RI College Hoops Teams Head to Conference Play: What We Know
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Out-of-conference play is coming to an end for Rhode Island's four D-I men's college basketball squads. Now, the teams are taking shape, integrating their freshmen, and gearing up for conference play.
The biggest surprise may be how fast the Providence College Friars have pulled together -- the recent victory at Texas was an impressive road win. Texas has an RPI rating of 37.
The biggest disappointment? URI's performance. Everyone knew that the team would be in transition in the post-Dan Hurley era, but the drop-off has been dramatic and a bit painful. Where is the defensive intensity?
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHere is what we know:
Brown University:
The Bears have looked very good at times during out-of-conference play and are 8-4 to date this season. That comes after a 2-point and 3-point losses to LIU Brooklyn and NJIT, respectively, to kick off the season.
Brown still has five more out-of-conference games to play. The Bears are led by Desmond Cambridge averaging 17 points -- and putting up highlight reel dunks. Tam Choh and Brandon Anderson are both averaging 10 points a game. And for the first time in years, the Bears have a little bit of a bench.
It is a critical year for Coach Mike Martin. If the Bears can score a top-four finish they will make the Ivy Tournament, which serves as the league's playoffs for an NCAA bid.
Bryant University:
To say it is a rebuilding year in Smithfield is an understatement. The Bulldogs are 3-7 and have taken some beatings — a 34 point loss to URI and a 24 point loss at Brown are just two of the tough losses.
Junior Adam Grant's 15.8 PPG and freshman Sebastian Townes' 13.9 PPG have been the bright spots for first-year coach Jared Grasso.
Freshman Joe Kasperzyk was the Northeast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week for the week ending Dec. 23. Kasperzyk tallied a career-high 19 points the 68-67 victory over Dartmouth.
All indications are this season will be a work in progress.
Providence College:
Coach Ed Cooley has to love where his Friars are at this stage of the season. The team is 10-3 and leads the Rhode Island teams with an RPI ranking of 53 and a 20 percent chance of making the Big Dance, according to TR Brackets.
Cooley has quickly integrated the super talented freshmen and has adjusted to the 4-week loss of A.J. Reeves. PC has four players averaging 10 points for better.
University of Rhode Island:
The Rams are a disappointing 6-5 and the RPI ranking is a mediocre 86. The team looks leaderless and lacks the talent to compete consistently. They have recorded one quality win, when they beat West Virginia earlier this month. And, there have been some very tough loses to Stony Brook (who Brown beat convincingly), College of Charleston, and Bucknell by two with the Rams barely shooting 50 percent from the line.
Rams have one out-of-conference game left against Middle Tennessee on December 30 before starting the A-10 schedule on January 6 on the road at St. Louis. The Rams will struggle without some consistent scoring from Jeff Dowtin -- or someone. Dowtin and Fatts Russell for fun players, but Cuttino Mobley and Tyson Wheeler, they are not (or not yet at least).
