Game #15: @ LSU - Saturday Jan 4 @ 5:30pm ET

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:I told you guys that we'd get better by January. Guess what?
We're undefeated in 2014!
EC Matthews is playing with such confidence. Back to back 20 point games.
X sucks? Really? He can't play defense? BULLSHIT!
Biruta played his ass off until he got gassed.
TJ, Martin and Biggie had sub par games.
Need to use Biruta at midcourt to break the press. Something
for Dan to work on next week.
Even got a positive contribution from Reischel in the first half.
Hurley's biggest win yet.
We outrebounded this LSU team? Unreal!
In the immortal word of Goldberg, WHO'S NEXT?

I honestly don't remember you telling us to be patient and the team would be better in January

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Really? Who cares what YOU remember!

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 10 years ago

I had us tonight. I have Rhody every night. Can't and won't have anything else. My favorite sport team.

ChiPhiRhody03 · Unread post by **ChiPhiRhody03** » 10 years ago

You fellas need to take it easy on Hurley. He, like this team, is a work in progress. That said, nice win - possible confidence/momentum builder. Love seeing E.C. picking up his game. Kid's on a roll right now.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 10 years ago

A SMALL PLANE HAS MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A US INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN THE NEW YORK BOROUGH OF THE BRONX.

LSU PRESIDENT TAKES ACTION, CHOKES PILOT, AFTER LOSS TO RHODY

GansettRam74 · Unread post by **GansettRam74** » 10 years ago

[quote="ChiPhiRhody03"]You fellas need to take it easy on Hurley. He, like this team, is a work in progress. That said, nice win - possible confidence/momentum builder. Love seeing E.C. picking up his game. Kid's on a roll right now.[/

Hey 03, Is EC's game better than M.N??????

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 10 years ago

ramfan85 wrote:
theblueram wrote:Crawfish 67
Lobsters 68

I'd take that score. That would probably mean that we "clawed" our way to victory..

85, We did it!

Rhodygirl2 · Unread post by **Rhodygirl2** » 10 years ago

Wow that was awesome.

Just talked to my dad who had to walk out of the room after the multiple consecutive steals because he could feel his blood pressure spiking to unhealthy levels, couldn't take it anymore.

After the game ended, my mom want into the living room to give him play by play notes, without revealing the outcome. As he's listening he's saying " well, obviously they lost" multiple times. Finally hears they won and he was in total disbelief for about 15 minutes before he finally called me, still speechless.

I asked him "why didn't she tell you to come back in to watch when they were winning" and he said he was glad she didn't as he wouldn't have been able to handle the tension.

At least this time all the stress had a nice payoff in the end!

Go Rhody!

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

19 points, 14 rebounds....is that good enough?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

We really won this with three guys doing an outstanding job.
Biruta, Matthews and Munford.
Jim Harrick used to say, you need three scoring threats to become,
"hard to guard".
Matthews also had 9 rebounds, and X had 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Gil easily played his best game.
Can't wait for Tuesday night!

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

Gilvydas, EC and X all with very good games. When that happens, we can win a lot of games. Those should be the 3 guys that fill up the stat sheet offensively. The one negative is 8 turnovers by Biggie. That has to be a concern. Do you think other teams might throw a full court press at us now after seeing tape of this game?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

That was scary. Looked like a dodge ball game,
with the'ball flying around.
TJ , Hassan and Biggie had sub par games.
Still, against the tough physical LSU team, they outrebounded them.
Rebounding is effort and desire.
I think confidence is so important to this team, especially the younger players.
Games like this and Brown, where they could have folded, but
persevered, will give the entire team confidence.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 10 years ago

This win could give the team the confidence it needs to play more consistently. Roles are becoming more obvious to the players. Once this happens, players can "do their job". Still, a lot to work on. Everyone needs to be a valuable contributor when you are playing with a short bench. Confidence is important; it gets you through the valleys and allows you to soar to new heights. I'll be in the car pool for the trip down Tuesday night.

RhodyRams12 · Unread post by **RhodyRams12** » 10 years ago

Can't wait for Tuesday night!

