Rhode Island Rams
Atlantic 10 (25-7, 15-3)
Going 15-3 in a tough, balanced conference like the Atlantic 10 is not easy. Rhode Island did it by taking care of the ball and playing solid defense. With some decent non-conference wins against the likes of Seton Hall and Providence, the Rams should be a popular pick to win a game or two in the tournament.
Big Wins: 12/23 vs Seton Hall (75-74), 12/2 Providence (75-68), 1/13 St. Bonaventure (87-73)
Bad Losses: 12/6 at Alabama (64-68), 2/27 St. Joseph’s (48-78), 3/2 Davidson (61-63)
Coach: Dan Hurley
Why They Can Surprise:
Defense and turnover margin may win championships, and NCAA Tournament games for that matter, but the Rams have an amazing deep and talented backcourt. E.C. Matthews is not having a great senior season compared to the lofty standards he created during the rest of his career, but he still averages 13.1 points per game. Jared Terrell has emerged as the team’s top scorer and most prolific outside shooter. Like Terrell and Matthews, Stanford Robinson and Jarvis Garrett are experienced seniors. Robinson is a versatile player on both ends of the floor and Garrett provides the Rams with a very effective secondary ball handler. The primary ball handler is sophomore Jeff Dowtin. He may be the inexperienced guard on the team, but Dowtin averages an impressive 5.5 assists with just 1.8 turnovers.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Coach Dan Hurley does not have many options in the frontcourt. Andre Berry is a 6-8, 275 pound senior who can battle in the paint and Cyril Langevine is a 6-8 sophomore who will help out on the glass. While Berry has turned into a decent interior scorer, the Rams mostly just need their big guys to play defense while the four guards do the rest. But against bigger, stronger teams, Rhode Island will struggle on the glass. If they do not make up those possessions in the turnover battle, the Rams will find it difficult to keep up with a team that can take advantage of their lack of size in the paint.
Probable Starters:
Jeff Dowtin, Sophomore, Guard, 9.7 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.2 rpg
Jared Terrell, Senior, Guard, 17.2 ppg, 2.3 apg, 3.5 rpg
Stanford Robinson, Senior, Guard, 9.1 ppg, 1.9 apg5.7 rpg
E.C. Matthews, Senior, Guard, 13.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Andre Berry, Senior, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Key Role Players:
Cyril Langevine, Sophomore, Forward, 5.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Jarvis Garrett, Senior, Guard, 5.5 ppg, 2,4 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.4 (99th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.6 (57, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.4 (96, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.1 (243, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.4 (293, 12)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (242, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.6 (157, 8)
Rebound Margin: 0.4 (185, 8)
Assists Per Game: 15.1 (83, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.8 (21, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over Creighton
2017 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Oregon
2015 NIT First Round win over Iona
2015 NIT Second Round loss to Stanford
2011 CBI First Round win over Miami of Ohio
2011 CBI Second Round loss to UCF
2010 NIT First Round win over Northwestern
2010 NIT Second Round win over Nevada
2010 NIT Quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech
2010 NIT Semifinal loss to North Carolina
2009 NIT First Round win over Niagara
2009 NIT Second Round loss to Penn State
2008 NIT First Round loss to Creighton
2004 NIT Opening Round win over Boston Univ
2004 NIT First Round loss to West Virginia
*all team stats through 3/4
