1/12 | Saint Joseph’s | 7:00PM (YurView/ESPN+)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs Saint Joseph’s University
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
7:00PM

Media
TV: YurView
Online: ESPN+
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App

Previews:
Saint Joseph’s Fan Forum

The Rams head back home to the friendly confines of the Ryan Center after opening conference play with a tough loss at Davidson. Rhody was in the game the entire time & even up 6 with under 5 & a half to play. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off a bit for the remainder of the game, they couldn’t hit a shot & turned the ball over 3 times. The Hawks are led by 3rd year head coach Billy Lange, who has a 28% winning percentage since taking over. On the court, the Hawks are led by Jordan Hall who took over after Ryan Daly & fills up the stat sheet much like he did as he is averaging 16.4/6.5/6.5. In addition, Taylor Funk is still around & as pesky as ever. The 5th year senior is roughly 14 & 7 & is shooting roughly 42% from 3. Walker or Martin will probably be covering him when they aren’t playing both Mitchell’s at the same time. Rhody should be favored by about 5.5 in this contest. I think it will be a Rhody win & cover. URI wins this one 74-67. Go Rhody!!

Opponent
Record:
7-6, 1-1 in the A-10
5-15, 3-9 in the A-10

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 129 (102)
RPI: 123 (81)
KenPom: 146 (79)
BPI: 163 (87)
Sagarin: 135 (96)

Leaders:
Points – Jordan Hall 16.4 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Ejike Obinna 7.2 (Sr., G) & Taylor Funk 7.2 (Sr., G)
Assists – Jordan Hall 6.5 (Soph., G) (3.6 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 49-57
H: 27-23, A: 20-31, N: 2-3
Most Recent Matchup: 1/3/21 85-77(OT) W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 5 – URI
Match-up Predictor: 82.0% Chance of URI Winning

[ramster]

Close game possible based on NET

[RF1]

We are now onto the third 2021-22 A-10 home opener to be scheduled at the Ryan Center. Had posted this in the previously cancelled Dayton and LaSalle home game threads:


A David Cox led URI team has never won its A-10 league home opener. Have lost by an average of 11 points per game. He and his team have appeared unprepared and not ready every one of the past three seasons.

2020-21 Lost to Davidson 67-58 (down 4 at the half)
2019-20 Lost to Richmond 69-61 (down 11 at the half)
2018-19 Lost to GMU 84-67 (down 11 at the half)

[Jersey77]

I definitely wouldn't take St. Joe's too lightly as with any team we play.
Rothstein had them as the dark-horse team in the A10.

They are definitely a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, similar to us, not sure which team will show up.
St. Joe's has already beaten Georgetown, Temple, and Richmond by 27pts (ouch) at the Robins Center in Va.

Jordan Hall will be the only "bona-fide star" on the court and Taylor Funk is not chopped liver either.

Hopefully we break our 3 year A10 home opener losing streak.

[theblueram]

We were up 21 against Harvard in the second half and eeked out a 7 point win. The last 6 minutes of any game with this team has not been good.

[Jersey77]

We were up 21 against Harvard in the second half and eeked out a 7 point win. The last 6 minutes of any game with this team has not been good.

Not to mention our poor stretch run against Tulsa and even worse was the debacle at FGCU. All bad endings.

[spookydog]

Guys, enough of the bad talk. I am trying to talk myself into betting URI on Wednesday. ha ha

[Jersey77]

Guys, enough of the bad talk. I am trying to talk myself into betting URI on Wednesday. ha ha

Save your $, that would be the kiss of death.

[theblueram]

Attendance projections? Not tix sold, comp etc. How many fanny's in the seats for this one?

[Rhodymob05]

Still have to root for the boys. Go rams.

[RamStock]

Attendance projections? Not tix sold, comp etc. How many fanny's in the seats for this one?

I would say about the real attendance will be just under 2000 in terms of actual fans in the Ryan Center. There is no buzz around this team at all and you add in the COVID situation and the regulations, the students not back from school and just the fact that this coach and team are not fun to root for and it would be a miracle to get over 2000 people in the stands.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Attendance projections? Not tix sold, comp etc. How many fanny's in the seats for this one?

I would say about the real attendance will be just under 2000 in terms of actual fans in the Ryan Center. There is no buzz around this team at all and you add in the COVID situation and the regulations, the students not back from school and just the fact that this coach and team are not fun to root for and it would be a miracle to get over 2000 people in the stands.