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

X had two unbelievable blocks on what could have been easy LSU layups. Then he turned it on in the last 10 minutes and helped lead us to victory. Clearly he loves playing the SEC, 33 against Auburn last year, 22 tonight. Interestingly, for the first 25-30 minutes we were scoring consistently and it wasn't coming from X. Good for the future. EC and Hassan are clearly building blocks.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

and not to state the obvious, but we need a decent crowd on Tuesday. can we get 5k in the place off a win against a name brand team and a semi name brand team coming into town?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Tell you what, if we ever got a kid like Jordan Mickey, we'd be all set.
That kid is the real thing. He's only a freshman.
6'9" and really mobile. What a future he has.
It's fun watching the kids develop on any team, but moreso on ours.
I think I'll be walking alright by Tuesday, so I'll be there with the tribe.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 10 years ago

I'm surprised they won this game AT LSU. That's no easy task. I hope they keep it up and impress come A10 play. My fingers are crossed.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 10 years ago

Mickey was heavily recruited by PC......I think they were in his final three....

eli#10 · Unread post by **eli#10** » 10 years ago

X's block from behind on the lay up and subsequent 3 pointer were the plays of the game!! If they make that lay up we have major problems!! I may have worn out a path on my living room carpet the last 3-4 minutes. Good trhing we held off dinner until after the game or I might have needed a barf bag.......

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 10 years ago

Ramulous wrote:Mickey was heavily recruited by PC......I think they were in his final three....

And they lost…………….

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Not really. I looked at the lists of Mickey's interests,
and they were almost all Texas area or Southern schools.
No mention of PC anywhere.

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 10 years ago

Any chance of EC being a-10 freshman of the week?

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

averaged 21pts, 7 rebs, 2 assists in the 2 games this week.

book it!!!

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

To get 5000, we'll need lots of students. I know it's break, but c'mon local students. We need you on Tuesday.

rhodyram81 · Unread post by **rhodyram81** » 10 years ago

Great win! I had to delay going out with my wife and friends to watch the game on my iPad. When I arrived, my friends (including a PC administrator) all congratulated me. They followed the game via the bottom line on ESPN sweated out the last minute. Three Gansett Coffee Milk Stouts later and I'm doing great!

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

ramster wrote:Game 7 - UNC Asheville Starting Line Up and Minutes Played
Biruta 21
Reischel 24
Iffy 18
MP 26
X 34
Bench: EC 24, TJ 23, Minnis 18, Martin 9

Game 8 - McNeese State Starting Line Up and Minutes Played
Biruta 32
Iffy15
EC 26
Minnis 30
X 34
Bench: TJ 24, Reichelle 21, MP 10, Martin 8

Game 15 - LSU Starting Line Up as in PROJO today
Biruta
Minnis
Martin
Mathews
Munford
Bench: TJ, Iffy, Butler, Reichelle

The Preferred Line Up I had before the Season Started:
1 Hare - no doubt
2 Biruta - no doubt
3 Munford - no doubt
4 Mathews - no doubt
5 Between Martin, Minnis and TJ - let them battle it out

So now we have almost the Line Up I recommended before the first game was played except for Hare
We have the 4 M's in the starting Line Up with TJ first off the Bench and now elevated to Captain
Iffy has played some very valuable minutes for URI and is an important factor with the loss of Hare - good thing that we have him and he has lot's of time to grow with this team. JR has shown some good potential. Butler looks to be a keeper with his outside shooting acumen. Aaman showed last year he can be a solid rebounder and inside scorer. So the competition for Playing time is not over by any means - Dan Hurley impresses in that he will give the Playing time and Starting roles based on performance. A big change from the previous administrations over 13 or so years.

I think the LSU game will be close and could even be an upset win for the Rams.
- McNeese State was the first major starting line up change by DH inserting EC and Minnis. This takes a bit of time for the nervousness and the change itself to settle in, so even though it was in effect for McNeese it was the first time for this unit.
- Martin is now a major factor in the Starting Line Up
- URI showed they could blow out McNeese State but now a better Starting Line Up is in place
- I wanted 7 guys getting the majority of minutes before the season started - Hare is gone but the other 6 are now getting the majority of the minutes either starting or first off the Bench - perfect.
- These are the guys to lead this team. An upset win today would really propel this team into the A10 as one to be well respected.
- Dan Hurley has really impressed me with how he allowed the players to show what they were capable of in the OOC Games. He arrived at the starting line up that I think is his best (minus Hare which is a different story or course). Dan did it as he said he would - with competition. The best have risen to the top and even TJ gets his just recognition.
- I predicted 8-7 OOC, 7-9 in A10 and 15-16 overall which is about double our performance of last year - a respectable accomplishment. I'd love to see a win today and take a 9-6 record into A10 play.
- The team is on the right track. The right guys are on the bus and now in the right seats. Improving every game. Gaining experience every game. This URI team will be a dangerous one to face once A10 Tournament Play begins

I felt that URI could win this game outright today and they did.
The 4 M's and Biruta is the best starting line up talentwise. Dan just recently went to Martin in the line up adn it was only back in Game 8 that Minnis and Mathews went in as Starters.
This group of 5 will be very interesting to watch as Mathews and Martin will only get better being so young and with so much potential. Biruta and Minnis will improve with Playing time having sat out a year.
My concern is that my 15-16 may be too low now - but that's a good thing in the big picture.
Exactly on track with the tie-breaker predicting 68.5 points per game with todays 74 points scored..

