Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, December 30, 2023
1:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Previews
Northeastern Fan Forum
Another Northeastern Fan Forum
Rhody fans woke up Christmas morning with coal in their stockings, at least I hope that was coal, as this Rams teams has severely struggled over the past month. Hopefully the holiday break has helped this team as they close out the out of conference slate of games and close out 2023 with a home game against Northeastern. The good news is, Rhode Island is 42-1 all time at home against Northeastern. The bad news is they were 46-1 since 1935 at home against New Hampshire, and we all know how that played out.
Northeastern will be the third CAA team the Rams face this season, losing to both Charleston & Delaware. Preseason polls had Northeastern picked 7th out of 14 teams. Northeastern’s coach Bill Coen has Rhody connections as he was a former assistant coach at URI under Al Skinner in the 90s. He enters his 18th season at the helm & is the Huskies all time winningest coach with roughly 275 wins. The Huskies come into this matchup at just 5-7 but they did play #22 Virginia quite well, only losing by 2 in Charlottesville. Rhody will be the second A-10 team they have faced in the nonconference schedule as they lost by 5 at La Salle.
On the court they are led by sixth year senior forward Chris Doherty. This former Notre Dame transfer leads the team in all 3 major categories, 12.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, & 2.8 assists per game. He is the lone big man in the starting lineup as the Huskies start four guards alongside of him. The Huskies have two other double-digit scorers on this team, Harvard transfer Luka Sakota at 11.2 & sophomore guard Masai Troutman at 10.2 points per game. Jared Turner is Northeastern’s biggest three-point threat. He has 30 made threes on the season, which is more than double than anyone on Rhode Island. He is also shooting it at almost 42% on the year.
As for the Rams, well, they are not very good right now. Do they shake things up & change the starting lineup? Is Fuchs back & does he start over Tyson Brown? Does Foumena slide into that starting roll to ease Fuchs back into game shape? How do they free-up Cam to find some in rhythm three point attempts? Can Weston become a productive player off the bench as he is just 4 for 16 over his last 4 games. Whatever it is, the Rams just need to get a win before conference play.
Once again, the Rams have a real chance of losing to a team that they have dominated for over 100 years. That is where things have become for this Rams program. The last time these teams played 13 years ago, Delroy James went for 25 & 10 in the road win. Can Zek channel his inner Delroy and put-up similar numbers that lead the Rams to victory? God, I hope so. Please close out 2023 with a win. My prediction, URI 73 – Northeastern 72. Happy Holidays & Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
5-7, 0-0 in the CAA
10-20, 6-12 in the CAA (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 160 (252)
RPI: 146 (211)
KenPom: 172 (235)
BPI: 173 (247)
Barttovik: 183 (196)
Leaders:
Points – Chris Doherty 12.7 (Sr., F)
Rebounds – Chris Doherty 7.1 (Sr., F)
Assists – Chris Doherty 2.8 (Sr., F) (2.4 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 72-7
H: 42-1, A: 30-6, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 12/8/10 79-67 W at Northeastern
Most Recent Win Streak: 14 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 50.3% Chance of URI Winning