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Marty Peretz

Wasn't planning on starting this thread before we had a solid 24 hours to celebrate today's amazing win (I haven't even posted on the SLU game thread), BUT...Rhody just SHOCKED Dayton AT UD Arena. Unheard of. Their first win in conference this season. I've been saying this is a trap game for a while, but the result of tonight actually pleases me because now you know our guys won't overlook URI.

Hopefully a huge contingent of UMass fans will make it down there. This is a big game. Just like all the others...
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ktabz16 · Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:30 pm Post subject:

thoguht about heading down after an early work day but can't swing gas + tickets. this is rhode island and our guys never fuck around with rhode island.

UMassFan99 · Senior Joined: 09 Jan 2010 Posts: 1254

This really is a classic trap game.

URI is playing better ball than their record indicates. They are also a good rebounding team.

They have some very close losses in many of their most recent games:

They beat Dayton @ Dayton
The lost in overtime to Bonnies (6 pts)
They barely lost @ GW (8 pts)
They barely lost to Duquesne (6 pts)
They barely lost @ Fordham (2 pts)

If the ball had rolled differently, this is a URI team that could easily have 4 more wins in conference and be 5-2 right now - and that Dayton score - which is the most recent is scary since it was at Dayton.

Also, two of their best players have just begun playing again after transferring (Andre Malone and Baron). If Jamal Wilson hadn't been suspended, this would have been a seriously deadly team. That said, UMass needs to go in and play this game like they have been playing all the others -- play with a chip on their shoulders and don't let a few wins make that chip disappear. No let down.

DK needs to make sure that's the case.

InnervisionsUMASS · Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject:

I'm going to make the trip down from the Milford/CMASS area. If anyone else wants to take a ride, let me know!
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uz2b-len · Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:47 pm Post subject:

Way to go, IV. Hope you get a full car!
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vanmeter · Senior Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 1263

I will be there. I am glad URI beat Dayton as they are much better than their record. As already mentioned they have lost some close games. By winning at Dayton this will help keep the team focused realizing that this will be a tough game and not one to get overconfident about.

uz2b-len · Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:00 pm Post subject:

Like Dayton was.
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ktabz16 · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:11 am Post subject:

the uri board is unreadable. even after a great win at dayton the mood there is hilariously awful.

MikeUMA · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:40 am Post subject:

ProJo has an article today about our old friend Thorr Bjorn being in the last year of his contract, with some focus on how Rhody hoop, men's and women's, are struggling.
http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/ProJo/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=VFBKLzIwMTIvMDEvMjk.&pageno=MjU.&entity=QXIwMjUwMQ..&view=ZW50aXR5

69MG · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:32 am Post subject: URI

Matty V. mentioned that we have beaten three teams coming off big wins (St. Louis-X, Fordham-Harvard, Davidson-Kansas). Maybe these teams had a slight letdown after the wins. Now we have two teams coming off huge wins. We need to make sure we take care of business at URI and not negate Saturday's effort.

MikeUMA · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:39 am Post subject:

Rhody by the numbers…

As UMassFan99 said earlier, Rhody might not be as awful as their 4-18 / 1-6 record indicates. They’ve been close lately, and finally got over the hump at Dayton on Saturday. That’s Dayton at home, which is really hard, and a Dayton team that has wins over Minnesota, Alabama, Ole Miss, St Louis, at Temple, La Salle, and Xavier.

Rhody shot the ball well at Dayton (52.6%), and hit 18 FTs to only 8 for Dayton.

“Baron” shows up in the box score as the game’s overall leading scorer, with 25 points. If that name sounds familiar, it is. That was Billy Baron, son of coach Jim, and younger brother of Jimmy (Rhody guard 2005-09). Billy started out college ball at Virginia, but transferred after a semester, he just became eligible at Rhody about a month ago. Billy (6-2, 195, G, So) has played in 11 games with Rhody so far, and is scoring 14.1 ppg, second on the team.

In the stats, Rhody’s leading scorer was Jamal Wilson, at 16.4 ppg. But he was kicked off the team last month after “repeated violations of team rules”. Baron is now the active leader. #2 is Serbia’s Nikola Malesevic (6-7, 200, F, Jr), at 11.9 ppg. Nikola missed 8 games this season. Apparently, he was so upset after Rhody lost to Yale (at home, 68-65, on 12/18, their 2nd loss to an Ivy this season) that he pulled a Kevin Brown, punched a wall and broke his hand. Make note people: walls rarely lose.

Third in the active stats is Orion Outerbridge (6-9, 210, F, Sr), at 11.3 ppg, and 4th is Jonathan Holton (6-9, 220, F, Fr) at 10.9 ppg. The two scored 14 and 16, respectively, at Dayton on Saturday, and Holton also got 11 rebounds.

Rhody primarly goes 8 deep, with scattered minutes to a few others.

Aside from Dayton, Rhody’s other wins have come:
vs Hofstra
neutral vs James Madison
at Boston College
All those have RPIs well into the 200s.

That Hofstra win is Rhody’s lone home court victory on the season, against 9 losses. If we want to remain contenders instead of pretenders, we need to take this one at the Ryan Center on Wednesday.

UM has taken the last 3 in the series from Rhody.
http://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=opponent_rhode_island

Roadtrip · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject:

^ I love the Pretenders, but "Don't Get Me Wrong" I'd rather we be contenders.

CrooksisRhyming · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:37 pm Post subject:

Hey, this game is on Wednesday and people are talking about going to The Dance and name-calling using thinly veiled references to conditioned reflex.

Let's not forget where we came from, where we are and that we need to take this season one game at a time. Oh yea, and these guys hate us and consider us one of their main rivals.
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Floyd · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:45 pm Post subject:

shovelhd · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:16 pm Post subject:

I watched a Rhody game recently when it was on TV. It was awful, ugly basketball.