Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, January 7, 2023
2:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
La Salle Fan Forum
After ringing in the new year with a home conference win, Rhody heads to Philly to take on the La Salle Explorers. La Salle, who was picked to finish 14th in the conference just ahead of Duquesne, comes in with a 6-8 record & somehow has only played 1 conference game so far. I know the A10 schedule is a bit wacky with an odd number of teams with the addition of Loyola, but how has La Salle only played 1 conference game while a handful of teams have already played 3. La Salle’s best win of the season is at Penn; other than that they lost they games you would assume they’d lose (Villanova, Wake Forest, Temple, etc) & beat the teams you would assume they’d beat (Queens, Binghamton, Howard, etc).
Leading the Explorer is sophomore guard Khalil Brantley, who is leading the team in both points & assists, 13.9 & 3.8 respectively. The teams other double-digit scorer is senior Josh Nickelberry. This former Louisville guard is averaging 12 points per game & is their best three-point shooter. Downlow, they have the Drame twins, Fousseyni & Hassan. The Explorer’s version of the Mitchell twins, they both were at St Peter’s to start their collegiate career before transferring to La Salle during the off season. Fousseyni starts while Hassan is their 6th man off the bench. The Explorers aren’t a big team besides Rokas Jocius & don’t have any prolific shot blockers, so Rhody could have potential success downlow…especially is Samb is hitting those little free throw jumpers like he did against Fordham.
If Rhody can play like they did on Wednesday night, they should be able to pick up the road win. Bray didn’t necessarily shoot the ball well but excelled in every other aspect of them game against Fordham. I also want to give a shoutout to Bassy who inexplicably led the team in rebounds against Fordham with 7 in just 22 minutes of play. The Explorers do average 1.5 less turnovers than Rhody per game but it has been trending in the right direction for the Rams as of late. If Rhody can limit some of the scoring droughts and not shit the bed from the charity stripe like they did last year when they shot an appalling 9 for 22, I think they get the win.
Rhody comes into this game with an eight-game winning streak against the Explorers & winners of 12 of the last 13. Against La Salle, the Rams also have a 6-game road win streak & winners of 9 of the last 11 at Tom Gola Arena. Given La Salle is at home, I think they will be favored by about 2.5 in this one. If you are looking to put a little action on the game buy aren’t feeling this game spread wise, might I suggest looking at the race to 10 points in the first half for URI. I have enjoyed doing this all season & Rhody has won 6 of the last 8 times. My prediction is URI 71 – La Salle 67. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
6-8, 0-1 in the A10
11-19, 5-13 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 293 (247)
RPI: 240 (259)
KenPom: 260 (205)
BPI: 251 (238)
Sagarin: 249 (203)
Barttovik: 272 (202)
Leaders:
Points – Khalil Brantley 13.9 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Fousseyni Drame 4.9 (Sr., F)
Assists – Khalil Brantley 13.9 3.8 (Soph., G) (2.8 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 33-9
H: 13-4, A: 16-5, N: 4-0
Most Recent Matchup: 1/19/22 56-54 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 8 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 38.5% Chance of URI Winning