Gamenotes: Rhode Island/George Washington (.pdf)

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RHODE ISLAND VERSUS GEORGE WASHINGTON
* The Rams play their first A-10 road contest of the season at George Washington.
* It is the lone regular season meeting between the two schools.
* George Washington holds a 27-24 lead in the all-time series.
* Last season, the Colonials earned a 66-55 victory at the Ryan Center on March 2, 2011.  
* Rhody is 9-14 all-time vs. George Washington in our Nation's Capital.
* Head coach Jim Baron is 8-18 all-time versus GW, compiling 4-9 records at both St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island.

RHODE ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
* Since its inaugural season in the conference during the 1980-81 season, Rhode Island has posted a 228-269 (.459) all-time record in Atlantic 10 play.  
* Last season, Rhody finished with a 9-7 mark in conference play, good for sixth place in the league standings.
* Since the 2006-07 season, URI is 47-34 (.580) in league play.

TODAY'S RUNNIN' RAM FACT(S) THAT YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
* According to the latest NCAA statistics report, Orion Outerbridge ranks 49th nationally in blocked shots (2.1 bpg).
* He has a career-high 33 blocks this season - more than his freshman and sophomore seasons combined.
* With 78 career swats, Outerbridge needs 14 more to reach Rhody's all-time top 10 list.
* He is one of just four players nationally averaging 2.0 blocks or more per game, while also connecting on at least 10 3-pointers on the season.

POWELL NAMED CO-ATLANTIC 10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AGAIN
* For the second straight week, the Atlantic 10 selected Mike Powell as its Co-Rookie of the Week on Jan. 9.
* Powell averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 assists in a 1-1 week for Rhode Island.  
* He matched his career-high of 21 points in a 78-72 double overtime win at Boston College on Jan. 2.  He also added seven rebounds and three assists versus the Eagles.
* Powell also earned weekly rookie honors from the A-10 on Jan. 2, averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in a 1-1 week for Rhode Island.  
* He becomes the second Ram to earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors, as Jonathan Holton was honored by the league on Nov. 28.
* It marks the first time since the 1995-96 season that two Rhody rookies earned A-10 Player of the Week honors.  
* That year, both Antonio Reynolds-Dean and current URI assistant coach Preston Murphy were recognized by the conference.

LAST TIME OUT - RICHMOND 70, RHODE ISLAND 53 (JAN. 7)
* Sophomore Billy Baron led the team in scoring for the second game in a row, finishing with 14 points. Baron also made his only free throw attempt, and has made 13 straight from the line dating back to the game against James Madison on Dec. 29.
* Junior Andre Malone had his best offensive night for Rhode Island, reaching double figures for the first time as a Ram. Malone had 10 points on 4-of-9  shooting from the floor, including 2-of-5 from 3-point land.
* Freshman Mike Powell scored 12 points, reaching double digits for the fifth straight game. He also matched his career highs in free throw makes and attempts, shooting 7-for-8 from the stripe.
* Freshman forward Jonathan Holton led the team with a career-high four assists. Holton also scored six points and had six rebounds.
* Richmond's Kendall Anthony scored 13 points and had six assists off the bench for Richmond. The Spiders also received double-digit scoring efforts from Darien Brothers (19 points, 4 assists, 4 steals) and Francis Martel (13 points, 3 rebounds)..

MALONE SHAKING OFF THE RUST
* Junior Andre Malone tallied a season-high 10 points last time out versus Richmond.
* The 6-6 guard connected on 4-of-9 from the floor - including 2-of-5 from the perimeter.
* Entering the game, the transfer from Auburn had struggled from the floor (6-32 FG; 2-13 3FG) after becoming eligible to compete on Dec. 23.

