Rhode Island

I jumped on the Danny Hurley Rhode Island bandwagon years ago. So, suck it, haterZ. Blind squirrel and all that jazz. Anyway, the Rams are 23-4 and have clinched their first A-10 regular season title. Barring a collapse, they should be safe for a tournament bid even with a slip-up in the conference tournament.

How good are they? Well, they’re 27th overall in KenPom. The Rams are 44th on offense and 33rd on defense. Brian’s last bracket had them as a 5-seed and that’s about right if we use the numbers but depending on the matchup, I’d think they’d be susectiple to a dreaded 5-12 upset.

They simply don’t turn the ball over and they force a ton of turnovers. On offense, they’re turnover % is 21st best in the nation. On defense, they force turnovers on 24% of possessions. That’s 3rd best in the country. They also possess the 8th best steal %. Opponents also don’t make many 3’s against them. Without watching them, these kind of numbers tell you the guards can defend. As for the rest of the numbers, nothing else jumps out at you other than they foul a lot and don’t draw a lot of fouls.

Seniors (EDIT: Definitely not Sophomores!) Jared Terrell  and EC Matthews lead the show. Both have seemingly been there forever. Matthews missed time earlier in the season due to injury but is back. Terrell shoots 41% from 3. Sophomore guard Jeff Dowtin runs the point and I think you could argue he might be their best player. He has a good assist rate and is a very efficient player. 

When Danny Hurley came from Wagner, Rhode Island had sunk about as low as you could without some kind of scandal causing it. Now, they’re the best program in the A-10. Hurley will be highly sought after but even losing Terrell and Matthews, he has some solid talent returning next year. All that said, Rhode Island fans probably know this squad is their best chance for a run since the late 1990’s.