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RHODE ISLAND VS. PROVIDENCE
* For the 123rd time, Rhode Island and Providence will face each other on the hardwood tonight in Kingston.  
* URI's fifth most common opponent, the Friars hold a 67-56 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 7, 1920.  
* Last year, URI dropped an 87-74 decision at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Dec. 4, 2010
* The two teams have won on their respective home courts in each of the last eight meetings.  
* Head coach Jim Baron is 5-5 all-time versus Providence.

RHODE ISLAND VS. PROVIDENCE - VENUES & RECORDS
Record at URI:  The Rams lead 38-25.  
* In games played at the Ryan Center, Rhode Island is 4-0.
* In games at the Providence Civic Center as its home court, the Rams were 8-9.  
Record at Providence: The Friars lead 39-17.
* Last time in the Capital City, PC won, 87-74 (Dec. 4, 2010).
Neutral Court: The Friars lead 2-1
* All three games were played at the Providence Civic Center.

RHODE ISLAND VS. THE BIG EAST
* Rhode Island is 20-48 all-time versus Big East opponents.  
* In his time at URI, head coach Jim Baron has compiled an 9-13 record versus Big East opponents.
* Last year, the Runnin' Rams went 0-2 against the Big East, falling at Pittsburgh (75-83) and at Providence.

RHODE ISLAND IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
* Since joining the Eastern 8 in the 1980-81 season, URI has posted a 245-197 mark in non-conference play.
* Dating back to the 2006-07 season, the Rams have posted a 62-35 record versus out-of-conference opponents.

RHODE ISLAND AT THE THOMAS M. RYAN CENTER
* URI holds a 100-47 (.680) regular season record in the Ryan Center since the arena opened for play on Nov. 26, 2002 with a 73-71 victory over USC.
* Rhody's victory on Nov. 25 over Hofstra was the 100th on the Ryan Center floor.
* The Rams have won 11 or more home games over the last five seasons - including a program-record 15 in 2009-10.
* Prior to its loss to Boston University on Nov. 26, Rhode Island had captured its last 32 non-conference games at the Thomas M. Ryan Center, dating back to the 2006-07 season.

TODAY'S RUNNIN' RAM FACT(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
* Rhody is facing its third straight opponent boasting at least a five-game win streak.
* Tonight's opponent - Providence - has won six consecutive games, dating back to Nov. 29.
* Last time out, Yale entered the Ryan Center on a five-game win streak before extending it to six games after a freak five-point play on Dec 18.
* On Dec. 10, when Rhody played at Georgia State, the Panthers had won six in a row before downing the Rams in Atlanta.

NOW TRENDING:  ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO
* Through the Runnin' Rams first 11 games, they have posted more assists than turnovers once - the lone win vs. Hofstra on Nov. 25.
* On the season, URI has a 0.74:1 assist/turnover ratio (129 assists/174 turnovers)
* URI is averaging 15.8 turnovers, while dishing out 11.7 assists per game.
* Last season, in games with a positive assist/turnover ratio, Rhody was 12-3.

LAST TIME OUT - YALE 68, RHODE ISLAND 65  (dec. 18)
* The Rams led 63-61 before the Bulldogs converted a five-point play with 18 seconds to play.  *  * Rayvon Harris was whistled for a foul while fighting through a screen, as the officials' signaled for a good 3-point make.
* Nikola Malesevic scored a career-high 25 points, on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor – including connecting on both of his 3-point attempts.  The junior from Serbia scored 11 of his 25 from the charity stripe.
* Anthony Malhoit – earning his third start – put forth his finest effort, with six points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Five of Malhoit's eight boards came on the offensive glass.
* Orion Outerbridge blocked a career-high five shots – his previous high was four swats vs. Holy Cross on Nov. 22, 2009
* 10 of the 12 players who dressed saw action; nine of the 10 scored at least two points; and nine of the 10 grabbed at least two rebounds.
* In the first half, Rhody posted a positive assist/turnover ratio (7:6), but in the second half committed nine costly turnovers to just five assists.
* Rhody outscored Yale, 40-17, in the paint and 14-5 on fast break opportunities.
* Ryan Brooks saw his most extensive action of the season and tied his career-high with seven rebounds (4 off./3 def.)
* After a two game stretch in which URI shot well from the foul line, the Rams managed just 16-of-29 shooting from the charity stripe against Yale.  URI was 11-of-22 in the second half alone.

ORION GIVE-ETH AND SWAT-ETH AWAY
* Orion Outerbridge set new career-highs in blocked shots (5) and assists (3) vs. Yale.
* OO's five swats were the most by a Ram player since Delroy James rejected five Saint Louis shots on March 8, 2011
* Outerbridge now has 70 steals in his career and currently ranks fifth in the A-10 (2.5 bpg).

SEASON HIGH IN STEALS VS. YALE
* Rhode Island notched a season-high 12 steals vs. Yale on Dec. 18.
* It marked the first double-digit performance in the statistical category this season
* It is also the highest single-game steal total since tallying 12 swipes at Toledo on Nov. 20, 2010.