MIKE POWELL, FOR STARTERS
* In his last five starts, freshman point guard Mike Powell is averaging a team-best 15.4 points.
* The 5-11 guard from Chicago has connected on 46.0% of his shots (23-50) from the floor, 50.0% (11-20) from the perimeter, and 76.9% (20-26) from the foul line.
* He has posted back-to-back career-highs of 21 points at UCF on Dec. 30 and at Boston College on Jan. 2.
* Over the five-game span, Powell is also averaging 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.
* Powell was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week on Jan. 2 and Jan. 9.

BILLY BALL
* Billy Baron has scored in double-figures in three of his last four games - including a team-high 14 against Richmond.
* He had a collegiate-high 24 points at Boston College - besting his previous high of 19, set last year at Virginia (vs. William & Mary, Nov. 12, 2010).
* The sophomore guard connected on four 3-pointers and 10-of-10 from the charity stripe vs. the Eagles.
* Baron's 10-for-10 free throw shooting performance was the best by a Ram in a single game since Brian Woodward was 16-for-16 versus Yale on Jan. 7, 2004.
* Through his first five games at Rhode Island, Baron is averaging 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds.

DEFENSIVE WOES
* The Runnin' Rams rank 321st out of 339 in scoring defense, allowing 75.9 points per game.
* Rhode Island is also 328th in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot 48.8% from the floor
* URI is 256th in defensive 3-point FG percentage, as the opposition is connecting on 36.2% from the perimeter
* Rhody opponents have scored 80 or more points five times, 90+ three times, and 100 once.

FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT
* Jonathan Holton ranks 16th among all frosh nationally in rebounding, pulling down 6.7 boards per game
* Holton is also tied for 33rd among all freshmen in blocked shots (1.1 bpg).
* Mike Powell is tied for 29th among all frosh in assists per game (3.6).
* Rhody's newcomers account for 38% of the team's scoring, 38% of rebounding, and 58% of assist totals.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES AT BOSTON COLLEGE
* Rhody frontcourt mates Jonathan Holton (11 pts/10 reb.) and Orion Outerbridge (10 pts/11 reb) each registered double-doubles in points and rebounds at Boston College on Jan. 2.
* Eight of Outerbridge's 11 rebounds game on the offensive glass; five of Holton's 10 were offensive boards.
* It was Holton's second double-double of the season - he had 12 points and a 14 rebounds at George Mason.
* Outerbridge has posted two other double-doubles this year: at Nebraska (24 pts/10 reb); vs. Maine (14 pts/10 reb.)
* It marked the second time this season that two Rhody players recorded double-doubles in the same game.

OVERTIME
* With the Jan. 2 double-overtime win at Boston College, Rhody has played in three overtime games (four total OT periods) so far this season - the most since the 2008-09 campaign.
* In all three OT contests this season, a freshman has scored the game-tying points in regulation.
* Last time out at Boston College, Mike Powell connected on a free throw with 21 seconds left to tie the game at 59-59.
* In the other two OT tilts, Powell (vs. Maine) and Jonathan Holton (at George Mason) tied the game in regulation with a 3-point field goal.
* During the 2008-09 campaign, Rhody opened A-10 play with a triple-overtime loss at Saint Joseph's, before winning a double OT game on the road at George Washington.
* The Rams played two other OT games that season - at home against La Salle and Dayton - for a total of four OT games (seven total OT periods).

NOW TRENDING: ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO
* Through the Runnin' Rams first 16 games, they have posted more assists than turnovers twice - vs. Providence (Dec. 23) and vs. Hofstra (Nov. 25).
* On the season, URI has a 0.74:1 assist/turnover ratio (179 assists/241 turnovers)
* URI is averaging 15.1 turnovers, while dishing out 11.2 assists per game.
* Last season, in games with a positive assist/turnover ratio, Rhody was 12-3.

BARON, MALONE MAKE IMPACT VS. JMU
* In the second game wearing a Rhode Island uniform, transfers Billy Baron and Andre Malone combined for 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
* Malone earned his second start, tallying eight points and six boards in 26 minutes of action
* Baron scored 13 of his 17 points in the second frame, connecting on 6-of-11 shots from the floor.
* Both connected on their first 3-pointers of the season - with Malone's deep ball ending a 7-0 JMU scoring push in the second half.

