1/28 | La Salle | 2:00PM (YurView/ESPN+)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs La Salle University
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, January 28, 2023
2:00PM

Media
TV: YourView
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews
La Salle Fan Forum


Wins are fun! That’s it, that’s the preview. OK, maybe I will write a little more. Rhody is coming off their best game since a home win against a 20-3 Davidson team in February of last year. The Rams look to build on the great performance Wednesday night as they take on the La Salle Explorers Saturday afternoon. Rhody is looking for revenge after losing to La Salle earlier this season in Philly. Prior to that game, URI had an eight-game winning streak against the Explorers. After beating URI, La Salle beat their next opponent (UMass on the road) but have lost 4 in a row since.

Leading the Explorer is sophomore guard Khalil Brantley, who is leading the team in both points & assists, 14.1 & 3.9 respectively. He is the Explorers only double-digit scorer, but senior Josh Nickelberry is right on the cusp with 9.9 points per game. He has shot poorly over his last 6 games, at just 26.5%. As of late, Explorers coach Fran Dunphy has not been pleased with Brantley, Nickelberry, guards Jhamir Brickus & Anwar Gill. All 4 of them sat to start the game even with them being 4 of their top 5 scorers. Per Dunphy he said, “Their sense of timing was different than mine. We’ll just leave it at that.” Will be interesting to see how many minutes they play in this game against Rhody. Downlow, they have the Drame twins, Fousseyni & Hassan. In the last matchup against Rhody they had a combined 6 blocks to go along with 15 points & 14 rebounds.

If Rhody can play like they did on Wednesday night, they should be able to pick up the home win. Wednesday night Brayon Freeman is what all Rhody fans were waiting for when he announced he was transferring to the Ocean State. He did a great job filling up the stat sheet & went a blistering 5 for 11 from deep while the rest of team shot a paltry 1 for 11. Rhody was able to get the win even with Dayton shooting 50% from the floor because they had less turnovers, out rebounded & out hustled the Flyers. Play smart, limit turnovers and I see Rhody grabbing their 4th conference win of the season. They will need this win to try to stay out of the bottom 4 of the conference to avoid the play in games come conference play. Currently only La Salle & Loyola are below Rhody in the standings. Rhody, UMass, Davidson & Saint Joseph’s are all tied at 3-5

There should be a decent crowd at Saturday’s game. The students are back on campus & with a 2:00 pm start, their hangovers should just start to be subsiding so they can head to the game to start it all over again. This game is also part of the five-game mini plan, so that could also help to number of people in the stands. Rhody should be favored by about 6 points in this one. Although Rhody is just 8-12 ATS, I think they win & but not so sure about the cover. My prediction is URI 70 – La Salle 65. Go Rhody!!


Opponent
Record:
8-12, 2-5 in the A10
11-19, 5-13 in the A10 (Last Season)

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 275 (229)
RPI: 238 (239)
KenPom: 266 (208)
BPI: 250 (222)
Sagarin: 247 (190)
Barttovik: 258 (203)

Leaders:
Points – Khalil Brantley 14.1 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Fousseyni Drame 5.6 (Sr., F)
Assists – Khalil Brantley 3.9 (Soph., G) (2.8 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 33-10
H: 13-4, A: 16-6, N: 4-0
Most Recent Matchup: 1/7/23 77-75 L at La Salle
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 – La Salle
Match-up Predictor: 71.8% Chance of URI Winning

[Jersey77]

May want to change the thread title to La Salle.

[spookydog]

May want to change the thread title to La Salle.

Whoopsie. Thanks

[Jdrums#3]

I am very interested in this game for 3 questions I have of this team:

1. Do we build on the Dayton win or let down?

2. Did we learn enough (and make the necessary corrections) in the loss at LaSalle to get revenge?

3. Can a win here give us momentum to climb up the standings some the rest of the conf schedule ?

[Mattrams94]

University of Rhode Island vs La Salle University
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, January 28, 2023
2:00PM

Media
TV: YourView
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews
La Salle Fan Forum


Wins are fun! That’s it, that’s the preview. OK, maybe I will write a little more. Rhody is coming off their best game since a home win against a 20-3 Davidson team in February of last year. The Rams look to build on the great performance Wednesday night as they take on the La Salle Explorers Saturday afternoon. Rhody is looking for revenge after losing to La Salle earlier this season in Philly. Prior to that game, URI had an eight-game winning streak against the Explorers. After beating URI, La Salle beat their next opponent (UMass on the road) but have lost 4 in a row since.