No one will ever know...probably about 36-3700

[rhodylaw]

We were up 21 against Harvard in the second half and eeked out a 7 point win. The last 6 minutes of any game with this team has not been good.

Not to mention our poor stretch run against Tulsa and even worse was the debacle at FGCU. All bad endings.

Need to finish games stronger - that is both on the coach and the players.

[ramster]

We were up 21 against Harvard in the second half and eeked out a 7 point win. The last 6 minutes of any game with this team has not been good.

Not to mention our poor stretch run against Tulsa and even worse was the debacle at FGCU. All bad endings.

Need to finish games stronger - that is both on the coach and the players.

Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

[Rhody72]

...
Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

[NYGFan_Section208]

...
Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Oy...

[ramster]

...
Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Oy...

No, don’t have URI start slow, just slooweeer so we can better balance the lead and then not run out of gas the last 6 minutes.

[Rhody72]

Our 3 big men are all foul pone and this makes us vulnerable at the end of games. They need to avoid offensive fouls and fouls outside the paint.

[ramster]

Guys, enough of the bad talk. I am trying to talk myself into betting URI on Wednesday. ha ha

Jordan Hall made A10 Rookie Team last year. He announced in May transferring to Texas A&M and put himself in the NBA Draft.
In June Hall removed his name from the NBA Draft and decided to remain at St Joseph’s. He is a triple double threat in points, rebounds and assists.

We have a solid chance vs St Joseph’s because our defense has improved considerably over last season. Especially improved is our defense of the 3P shot.

We also have solid depth with Walker, Martin and Thomas. St Joseph’s struggled to match up with our 3 guys off the bench.

Our 3P shooting is improved over our past 3 seasons.

[PeteRI]

...
Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Do we?

[Rhody72]

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

[section(105)]

Not to mention our poor stretch run against Tulsa and even worse was the debacle at FGCU. All bad endings.

Need to finish games stronger - that is both on the coach and the players.

Why not start off not so strong as we have been so as to not get such big leads and spread across the game more evenly and not be as weak at the end. Just smooth things out. Coaching.

………yikes, hopefully you are not being tabbed to be on the coach search committee…….
………back to the game, this one worries me, I do not think they are the bottom feeder that many make them out to be in the league……..

[SGreenwell]

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

Makhi's fouls per 40 is 6.1, but the other two are at 4.8. That's fine for three active big men. More importantly, their DRTG are 90.5, 91.1 and 92.3. Opponents are averaging 18.0 FTA per game, which is currently 239th in the country. According to Kenpom, URI is 74th in defensive efficiency - not great, but they're in the 90s on offense. I think "fouls on big men" is an easily visible problem that distracts from the fact that our guards are either short, bad defensively, or both.

[McRam]

I’m guessing it will be Rhody by 7-7.5. If it turns out to be five, I think it is a good bet.

[Bos8]

I'm confused... we start too fast, but we also start the wrong players?

[ramster]

Exactly.
We start off too fast then blow these big leads because we start some guys we shouldn’t.
So if we don’t get the big leads in the first place then we can’t blow them plus we will have more left for the last 6 minutes of games and then we can win the close ones.

[steveystuds06]

We need our team to play consistently for 40 minutes. Both teams will have runs because that’s basketball, but if we can play smarter on a more consistent basis, it will hopefully avoid dumb fouls and dumb shots. That includes Cox with some of his rotation mistakes….

There is no chance our coach is telling our team, hey guys, make sure not to play well the first 5-10 minutes of the game because we need to start slower…

[rambone 78]

Cox is quickly gaining on Baron who was probably the worst coach when it came to losing close games to good teams.

Doesn't seem to matter who we play, if we have a small lead with 6 minutes left, we almost always end up in a 50-50 situation at the end.

And we lose most of them.

One of the biggest indicators of how good a coach is, is his team's record in close games.

Cox fails way more then he succeeds.

Yes, even Hurley didn't have a good record in close games his first few years, but he improved as he went along.

It's the same old same old with Cox.

Listen, I don't expect us to win all our close games [nobody does], but I do expect us to win more than we lose.

[ramster]

Start slower, be more consistent, don’t get such big leads early because all we do is keep losing them. Keep the score close then the last 6 minutes we don’t lose the game. We start winning the close ones. If we get too far ahead or behind then we won’t have the opportunity to experience the close ones. Play smart, don’t play dumb. Keep the score consistently close. Last 6 minutes are the key.

[rambone 78]

ramster, if the coach keeps making the same stupid mistakes again and again, what does it matter?

Stall ball, wrong players in the game, etc.

