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University of Rhode Island

Men's Basketball

Rhode Island, La Salle Meet on Sunday Afternoon at Ryan Center

Watch Live:  OSN (Cox ch. 5 / 1005 HD) - Mike Mancuso, Abu Bakr

Listen Live:  WHJJ 920 AM / The Wolf 102.3 FM - Steve McDonald / Don Kaull
The Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network

Internet: iHeart.com (audio) | coxsportsonline.com (video)

Gamenotes: Rhode Island/La Salle (pdf)

Buy Tickets: ExperienceRhody.com

Promotions: Whirler Flag Giveaway (first 5,000 fans) - presented by Bank Newport

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RHODE ISLAND VERSUS LA SALLE

  • Rhode Island takes on La Salle in the lone regular season matchup between the two schools.  
  • URI holds a 21-6 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1976-77 season.  
  • The Rams have dropped their last two meetings against the Explorers, including an 80-66 decision last year at Tom Gola Arena on Jan. 21, 2012.
  • La Salle assistant coach Horace "Pappy" Owens is a 1983 graduate of URI and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.  He finished his Rhody career with 1,750 points.

RHODE ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE

  • Since its inaugural season in 1980-81, Rhode Island has posted a 235-289 all-time record in Atlantic 10 play.  
  • The Rams earned their first conference victory of the 2012-13 season at Saint Louis on Jan. 19 - an 82-80 overtime win.
  • 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.

RHODE ISLAND AT THE THOMAS M. RYAN CENTER  

  • This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Ryan Center - the home of URI men's and women's basketball.
  • URI holds a 106-61 regular season record in the Ryan Center since the arena opened for play on Nov. 26, 2002 with a 73-71 victory over USC.
  • Last season's victory over Hofstra on Nov. 25, 2011 was the 100th on the Ryan Center floor.
  • The Rams have won 11 or more home games on five occasions - including a program-record 15 in 2009-10.

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

  • Today's Theme:  Record Book Check
  • Several Rams are close to cracking the school's record book in several statistical categories.
  • Xavier Munford: needs 14 more 3-pointers to become the 10th player in Rhody history to tally 70 made treys in a season. It would also have him crack URI's top 10 single-season 3FG made list.
  • Mike Powell:  needs 10 assists to become the first URI player since Marquis Jones (2009-10 - 146; 2010-11 - 128) to register 100 or more assists in consecutive seasons.  Powell also has a chance to become the first player to reach the 100-assist mark as a freshman and sophomore since Tyson Wheeler (1994-95 - 135; 1995-96 - 203).
  • Jordan Hare: needs four more blocked shots to crack Rhody's top 10 single-season list.  He currently ranks third all-time among Rhody freshman in blocks, behind Kenny Green (63 - 1986-87) and Antonio Reynolds-Dean (59 - 1995-96).

 

DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

  • Xavier Munford - the A-10's third-leading scorer (17.3 ppg) - dished out a career-best six assists at Duquesne on Feb. 16.
  • It bested his previous high of five - set on three occasions (vs. Vermont, vs. SMU, vs. George Washington).
  • Munford ranks second on Rhode Island with 52 assists - a 2.2 assists per game average.
  • Rhody is 3-1 when Munford has five or more assists this season.

NEAR TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR MALESEVIC

  • Nikola Malesevic filled out the box score against Dayton on Feb. 13, tallying 13 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and three steals.
  • So far this season, only one other player has registered that stat line or better in a regulation game - Kyle Anderson (UCLA).
  • Dating back to the 1996-97 season, he is the ONLY Rhode Island player to put forth that diverse of a stat line.
  • The double-double in points and rebounds was Malesevic's second in his career; the seven assists are a new career high.
  • Delroy James recorded the program's lone triple-double (22 p/11 r/10 a) against Miami (Ohio) on March 16, 2011.

MUNFORD THIRD IN THE ATLANTIC 10 IN SCORING

  • Junior guard Xavier Munford ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, through games of Feb. 22.
  • The Hillside, N.J. native checks in at 17.3 points per game - including 17.1 points per game in A-10 play.
  • He has registered nine of Rhody's top ten scoring performances this season, including a 33-point effort at Auburn.
  • Munford has posted nine games with 20 or more points - tied for the second-most in the Atlantic 10 this season.

CLOSE CALLS

  • In Atlantic 10 play, URI has played 10 of its 12 games in single-digits, with an average scoring margin of 5.4 points.
  • Three of the Rams' nine A-10 losses have been by three points or less.  
  • Through its first 12 A-10 contests last year, Rhody had lost by an average of 10.7 points per game.

FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SHARING THE BASKETBALL

  • Despite their scoring struggles, Rhody set a new season-high in assist percentage against Xavier on Feb. 20.
  • The Rams dished out 10 assists on 13 made field goals - good for an 82.3% mark.
  • On Feb. 13, Rhody registered a season-high 19 assists against Dayton - an assist percentage of 67.9% (19 assists/28 FG).
  • Other notable assist percentages:  George Mason, 70.5% (12 a/19 FG); SMU, 68.0% (17 a/25 FG); Saint Louis, 63.0% (17 a/27 FG).
  • Seven of Rhody's eight wins have come when the team registers double-digits in the assist column; URI is 1-9 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 10.0 fewer points per game and have lowered their defensive FG% to 42.4% and their 3-point FG% defense mark to 32.6%.
  • This season, the Rams have held eight opponents to 60 points or fewer, including a season-low 47 points allowed vs. Brown on Jan. 4.
  • URI has allowed 70+ points just five times and 80+ points twice in regulation.
  • Last year, Rhody allowed 70+ points 23 times (31 games),  80+ points 11 times, 90+ three times, and 100 once.

TURN AROUND ON TURNOVERS

  • The Rams are averaging just 12.4 turnovers per contest - more than 2.0 fewer than last year - which ranks 97th nationally.
  • A season ago, Rhode Island averaged 14.5 turnovers per game, which ranked 247th nationally.
  • The Rams registered a season-low six turnovers against George Mason on Nov. 28.
  • That was the lowest TO mark since Rhody committed a program record-low two turns against Nevada (March 22, 2010).
  • Last season, Rhode Island had just eight games with 11 or fewer turnovers.

T.J. TURNING IT UP

  • Sophomore T.J. Buchanan is averaging 5.5 points, while shooting 55.2% from the floor over the last 11 games.
  • During this stretch, the sophomore guard has connected on 8-of-14 from beyond the arc - good for 57.1%.
  • Against VCU on Jan. 30, Buchanan tallied 11 points (4-8 FG; 2-3 3FG) and capped off a late 13-4 Rhody run with a 3-pointer.
  • On Jan. 26 at Fordham, the Kalamazoo, Mich. native had 10 points (2-4 FG; 1-2 3FG; 5-6 FT)
  • During the 11-game span, Buchanan scored at least five points on eight occasions. Over his first 13 games, he did so just once.

 

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH

  • Over his last 14 games played, Jordan Hare has dunked 27 of his last 47 made field goals.
  • Hare dunked three of his four made baskets at Butler on Feb. 2.
  • Twice, he dunked all of his made field goals - 3-3 vs. Brown and 4-4 vs. SMU.
  • He had five dunks en route to a career-best 14 points at Providence on Dec. 6.
  • The 6-10 newcomer leads the Rams in dunks this season, with 32.

WHAT'S NEXT - TEMPLE

  • Rhode Island is off for six days before returning to action on Saturday, March 2 at Temple.
  • The game tips at 2 p.m. and can be heard live on the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network (WHJJ 920/The Wolf 102.3 FM), with Steve McDonald and Don Kaull.
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