URI Visits Dayton with 1st Place in A-10 On the Line
GoLocalProv Sports Team
URI Visits Dayton with 1st Place in A-10 On the Line
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
URI last time out
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Rams escaped La Salle with a 59-56 win on Saturday, February 28 to get back on the winning track after a heartbreaking loss to Dayton.
The Rams led 41-26 early in the second half before La Salle made a big 20-8 run to cut the Rams lead to 49-46 with nine minutes to go.
La Salle got within one at 53-52 with five minutes to go but URI made their free throws down the stretch to come away with the road win.
E.C. Matthews led the Rams, as he has all season, with 21 points in the game.
Dayton Flyers
Dayton comes into this game off a 59-55 road win over #22 VCU on Saturday February 28. Dayton's win knocked the VCU Rams out of first place in the A-10 and out of the national rankings.
"Dayton is a high energy team that doesn't play a lot of guys. They use a short rotation of players who play a lot of minutes which could be an advantage for URI if they fatigue late in the game," URI radio play by play man Steve MacDonald told GoLocalProv.
The Flyers are led by Jordan Sibert, who averages 16.5 points per game this season for Dayton. Sibert is coming off a 19 point performance against VCU and is in the midst of a stretch in which he has reached double figures in five straight games for the Flyers.
Dyshawn Pierre follows up Sibert, pouring in 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds per game. Pierre is coming off the VCU game in which he netted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Pierre has six double-doubles on the season.
URI vs Dayton
For the Rams to come away with a win, they can't settle for jump shots.
"They have to continue to get the ball inside, against La Salle they had success getting the ball to Gilvydas Biruta and Hassan Martin. Now, they don't necessarily have to score in there, but they have to have the offense start there," MacDonald said.
"This will be a pretty evenly matched game," MacDonald added.
Battle for first place
The Rams and Flyers tip off tonight at 7 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network. The winner will remain in first place in the conference with only two games remaining in the regular season.
A Rams win would go along way in helping them get to the NCAA tournament.
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.