luke · Unread post by **luke** » 10 years ago

Let me try this one more time, since I haven't been able toget my post up on the board for some reason. Wow, wow ,wow,wow. when i originally tried to add this post my heart was still pounding and my hands were still shaking with excitement. What a gutsy win this was. This team could have folded against Brown and easily could have found excuses to do it tonight. But no, they didnot fold, theypushed through it and won after losing a 12 point lead. That's what good teams do. Maybe they are on their way to becoming a good team this year. this the type of game I have been talking about where they finally get a break and pull out a big victory. The win over Brown must have given them more confidence that I thought. they truly played with confidence tonight and it was very clear. The 22 turnovers? Maybe the long arms and size of LSU deserves some credit. Guys made fts in the clutch too. Maybe they are over the hump and realize how good they can be. Many people on here should be apologizing to Gil Biruta. Maybe he is healthier now and able to show his true ability. He sure did tonight. And X and Mathews were awesome. Nice job by all tonight. I am very happy. Proud of you guys.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

It figures. I work OT tonight, and we win.

Maybe I should work whenever we play.

Great win. X is back. Gil, you turned into the player we thought you were before the season.

EC, enjoy him while we can. He's NBA bound, but hopefully he stays with us for 4 years.

When we can beat a good team on the road, with only 3 players playing well, that says a lot.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:I cannot believe some fans turned this one off.
Great game start to finish, with many heart attack inducing moments, but that's what makes it great. Who wants an easy win? lol
Ramster was high on us tonight, give em credit.
Wonder if there were any gutsy Rhody gamblers who had us tonight, the ML was +1000!

Thanks BAR, I just had a feeling that this new line up was going to produce a big upset - and tonight was it. I should go buy some lottery tickets I suppose.
For the game:
Who would have believed that we could have - AND STILL WIN:
URI 22 Turnovers and LSU 12
URI 6 steals and LSU 19
URI 4 Blocks and LSU 8

- Monster game by Biruta. 8-13 fg and 2-2 on 3 pointers plus 14 rebounds!! Highest individual rebound total on LSU was only 6 - Biruta had 6 offensive rebounds alone. Just a dominating performance.
- Monster game by EC Mathews. 6-12 fg and 2-3 on 3 pointers, 7-9 ft, plus 9 rebounds. EC was the 2nd leading rebounder in the game to Biruta. No fouls.
- Great games by Biruta and Mathews with some others not having their best outings but that says a lot about how good this team can be in A10 play.
- Strange for Iffy to have 4 fouls in 3 minutes of PT against Brown and tonight 4 fouls in 10 minutes tonight. Obviously coaching staff will work with him to improve in this area

Ram Stampede!!! · Unread post by **Ram Stampede!!!** » 10 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:Who else is ready to puke?

I thought I was the only one!!!

Ram Stampede!!! · Unread post by **Ram Stampede!!!** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:I AM SO PROUD OF THIS TEAM!!!
All you cry baby chicken littles, can suck it!
How do you like us now?
We never folded. We never quit!
Despite all the insane turnovers, we won.
A complete team win.
GO RHODY!!!

LMFAO!

Thats right chicken littles! lol

Go Rhody! I would like to say its time to RAM-SMASH this A-10 schedule now!

Ram Stampede!!! · Unread post by **Ram Stampede!!!** » 10 years ago

twisted3829 wrote:how many people almost had heart attacks or threw up? These games are taking years off my life

Im in the hospital because my fiance just gave birth so at least Im in the hospital already!! WHAT A WIN!

Next time we should just keep the 10 pt lead though...a close game is exciting but its ok to put a beating into a BCS program

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.

Rod,
I'd expect Munford to have solid games being a Senior coming off last season as the team's top scorer. He played good but I thought Biruta and Mathews were very strong with their shooting percentages and their rebounding.
Munford was 2-9 on 3 pointers for 22% - the rest of the URI team was 5-7 for 71%
I'd like to see X take fewer 3 pointers, take more 10-12 foot jumpers and/or drive to the hoop. His shot does not look good to me when it leaves his hand. Not sure what the Coaches observations are on this.
If we are going to win the A10 Tournament (which should be everyone's goal) I'd like to either see X improve his 3 point shooting or reduce his attempts per game - one or the other. He has many strong assets to his game but the outside shooting has yet to come around this year.
Statistically for 3 point shooting:
X is 25-89 for 28% year to date. Take away his one strong game against McNeese State of 6-10 and he is 19-79 for only 24%.
Other guys who I'd like to see take more 3 pointers in the future are:
EC is hitting 32%........ but 8 for his last 14 in past 3 games for 57%. EC is a good 3 point shooter, has a nice release and will continue to improve.
Minnis is 7-14 for the year for 50%. Why not let him take more 3's?
Jarelle is 7-18 for 39%
Butler is 4-9 for 44%

SmartyBarrett · Unread post by **SmartyBarrett** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:averaged 21pts, 7 rebs, 2 assists in the 2 games this week.

book it!!!

