12/31 | Duquesne | 1:00PM (ESPN+)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs Duquesne University
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, December 31, 2022
1:00PM

Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews:
Duquesne Fan Forum


After a 13-day break, the University of Rhode Island (in theory) tipoff A10 play in Pittsburgh to take on the Duquesne Dukes. The Dules will already have begun conference play by the time this game happens as they are playing in Dayton on the 28th. Duquesne had an abysmal record in conference play last year, losing their last 16 A10 games. I am guessing that only thing going for coach Keith Dambrot from losing his job over the summer was the Dukes had some season ending injuries & they were 355th of 358 for “most experienced” college team. Duquesne is picked to finish last in the A10 this season, just behind La Salle.

Duquesne went a solid 10-3 during their out of conference schedule this season which includes a home win against DePaul. Their strength of schedule is very similar to Rhody’s (272 & 276 respectively) which is in the lower quartile. They did play at Kentucky where they got rolled by 25 & former Ram Jacob Toppin went for 8/8/3 in a poor shooting night.

Dae Dae Grant, the Miami OH transfer, leads this team in scoring with almost 18 per game which is good for top 70 in the country. He has scored in double figures in all but one game (Kentucky) & has scored 20+ in almost half of their games (6 of 13). The Rams will need to play tough defense on him as soon as he crosses half court cause Grant is an excellent three-point shooter. He is shooting it over 43% has as many made threes as the URI starting lineup. The only other double-digit scorer on the Dukes is Jimmy Clark III who is a junior college transfer from Northwest Florida where he won the NJCAA National Championship. Running the point on this team is Tevin Brewer. This undersize transfer from FIU takes care of the ball with only one turnover per game. The Dukes as a team do well not turning it over, with only 11 per game (Rhody averages 15 per game).

Rhody is looking to put their disappointing second half performance against Georgia State behind them. Ish is looking to rebound after having his worst game of the season. He played sparingly in the first game due to being in foul trouble & it was the only game this season he didn’t score 10 or more on just 2 of 8 shooting. Hopefully Bilau will be back for this game. They need all the help they can get in the frontcourt. The Dukes have some height in Austin Rotroff & Tre Williams is a bit undersized but does a solid job grabbing boards.

If you need to open conference play on the road, Duquesne is the team you want to start with; but you need to keep in mind the Rams have lost 3 straight at Duquesne. Two of those three loses were by 2 points & in the 2020-21 season they played Duquesne twice, both on the road. Can Rhody shake off the rust & close out 2022 with a win? Thankfully Duquesne has no home court advantage as they will be playing in front of about 1500 fans at best. Do the Rams have enough to get the road win against a crappy Duquesne team? Uggggh…I am not so sure. I am guessing the Dukes will be favored by a few points. I think/hope Duquesne’s conference play losing streak continues. Insert fingers crossed emoji. My prediction is URI 68 – Duquesne 66. Happy Holidays & Go Rhody!!

PS. If this game sucks, you can switch over to the women’s team who are playing at home against Duquesne at the same time on YurView/ESPN+. I for one will have both games going on 2 TVs. Which game will get the big TV with the sound on is yet to be decided.


Opponent
Record:
10-3, 0-0 in the A10
6-24, 1-16 in the A10 (Last Season)

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 123 (269)
RPI: 112 (268)
KenPom: 117 (203)
BPI: 162 (248)
Sagarin: 144 (205)
Barttovik: 89 (229)

Leaders:
Points – Dae Dae Grant 17.9 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Austin Rotroff 6.8 (Sr., G)
Assists – Tevin Brewer 3.1 (Sr., G) (1.0 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 36-28
H: 21-11, A: 14-15, N: 1-2
Most Recent Matchup: 3/9/22 79-77 W at A10 Tournament
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 21.0% Chance of URI Winning

[Taylor Swift]

Nice write up as always!

Guess the sound will be determined by which announcers are better?

