URI Ranked 17th in Latest National Poll
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URI Ranked 17th in Latest National Poll
Rhode Island was ranked 18th last week and have been ranked as high as 16th so far this season.
URI Wins A-10 Regular Season Title
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe ranking comes after the Rams beat Dayton 81-56 last Friday night to clinch the programs first-ever regular season title.
URI was led by Jeff Dowtin, who poured in 20 points, while Matthews and Jared Terrell followed up by 18 and 17 points respectively.
They will be the number one seed in the A-10 Tournament, which begins March 9 in Washington, D.C.
Prior to the game against Dayton, the Rams edged La Salle on the road 95-93 in overtime.
Rhode Island is currently 23-4 on the season and 15-1 in conference play.
Bracketology
CBS Sports currently projects the Rams as a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and playing Buffalo in the first round.
If Rhode Island does get a 4-seed, it would be the highest seed an A-10 team has gotten since 2003-04 when Saint Joe’s was given a 1-seed.
ESPN”s Joe Lunardi has URI as a 5-seed and playing either USC or Baylor in his latest bracket released on Monday.
RPI Ranking
The Rams have the 8th best RPI in the country, one spot behind Auburn and ahead of Purdue and Clemson.
The RPI rankings measure the team's strength of schedule and is adjusted based on wins and losses and who those wins and losses come against.
Next up
The Rams will play their final home game of the season on Tuesday, February 27 against Saint Joseph’s.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
URI Rams Basketball 2017-18 Projected Starting Lineup
Guard
E.C. Matthews - Redshirt Senior
E.C. Matthews returns for his redshirt senior season, now two years removed from ACL surgery. The Rams will need him to regain his form.
Matthews missed a couple of weeks during the preseason with knee tendinitis, but has since returned to practice and did play in URI's "secret scrimmage" against Harvard last week.
Prior to the start of this season, Matthews was named to the first preseason All-Atlantic 10 team during A-10 Media Day. He is also on the John Wooden Award Watch List.
Last season, Matthews averaged 15 points per game on 42% shooting from the field. In the A-10 Tournament, Matthews carried the Rams offense scoring 20, 19 and 19 points respectively in the three games to get the Rams the title.
Guard
Jared Terrell - Senior
Jared Terrell was named to second preseason All-Atlantic 10 team during A-10 Media Day.
He returns to the Rams after averaging 13 points, three rebounds and one steal per game in 2016-17.
Terrell will look to build off last season in which he shot 42 % from the field - the highest of his career.
Guard
Jeff Dowtin - Sophomore
Jeff Dowtin is coming off a freshman season in which he started the final 19 games, including both NCAA Tournament games.
He averaged six points and two assists in 22 minutes of action per game last season while also recording 17 steals on the year.
In URI's NCAA Tournament game against Creighton, Dowtin poured in a career-high 23 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field.
Forward
Andre Berry - Senior
In two seasons with the Rams, Andre Berry has played in 30 games, but hasn't started any.
For his career, Berry has averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in an averaged of six minutes per game.
Center
Cyril Langevine - Sophomore
Cyril Langevine will make the start at one of the forward positions as the Rams will try to replace Hassan Martin, who they lost to graduation.
Last season, Langevine played in 35 games and started five games for URI averaging three point, five rebounds, and one block.
In URI's NCAA game against Oregon, Langevine had a near double-double with nine rebounds and nine points. He also had three steals.
