Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Thursday, December 21, 2023
6:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Previews
UNH Fan Forum
Rhody! Rhody! Rhody!...Blah! Blah! Blah! The Rams, losers of 4 straight, limp back to the Ryan Center to finish up their last two out of conference games to close out 2023. After losing to the second smallest state over the weekend, the Rams take on the 5th smallest state (& 5th most common opponent) in their penultimate out of conference game Thursday night when New Hampshire comes to town. Please note that this game starts at 6:00, not the usual 7:00. The Wildcats were picked to finish 8th out of 9 teams in the America East preseason polls. This will be the third time we face a team that could do something the Rams could not do, beat Brown at home.
After coaching at Bucknell for eight seasons, Nathan Davis enters his first season at the helm of the Wildcats. Although picked towards the bottom of the conference preseason, UNH does have a nice one-two punch in forward Clarence Daniels & guard Ahmad Robinson. Daniels was a preseason America East All-Conference preseason pick and is having a monster season so far, averaging 19 & 9. He is currently in the top 40 in scoring & top 50 in rebounding in the country. He has scored in double digits in all but 1 game this season & in half of the games he has scored 20+. He went for 36 & 9 against Brown while hitting 5 of 9 from deep. I look forward to the Rams having a defensive breakdown & leaving him wide open much like they did against Jyare Davis in the Delaware game. Running the point is undersized guard, Ahmad Robinson. He can score off the dribble quite well but is willing to dish the ball. Robinson is averaging 16.3 points per game & an impressive 5 assists per game, which is good for top 50 in the country. The diminutive guard is also averaging 4 rebounds per game. He had a double-double recently against Dartmouth going for 11 & 10 rebounds. He has scored in double digits every game this season. One final player to keep an eye on is senior forward Jaxson Baker. He is averaging 10 & 6.4 on the season. After going for 20 against UConn last month on 6 made threes, he has struggled from deep. He is just 2 for his last 16 over his last four games. Hopefully his poor shooting will continue Thursday night.
As for the Rams, they need something to spark them to get ready for conference play. Thankfully they are 5-1 at home, so maybe some home cooking is just what the doctor ordered. Rhody has been SLOPPY taking care of the basketball. Many of us thought after the Charleston game things couldn’t get any worse after the Rams turned the ball over 17 times. This team said, hold my coffee milk, as they proceeded to turn it over 20 times against Delaware.
Rhody really needs to get Zek & House going because they have fallen off a bit as of late. After scoring in double digits the first eight games of the season, over the last three games Zek is averaging just 7 per contest. During those 3 games he is just 2 for 10 from deep. Jaden House had a very tough game against Delaware, having more turnover than points. The one bright spot of late has been the play of freshman Cam Estevez. Cam has been getting more minutes & really making the most of them. Does Archie tinker with the starting line-up & start Cam? I think it may be time.
I can’t believe I am going to write out this next sentence, but here goes. The Rams have a real chance of losing to UNH at home Thursday night. The Rams are 56-3 all time at home against the Wildcats. They have a 13-game home winning streak & have just 1 home loss since 1935, going 46-1 during that time. Over the last 21 games (home & away) they are 20-1 against them. Hell, to start last game URI went up 22-2 with now grad assistant Gil Biruta going for 17 & 11. Even with this being a home game, it is basically a coinflip as to who will win. Yikes! I am going to channel my inner Yogi Berra, who said to Bernie Williams before the 1999 ALCS against the Red Sox, “Relax. We’ve been playing these guys for 80 years. They’re never gonna beat us.” Well, the Rams have been playing & winning over the last 80 years against UNH. My prediction, URI 79 – UNH 78 in OT. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
7-4, 0-0 in the America East
15-15, 9-7 in the America East (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 173 (245)
RPI: 116 (212)
KenPom: 233 (220)
BPI: 180 (246)
Barttovik: 242 (184)
Leaders:
Points – Clarence Daniels 19.2 (Sr., F)
Rebounds – Clarence Daniels 9.0 (Sr., F)
Assists – Ahmad Robinson 5.0 (Jr., G) (2.5 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 96-18
H: 56-3, A: 40-15, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 12/22/13 62-45 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 9 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 51.9% Chance of URI Winning