[KeaneyBluBallz]

one team trending in the right direction and one team trending the other way.

Dukes by 12.

[Jersey77]

Thanks Spooky.

PG Tevin Brewer was injured 12/11 during the NMSU game, missing the last 3 games.
Not sure what his status is.

(F) RJ Gunn has yet to suit up for the Dukes, been battling injuries.
He was a Div. 2 star, twice 1st team all-conference, combined average 18.5 pts/ 6 rebs (junior and senior)

Forward Kevin Easley just entered the portal.
He was serving a 7-game team-imposed suspension.
As a starter last season, he averaged 10.7 points/ 6.5 rebounds.

Duquesne has been playing well and we have yet to win a true road game.

Again, Keith Dambrot is probably coaching for his job this season.

[adam914]

Don't have a great feeling about this one, especially coming off of a long lay off.

[Blue Man]

Let's hope we're all healthy. I'd be willing to bet Ish's performance last time out was related to getting sick - he was incredibly off.

Might be a blessing to get everyone fully recovered before conference play starts.

[Rhodymob05]

Could be a blessing in disguise to have he last one canceled. Beat the DUKES.

[Jdrums#3]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone.

Go Rhody!

[steveystuds06]

We need Tchikou or Samb to break out if we are going to make some noise in the A10. The rumor is Bilau is out for a while.

I think this is the game we see Archie play Weston more minutes. I hope!

[Rhody72]

Are we picking up Ant on the way to Pittsburgh?

[rjv]

I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game.
I see them winning by 8...78-70

[section(105)]

We got rust?

[spookydog]

We got rust?

Don't worry, from what I hear, Rust Never Sleeps

[ramster]

I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game.
I see them winning by 8...78-70

I think the old cliches like chips on shoulder, wanting revenge from last year, having a score to settle, etc are things media writes about but in today’s college basketball world are pretty well lost.

Not a single player for Duquesne from the last March 9, 2022, URI-Duquesne game will be in uniform for this December game just 9 months later.


Duquesne last game vs Winthrop

Duquesne box score from last URI game in March 9

[SGreenwell]

I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game.
I see them winning by 8...78-70

I think the old cliches like chips on shoulder, wanting revenge from last year, having a score to settle, etc are things media writes about but in today’s college basketball world are pretty well lost.

Not a single player for Duquesne from the last March 9, 2022, URI-Duquesne game will be in uniform for this December game just 9 months later.


Duquesne last game vs Winthrop
35F1BD75-C67E-498F-9D08-553B6BA62D14.png

Duquesne box score from last URI game in March 9
82E3DA03-D2E3-4A4A-872F-1094969C9C39.jpeg

URI fired its head coach, and Duquesne went 6-24 overall, 1-16 in A-10 play last year. I think there's a pretty good chance that in any given year, the rosters would be radically different for both teams. (And Duquesne did graduate four players, so it's not like they lost everyone to the transfer market.)

[ramster]

I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game.
I see them winning by 8...78-70

I think the old cliches like chips on shoulder, wanting revenge from last year, having a score to settle, etc are things media writes about but in today’s college basketball world are pretty well lost.

Not a single player for Duquesne from the last March 9, 2022, URI-Duquesne game will be in uniform for this December game just 9 months later.


Duquesne last game vs Winthrop
35F1BD75-C67E-498F-9D08-553B6BA62D14.png

Duquesne box score from last URI game in March 9
82E3DA03-D2E3-4A4A-872F-1094969C9C39.jpeg

URI fired its head coach, and Duquesne went 6-24 overall, 1-16 in A-10 play last year. I think there's a pretty good chance that in any given year, the rosters would be radically different for both teams. (And Duquesne did graduate four players, so it's not like they lost everyone to the transfer market.)

I was responding to iv's comment "I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game. I see them winning by 8...78-70".
How, why or how players did not return for Duquesne (Graduation, injury, transfer, etc) is irrelevant. What is relevant is that not a single player now playing for Duquesne played in the last March game when URI played Duquesne. That is why they are not likely to come in with a huge chip on their shoulder. Most, if not all, probably didn't even watch last year's game.