Leading the Explorer is sophomore guard Khalil Brantley, who is leading the team in both points & assists, 14.1 & 3.9 respectively. He is the Explorers only double-digit scorer, but senior Josh Nickelberry is right on the cusp with 9.9 points per game. He has shot poorly over his last 6 games, at just 26.5%. As of late, Explorers coach Fran Dunphy has not been pleased with Brantley, Nickelberry, guards Jhamir Brickus & Anwar Gill. All 4 of them sat to start the game even with them being 4 of their top 5 scorers. Per Dunphy he said, “Their sense of timing was different than mine. We’ll just leave it at that.” Will be interesting to see how many minutes they play in this game against Rhody. Downlow, they have the Drame twins, Fousseyni & Hassan. In the last matchup against Rhody they had a combined 6 blocks to go along with 15 points & 14 rebounds.

If Rhody can play like they did on Wednesday night, they should be able to pick up the home win. Wednesday night Brayon Freeman is what all Rhody fans were waiting for when he announced he was transferring to the Ocean State. He did a great job filling up the stat sheet & went a blistering 5 for 11 from deep while the rest of team shot a paltry 1 for 11. Rhody was able to get the win even with Dayton shooting 50% from the floor because they had less turnovers, out rebounded & out hustled the Flyers. Play smart, limit turnovers and I see Rhody grabbing their 4th conference win of the season. They will need this win to try to stay out of the bottom 4 of the conference to avoid the play in games come conference play. Currently only La Salle & Loyola are below Rhody in the standings. Rhody, UMass, Davidson & Saint Joseph’s are all tied at 3-5

There should be a decent crowd at Saturday’s game. The students are back on campus & with a 2:00 pm start, their hangovers should just start to be subsiding so they can head to the game to start it all over again. This game is also part of the five-game mini plan, so that could also help to number of people in the stands. Rhody should be favored by about 6 points in this one. Although Rhody is just 8-12 ATS, I think they win & but not so sure about the cover. My prediction is URI 70 – La Salle 65. Go Rhody!!


Opponent
Record:
8-12, 2-5 in the A10
11-19, 5-13 in the A10 (Last Season)

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 275 (229)
RPI: 238 (239)
KenPom: 266 (208)
BPI: 250 (222)
Sagarin: 247 (190)
Barttovik: 258 (203)

Leaders:
Points – Khalil Brantley 14.1 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Fousseyni Drame 5.6 (Sr., F)
Assists – Khalil Brantley 3.9 (Soph., G) (2.8 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 33-10
H: 13-4, A: 16-6, N: 4-0
Most Recent Matchup: 1/7/23 77-75 L at La Salle
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 – La Salle
Match-up Predictor: 71.8% Chance of URI Winning

Spooky I unfortunately have some bad news. From what I have heard the first day of tournament play is no longer bottom 4 it is now bottom 6 due to the addition of Loyola. This would mean 10 would play 15, 11 plays 14 and 12 plays 13

[Jersey77]

I am very interested in this game for 3 questions I have of this team:

1. Do we build on the Dayton win or let down?

2. Did we learn enough in the loss at LaSalle to get revenge?

3. Can a win here give us momentum to climb up the standings some the rest of the conf schedule ?

I think this may be our best opportunity for 2 straight wins.
A loss here at home would be terrible for this team's morale and confidence going forward.
I fully expect us to come away with a victory and we shouldn't have to sweat it out.

[Mattrams94]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/atlantic10.com ... ar=1&date=


This is the link to the bracket.