Cox doesn't put the team in the best position to win games, pure and simple.

Also, the players themselves have to step up in crunch time.

Be clutch. Not clutch their throat.

[ramster]

Seriously! You want URI to start slow!!! Thankfully, we have a coach who knows better.

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

[ramster]

Dahmir Bishop had his best game of the season last game vs Davidson. 17 points and 6 rebounds on 3-6 3FG shooting.
He played a season high 28 minutes off the bench.
Bishop lost his starting role from last year. He transferred from Xavier and was heavily recruited by URI and Xavier with Xavier winning out in the end.

[section(105)]

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

……..if serious……..this from crazy town…..just call us the slowing it down Rams…….

[Taylor Swift]

Attendance projections? Not tix sold, comp etc. How many fanny's in the seats for this one?

I would say about the real attendance will be just under 2000 in terms of actual fans in the Ryan Center. There is no buzz around this team at all and you add in the COVID situation and the regulations, the students not back from school and just the fact that this coach and team are not fun to root for and it would be a miracle to get over 2000 people in the stands.

No one will ever know...probably about 36-3700

Yup yup. They'll call the attendance ~1k higher than what's actually there.

It will be warmer tomorrow than it is today so that won't keep people away, but other than that I'm not guessing the crowd will be any more than 2,0000 as RS stated above.

[RoadyJay]

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

Wait a minute…. Someone close to the team actually told you they are working on a strategy to get out to a slower start, and not build as big a lead, in order to not lose that lead at the end of the game?

[Billyboy78]

Ramster, I agree with a lot of stuff you say, but this 'let's get off to a slow start' is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard regarding basketball.

[ramster]

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

Wait a minute…. Someone close to the team actually told you they are working on a strategy to get out to a slower start, and not build as big a lead, in order to not lose that lead at the end of the game?

No. I just have read so much criticism about us losing big leads, can't win the close games (just like Hurley 2.0), can't close, only play 34 minutes and not the last 6 minutes.............my head was going to explode without a release of sarcasm and some way to possibly solve the crisis of the last 6 minutes of every game. I'd blame it on Covid fog but I'm in the wrong thread for that.

[ramster]

Ramster, I agree with a lot of stuff you say, but this 'let's get off to a slow start' is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard regarding basketball.

It's no weirder than all the talk about how we finish slow and play only 34 minutes but can't play the last 6 and how we can't keep big leads (but nobody every says anything about how we got the big lead in the first place). The extreme negatively of this board has just thrown me over the edge.

It's just my feeble attempt at sarcasm. I failed but my head feels better for it.

[ramster]

I would say about the real attendance will be just under 2000 in terms of actual fans in the Ryan Center. There is no buzz around this team at all and you add in the COVID situation and the regulations, the students not back from school and just the fact that this coach and team are not fun to root for and it would be a miracle to get over 2000 people in the stands.

No one will ever know...probably about 36-3700

Yup yup. They'll call the attendance ~1k higher than what's actually there.

It will be warmer tomorrow than it is today so that won't keep people away, but other than that I'm not guessing the crowd will be any more than 2,0000 as RS stated above.

And remember 800 of the tickets are free to each game as described by somebody in the AIC game thread. But they go into the count.

My guess tickets scanned 1500, reported attendance will be 4500

[Jersey77]

I know Cox won't change things up but would like to see us start: Shep, Ish, Martin, Walker, and Makhel.

I just don't think Makhi can handle Funk, without getting into early foul trouble.
I also feel Martin would be our best matchup against Hall.
Both Martin and Walker being "real" seniors and based on their solid play, deserve to open and be introduced to start the game.

Makhel and Obinna 6"10" (12.6pts/7 rebs) should be a good test for both.

[Billyboy78]

I know Cox won't change things up but would like to see us start: Shep, Ish, Martin, Walker, and Makhel.

I just don't think Makhi can handle Funk, without getting into early foul trouble.
I also feel Martin would be our best matchup against Hall.
Both Martin and Walker being "real" seniors and based on their solid play, deserve to open and be introduced to start the game.

Makhel and Obinna 6"10" (12.6pts/7 rebs) should be a good test for both.

Mama Mitchell will freak out if Makhi doesn't start. She'll probably get a tech from the stands.

[ramster]

13 games - all with the same starting line up.

Cox in post games has applauded the play of Walker and Martin and the role they have played for this team going in with their talent. Last game he boasted about how great Walker has been all year.

