URI Ready to Battle Stanford, Quiet the Ghosts of 1998
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The URI Rams face the Stanford Cardinal in the second round of the NIT on Sunday, March 22 in California.
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
The Rams are coming off a 88-75 win over Iona in the first round at the Ryan Center. URI trailed 15-13 in the first half but ripped off an 11-0 run to take control of the game
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.
Related Slideshow: URI Rams 2014-2015 Projected Starting Lineup
The URI Men's basketball team returns for the 2014-2015 college basketball season looking to make some noise in the A10 conference. Here is there projected starting lineup.
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