[ramster]

The LaSalle - Davidson game thread is an interesting read because of the unexpected disciplining of several key players.
Will be interesting to see who starts for LaSalle tomorrow. Caught LaSalle fans by surprise just prior to game time

https://explorertown.proboards.com/thre ... ead?page=1

[reef]

I will guess URI 72-65

[section(105)]

FWIW, Team Rankings has with with 68% chance to beat LaSalle. #200 ranked, #13 A-10 and #200 Explorers.

[KingstonLane]

Really need to win the next 2 games if you want a chance of finishing in the top half of the conference.

Fairly tough stretch of games after lasalle and st joes

[Jersey77]

Really need to win the next 2 games if you want a chance of finishing in the top half of the conference.

Fairly tough stretch of games after lasalle and st joes

Well don't count on us finishing in the top half, I really doubt that will happen.

Beating St Joe's in Philly next week will be another difficult task, like every other game left on our schedule.

[KingstonLane]

Really need to win the next 2 games if you want a chance of finishing in the top half of the conference.

Fairly tough stretch of games after lasalle and st joes

Well don't count on us finishing in the top half, I really doubt that will happen.

Beating St Joe's in Philly next week will be another difficult task, like every other game left on our schedule.

It’s not my base case by any means. Just if there’s a path to doing so, it probably includes winning the next 2.

Also the A10 is a complete toss up this year. I don’t think there’s any teams that we can’t beat. If we lose it’s often self inflicted

[UCH21377]

I think this is a weirdly important game in the rebuild process. Follow up a good game with another one. Gain some confidence. Take the next step.

[spookydog]

Spooky I unfortunately have some bad news. From what I have heard the first day of tournament play is no longer bottom 4 it is now bottom 6 due to the addition of Loyola. This would mean 10 would play 15, 11 plays 14 and 12 plays 13

Ahh. You’re right. Totally forgot about the additional team in the conference.

[Rhodymob05]

Vegas likes the Rams and so do I. Espn gives us a 71.8% to win. Huge momentum builder at home.

[ElmCityRhody]

Rams by 47…

[Rhody74]

As long as it’s Rams by 1.

[reef]

I think this is a weirdly important game in the rebuild process. Follow up a good game with another one. Gain some confidence. Take the next step.

Agree with this , need a win here coming off our best game of the season in a game we are favored by 6.5 in

[Blue Man]

Good time to point out that rebuilds aren’t linear.

I expect a win- but won’t be anything but numb if we don’t.

A win would definitely be a great indication of improvement and growth. A loss doesn’t necessarily mean a step back though, still a rebuild.

[McRam]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/atlantic10.com ... ar=1&date=


This is the link to the bracket.

Mattrams. Thanks. Not sure a 12, 13 is better than a being an 8 9. Much rather play a 4 and 5 in the next rounds than being an8 9 and then having to play a one. Especially with the way the conference is shaking out this year

[Rhody72]

This is a big game psychologically for the URI team and its fans. Did the Dayton win give us confidence to win competitive games? It is a game we should win. Someone other than Ish and Bray needs to have a big game because those two are going to be smothered by LaSalle. Will Malik come alive? Will Jalen play a smart game? Will Weston break through? Playing smart and with confidence is needed to win.

[steveystuds06]

This is a big game psychologically for the URI team and its fans. Did the Dayton win give us confidence to win competitive games? It is a game we should win. Someone other than Ish and Bray needs to have a big game because those two are going to be smothered by LaSalle. Will Malik come alive? Will Jalen play a smart game? Will Weston break through? Playing smart and with confidence is needed to win.

And most importantly… will Bassy exhale?

[Rhody72]

And most importantly… will Bassy exhale?

Apparently you don't believe that proper breathing technique can boost athletic performance. OK, so you are a science denier.

[Exeter ram]

I thought of this discussion last week, after freshman point guard missed 3 free throws in a row Coach Reiss had her on the side line teaching her how exhale prior to shot.Taking a deep breath before a golf shot is also a thing.Let’s go Rhody, keep taking those mid range jumpers in space.

