University of Rhode Island vs La Salle University
Atlantic 10 Tournament – First Round
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
4:30PM
Atlantic 10 Tournament – First Round
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
4:30PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
La Salle Fan Forum
The regular season for the Rams came to a merciful close over the weekend with a home loss against Davidson. This team has gone through scoring droughts over the course of the season, but they really had a doozy Saturday night when they didn’t score a single point for almost 10 minutes. This game was probably the worst game of the season, and that is saying much. This season might by the worst thing to come out of URI since Candace Owens. As bad as the regular season was, that is all in the past as the Rams head to Brooklyn for the A10 conference tournament to take on La Salle. Everyone is starting 0-0 & who the hell knows what will happen? See, I can be delusional too.
The first step in winning the A10 postseason conference will be a win against the La Salle Explorers. These two teams are very evenly matched as they split their regular season matchups, with the home team winning their respective game by two points. La Salle has had an interesting time in conference play this season by pulling off a triple nickel. They are currently on a 5 game losing streak, while before that they were on a 5 game winning streak, & finally prior to that they were on a 5 game losing streak. Geez, if they were any streakier they would be playing this game naked on Tuesday afternoon.
The Explorers are led by their backcourt in Khalil Brantley & Josh Nickelberry. The Rams were able to hold Nickelberry below his season average during the 2 games this season, including a 1-7 shooting night were he scored just 3 points. Unfortunately the same can not be said for Brantley, who is averaging 22 per game against Rhody including a 29, 8, & 4 against the Rams in Philadelphia. It will be difficult for the Rams to hold down Nickelberry for the second time in three games as he is the Explorers biggest three-point threat while shooting it at 40% for the season. Rhody struggled against the Drame twins downlow. They had a combined 8 blocks in those 2 games this season.
The Rams will have to put their last game behind them & think of the positives from the prior few games. Will they be able to get past the drubbing from Saturday night? What is the current mindset of this team? If it is anything like the vocal fanbase on KB, they just want this season to finally come to a close. On a side note, Ish needs just 2 points to get to 500 on the season. Malik needs 7 rebounds to finish his playing career with 650.
Including the teams split of the regular season games, Rhody has won 13 of 15 against the Explorers. Will that continue Saturday afternoon? On a neutral court, my guess is that La Salle will be favored by a couple of points. I think it is going to be a tight game. Do the Rams have enough in the tank for the win? Probably not. My prediction La Salle 69 – URI 67. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
13-18, 7-11 in the A10
11-19, 5-13 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 242 (252)
RPI: 227 (266)
KenPom: 238 (243)
BPI: 222 (232)
Sagarin: 217 (219)
Barttovik: 223 (229)
Leaders:
Points – Khalil Brantley 14.0 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Fousseyni Drame 5.6 (Sr., F)
Assists – Khalil Brantley 4.0 (Soph., G) (2.7 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 34-10
H: 14-4, A: 16-6, N: 4-0
Most Recent Matchup: 1/28/22 72-70 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 46.9% Chance of URI Winning