Dambrot has done an excellent job of restructuring the roster since last season.

[theblueram]

I think the old cliches like chips on shoulder, wanting revenge from last year, having a score to settle, etc are things media writes about but in today’s college basketball world are pretty well lost.

Not a single player for Duquesne from the last March 9, 2022, URI-Duquesne game will be in uniform for this December game just 9 months later.


Duquesne last game vs Winthrop
35F1BD75-C67E-498F-9D08-553B6BA62D14.png

Duquesne box score from last URI game in March 9
82E3DA03-D2E3-4A4A-872F-1094969C9C39.jpeg

URI fired its head coach, and Duquesne went 6-24 overall, 1-16 in A-10 play last year. I think there's a pretty good chance that in any given year, the rosters would be radically different for both teams. (And Duquesne did graduate four players, so it's not like they lost everyone to the transfer market.)

I was responding to iv's comment "I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game. I see them winning by 8...78-70".
How, why or how players did not return for Duquesne (Graduation, injury, transfer, etc) is irrelevant. What is relevant is that not a single player now playing for Duquesne played in the last March game when URI played Duquesne. That is why they are not likely to come in with a huge chip on their shoulder. Most, if not all, probably didn't even watch last year's game.

Dambrot has done an excellent job of restructuring the roster since last season.

That dude would have been vilified two years ago if he was the coach of URI. And he would have been fired last year if he was the URI coach.

[RhodyKyle]

URI fired its head coach, and Duquesne went 6-24 overall, 1-16 in A-10 play last year. I think there's a pretty good chance that in any given year, the rosters would be radically different for both teams. (And Duquesne did graduate four players, so it's not like they lost everyone to the transfer market.)

I was responding to iv's comment "I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game. I see them winning by 8...78-70".
How, why or how players did not return for Duquesne (Graduation, injury, transfer, etc) is irrelevant. What is relevant is that not a single player now playing for Duquesne played in the last March game when URI played Duquesne. That is why they are not likely to come in with a huge chip on their shoulder. Most, if not all, probably didn't even watch last year's game.

Dambrot has done an excellent job of restructuring the roster since last season.

That dude would have been vilified two years ago if he was the coach of URI. And he would have been fired last year if he was the URI coach.

Agreed on that point. Hurley sideline antics with Cox-level success. I'd be so over him by the end of his 3rd year here.

[ramster]

I was responding to iv's comment "I believe Duquesne has a huge chip on their shoulder and are going to come out on fire for their first home A10 game. I see them winning by 8...78-70".
How, why or how players did not return for Duquesne (Graduation, injury, transfer, etc) is irrelevant. What is relevant is that not a single player now playing for Duquesne played in the last March game when URI played Duquesne. That is why they are not likely to come in with a huge chip on their shoulder. Most, if not all, probably didn't even watch last year's game.

Dambrot has done an excellent job of restructuring the roster since last season.

That dude would have been vilified two years ago if he was the coach of URI. And he would have been fired last year if he was the URI coach.

Agreed on that point. Hurley sideline antics with Cox-level success. I'd be so over him by the end of his 3rd year here.

So how does he get his team to have a huge ship on their shoulder when the whole roster never even played last year? Coaching?
At least Dambrot had D1 experience unlike Cox who had zero as a HC

[ramster]

Duquesne 5 Biggest Takeaways from Busting Brackets....


https://bustingbrackets.com/2022/12/27/ ... onference/

[ramster]

Duquesne fans on the Dayton game tonight
Off night for Duquesne, Dayton had something to do with that as well

https://duquesnefans.boardhost.com/view ... d=4941&p=2

[luke]

Watched Dayton and Duquesne tonight . The Dukes were the worst team defensively I have watched all season . Dayton is still playing without
Malachi Smith and Kobe Elvis and have been very careless with their passing and constant tos as a result . Duquesne made little effort to defend anybody all night . Every shot from Dayton more than 3 feet from the rim went uncontested . If they play the same way at home on Saturday , I think URI
can win . One thing the dukes did do though was follow their misses at the rim with many put back scores . This is a concern because the Rams
have been guilty of not boxing out and allowing plenty of back door layups and put backs by bigs . If they want to win they can't let that continue .
Otherwise, they have a decent shot here .

