The Friday Night Fight: Rhode Island vs. Dayton - A Must-Win Game
The last time Rhode Island and Dayton played, the Flyers pulled out a wild 67-64 victory at UD Arena. There is no time like the present for the Rams to turn the tides at the Ryan Center. I never wrote a game recap of their contest from January 6, 2017 because of how enraged I was at the Rams loss. To give everyone a little bit of context, URI had full control of the game in the first half (including a 10-point lead) and reverted back to old URI ways by choking the game away in the second half. I will not watch the same thing happen again in the Ryan Center Friday night and no one else will watch that on ESPN2 at 7PM on Friday night; assuming the Rams still want to make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1999.
My one interesting observation to look out for is to see if Jarvis Garrett starts or even plays in this contest for Rhode Island and the effectiveness of Josh Cunningham in his time for the Dayton Flyers. Both of these players play huge roles for their teams. Garrett is the floor general and the heart and soul of the Rams. Meanwhile, the Bradley transfer, Cunningham is a talented scorer (average 12.5 PPG before being injured) on a Dayton that is extremely well balanced. Also, with Charles Cooke playing in this contest (missed last matchup with a back injury), the Rhode Island Rams will be facing an even better Flyers team than the one they faced in Dayton in January.
The Dayton Flyers are practically a carbon copy of the Rhode Island Rams in the way the teams operate and how the structures of each team are built. There is a definitive reason why the Flyers and Rams were interchangeable for who the #1 preseason team in the Atlantic 10 would be to being the 2016-2017 season. When evaluating these two teams, nearly all of their statistics are identical. Both teams are built on balanced scoring, with several players on each side that can step up and be the closer.
In the most recent game between the two A10 foes, Kendall Pollard sealed the game off with a layup over Kuran Iverson in the final 30 seconds. On the Rhode Island side, Hassan Martin is Pollard's direct opposition and the two frontcourt warriors could very well decide this game. The last time that they played, Martin was clearly bothered by his quad injury and his lack of effectiveness at Dayton showed it. Pollard, the man that Coach Hurley recruited to play alongside Martin way back when will look to punish the Rams in the paint at every turn with his unique offensive game. Do not let his spinning free throw fool you, Pollard can play grown man basketball. Simultaneously, Staten Island's finest can shut down any frontcourt player in the A10 so hopefully that will include Pollard on this Friday night.
Also, in the January contest, Scoochie Smith was unstoppable for the Flyers, scoring 21 points on 8-13 from the field and running circles around Jarvis Garrett, to be quite frank. This time around, whether it is Garrett, budding star, Jeff Dowtin (who will likely draw the start), or another URI guard, they must be physical with "Scoochie" and get into his body before the shot. By giving Dayton's starting PG the smallest amount of space, he is able to take a shot from anywhere on the floor, without a second's notice. The Rams cannot allow Dayton's #11 to get comfortable at any juncture of this game. In last year's matchup between these two teams in the Ryan Center, Scoochie Smith hit an insanely difficult and-one layup at the end of the first half when he was sandwiched between two Ram defenders and getting slapped in the arm by a third. Just like any good team, Smith is Dayton's most lethal player since he is the floor general that orchestrates the offense by mixing up the tempo with what Archie Miller desires.
Moreover, URI cannot forget about the role players on the Dayton Flyers. The Dayton role players are similar to URI's role players in that they are often the unsung heroes, who make the plays necessary to win but do not always show up in the box score. The last time the two A10 foes met in the Ryan Center, Dayton broke the Rhode Island's crowd hearts with a dagger 3 by Darrell Davis in the left corner for the win. In their most recent matchup in 2017, Ryan Mikesell was continually around for offensive rebounds and tip-ins, often out-hustling URI players. In the Atlantic 10 tournament in the 2014-2015 season, the Rams suffered a tragic defeat to the Flyers in Brooklyn due to the comparable plays made by one Bobby Wehrli. Guys like Stanford Robinson, Christion Thompson, and Cyril Langevine have to be on their 'A' game when they come off the bench. This Friday night is not the night to get caught sleeping on a back cut or an offensive rebound.
Aside from all the key factors concerning what URI needs to put a stop to, there are several players on the Rhode Island side who can and need to perform at their highest level in this game. Foremost, Kuran Iverson needs to continue his high level of activity on both ends of floor, using his intensity to generate rebounds and blocks for the Rams. Next, Rhode Island will have almost no chance to win this game if they cannot get 2 consistent scorers throughout the night out of the trio of their 1,000 point scorers - Jared Terrell, E.C. Matthews, and Hassan Martin. Finally, with a close battle expected, this Friday night is the night that URI must fix their two issues right from the tip-off; there can be no abundance of turnovers and they MUST hit their free throws at a proficient clip.
URI has to be wary that they have rarely ever played a dangerous Dayton Flyers team at full strength in the Hurley era. With that said, the Rams are on a roll and with what is supposed to be an enormous crowd at the Ryan Center, the prospects of a necessary Rhode Island victory are immense.
