Is Rhode Island basketball for real? Atlantic 10 play starts Tuesday, will give some clues

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Each passing game gives us a chance to evaluate whether or not the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team is for real.

Atlantic 10 play is next for the Rams, and it starts on Tuesday at 2 p.m. with a road trip against the defending conference tournament champion.

Duquesne is a far different outfit than the program that stunned the college basketball world at Barclays Center in March. Former coach Keith Dambrot has retired and multiple key players have moved on from a group that secured a first NCAA Tournament bid for the Dukes since 1977.

March Madness hasn’t felt quite that far away during Archie Miller’s first two years at URI, but it might as well have been. The Rams have been marooned outside the sport’s power structure since Dan Hurley left for Connecticut, a 21-9 finish in a shortened 2019-20 looking like the exception.

Sebastian Thomas, URI men’s basketball

It’s felt better through the first two months of 2024-25. Riding the performance of a leading player like Sebastian Thomas tends to lift spirits. Taking care of Providence in a stirring second-half comeback at the Ryan Center never hurts.

Now comes the real business of proving whether or not you can win on the road against conference opponents. That’s how you set the stage for games that really matter in the spring — a bye or potential double-bye to the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., can hinge on reliably handling this sort of occasion.

Outlasting old Atlantic-10 foe Temple prior to a 10-day break was the last time we saw URI. The Rams pulled out an 85-79 victory at MassMutual Center, taking part in the second half of a Hall of Fame Classic doubleheader in Springfield. Thomas buried a late jumper for a four-point play and came up with the clinching steal on the ensuing possession.

The Owls erased a 16-point deficit in the second half largely thanks to URI mistakes. The Rams committed 16 turnovers for the game — four of their six worst efforts to date in terms of ball security have come in…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rhode-island-basketball-real-atlantic-101410554.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2024-12-30 10:14:00

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