Men's Basketball 2/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

Rhody Faces #9/10 Butler on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m.

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Gamenotes: Rhode Island/Butler (pdf)

RHODE ISLAND VERSUS BUTLER

RHODE ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE

Since its inaugural season in the conference during the 1980-81 season, Rhode Island has posted a 233-285 all-time record in Atlantic 10 play.
The Rams earned their first conference win at Saint Louis on Jan. 19, 82-80 in overtime.
Last season, Rhody finished with a 4-12 mark in conference play, putting them in 13th place in the league standings.
On Jan. 18, 2012 - at Fordham - Rhode Island played its 500th Atlantic 10 game all-time.

LAST TIME OUT - VCU 70, RHODE ISLAND 64 - JANUARY 30

Xavier Munford again led Rhode Island in scoring with 17 points, marking the 16th time he has reached double digits this season.
T.J. Buchanan scored 11 points - the second straight game in which he posted a season-high in the scoring column.
Freshman Jordan Hare finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks and one assist. It was his third time in double digits this season. Hare made all five of his shots from the floor.
Graduate transfer Alwayne Bigby had a strong night off the bench. In seven minutes, he had five points, one steal and one rebound.
After starting the night 2-for-12 from beyond the arc, the Rams hit on four of their final six attempts from deep. Overall, Rhode Island shot 44.4 percent from the floor (24-54) and 33.3% from the perimeter (6-18).
VCU's vaunted pressure "Havoc" defense caused Rhode Island to commit seven turnovers in the opening 9:25, but the Rams did not have another turnover over the final 10:35 of the half.
In fact, VCU called off the press and played 2-3 zone and halfcourt man sets for the rest of the first half.
Rhody did force 19 turnovers on defense and is +0.2 in turnover margin this season.

TODAY'S RHODE ISLAND BASKETBALL FACT(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

Today's Theme: Ranked Opponents
Rhode Island is 12-89 all-time versus ranked opponents.
Earlier this season, Rhody lost, 69-58, to #4/4 Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena on Nov. 17.
The Rams have dropped their last 20 matchups against teams in the Associated Press and Coaches polls.
URI's last victory over a ranked opponent came on Dec. 2, 1998, in a 70-63 win over #25 Utah in the Great Eight Tournament.
Head coach Dan Hurley is 1-3 against ranked teams all-time, losing at #25 Texas A&M (Dec. 21, 2010) and #4 Connecticut (Nov. 14, 2011) before winning at #15 Pittsburgh on Dec. 23, 2011.

CLOSE CALLS

Since the start of conference play, Rhode Island has played six very close contests - an average scoring margin of just 3.1 points.
Rhody's five conference losses have come by a total of 21 points - an average of 4.2 points.
Three of the Rams' five A-10 losses have been by three points or less.
URI earned an 82-80 overtime victory at Saint Louis.
Through its first six A-10 contests last year, Rhody had lost by an average of close to 11.0 points per game

T.J. TURNING IT UP

Sophomore T.J. Buchanan posted back-to-back season-highs over his last two games.
Last time out against VCU, Buchanan tallied 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor (2-3 3FG).
His 3-pointer with just under a minute remaining capped off a late 13-4 Rhody run, making it 66-60.
On Jan. 26 at Fordham, the Kalamazoo, Mich. native had 10 points (2-4 FG; 1-2 3FG; 5-6 FT)
His 3-pointer with1:45 left in the second half gave Rhody its final lead of the game - at 63-62.
Buchanan has scored at least five points in five straight games. Over his first 13 games, he reached five points just once.
Over his last five games, the reserve guard is averaging 7.4 pointsand shooting 52.4% from the floor.

MUNFORD SECOND IN THE ATLANTIC 10 IN SCORING

Junior guard Xavier Munford ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, through games of Feb. 1.
The Hillside, N.J. native checks in at 17.4 points per game, which also ranks him 66th nationally.
He has registered eight of Rhody's top ten scoring performances this season, including a 33-point effort at Auburn.
He is fourth in scoring in Atlantic 10 games only, checking in at 17.3 points per game.
Munford has posted eight games with 20 or more points - the most in the Atlantic 10 this season.
Only one Rhody player - Carlton "Silk" Owens - ever finished the season atop the conference's scoring leaders (21.8 ppg, 1987-88).

MARTIN, MATTHEWS INK NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, head coach Dan Hurley announced the signing of Hassan Martin and E.C. Matthews.
Martin is a 6-7, 190 lb. native of Staten Island, N.Y. and a standout forward for Curtis H.S. and the New Heights AAU program.
His brother Phil played collegiately at UC Riverside and is playing in the NBDL.
Martin is ranked 125th on Scout.com's latest player rankings for the class of 2013.
Matthews is a 6-4, 180 lb. point guard from Romulus, Mich. He is one of three Division I signees from Romulus H.S. CBSSports.com ranks him No. 62 in their Top 100, while ESPN.com has him at No. 88. Matthews spent time this summer at the LeBron James Skills Academy and plays his AAU basketball with The Family.
Matthews is ranked 72nd on Scout.com's latest player rankings - the top-rated recruit in the Atlantic 10 and the second-rated non-BCS signee for the class of 2013.
Scout.com rates Rhode Island's recruiting class as the eighth-best nationally (non-BCS).

FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SHARING THE BASKETBALL

Twice this season, Rhody has registered a season-high 17 assists - against SMU on Dec. 15 and at Saint Louis on Jan. 19.
Against SMU, the Rams posted an assist percentage of 68.0% (17 assists/25 field goals) - the highest since March 16, 2011, when Rhody dished out 20 assists to 27 field goals (74.1%) made against Miami (Ohio).
At Saint Louis, URI registered an assist on 63.0% of its made field goals (17 assists/27 field goals).
Rhode Island is 5-5 when is registers double-digits in the assist column; 1-8 when it does not.

IMPROVED DEFENSIVE EFFORT IN 2012-13

A major point of emphasis for head coach Dan Hurley is improving Rhody's defensive effort from last season.
Last season, Rhody ranked as one of the worst defensive teams in the country.
URI ranked 321st out of 339 in scoring defense (75.5 points/game), 324th in FG% defense (47.5%), and 230th in 3-point FG% defense (35.5%).
In 2012-13, the Rams are allowing close to 11.0 fewer points per game and have lowered their defensive FG% to 41.8% and their 3-point FG% defense mark to 31.0%.
This season, the Rams have held seven opponents to 60 points or fewer, including a season-low 47 points allowed vs. Brown on Jan. 4.
Rhode Island has allowed 70+ points just four times and 80+ points just once in regulation.
Last year, Rhody allowed 70+ points 23 times (31 games), 80+ points 11 times, 90+ three times, and 100 once.