THE BASICS
Rhode Island (8-13, 4-5 A-10) at Saint Joseph's (10-11, 4-5 A-10)
Tip-Off: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7:00 p.m. EST
Coverage: ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

RHODE ISLAND VS. SAINT JOSEPH'S - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island and Saint Joseph's are facing each other for the 109th time overall, the most for any URI opponent outside of the New England region.
• The Hawks lead the all-time series, 58-50, but Rhode Island has won six of the last seven meetings.
• The teams split two games last season, with URI winning 75-64 on Jan. 12 and Saint Joseph's winning 70-60 in the regular-season final on March 5.
• Both teams enter the game looking to reach .500 in conference play for the first time this season.
• After dropping its first four Atlantic 10 games, Saint Joseph's has won four of its last five contests, with the lone loss coming by one point in overtime at George Washington.
• Rhode Island is on a two-game winning streak of its own.
• Saint Joseph's lives on the perimeter offensively, attempting 26.4 3-point shots per game, which ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and 21st in the country.
• The Hawks shoot .339 from the arc and average 9.0 made 3-pointers per game.
• Rhode Island allowed opponents to shoot .326 from long range.

RAMS FIGURING OUT HOW TO WIN THE CLOSE ONES

• Of the 21 games Rhode Island has played, 11 have been decided by five points or less.
• The Rams dropped their first five such games this season, all of which came in non-conference play.
• Since a 59-58 loss to Brown on Dec. 7, Rhode Island has gone 5-1 in games decided by five points or less.
• The Rams are 4-1 in those games during Atlantic 10 play, beating Fordham 82-79 (Jan. 4), St. Bonaventure 68-67 (Jan. 11), Dayton 75-70 (Jan. 25) and La Salle 72-70 (Jan. 28).
• The only close loss in league play was a 77-75 overtime loss at La Salle on Jan. 7 in which the Rams led by three points with three seconds to go in regulation.

OFFENSE SHOWING MORE CONSISTENCY

• Rhode Island has scored at least 72 points in each of its last three games, well above the team's season average of 67.6 points per game.
• Over the first 18 games, Rhode Island topped 72 points just seven times.
• In November and December, the Rams scored 72 or more points five times in 13 games.
• In January, URI did so five times in eight games.
• Better shot selection and ball movement has helped in all areas, as the Rams are shooting .412 from the field, .320 from 3-point range and .757 at the free throw line since the start of January.
• In the first two months of the season, Rhody shot .398 from the floor, .296 from the arc and .735 at the free throw line.
• The player who has shown the biggest jump in his offensive efficiency since the start of January is redshirt senior Malik Martin.
• Over his last eight games, Martin is averaging 7.8 points while shooting .500 from the field (24-of-48) and .471 from the arc (6-for-11).
• In the first two months, he had a similar 7.7 points per game average, but he was shooting .356 from the floor (37-of-104) and .222 (8-of-36) from deep.