Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
7:00PM
Media
TV: YurView
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews:
Brown Fan Forum
After a disappointing defensive performance against Providence, Rhody looks to rebound against another instate foe in Brown University. This will be the first time these 2 teams have played each other in just shy of 3 years. Last season the game was cancelled & the season before that the Ivy league did not have basketball due to Covid. The last time these teams played back in early January of 2020, it was an embarrassing loss that had many fans starting to sour on David Cox. An awful defensive performance with lackluster energy that saw URI go down as many as 17 in that game even though Rhody had possibly 3 future NBA players in Dowtin, Tyrese & maybe Toppin. That just shouldn’t happen.
As for this year’s Brown team, coach Mike Martin is in his tenth season at the helm. His smartest offseason move was the hiring of assistant coach Tyson Wheeler after his departure from UMass. On the court, the Bears are led by last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Kino Lilly Jr, who is averaging 16/3/2 in 34 minutes per game. The Bears have 2 additional players averaging over 30 minutes per game, Paxson Wojcik who is leading the team in assists with 3 per game & Nana Owusu-Anane who is leading the team in rebounds with 7.7 per game. Brown is kind of an enigma in today’s college basketball world as I believe they only have one transfer in Paxson Wojcik, who came from Loyola before the 2021-22 season. Brown in coming into this game on a nice little 4 game win streak with 3 of those games on the road including a double-digit win at Bryant.
Rhody got a much-needed offense lift from their bigs last game, with a combined 13 for 18 shooting from Samb, Bilau & Hutchinson. On the defensive end they will need to step up. Other than the aforementioned Owusu-Anane, Brown doesn’t have much size other than freshman Kalu Anya, so Rhody may be able to get by in a game like this. Come conference play, that will be a different story.
Even with Rhody’s struggles, I am guessing they will still be favored by a few points. If this game comes down to free throws, URI has a clear advantage. Brown has a few dreadful free throw shooters & they shoot only 55% as a team (URI shoots it at 72%). My prediction is URI 66 – Brown 61. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
5-4, 0-0 in the Ivy
13-16, 5-9 in the Ivy (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 212 (142)*
RPI: 282 (211)
KenPom: 232 (183)
BPI: 248 (247)
Sagarin: 208 (193)
Barttovik: 197 (201)
* Denotes last season
Leaders:
Points – Kino Lilly Jr. 16.1 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Nana Owusu-Anane 7.7 (Soph., F)
Assists – Paxson Wohjcik 3.0 (Sr., G) (1.9 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 108-54
H: 66-14, A: 41-39, N: 1-1
Most Recent Matchup: 1/2/20 85-75 L at Brown
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 - Brown
Match-up Predictor: 64.5% Chance of URI Winning