GAMENOTES: Rhode Island at Georgia State (pdf)
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RHODE ISLAND AT GEORGIA STATE
* Today marks the first meeting between URI and Georgia State
* The Panthers are Rhody's third CAA opponent of the season.
RHODE ISLAND IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
* Since joining the Eastern 8 in the 1980-81 season, URI has posted a 245-195 mark in non-conference play
* Dating back to the 2006-07 season, the Rams have posted a 62-33 record versus out-of-conference opponents.
* Today's game marks the third of four CAA matchups during the 2011-12 non-conference slate
RHODE ISLAND VERSUS THE CAA
* Rhode Island is 10-2 against CAA teams since the league was formed in 1985.
* URI downed Hofstra for their first victory of the season on Nov. 25 in Kingston
* The Runnin' Rams dropped a 92-90 overtime decision at George Mason to start the season.
* Rhody will also face James Madison at the UCF Holiday Classic in Orlando.
* Last year, URI was 2-0 versus CAA teams, beating Drexel, 74-68 (Nov. 24) and Northeastern, 79-67 (Dec. 8)
* Rhode Island's football team currently competes in the CAA Football League
TODAY'S RUNNIN' RAM FACT(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
* Rhode Island has three players from Georgia - one from the Republic Of, two from the Empire State of the South
* Levan Shengelia hails from the capital of Tbilisi, a city on the crossroads of the historic Silk Road routes
* Dominique McKoy and transfer guard Andre Malone call the Peachtree city - Atlanta - home
* Both played as preps at South Atlanta H.S. and their AAU ball with the Atlanta Celtics
'TIS THE SEASON FOR CHARITY
* Rhode Island had one of its finest team free throw shooting performances against Virginia Tech
* The Rams connected on 21-of-24 from the free throw line vs. the Hokies
* It was the best single-game FT% (min. 20 att) since Dec. 29, 2009 at Drexel, when URI was also 21-24 from the foul line
* Nikola Malesevic was 8-for-8 from the line, while Mike Powell hit 7-of-8 at the charity stripe.
WILSON MAKING MOST OF CHANCE ON COURT
* Senior guard Jamal Wilson ranks first on the Rams - and third in the A-10 - in scoring, at 17.2 points per game
* Through nine games, Wilson has scored 155 points. He totalled 159 points as a sophomore and junior (45 games)
* Has 10 3-pointers made this year; nine career treys entering this season
* Has scored in double figures in seven of nine games, including a career-high 38 in the season opener at George Mason
* Posted a double-double - 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds - versus Maine on Dec. 4.
LAST TIME OUT - VIRGINIA TECH 78, RHODE ISLAND 67 (DEC. 7)
* Junior Nikola Malesevic scored a season-high 23 points to led the Ram offense, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
* Rhody also had double-digit scoring efforts from Jamal Wilson (11 points) and Jonathan Holton (10 points).
* As a team, Rhode Island (1-8) was 21-for-24 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. It was the best performance of the year from the charity stripe. The Rams hit their first 16 attempts from the line.
* Freshman point guard Mike Powell took care of the ball. In 35 minutes, he did not commit any turnovers. Powell had nine points, five rebounds and five assists in a solid all-around performance.
* The team defense for Rhode Island was particularly strong in the first half. The Rams committed just two fouls and limited Virginia Tech to four fast break points.
* With 7:46 remaining in regulation, Virginia Tech (6-3) led by just three points. The Hokies went on a 10-3 run over the next 2:13 to build a 61-51 lead. Rhode Island could not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
* After making just 2-for-8 from three-point range in the first half, the Hokies were 5-for-8 after the break.
OVERTIME
* Rhode Island has 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)
NOW TRENDING: ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO
* Through the Runnin' Rams first nine games, they have posted more assists than turnovers once - the lone win vs. Hofstra on Nov. 25.
* Last season, in games with a positive assist/turnover ratio, Rhody was 12-3.
* URI is averaging 15.9 turnovers, while dishing out 11.6 assists per game.
DEFENSIVE WOES
* The Runnin' Rams rank tied for 325th out of 339 in scoring defense, allowing 78.2 points per game.
* Rhode Island is also 334th in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot 49.9% from the floor
* URI is 248th in defensive 3-point field goal percentage, as the opposition is connecting on 34.8% from the perimeter
FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT
* Jonathan Holton ranks 12th among all frosh nationally in rebounding, pulling down 7.1 boards per game
* Mike Powell is 21st among all frosh in assists per game (3.8).
* Rhody's newcomers account for 34% of the team's scoring, 36% of rebounding, and 47% of assist totals.
HEY, MR. WILSON - MORE ABOUT JAMAL'S 38-POINT PERFORMANCE
* 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.
JAMAL 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 second highest single-game scoring total in the nation, as of Dec. 8.
THE FRANTIC FIVE - RHODY'S FRESHMEN CLASS
* 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.
* The last time Rhody had two freshmen in its starting lineup was Feb. 23, 2005 when Parfait Bitee and Will Daniels were among the first five at UMass.
RHODY EMBARKS ON CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
* Rhody's six opponents in the month of November - Mason, Texas, Nebraska, Hofstra, Boston Univ., and Cleveland State - combined for 143 wins a season ago and six postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 2 NIT, 1 CBI)
* Nine of the 15 teams the Runnin' Rams will face in the non-conference slate won 21 or more games
* 10 of the 15 made postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 4 NIT, 3 CBI).
* The average RPI (2010-11 final) for URI's non-conference opponents is 109.8. Nine of Rhody's foes were among the top 100, three were top 50, and two (George Mason and Texas) were among the RPI's top 25 a season ago.
* 10 different conferences are represented in Rhody's non-conference slate: America East (Boston Univ., Maine); ACC (Boston College, Va. Tech); Atlantic Sun (Stetson); Big Ten (Nebraska); Big 12 (Texas); Big East (Providence); CAA (George Mason, Hofstra, Georgia State, James Madison); Conference USA (UCF); Horizon (Cleveland State); Ivy (Brown, Yale)
* This year marks the first time that the Rams have played three true road games to start a season since the 1992-93 season. That year, URI opened at Fordham, Eastern Michigan, and Providence.
HIGHLY TOUTED TRANSFERS
* Rhode Island will have the services of two transfers - Andre Malone (Auburn) and Billy Baron (Virginia) - at mid-year.
* David Fox of Rivals.com picked Malone, a 6-6 guard from Atlanta, as the Atlantic 10's newcomer of the Year.
* Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com highlighted Baron, a 6-2 guard and son of head coach Jim Baron, among his top 25 impact transfers nationally
WINNING WAYS
Over the last five seasons, Rhody has won 109 games - the most wins during any five-year span in program history
URI has won 20 or more games in each of the last four seasons, including 26 during the 2009-10 campaign.
NEXT UP: YALE (DEC. 18)
* After a week off for final exams, Rhody will return to action on Dec. 18 at home against Yale
* The Bulldogs are the second Ivy League opponent of the 2011-12 season
* Rhody holds a slim 7-6 lead in the all-time series against the Elis
* The game can be seen live on Cox Sports HD, with Mike Mancuso and Chris DiSano, beginning at 2 p.m.
* Rhody fans can listen to the game live on the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network (WHJJ - 920 AM), 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
