Brown Bears Go For State Sweep vs URI

Brown Bears Go For State Sweep vs URI

The Brown Bears (7-6) and University of Rhode Island Rams (7-3) collide for the 156th all-time meeting on Wednesday, December 31 at The Ryan Center with tip-off set for 4 p.m. 

The History

URI has won 10 of the last 11 and 15 of the last 16 meetings against Brown and leads the all-time series 102-53. 

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In last year's matchup, the Rams defeated Brown 75-66 at Brown's Pizzitola Center in early January. The last time Brown defeated URI was in 2011 when the Bears beat Rhody 65-56 at the Pizzitola Center. 

Brown Bears

Brown comes into this game playing some of their best basketball of the season. Having won four straight and six of their last seven games, an argument could be made that they are the hottest team in the state at this moment. 

Brown has already defeated Bryant and Providence this season and if they are able to beat URI, they would complete the state sweep. 

"It would be huge, we realize there is a lot of great basketball being played in our state and we have been fortunate to play really well, probably two of our best games of the year have been against Bryant and Providence and we are certainly going to need that type of effort against URI," Brown head coach Mike Martin said about the challenge. 

Brown Key Players

To pull off the state sweep, Brown will look to sophomore forward Leland King to continue to lead the way. King is averaging 15 points per game and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. King had 19 points in Brown's last game, a win over Sacred Heart. 

King also contributes big time for Brown in the rebounding department as he averages seven rebounds per game for the Bears 

Junior Cedric Kuakumensah has been a defensive stalwart for Brown all season, averaging just under three blocks and seven rebounds per game, showing why he is a two time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Award winner. Kuakumensah had three blocks in Brown's last game against Sacred Heart. 

Kuakumensah can also do it on the offensive end where he averages 12 points per game and has shown on a number of occasions that he can knock down the three-point shot. 

The final key player for the Bears in this game is sophomore Steven Spieth who is averaging just under 11 points per game this season for Brown. After starting the season slow, Spieth has now been in double-figures six of the last seven games for the Bears.

In this game against URI, Spieth's defense will be just as important as his offense because he will likely see some time on URI star E.C. Matthews throughout the game.

URI Rams

The University of Rhode Island Rams come into this game having won two straight games and three of their last four. URI is yet to lose at home this season (5-0) and will look to build momentum as conference play  begins for them on Saturday, January 3. 

URI Key Players

Sophomore E.C. Matthews has led the URI Rams the entire season, averaging 18 points per game. Matthews has been in double-figures in every game but two this season and is coming off a game against Detroit where he netted 23 points to lead the Rams to the victory. 

Matthews had a season high 27 points against Providence, the last in state rival the Rams played. 

The URI defense will also be a key player in this game because at times this season they have looked like one of the best defenses in the country. 

URI has shown this on three doccasions this year, first was against Santa Clara in Orlando where the Rams only gave up 44 points in the game. Second came on the road against Southern Miss where URI gave up 43 points against a good home team in Southern Miss. The last example comes in URI's last game against Detroit where the Rams gave up 55 points, but only 19 points in the second half. 

The Rams have not been able to play this type of defense consistently so far this season, so the question is, which URI defense will show up in this game?

The final key player for the Rams will be sophomore Hassan Martin. The Bears have good size on their roster and Martin will have to really battle for rebounds against Maia and Kuakumensah both of whom are coming off strong games against Sacred Heart. 

Martin is averaging 11 points and six rebounds per game so far this season for URI. 

Game On

The Brown Bears will look to complete the state sweep and end 2014 on a very high note while the URI Rams look to continue to build momentum as they approach conference play. 

This is the last in state rivalry game of the season in college basketball, at least the last scheduled one (never say never), so we should all take time on New Years Eve to enjoy it. 

Brown Bears vs URI Rams, Wednesday, December 31 at 4 p.m.

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