URI can wrap up third-seed in A-10 with win over Saint Joseph's
When asked if securing a bye into the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals was a realistic goal entering the 2014-15 season, Dan Hurley was typically direct.
?No,? said the University of Rhode Island coach. ?It wasn?t a goal. It was something that maybe we could have played our way into being a goal.?
That?s exactly what the Rams have done entering Senior Day on Saturday at the Ryan Center. A URI win against Saint Joseph?s would lock the Rams into the No. 3 slot heading to Brooklyn next week, allowing them to rest and relax through the opening two days of games at Barclays Center.
URI controls its own destiny. No favorable tiebreakers are required following Davidson?s blowout of VCU on Thursday night. The Rams can?t finish ahead of the Wildcats or Dayton ? they would lose both head-to-head tiebreakers and were 0-2 against the group in the case of a three-way tie. URI also holds a one-game lead over VCU and Richmond ? they can?t finish behind either team if they defeat the Hawks.
?For us it was about making progress ? maybe a winning record this year, maybe having a winning record in conference,? Hurley said. ?Going 9-9, 10-8 would have been great years for us in our minds in the preseason. Our young guys have accelerated it with their growth throughout the year.?
The Rams (20-8, 12-5 A10) had won four of their last five before hitting a brick wall in their final regular season road game. Dayton took a giant step toward a top-two league finish with a 75-59 victory over URI in front of a sellout crowd of 13,455 at venerable UD Arena. The scene brought Hurley back to his playing days at Seton Hall, a time when the Pirates made trips to play in front of 30,000-plus at Syracuse.
?That was like the Carrier Dome,? Hurley said. ?Their crowd, their atmosphere, the intensity that they brought ? they were worth 10 points. We ran into a little bit of a buzz saw.?
Avenging a 65-64 defeat at Saint Joseph?s (13-16, 7-10) on Feb. 11 likely comes down to how well URI can defend DeAndre? Bembry. The sophomore ? who shared Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors with Rams? guard E.C. Matthews last season ? should be a lock for a first team All-Atlantic 10 selection and totaled 19 points and nine rebounds in the first meeting with URI. The Hawks ultimately erased a nine-point second half deficit and Chris Wilson?s 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left provided the difference.
?We had a bunch of defensive breakdowns in the game that we needed to tighten up,? Hurley said. ?We?ve got to plan and execute defensively against one of the best players in our conference.?
When asked if securing a bye into the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals was a realistic goal entering the 2014-15 season, Dan Hurley was typically direct.
?No,? said the University of Rhode Island coach. ?It wasn?t a goal. It was something that maybe we could have played our way into being a goal.?
That?s exactly what the Rams have done entering Senior Day on Saturday at the Ryan Center. A URI win against Saint Joseph?s would lock the Rams into the No. 3 slot heading to Brooklyn next week, allowing them to rest and relax through the opening two days of games at Barclays Center.
URI controls its own destiny. No favorable tiebreakers are required following Davidson?s blowout of VCU on Thursday night. The Rams can?t finish ahead of the Wildcats or Dayton ? they would lose both head-to-head tiebreakers and were 0-2 against the group in the case of a three-way tie. URI also holds a one-game lead over VCU and Richmond ? they can?t finish behind either team if they defeat the Hawks.
?For us it was about making progress ? maybe a winning record this year, maybe having a winning record in conference,? Hurley said. ?Going 9-9, 10-8 would have been great years for us in our minds in the preseason. Our young guys have accelerated it with their growth throughout the year.?
The Rams (20-8, 12-5 A10) had won four of their last five before hitting a brick wall in their final regular season road game. Dayton took a giant step toward a top-two league finish with a 75-59 victory over URI in front of a sellout crowd of 13,455 at venerable UD Arena. The scene brought Hurley back to his playing days at Seton Hall, a time when the Pirates made trips to play in front of 30,000-plus at Syracuse.
?That was like the Carrier Dome,? Hurley said. ?Their crowd, their atmosphere, the intensity that they brought ? they were worth 10 points. We ran into a little bit of a buzz saw.?
Avenging a 65-64 defeat at Saint Joseph?s (13-16, 7-10) on Feb. 11 likely comes down to how well URI can defend DeAndre? Bembry. The sophomore ? who shared Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors with Rams? guard E.C. Matthews last season ? should be a lock for a first team All-Atlantic 10 selection and totaled 19 points and nine rebounds in the first meeting with URI. The Hawks ultimately erased a nine-point second half deficit and Chris Wilson?s 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left provided the difference.
?We had a bunch of defensive breakdowns in the game that we needed to tighten up,? Hurley said. ?We?ve got to plan and execute defensively against one of the best players in our conference.?
