The second round of the National Invitation Tournament will bring about a rarity for the University of Rhode Island basketball team. The Rams will face a team that scores more points than they do. And a team that allows more points, as well.
The opponent is one URI has never faced, the University of Nevada from the Western Athletic Conference.
In the last several days, URI coach Jim Baron has learned as much as he can about the Wolf Pack, who visit the Ryan Center on Monday for a 6 p.m. game to be telecast on ESPNU. Nevada, which is playing in the postseason for the eighth straight season, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament, brings in a 21-10 record. The team was 11-5 and tied for second in the WAC.
It plays a style similar to URI?s, although usually without the full-court pressure the Rams like to use.
?They can really score the ball,? Baron said. ?They have a legitimate pro prospect in Luke Babbitt. They have big guards that can score. They run the floor. They?re a very good team. They just won at Wichita State. But then again, at this time of year you don?t expect to see any bad teams.?
Babbitt, who also is an Academic All-American, is eighth in the country in scoring, at 22 points a game. He averages over nine rebounds and is a 90 percent free-throw shooter. The 6-foot-9 lefty is only a sophomore, but is mentioned as a possible early entrant into the NBA Draft this year. To that point, nine NBA scouts have asked for credentials to be at the Ryan Center Monday night.
?He?s very smooth, very strong,? Baron said of the Nevada star.
URI forwards Delroy James and Lamonte Ulmer likely will be asked to share the job of trying to keep Babbitt under control.
With Babbitt leading the way, the Wolf Pack is 14th in the country in scoring, at just over 79 points a game, three more than URI. Nevada is allowing 74 a game, four more than URI, which means all signs point to a shootout.
With a victory, the Rams can join an elite club in school history.
The team now has 24 wins, third most ever. A victory over Nevada will tie this team for second with the 1997-98 Elite Eight squad. The only team ever to win more was the Tommy Garrick-Silk Owens-led squad that won 28 in 1987-88 under coach Tom Penders.
A victory also would be the first time a URI team has won two postseason tournament games since the run to the Elite Eight by the 1997-98 squad. It would be the first time Rhode Island has won twice in the NIT since 1996 when URI beat Marist and Charleston before losing to Saint Joseph?s in the third round.
Baron would love to keep working as long as possible. He already has reached one goal ? to be still coaching on his birthday. Baron celebrated his 56th birthday on Saturday. He rarely has had a chance to be playing on his birthday.
?One I remember well was the year (1977) we won the NIT while I was playing (at St. Bonaventure),? Baron recalled. That team won the title on March 20, Baron?s birthday.
If the Rams win on Monday, they would be one victory away from reaching the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden. They are in the same bracket as Connecticut and Virginia Tech.
If URI wins, it will host the third-round game if Connecticut tops Virginia Tech. If the Hokies win, URI will have to travel to Blacksburg. That game will be played Wednesday.
The bad news for URI is that the crowd Monday night is not likely to be big. Students are on spring break.
The opponent is one URI has never faced, the University of Nevada from the Western Athletic Conference.
In the last several days, URI coach Jim Baron has learned as much as he can about the Wolf Pack, who visit the Ryan Center on Monday for a 6 p.m. game to be telecast on ESPNU. Nevada, which is playing in the postseason for the eighth straight season, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament, brings in a 21-10 record. The team was 11-5 and tied for second in the WAC.
It plays a style similar to URI?s, although usually without the full-court pressure the Rams like to use.
?They can really score the ball,? Baron said. ?They have a legitimate pro prospect in Luke Babbitt. They have big guards that can score. They run the floor. They?re a very good team. They just won at Wichita State. But then again, at this time of year you don?t expect to see any bad teams.?
Babbitt, who also is an Academic All-American, is eighth in the country in scoring, at 22 points a game. He averages over nine rebounds and is a 90 percent free-throw shooter. The 6-foot-9 lefty is only a sophomore, but is mentioned as a possible early entrant into the NBA Draft this year. To that point, nine NBA scouts have asked for credentials to be at the Ryan Center Monday night.
?He?s very smooth, very strong,? Baron said of the Nevada star.
URI forwards Delroy James and Lamonte Ulmer likely will be asked to share the job of trying to keep Babbitt under control.
With Babbitt leading the way, the Wolf Pack is 14th in the country in scoring, at just over 79 points a game, three more than URI. Nevada is allowing 74 a game, four more than URI, which means all signs point to a shootout.
With a victory, the Rams can join an elite club in school history.
The team now has 24 wins, third most ever. A victory over Nevada will tie this team for second with the 1997-98 Elite Eight squad. The only team ever to win more was the Tommy Garrick-Silk Owens-led squad that won 28 in 1987-88 under coach Tom Penders.
A victory also would be the first time a URI team has won two postseason tournament games since the run to the Elite Eight by the 1997-98 squad. It would be the first time Rhode Island has won twice in the NIT since 1996 when URI beat Marist and Charleston before losing to Saint Joseph?s in the third round.
Baron would love to keep working as long as possible. He already has reached one goal ? to be still coaching on his birthday. Baron celebrated his 56th birthday on Saturday. He rarely has had a chance to be playing on his birthday.
?One I remember well was the year (1977) we won the NIT while I was playing (at St. Bonaventure),? Baron recalled. That team won the title on March 20, Baron?s birthday.
If the Rams win on Monday, they would be one victory away from reaching the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden. They are in the same bracket as Connecticut and Virginia Tech.
If URI wins, it will host the third-round game if Connecticut tops Virginia Tech. If the Hokies win, URI will have to travel to Blacksburg. That game will be played Wednesday.
The bad news for URI is that the crowd Monday night is not likely to be big. Students are on spring break.
