URI Ready to Battle Stanford, Quiet the Ghosts of 1998
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URI Ready to Battle Stanford, Quiet the Ghosts of 1998
Tip off is set for 9:30 p.m. and the game can be see on ESPNU.
A win sends URI back home for a third round game and silences the ghosts of 1998.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST1998 Elite 8 - URI vs. Stanford
The Stanford Cardinal have only made two final four appearances in their history and one of them came in 1998 after they defeated Cuttino Mobley and the URI Rams 79-77 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis.
URI led the game 71-65 with one minute to play before Stanford came back and won helped by URI miscues.
This game, one of, if not the most, painful game in URI basketball history was the last time Stanford and Rhode Island met on the basketball court.
"I mean, it was heartbreaking," URI radio play-by-play man Steve MacDonald said about the loss.
URI and Stanford played earlier that season in Stanford and the Cardinal won by a point.
Now, 17 years later, they meet again, summoning the ghosts of 1998.
URI Last time out
Iona did not get closer than nine points in the second half.
E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell led URI with 18 points each while Biggie Minnis poured in 13 points off the bench.
The Stanford Cardinal
The Cardinal come into this second round game after beating UC Davis 77-64 in the first round.
However, Stanford has only won two of their last six games coming into this.
"They have good size up front which is always tough for us to matchup with. That part of the game becomes a challenge, but outside of that, they are a good team but not insurmountable," MacDonald said.
Stanford is led by Chasson Randle who averages 19 points per game and has reached double-figures in scoring in every single game except one (12/13 vs denver) this season, including 18 against UC Davis in the last game.
Anthony Brown follows up Randle with 14 points per game and also pulls down seven rebounds to lead the Cardinal. Brown netted 11 points in the NIT first round game against UC Davis
URI vs Stanford
This incarnation of the URI- Stanford showdown presents a very winnable game for the Rams despite the home court advantage and Stanford's size advantage. Due to the size advantage, URI will likely counter with Earl Watson.
"You gotta like a guy like Earl Watson in this game. This is the type of game where Earl can be a really big help cause they have a few guys that can post up," MacDonald said.
Earl Watson has played in 30 games this season for URI and averages ten minutes per game. Watson averages three points per game but has 26 blocks on the season which is good for second best on the team behind Hassan Martin.
If URI can overcome Stanford's size advantage coupled with their lockdown half court defense that they have shown throughout the season, the Rams should be able to beat Stanford on their home court.
"It's not much of a home court advantage, watching their last game against UC Davis there was nobody there. More UC Davis fans than anything," MacDonald said.
NIT Round 2
The Rams and Cardinal meet up in the second round of the NIT and for the first time in 17 years and that painful 1998 day.
Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
URI Rams 2014-2015 Projected Starting Lineup
Guard- E.C. Matthews
Sophomore E.C. Matthews will lead the Rams back court and scoring this season after having a great freshman year. The 6'5" Matthews averaged 15.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Rams last season and since January of 2014, he has had seven games where he has scored at least 20 points.
Matthews was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list earlier in the preseason, signifying that he is already one of the best guards in the country.
Guard- Jared Terrell
One of the players to watch for off the bench is 6'3" freshman Jared Terrell who is ranked as one of of the top prospects in America. In high school, at Brewster Academy, Terrell averaged 14.5 points and five rebounds per game. Terell chose URI over several other high level D-I schools, including the rival Providence Friars.
Guard- Biggie Minnis
Biggie Minnis, a 6'3" junior, will be the third guard in the rotation for the Rams this season. Minnis appeared in 21 games last season for the Rams and started in 11 games. He missed eight games due to injury.
In the games he played, Minnis averaged just under five points per game and shot over 50% from the floor. If he can stay healthy, the Rams will be looking forward to more of that.
Forward- Gilvydas Biruta
6'8" Senior Gilvydas Biruta is coming off a year where he was one of the team captains and averaged just over 10 points per game and shot 67% from the floor. Biruta was also a force on the boards pulling down an average of seven rebounds per game for Rhode Island.
URI will look for him to take the next step this year as he helps lead the Rams through the season.
Forward- Hassan Martin
Sophomore Forward Hassan Martin was a first year presence for the Rams last season. The Staten Island bred big man averaged over 6 points and 5 rebounds per game in his freshman season, while also adding 2.5 blocks per game. Along with Biruta, Martin anchor a Rams defense that looks very promising.
The Rams could be in very good shape this season if Martin is able to take big steps towards improving his offensive game.
6th man- T.J. Buchanan
Senior guard T.J. Buchanan was the first man off the bench for the Rams last season. In that role, the 6'4" Buchanan averaged just under six points per game and had a field goal percentage of 65 for the season. Buchanan will look to add to those numbers in the same role this season.
Buchanan will also bring some much needed veteran leadership off the bench.
