydney Wicks, and many more.

Having sugar daddy Sam Gilbert didn't hurt, either.

[Rhody Sody]

Definitely worried about this game due to Dayton being up next. GW is better than their record and i imagine we will be sluggish. I think we pull out a close win but it won’t be easy.

[Blue Man]

Definitely worried about this game due to Dayton being up next. GW is better than their record and i imagine we will be sluggish. I think we pull out a close win but it won’t be easy.

I am terrified of this game. Thankfully I don't play on the team.

But we're 11-17 in their building.

[bigappleram]

Heading down also BAR--I'll be looking for you.

See you in DC Eli! Go Rhody!

[Shinze88]

I'd be happy with a 1 point win and no injuries as we look forward to a showdown with Dayton.