[RhodyKyle]

That dude would have been vilified two years ago if he was the coach of URI. And he would have been fired last year if he was the URI coach.

Agreed on that point. Hurley sideline antics with Cox-level success. I'd be so over him by the end of his 3rd year here.

So how does he get his team to have a huge ship on their shoulder when the whole roster never even played last year? Coaching?
At least Dambrot had D1 experience unlike Cox who had zero as a HC

Chips are easily built using bulletin board material, not acting like a lunatic on the sidelines. And all that experience as a HC has led to just tremendous success for Duquesne, huh?

[ramster]

Agreed on that point. Hurley sideline antics with Cox-level success. I'd be so over him by the end of his 3rd year here.

So how does he get his team to have a huge ship on their shoulder when the whole roster never even played last year? Coaching?
At least Dambrot had D1 experience unlike Cox who had zero as a HC

Chips are easily built using bulletin board material, not acting like a lunatic on the sidelines. And all that experience as a HC has led to just tremendous success for Duquesne, huh?

Just disagree with you when you are comparing Dambrot with “Cox level success”. You are either under-rating Dambrot or over-rating Cox or a combo of both. In 4 years Cox took a Top Tier A10 Hurley NCAA team steadily down to Bottom A10 Tier A10 team that has bottomed around a 300 NET level. Dambrot dies not equal Cox.

[ramster]

Dayton moved up 2 to NET 80 to lead the A10 after last nights win vs Duquesne

Duquesne drops 11 to 141 with loss at Dayton in 7th place in A10

URI is at 272 NET

[RhowdyRam02]

Fordham with a drop of 46 points. What is the opposite of the cream always rising to the top? Because I think that's what Fordham is going to look like the rest of this season

[ramster]

And Davidson went from 168 to 133 by beating Fordham
Fordham is only 109 points ahead of URI now

Fordham was favored by 1.5 points with Davidson the visitor. Being a road win for Davidson plus beating the point spread gave Davidson a big boost in the NET. Fordham the opposite effect.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Fordham is only 109 points ahead of URI now

Let that sink in...

[reef]

Dayton moved up 2 to NET 80 to lead the A10 after last nights win vs Duquesne

Duquesne drops 11 to 141 with loss at Dayton in 7th place in A10

URI is at 272 NET


888A5745-F7A8-4BDF-884C-C6FE41593884.jpeg

Sad only 1 team under 100 I would think St Louis gets there soon

[McRam]

Fordham with a drop of 46 points. What is the opposite of the cream always rising to the top? Because I think that's what Fordham is going to look like the rest of this season

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

[RhowdyRam02]

Fordham with a drop of 46 points. What is the opposite of the cream always rising to the top? Because I think that's what Fordham is going to look like the rest of this season

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

Top 4? Child please!

[PeteRI]

Dayton moved up 2 to NET 80 to lead the A10 after last nights win vs Duquesne

Duquesne drops 11 to 141 with loss at Dayton in 7th place in A10

URI is at 272

Thanks David Cox.

[Rhody15]

Fordham with a drop of 46 points. What is the opposite of the cream always rising to the top? Because I think that's what Fordham is going to look like the rest of this season

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

Top 4? Child please!

Fordham has a better chance at Top 4 than we do as some people here expected / still have hope for.

[theblueram]

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

Top 4? Child please!

Fordham has a better chance at Top 4 than we do as some people here expected / still have hope for.

No many though. Only 26 people predicted a conference record greater than .500.