OVERTIME
* Rhode Island played in two overtime games through the first eight contests - the most since 1983-84.
* That year, Rhody opened the season with an overtime loss at Canisius while dropping a decision at home to Rutgers in the fourth game.
* This year, in both OT contests, a freshman tied the game with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation (Jonathan Holton at George Mason; Mike Powell vs. Maine)

DEFENSIVE WOES
* The Runnin' Rams rank tied for 328th out of 339 in scoring defense, allowing 78.9 points per game.
* Rhode Island is also 335th in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot 50.2% from the floor
* URI is 267th in defensive 3-point field goal percentage, as the opposition is connecting on 36.1% from the perimeter

FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT
* Jonathan Holton ranks 16th among all frosh nationally in rebounding, pulling down 6.5 boards per game
* Mike Powell is 27th among all frosh in assists per game (3.5).
* Rhody's newcomers account for 34% of the team's scoring, 37% of rebounding, and 61% of assist totals.

MALHOIT "THE MICROWAVE "  
* Anthony Malhoit earned his third start of the year vs. Yale and registered career highs in rebounds (8) and minutes (27)
* Senior walk-on is averaging 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game this year
* The 6-3 guard had a career-high seven points in 12 minutes, connecting on his first career 3FG, vs. Hofstra on Nov. 25.
* Had three 5+ rebound performances in eight games in 2011-12.

HEY, MR. WILSON
* Senior Jamal Wilson poured in a career-high 38 points (13-22 FG; 11-12 FT) at George Mason on Nov. 11.  
* Wilson had nine in the first half, 20 in the second half, and nine in the overtime period.
* He bested his previous career-high of 14 points - set twice.
* It took Wilson, who missed the first 14 games of the 2010-11 season with a broken foot, 10 games to register 38 points last year.
* It was the highest point total by a Rhode Island player since Zach Marbury had 38 vs. La Salle on Jan. 27, 2001.

WILSON NAMED ATLANTIC 10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
* After his 38-point performance at George Mason on Nov. 11, Wilson earned his first career A-10 honor on Nov. 14.
* Senior guard was 13-22 from the floor and 11-12 from the foul line, while also grabbing seven boards.
* Wilson's 38-point game is the fifth highest single-game scoring total in the nation, as of Dec. 21.

HOLTON NAMED ATLANTIC 10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
* On Nov. 28, the Atlantic 10 selected Jonathan Holton as its Rookie of the Week
* The 6-9 forward averaged 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 blocked shots in a 1-2 weekend for the Rams
* Against Hofstra, Holton recorded a season-best 20 points (8-13 FG), while adding six rebounds and two blocks
 * The Miami, Fla. native added nine points and seven boards against Boston University, while chipping in with seven points and six rebounds against Cleveland State.

THE FRANTIC FIVE - RHODY'S FIVE FRESHMEN
* Rhody's five-player freshman class had its regular season debut on Nov. 11 at George Mason.
* Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal dubbed them the "Frantic Five" due to the Runnin' Rams uptempo style
* Jonathan Holton and Mike Powell each cracked the starting lineup, while TJ Buchanan, Rayvon Harris, and Dominique McKoy all saw action off the bench.  
* Powell became the first true freshman to start for the Rams as a pure point guard since Tyson Wheeler in 1994-95.
* Holton's 14 boards tied the highest rebounding total in a URI debut since Lamar Odom had 14 vs. TCU (Nov. 9, 1998)
* Additionally, Holton and Odom are the only two Rhody players to record a double-double in points and rebounds in their Rhody debuts.  Holton had 12 points and 14 boards; Odom 19 points and 14 rebounds.

A-10 PRESEASON POLL:  RAMS PICKED 10TH
* Rhode Island was picked to finish 10th among the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, according to the league's annual preseason poll.
* The poll, voted on by A-10 head coaches and media, was released during the conference's annual Media Day conference on October 13.  
* Xavier tops the poll, followed by Temple, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, and Richmond.   

RECORD TELEVISION SCHEDULE FOR 2011-12
* Rhode Island will make a record 23 regular season television appearances - including all 15 home games - during the 2011-12 season.
* It is the most comprehensive television slate in program history and ranks second behind Xavier for the most TV games in the Atlantic 10 this year.
* Cox Sports - the exclusive home of Runnin' Rams basketball - will produce and air 13 of the Runnin' Rams games.
* All games produced and aired by Cox can also be seen live on the web via Cox Sports Online.
* The Runnin' Rams will make six national television appearances: at Texas (ESPN), at Nebraska (Big Ten Network), at Boston College (ESPN3), Richmond (CBS Sports), Temple (ESPN), at Xavier (CBS Sports)

THE DISTRIBUTION SOLUTION
During the 2010-11 season, the Runnin' Rams found success when they shared the basketball.  
URI was 3-6 when dishing out less than 10 assists; 9-5 when registering 10-14 assists; and 8-2 when recording 15 or more assists in a single game.
 
NEXT UP:  JAMES MADISON (dec. 29)
* Rhode Island heads to Orlando, Fla. for play in the UCF Holiday Classic from Dec. 29-30
* The Rams' first opponent is James Madison on Dec. 29 at 9:30 p.m.
* Stetson and host UCF round out the field of the four-team, two-day tournament
* It marks the first meeting between URI and JMU on the hardwood
* The Dukes are the Rams' fourth CAA opponent on the season.
* Rhody fans can listen to the game live on the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network (B101 -101.5 FM), with Steve McDonald and Don Kaull.  This - and all Rhody games on radio - can be heard on the internet or your iPhone/Blackberry/Android device with the iHeartRadio app.  Download the app at:  iHeart.com