[ramster]

Against URI when LaSalle won in OT the Explorers started:
Brantley 6’1” SOPH - 43 minutes
Gill 6’4” JR - 37 minutes
Drame, Fousseyni 6’7” SR - 31 minutes
Nickelberry 6’4” SR - 20 minutes
Doucoure 6’9” SR - 7 minutes

Last game vs Davidson starters
Sanchez-Ramos Freshman 6’2” - 25 minutes
Marrero R/Freshman 6’5” 30 minutes
Drame, Fousseyni 6’7” SR - 30 minutes
Drame, Hassan 6’7” SR - 27 minutes
Doucoure 6’9” SR - 17 minutes

Fran Dunphy removed Brantley, Gill and Nickelberry from starting and gave them just 15, 7 and 3 minutes respectively.

Only Fousseyni Drame and Doucoure started vs Davidson and URI.

Dunphy inserting Hassan Drame gets him more height (the Drame brothers came over from St Peter’s after last season).

Dunphy has started 10 different players this season already.

Dunphy’s new starting Freshmen guards are Andres Marrero who is from Caracas Venezuela and Jorge Sanchez-Ramos is from Spain.

[Backroads]

Guess student interest didn’t carry over

[KevanBoyles]

Anyone else having trouble finding the game on ESPN plus?

[adam914]

Anyone else having trouble finding the game on ESPN plus?

No issues here, its working for me.

[KevanBoyles]

Found it.

[adam914]

Well not the start you're looking for, but big 3 from Ish there.

[reef]

8-5 Las. 1558

Slow start for URI

Ish a 3 to cut the lead in half

[PeterRamTime]

Well not the start you're looking for, but big 3 from Ish there.

Yeah nice to see that one go in after he went 0-6 against Dayton

[Rhody15]

Couldn’t attend today so watching on TV, our sideline reporter just said “previously ranked 3” about Dayton.

Yikes.

[section(105)]

Thomas on an exhale!

[KingstonLane]

Guess student interest didn’t carry over

A warm beautiful Saturday gifted to you in January. They’re all outside drinking

[adam914]

Couldn’t attend today so watching on TV, our sideline reporter just said “previously ranked 3” about Dayton.

Yikes.

I thought I heard that but then figured I must have misunderstood...guess not! Then the announcer just said "Rory Stewart first off the bench today" while Thomas and Weston were in the game for like 3 or 4 minutes already.

[jakepnickers]

Guess student interest didn’t carry over

A warm beautiful Saturday gifted to you in January. They’re all outside drinking

Also last game was the greek night which pretty much required all the frats and sororities to attend.

[reef]

15-15. 1027

It’s a war, Jalen been good so far , Brandon coast to coast drive , Bassy a conventional 3 point play , Ish 2 threes

[PeteRI]

Why the hell isn't Bray playing?

[PeterRamTime]

Couldn’t attend today so watching on TV, our sideline reporter just said “previously ranked 3” about Dayton.

Yikes.

I thought I heard that but then figured I must have misunderstood...guess not! Then the announcer just said "Rory Stewart first off the bench today" while Thomas and Weston were in the game for like 3 or 4 minutes already.

It's just sad really

[section(105)]

Where is Freeman?.

[KevanBoyles]

Mental focus not there so far.

[reef]

21-15 Las. 820

Bad stretch there forces Arch to call a TO

[PeterRamTime]

Damn we will be a really good team when we can make wide open shots and not throw the ball out of bounds!

[KingstonLane]

Bill Koch mentioned freeman may have rolled his ankle in the first couple minutes. Hopefully he can return

[KevanBoyles]

Couldn’t attend today so watching on TV, our sideline reporter just said “previously ranked 3” about Dayton.

Yikes.

I thought I heard that but then figured I must have misunderstood...guess not! Then the announcer just said "Rory Stewart first off the bench today" while Thomas and Weston were in the game for like 3 or 4 minutes already.

It's just sad really

Steve said the same. They were referring to Rory being the first off the bench instead of Tchikou.

[UCH21377]

Nice crowd today

[Rhody15]

…did the announcer just say Malik is the only player with 1000 points and 500 rebounds?

[KingstonLane]

Going to be a long day of Lasalle shoots 70% from 3