[McRam]

Fordham with a drop of 46 points. What is the opposite of the cream always rising to the top? Because I think that's what Fordham is going to look like the rest of this season

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

Top 4? Child please!

at my age, I take anyone calling me a child, I take as a compliment! Thank you.

( where do u think Fordham will finish ?

[McRam]

I have not seen a line yet. Guessing we will be about a 7 point underdog. If true, Speaks volumes!!

[PeterRamTime]

I have not seen a line yet. Guessing we will be about a 7 point underdog. If true, Speaks volumes!!

At this point Vegas probably has no idea what to with any college basketball games lol

[Jersey77]

Looks like Duquesne will be at full strength.
PG Brewer is back and forward Gunn available, they both played against Dayton.

[SmartyBarrett]

I have not seen a line yet. Guessing we will be about a 7 point underdog. If true, Speaks volumes!!

8.5 underdog.

[Jersey77]

I have not seen a line yet. Guessing we will be about a 7 point underdog. If true, Speaks volumes!!

8.5 underdog.

Not surprised, but think we cover.
The backcourt match-up should be interesting but they have a frontcourt advantage.

Some comparisons:
URI- 40% FG, 30% 3pt, scoring avg- 66 pts, negative assist/turnover ratio (153-182, 12 games)
Dukes- 45% FG,36% 3pt, scoring avg- 75 pts, positive assist/turnover ratio (211-167, 14 games)

Also, but probably doesn't mean much, we haven't won at Duquesne since 2016-2017.

[section(105)]

Does rust travel?

[ramster]

I have not seen a line yet. Guessing we will be about a 7 point underdog. If true, Speaks volumes!!

8.5 underdog.

Not surprised, but think we cover.
The backcourt match-up should be interesting but they have a frontcourt advantage.

Some comparisons:
URI- 40% FG, 30% 3pt, scoring avg- 66 pts, negative assist/turnover ratio (153-182, 12 games)
Dukes- 45% FG,36% 3pt, scoring avg- 75 pts, positive assist/turnover ratio (211-167, 14 games)

Also, but probably doesn't mean much, we haven't won at Duquesne since 2016-2017.

Perhaps the most glaring gap is in 3P Shooting:

Duquesne is 3rd in the A10 at 36.1%
URI is dead last in the A10 at 29.6%

[NYGFan_Section208]

Does rust travel?

Not sure if it travels, but pretty sure it never sleeps....

[Jersey77]

For us to have a chance Samb and Alex need to show us something today.
Would also like to see some contribution from Rory going into conference play, considering our lack of depth upfront.
Will we see more minutes for Weston and can he live up to his recruiting hype.

[ramster]

Weston has been injured.
I’ve gotten to dislike this recruiting hype nonsense.
Who is it that puts this hype stuff out there anyway? Whoever it is do they ever get called out? Assuming you can figure out who it is.
Or does Weston just forever have his “hype” held over his head like he did something wrong?

Fwiw Weston looked good against Georgia State.

I’m going to take a wild guess that Weston starts today in place of Carey who was a -19 vs GSU. Thomas may play more as he was effective vs GSU - which seems like a month ago we played last. Miller has not been hesitant to change the starting line up.
Tchikou might be a candidate to start as well in place of Samb. Need defense against Duquesne’s shooters.

[steveystuds06]

Weston has been injured.
I’ve gotten to dislike this recruiting hype nonsense.
Who is it that puts this hype stuff out there anyway? Whoever it is do they ever get called out? Assuming you can figure out who it is.
Or does Weston just forever have his “hype” held over his head like he did something wrong?

Fwiw Weston looked good against Georgia State.

I’m going to take a wild guess that Weston starts today in place of Carey who was a -19 vs GSU. Thomas may play more as he was effective vs GSU - which seems like a month ago we played last. Miller has not been hesitant to change the starting line up.
Tchikou might be a candidate to start as well in place of Samb. Need defense against Duquesne’s shooters.