CLOSING THE BOOK ON THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
* Rhode Island closed out its 2011-12 non-conference schedule with a 78-72 double OT win at Boston College on Jan. 2.
* 11 of the 15 Rams' opponents have posted a winning record and seven of the 15 have 10 or more victories.
* The combined win-loss record of the teams on Rhody's non-conference slate is 122-84 (as of Jan. 5).
* According to RealTimeRPI.com, Rhody's non-conference strength of schedule ranking is 75 - sixth-best in the A-10.
* Since joining the Eastern 8 in the 1980-81 season, URI has posted a 247-198 mark in non-conference play.
* Dating back to the 2006-07 season, the Rams have posted a 64-36 record versus out-of-conference opponents.
* Rhody's six opponents in the month of November - George Mason, Texas, Nebraska, Hofstra, Boston Univ., and Cleveland State - combined for 143 wins and six postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 2 NIT, 1 CBI) last year.
* Nine of the 15 teams the Runnin' Rams will face in the non-conference slate won 21 or more games a season ago.
* 10 of the 15 made postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 4 NIT, 3 CBI) in 2010-11.

CLOSING THE BOOK ON THE LOSING STREAK
* With the win over James Madison, Rhody ended its eight-game losing streak which dated back to Nov. 26.
* The eight-game slide was the team's longest since the 2004-05 season.
* During that span, Rhody shot just 37.6% from the floor (179-476), while allowing opponents to connect on nearly 50.0% of their shots.
* URI averaged just 62.0 points and lost by an average of 13.0 points per game.
* The Rams saw their 32-game home non-conference win streak come to an end vs. Boston University (Nov. 26)
* Head coach Jim Baron shuffled the starting lineup five different times

TRANSFERS MAKE RHODY DEBUTS
* Andre Malone and Billy Baron each played their first games in a Rhode Island uniform on Dec. 23 vs. Providence
* Malone earned the start and added four points, two rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes
* Baron played 26 minutes, tallying three points, four boards, four assists and a steal
* Both players showed a little rust after close to a year off from competition, combining to shoot 1-for-14
* 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

WILSON DISMISSED FROM TEAM
* On Dec. 27, head coach Jim Baron announced that senior guard Jamal Wilson has been dismissed from the Rhode Island men's basketball team due to a violation of team rules
* Wilson had been the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points in 11 games played.
* He poured in a career-high 38 points in the season opener at George Mason on Nov. 11 and was named A-10 Player of the Week on Nov. 14
* The Norristown, Pa. native was suspended prior to the Dec. 18 Yale game - also for a violation of team rules

ORION GIVE-ETH AND TAKE-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 77 blocks in his career and needs 17 more to crack Rhody's all-time top 10 list.
* The Boston, Mass. native currently ranks fourth in the A-10 (2.4 bpg) with 32 total blocks this year.

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
* 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.
* Over the last four games, the Rams have featured three frosh in the starting five - as Buchanan, Powell, and Holton have gotten the nod.

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.   

20 YEARS IN A-10 FOR BARON
* This season marks the 20th for Jim Baron as a head coach in the Atlantic 10 Conference.  
* Baron served as head coach at his alma mater – St. Bonaventure – from 1992-2001, before arriving at URI
* During that span he has been named A-10 Coach of the Year four times.

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)

NEXT UP:  DUQUESNE (JAN.14)
* Rhode Island returns home on Saturday, Jan. 14 to host Duquesne in Atlantic 10 action
* Tipoff time at the Thomas M. Ryan Center is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen live locally on Cox Sports, with Eric Frede and Abu Bakr.
* Rhody fans can listen to the game live on the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network (WHJJ 920 AM; The Wolf 102.3 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