• Saturday's game will be the 135th meeting between Rhode Island and Providence. 
• The Friars lead, 76-58.
• It is the fourth most games URI has played against any opponent, behind only Brown (164), Massachusetts (162) and Connecticut (143).
• Rhode Island is 17-44 as the road team in the series.
• Providence has won two straight and three of the last five meetings, including an 88-74 victory in the Ryan Center last season.
• Only three roation players for each side played last year. For Providence, Bryce Hopkins had 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Devin Carter scored 10 points. Rafael Castro had four points in five minutes.
• For Rhode Island, Josaphat Bilau had 16 points and five rebounds, while Brandon Weston had four points and three boards off the bench. Rory Stewart saw two minutes off the bench, and walk-on Jimmy Ball made an appearance in the final minute.
• Providence forward Josh Oduro is familiar with Rhode Island, having played at the Atlantic 10's George Mason for the last four seasons. In two games against URI last season, he averaged 25.5 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Rhode Island is looking for its first win at Providence since Dec. 7, 2002, when the Rams won 73-71. In that game, Brian Woodward - brother of current URI assistant Duane Woodward - scored the winning points on a layup with 1:15 to go, and PC missed a shot to tie with one second left. Dustin Hallenga had 24 points and Woodward added 17, while Ryan Gomes had 24 points and 15 boards for the Friars.

• Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on FS1.
• Dave Sims has the play-by-play, and he will be joined by analyst Vin Parise.
• Steve McDonald and Chris DiSano will have the audio call on the Varsity Network.

BACKCOURT TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

• Rhode Island's primary ball handlers have done a solid job of ball protection.
• The five primary ball handlers - Luis Kortright, Zek Montgomery, Jaden House, Cam Estevez and Always Wright - have combined for just 6.3 turnovers per game.
• As a team, URI is down to 12.1 turnovers per game, which ranks 152nd in the country.
• Last season, Rhode Island averaged 14.1 per game, which ranked 333rd in the country.
• Opponents are averaging 12.6 points off turnovers against Rhode Island, down from 16.5 allowed per game last season.

KORTRIGHT PROVIDING BACKCOURT LEADERSHIP

• Junior Luis Kortright serves as the team's primary ball handler, but he impacts the game in many ways.
• Kortright is third on the team with 10.0 points per game, and he has scored in double digits in each of the last five games.
• Kortright also leads the team with 19 assists (2.7 per game), and he has recorded three or more dimes in five of seven games thus far.
• On the glass, Kortright averages 4.6 rebounds per game, and he has at least five caroms in five of seven games.
• After starting the season 4-of-15 (.267) from the field over the first two games, he is 21-of-40 (.525) over the last five contests.