I would love for Weston to start. I agree with you he’s starting to look more comfortable out there. I hope Archie gives him a longer leash today.

[Jersey77]

Weston has been injured.
I’ve gotten to dislike this recruiting hype nonsense.
Who is it that puts this hype stuff out there anyway? Whoever it is do they ever get called out? Assuming you can figure out who it is.
Or does Weston just forever have his “hype” held over his head like he did something wrong?

Fwiw Weston looked good against Georgia State.

I’m going to take a wild guess that Weston starts today in place of Carey who was a -19 vs GSU. Thomas may play more as he was effective vs GSU - which seems like a month ago we played last. Miller has not been hesitant to change the starting line up.
Tchikou might be a candidate to start as well in place of Samb. Need defense against Duquesne’s shooters.

I didn't use the recruiting hype as any type of negative connotation towards Weston.
We are all aware of his injury history and inability to stay healthy enough to stay on the floor last season.
He was Seton Hall's top recruit since Whitehead, so yeah there was much expectation.
I love his athleticism and felt he can be a big-time player in the A10, still do.
Yes, I think he was a huge get, when Woodward brought him here.
This is really his first taste of Div.1 basketball, so I expect some growing pains from him.

I hope his minutes increase and Archie did say he we will see a different player after 1st semester.

[RhowdyRam02]

From what I see in the rest of the A10 and happen to know the Fordham team pretty well, (my father and brother went there)

Im thinking Fordham will be mid pack this season in the A10 with an outside possibility of being in the top 4 at the season’ end. Forget about the Davidson game outcome, they still shut down Davidson’s three’s( only 12 3’s for game) forced 15 turnovers, protected the rim with 9 blocks and had 8 steals.

Ok , they shot 25 % for the game and 10% on threes, but , I think holding your final opinion on them would be wise.

Top 4? Child please!

at my age, I take anyone calling me a child, I take as a compliment! Thank you.

( where do u think Fordham will finish ?

Right now there are 4 or 5 tiers in the A10 and they're in the third tier:

Tier 1: Dayton and St. Louis. Your regular season champion is probably one of these two teams.
Tier 2: George Mason, VCU, Richmond, UMass, Duquesne, Davidson. Contenders for the double bye, depending on the team maybe a run at the regular season championship if everything goes right. I like some of these teams a good bid more than others, but it's only half way in yet. The most volatility in this tier.
Tier 3: Fordham, Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure. Teams fighting to stay out of the PIG, not real contenders for double bye.
Tier 4: George Washington, St. Joe's, Rhode Island. Hoping to stay out of the PIG.
Tier 4/5: La Salle: Hoping they don't go bankrupt and they can build a new arena with the donation commitment they received a decade ago.

I'd say Fordham finishes in the 7-11 range. Better than normal for them, but not close to a top 4 now that they don't control their schedule. I just don't think you can overlook the fact that they've played literally the easiest schedule according to KenPom to date. Going on NET rankings, they're 0-1 in quad 1, 2-1 in quad 3, and 10-0 in quad 4. Good for them for taking care of the teams they should beat, it's more than we can say about us so far this year, but I don't think you can look at them and say they've done anything of note either yet. I'll need to see some wins in conference against tier 1 and 2 teams before I think about changing my mind. So far they're 0-1 in that regard

[Rhody72]

The dishonest hype pre-season was the lack of candor about the health status and availability of recruits. The hypers had URI competing with the top tier A10 teams this season. This has shifted the perception that the problem is the coach/players and not the athletic administration, and nothing can be further from the truth. It will take years to rebuild the URI MBB program.

[Billyboy78]

The dishonest hype pre-season was the lack of candor about the health status and availability of recruits. The hypers had URI competing with the top tier A10 teams this season. This has shifted the perception that the problem is the coach/players and not the athletic administration, and nothing can be further from the truth. It will take years to rebuild the URI MBB program.

Happy New Year!!!