Davidson at URI Preview - Can the Rams Separate Themselves Even More?
We're in the second week of February and the Rhode Island Rams still have yet to lose in conference play. While the Davidson Wildcats will come into the Ryan Center with the hope of changing that, they will certainly have their hands full. Of the three games that they have lost this season, Dan Hurley's team is yet to lose a home game this season. Winners of fourteen games in a row, Jared Terrell and company looked to be hitting on all cylinders in their previous win at VCU.
Davidson arrives into Kingston, RI with two players that are being considered for the all-conference first team, in the form of Peyton Aldridge and Jon Axel Gudmundsson. Kellan Grady is a freshman sensation that was pursued previously by Rhode Island on the recruiting trail. The first-year guard has already drawn comparisons to Davidson's former scoring machine, Jack Gibbs. Between Aldridge, Gudmundsson, and Grady, they account for approximately 50 points of their team's average of 77 points per game. Knowing Coach Hurley, URI will key in on completely shutting down at least one or two of these aforementioned players.
Rhode Island's challenges will come with trying to disrupt and interrupt the cohesive flow on offense that their opponent brings. Despite struggles in the non-conference portion of their schedule, Davidson is sitting at 8-3 in conference play (second in the A-10) due in large part to their offensive execution. While Peyton Aldridge, Kellan Grady, and Jon Axel Gudmundsson may be the headliners, the likes of KiShawn Pritchett, Will Magarity, and Rusty Reigel provide the backbone to this particular team. Pritchett is an efficient scorer when he shoots the basketball (53.1 FG%), Magarity is a player that is looked upon to always battle on the boards (4 RPG), and Reigel is a pest on the defensive end. From the core of Davidson players that receive significant playing time on a consistent basis, only Aldridge is shooting below 40% from beyond the arc. The Wildcats are more than willing to live and die by the three ball. Tonight, expect Rhode Island to "blast" a bunch of ball screens and take away the three-point shot as much as they can.
As always, the Wildcats are a talented team on the offensive end that is prone to making mental lapses on the defensive end. For instance, Aldridge's ability on the offensive side of the ball does not match his ability on the defensive side on the ball. Additionally, Davidson is not exactly an exceptional rebounding team. The Wildcats average about 33 rebounds per game, in comparison to a guard-heavy URI team that averages about 34 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats have not fared very well on the road this season against competent competition. They lost by double digits at Nevada, at Appalachian State, and at Virginia. In addition, they have taken road losses at Richmond and at Dayton. Due to Davidson's defensive weaknesses and their tendency to put up an abundance of three-point shots, I like Rhode Island to move to 12-0 in conference play in a tightly contested game.
By the end of the night, Bob McKillop could have a similar expression to the one pictured below.