Vs Davidson Walker (26 minutes) played the 4th most minutes on the team(his 2nd highest minutes of the season), Martin (25 minutes) played the 5th most minutes on the team. More than Starters El-Amin (18) and Makhi (13)

URI held Davidson to their lowest 3P Shooting percentage of the season at only 25%.

[ramster]

I know Cox won't change things up but would like to see us start: Shep, Ish, Martin, Walker, and Makhel.

I just don't think Makhi can handle Funk, without getting into early foul trouble.
I also feel Martin would be our best matchup against Hall.
Both Martin and Walker being "real" seniors and based on their solid play, deserve to open and be introduced to start the game.

Makhel and Obinna 6"10" (12.6pts/7 rebs) should be a good test for both.

Mama Mitchell will freak out if Makhi doesn't start. She'll probably get a tech from the stands.

He played 13 minutes vs Davidson.

[steveystuds06]

Do we?

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

If you said, let's slow it down and try to run a cleaner offense and play smart defense to avoid foul trouble I"d get it. But wanting our team to purposely lose the first 5-10 minutes of any game is crazy. We give up leads, but the solution is not playing bad basketball early in the game. We want our team to play the best they possibly can every minute of every game.

[ramster]

According to ramster we have x coach that is getting us off to too fast of a start which is hurting us at the end of games. I see the problem as too many bad fouls by our big men.

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

If you said, let's slow it down and try to run a cleaner offense and play smart defense to avoid foul trouble I"d get it. But wanting our team to purposely lose the first 5-10 minutes of any game is crazy. We give up leads, but the solution is not playing bad basketball early in the game. We want our team to play the best they possibly can every minute of every game.

It was a JOKE. Forget it.

[Billyboy78]

I know Cox won't change things up but would like to see us start: Shep, Ish, Martin, Walker, and Makhel.

I just don't think Makhi can handle Funk, without getting into early foul trouble.
I also feel Martin would be our best matchup against Hall.
Both Martin and Walker being "real" seniors and based on their solid play, deserve to open and be introduced to start the game.

Makhel and Obinna 6"10" (12.6pts/7 rebs) should be a good test for both.

Mama Mitchell will freak out if Makhi doesn't start. She'll probably get a tech from the stands.

He played 13 minutes vs Davidson.

Because he was in foul trouble the whole game.

[steveystuds06]

I want to see Walker play big minutes because he's earned it. He seems to only get big minutes if we are in foul trouble. He should start and be the focal point of our offense. After another amazing game, Cox has to know it's time to start our best player!

[NYGFan_Section208]

No, what I am saying is for the coach to move the fast starts to the last 6 minutes of the games because that is where we were losing them. Plus if we stopped getting the 15 to 20 point leads then we would not lose the leads because we never would have had them in the first place. We are getting too tired in the last 6 minutes because we exhausted so much effort physically and mentally in the beginning of the games. Team has been working on this since the Davidson game.

If you said, let's slow it down and try to run a cleaner offense and play smart defense to avoid foul trouble I"d get it. But wanting our team to purposely lose the first 5-10 minutes of any game is crazy. We give up leads, but the solution is not playing bad basketball early in the game. We want our team to play the best they possibly can every minute of every game.

It was a JOKE. Forget it.

Unbelievable that it went so far that you actually had to say it was a joke. Well played.

FWIW....Hurls is getting flamed on the UConn board for not being able to win the close ones...

[Jersey77]

13 games - all with the same starting line up.

Cox in post games has applauded the play of Walker and Martin and the role they have played for this team going in with their talent. Last game he boasted about how great Walker has been all year.

Vs Davidson Walker (26 minutes) played the 4th most minutes on the team(his 2nd highest minutes of the season), Martin (25 minutes) played the 5th most minutes on the team. More than Starters El-Amin (18) and Makhi (13)

URI held Davidson to their lowest 3P Shooting percentage of the season at only 25%.

So why not just start Martin and Walker, they earned it.
It would be nice for them to be introduced in the starting lineup in the opening conference game at the RC.

[steveystuds06]

If you said, let's slow it down and try to run a cleaner offense and play smart defense to avoid foul trouble I"d get it. But wanting our team to purposely lose the first 5-10 minutes of any game is crazy. We give up leads, but the solution is not playing bad basketball early in the game. We want our team to play the best they possibly can every minute of every game.

It was a JOKE. Forget it.

Unbelievable that it went so far that you actually had to say it was a joke. Well played.

FWIW....Hurls is getting flamed on the UConn board for not being able to win the close ones...

I'm not buying that it was a joke but sure, let's move on..