University of Rhode Island vs Dayton University
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
7:00PM
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
7:00PM
Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
Dayton Fan Forum
Another Dayton Fan Forum
Rhody has a tall task Wednesday night when they take on the Dayton Flyers. Rhody is looking to rebound after suffering their first conference home loss on Saturday afternoon. Along with that first home loss, the Rams have also lost three in a row. Dayton, which started the season nationally ranked, came out of the gates slow, posting a 3-4 record in their first seven games of the season. Since then, they have gone 10-4 even with some crushing injuries to their backcourt, which both happened in an overtime loss to BYU. Those injuries left the Flyers extremely thin at the guard position, so much so that the Flyers had to resort to starting 5 forwards with just 1 guard, sophomore Koby Brea, coming off the bench. Starting point guard Malachi Smith, the A10 preseason 2nd team player, missed 11 games with ankle injury. Kobe Elvis missed 12 games with a knee injury. Both Smith & Elvis have returned from injury & are slowly building into game shape. Wednesday’s game could potentially be the Flyers first game since the day after Thanksgiving that Dayton has a guard (if not two) in the starting lineup.
The Flyer who is going to give Rhody major problems in this game is last year’s A10 rookie of the year, DaRon Holmes II. I am just going to pencil him down for 22 & 11 right now. After seeing what Josh Oduro did against Rhody on Saturday, this is going to be a problem. Who fouls out first covering him, Samb or Tchikou? Throw in preseason 2nd team junior forward Toumani Camara, who is averaging roughly 13 & 9, that duo is going to be tough to stop on the block. He recently went for 27 & 11 against VCU. What’s that, you want another big bodied Flyer who is averaging in double digits? Well, it just so happens the Flyers do in Mustapha Amzil who goes for 10.5 & 5.2.
How is Rhody going to combat their size? I wish I knew. Hopefully the Rams can use their quickness against the Flyers. Bray will have to play smart cause if he driving wildly into the trees, he is going to get swallowed up. In addition, I would say maybe Archie Miller has some residual knowledge about this Dayton team, but he hasn’t been there in six years. The Rams have lost 3 in a row & 6 of 7 to Dayton. The one win during that stretch was two years ago the Rams had a thrilling double overtime home win. Can they repeat that magic again at home? They are going to need to play a flawless game to pull out the upset. Having the students back on campus & if they show up (which is a big if) could help the Rams over the finish line. If the students don’t show, we are going to need us old folks to make some noise. If you are reading this preview, I will be perched at the corner of the bar at Shaidzon on Wednesday before the game from 4-6:30. If you come by & say the phrase that pays, “URI race to 10”, I will buy you a half liter of Buffalo Czech. As for the game, I think URI gets rolled unfortunately. Even on the road, Dayton should be favored by about 6 points. My prediction Dayton 71 – URI 59. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
13-7, 5-2 in the A10
24-11, 14-4 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 69 (239)
RPI: 103 (252)
KenPom: 61 (218)
BPI: 45 (231)
Sagarin: 65 (203)
Barttovik: 50 (217)
Leaders:
Points – DaRon Holmes II 18.4 (Soph., F)
Rebounds – Toumani Camara 9.0 (Jr., F)
Assists – Mike Sharavjamts 3.3 (Fr., F) (2.1 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 18-25
H: 10-8, A: 7-12, N: 1-5
Most Recent Matchup: 2/14/22 63-57 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 3 – Dayton
Match-up Predictor: 19.1% Chance of URI Winning
