Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, February 26, 2022
12:30PM
Media
TV: USA
Online: USA
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App
Previews:
Duquesne Fan Forum
The race to the bottom of the Atlantic-10 continues as the Rhode Island Rams host the lowly Duquesne Dukes. Both teams finished the 2019-20 season with a 21-9 record & fast-forward 2 seasons and the wheels have completely fallen off for both squads. The Rams have lost 9 of their last 10 games & it is still not as bad as the Dukes. After winning the opening conference game against UMass, Duquesne has now lost 13 in a row. They have lost those 13 conference games by an average of over 15 points. At home against George Washington they shot 1 for 21 from behind the arc. Yikes! I believe the biggest question mark going into this game is which coach will be fired first once the season ends? Duquesne’s coach Keith Dambrot, whose biggest accomplishment may be coaching LeBron James in high school, lost the core of his team in years past as they transferred out. Players such as Sincere Curry, Tavian Dunn-Martin (whose FGCU team beat URI earlier this season), Marcus Weathers, & Lamar Norman Jr are all excelling on their new teams. Duquesne is much like URI in there scoring as they have 5 players averaging between 8.3 & 11 points per game while URI has 4. One additional note, as a reminder Saturday’s game is senior night, so the 3 dozen of you going to the game get to the Ryan Center early to thank Jeremy Sheppard & Ishmael El-Amin for their abbreviated time here at URI. My guess is it is being held on the second to last game because they expect a bigger crowd Saturday afternoon compared to Wednesday night’s game. This game is the final game of the 5-game mini plan so that may increase attendance, well at least tickets sold maybe not people in the seats. In addition, this is a game they may actually win. I don’t know what is crazier, the fact that URI will probably be favored by double digits…or the fact that I am thinking about laying the points. That may all depend on how many beers I have at Shaidzon before the game. Shaidzon is opening early for the game because they know the crowd will need some refreshments to watch this shitshow. My prediction, URI 69 – Duquesne 56. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
6-20, 1-13 in the A-10
9-9, 7-7 in the A-10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 272 (133)
RPI: 255 (143)
KenPom: 283 (127)
BPI: 277 (126)
Sagarin: 243 (122)
Barttorvik: 284 (136)
Leaders:
Points – Amir Spears 11.0 (Fr., G)
Rebounds – Kevin Easley 6.5 (Soph., F)
Assists – Amir Spears 2.8 (Fr., G) (2.1 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 34-28
H: 20-11, A: 14-15, N: 0-2
Most Recent Matchup: 1/27/21 86-65 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 – Duquesne
Match-up Predictor: 90.8% Chance of URI Winning