To quote Seth Davis, "E.C. Matthews. Sharpie."

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 10 years ago

What a great win for URI !!!

ram1980 · Unread post by **ram1980** » 10 years ago

Terrific win!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the all out effort this team needs to give every game. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.

One thing no one mentions about X is that with Powell gone, X is the team's best ballhandler.

rhodyfan3 · Unread post by **rhodyfan3** » 10 years ago

BFC wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.
One thing no one mentions about X is that with Powell gone, X is the team's best ballhandler.

That is true. Sometimes watching biggie dribble makes me nervous. Like it's just going to slip or pop out of his hands.

rhodyfan3 · Unread post by **rhodyfan3** » 10 years ago

This win was awesome. As everyone has said LSU is a good team and it is great for us to beat them at their house. This builds our confidence and will hopefully give us momentum into Tuesday and A10 play. EC emerging the last two games is a good sign. I think we will see more of it going forward. X is playing well and Biruta had a great game. With those 3 playing well, along with good minutes from guys like Jarrell, Oneykaba, and TJ, we will be in good shape.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 10 years ago

It's always interesting to read the view from the opposition. Here are two articles from the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the first one a pre game view and the second the game story.

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/ ... h_the.html

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/ ... sland.html

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

"Crisp offensive execution." Hmmm. I thought Hurley and his staff didnt know how to coach offense.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

ramster wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.
Rod,
I'd expect Munford to have solid games being a Senior coming off last season as the team's top scorer. He played good but I thought Biruta and Mathews were very strong with their shooting percentages and their rebounding.
Munford was 2-9 on 3 pointers for 22% - the rest of the URI team was 5-7 for 71%
I'd like to see X take fewer 3 pointers, take more 10-12 foot jumpers and/or drive to the hoop. His shot does not look good to me when it leaves his hand. Not sure what the Coaches observations are on this.
If we are going to win the A10 Tournament (which should be everyone's goal) I'd like to either see X improve his 3 point shooting or reduce his attempts per game - one or the other. He has many strong assets to his game but the outside shooting has yet to come around this year.
Statistically for 3 point shooting:
X is 25-89 for 28% year to date. Take away his one strong game against McNeese State of 6-10 and he is 19-79 for only 24%.
Other guys who I'd like to see take more 3 pointers in the future are:
EC is hitting 32%........ but 8 for his last 14 in past 3 games for 57%. EC is a good 3 point shooter, has a nice release and will continue to improve.
Minnis is 7-14 for the year for 50%. Why not let him take more 3's?
Jarelle is 7-18 for 39%
Butler is 4-9 for 44%

I agree with Ramster. X had a good game, not a great game. Too many missed wide open 3s, too many silly turnovers, and you need a senior guard to hit both free throws aT the end of the game.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

rhodyfan3 wrote:
BFC wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:Ramster, how about a little love for X?
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, not to mention
some clutch shots when they were needed.
Ram Stampede, it's the close wins that build character and confidence.
One thing no one mentions about X is that with Powell gone, X is the team's best ballhandler.
That is true. Sometimes watching biggie dribble makes me nervous. Like it's just going to slip or pop out of his hands.

Biggie had 6 assists, EC had 4, TJ 3 and X had 1. I agree that X is handling the ball more but the assists are still coming from Biggie, EC and TJ typically.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 10 years ago

Perfect lineup for this roster. So glad the staff figured it out. Great starting lineup then a skilled SF, a strong big and defensive guru/pg on the bench. And everyone did their job.

ElmCityRhody · Unread post by **ElmCityRhody** » 10 years ago

Great win.. Watched on ESPN3... Biggest win in a good long while.. Go Rhody !

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 10 years ago

Let's pack the Ryan Center Tuesday, these guys deserve it. Good opponent and coming off of a big win, no excuses.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

19 steals. That's a mind boggling number. And we still won.

I think staff will be working on handling a press. Less dribbling, more quick passing.

Especially before we play VCU.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Silly turnovers by Munford? He had THREE in 38 minutes!
TJ had the same number in 15 minutes. Biggie had 8 in 26 minutes.
So, you point to Munford's "silly" turnovers???
X made 3 of 4 free throws. That's 75% He also had 6 rebounds and the biggest
series of the game, where he blocked an LSU shot and came down and hit a 3.
Selective memory????