The Story of the 2016-2017 Rhode Island MBB Team - An Unforgettable Journey

Rhode Island's resume: Overall record: 25-10

Conference record: 13-5 (tied for 3rd in the Atlantic 10)

Best wins: Neutral court win vs. Cincinnati, home win vs. VCU, neutral court win (Atlantic 10 championship) vs. VCU, home win vs. Belmont, home/road/neutral wins over Davidson, home/neutral win over Saint Bonaventure

NCAA tournament seed: A #11 seed (#44 overall)

"Computer numbers": Ranked 31st in RPI (according to CBS Sports), ranked 33rd in KenPom rating, ranked 33rd in BPI (according to ESPN)

Notable statistic(s): 33rd in the NCAA in Opp Pts/game (65.4 PPG)

Individual accolades: Hassan Martin - A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, all-conference second team, & all-defensive team, E.C. Matthews - All-conference third team, Jeff Dowtin - All-rookie team

After being picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, being ranked #23 in the AP preseason poll, and being ranked #24 in the USA Today Coaches preseason poll, the 4-0 start to the Rhode Island Rams season was what everyone expected and desired. No true Rhode Island men's basketball fan will ever forget URI overcoming a 12-point deficit against the Cincinnati Bearcats, even with Jarvis Garrett being hospitalized at the end of the first half. Rhode Island's monumental non-conference victory over Cincinnati was a huge addition to their tournament resume.

Shortly thereafter, Dan Hurley's team went through a huge rough patch with close losses and inevitably, the injury bug. The team's loss to Duke at the Mohegan Sun Arena caused a downward spiral for the Rams in the middle of their non-conference slate. in their first road game of the season, URI lost 65-62 after struggling from beyond the arc (4-17 3PT) and a Jarvis Garret missed three-pointer with no time remaining would have sent the game to overtime. Next, the Rams were picked as the clear favorites to walk into the Dunkin Donuts Center and roll over the in-state rival, Providence Friars. Whether it was due to a mental block or Kyron Cartwright's strong scoring performance, the Friars won for the seventh consecutive time in the series, 63-60. Despite a 35-29 halftime lead, the well ran dry for URI's scoring output in the second half. After a half-court heave by E.C. Matthews fell short with no time left, the Rams felt the same feeling of disappointment that they have consistently felt when leaving the Dunk. Exactly one Saturday later, with Hassan Martin nursing an injury, Matthews' 31 points was still not enough to carry his team to a road victory over the Houston Cougars. After yet another close road loss in the non-conference portion of the schedule, doubts about the Rams truly began to set in.

Going into a massive road contest at Dayton, Dan Hurley's basketball team looked to have righted the ship as they sat at a 10-4 overall record, 2-0 to begin conference play. In a back-and-forth battle where the Rams led 27-25 at halftime, the Flyers did just enough to defend their home court and win 67-64. At this juncture, besides the team's neutral court victory over Cincinnati, the Rhode Island Rams did not have much to hang their hats on. The subsequent game versus the La Salle Explorers did not help either. In a game where Rhode Island trailed 43-22 at halftime and Dan Hurley benched his starters for a significant part of the second half, the Explorers downed the Rams in the Ryan Center, 87-75.

After the losses to Dayton and La Salle in the beginning part of the conference schedule, Rhode Island took care of business against the middling and failing teams of the Atlantic 10. Headed into a February 10 showdown versus Dayton, the Rhode Island men's basketball team was 16-7 (8-3 in conference) and at the top of the conference. Just like in the previous season, the Rams lost 75-74 in a heartbreaker to the Flyers, after Xeryius Williams hit two three in the same exact spot in the final couple of minutes. If the loss to Dayton was not bad enough, no one could have predicted what would occur next. In a game where many fans were too disappointed to show up to, the Rams from Rhode Island tried to defend their home court against the mediocre Rams from Fordham. In one of the worst offensive performances since Dan Hurley took the helm in Kingston, RI, Fordham held URI to just 43 points on an abysmal 30.4% field goal percentage. Following arguably the biggest disappointment of the season, it was extremely difficult to find any college basketball expert that found a feasible way for Rhode Island to make it into the NCAA tournament, without winning their conference tournament.

As the season played out, Rhode Island's embarrassing home loss to Fordham proved to be the team's biggest blessing in disguise. Headed into the NCAA tournament, the Rams ripped off eight straight victories, including three consecutive victories to bring the 2017 Atlantic 10 tournament title back to Kingston, Rhode Island.

From the outset of the Atlantic 10 tournament in Pittsburgh, PA, the Rhode Island Rams exhibited a laser-like focus and the understanding of their mission for the week. Accordingly, the team put the conference and the entire nation on notice when they disposed of Saint Bonaventure in the quarterfinals, 74-63 and Davidson in the semifinals, 84-60. Dan Hurley's team thrashed both teams with conviction and relative ease. Not only were the Rams dominating their opponents in the Atlantic 10 tournament but they were enjoying themselves as they did it. I find it hard to believe that anyone forgot when Stanford Robinson got an and-one, as Rhode Island went up 65-43 with 10:02 left in the second half against Davidson and Robinson started dancing. Finally, the Rhode Island Rams were set to match up with the VCU Rams, a team that they previously defeated 69-59 on their home court, in a pivotal conference matchup.

Despite having a few bumps along the road to the title, the Rams from Kingston, RI trailed for zero total seconds in the Atlantic 10 championship game. After coming out a blistering 42-27 halftime lead, the offense pulled through just enough in the second half to secure the championship. VCU pulled to within three points with just over one minute remaining but just as he had done throughout the tournament, E.C. Matthews scored a crucial basket to all but seal the game. I am one of the few people who will probably remember Dan Hurley mouthing to E.C. Matthews, "Hit these free throws and let's go home [to Rhode Island]", in the last minute of the Atlantic 10 championship game. All of the Rhode Island faithful can only hope that Hurley is able to mouth the same words next season in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

As a popular pick to do so, the #11 seeded Rhode Island men's basketball team "upset" the #6 seeded Creighton Bluejays, 84-72, in the first round of the 2017 NCAA tournament. In a game that the boys in midnight navy pretty much controlled from start to finish, all five Rhode Island starters scored double digits. With Bob Hurley Jr, Bob Hurley Sr, and Lamar Odom all in attendance, the Rams looked primed for a deep tournament run.

Going into a matchup against the #3 seeded Oregon Ducks (without Chris Boucher), Rhode Island had a fighter's chance. Off the back of a spectacular 21-point performance by Stanford Robinson, the Rams were playing at their pace and took a 46-38 lead into halftime. In the second half, Dan Hurley's team came out with the same fighting spirit but they were ultimately sunken by two late Tyler Dorsey three pointers.

Many of the Rhode Island faithful who have a Twitter presence have all watched the video clip that WPRI sports reporter, Mark Dondero, posted of the raw emotion that the team had immediately following their last 2017 NCAA tournament game. From the court all throughout the walk through the tunnel to the locker room, Hassan Martin painfully cried into his jersey, knowing that he would no longer play a college basketball game as a Rhode Island Ram. Behind him, as Cyril Langevine tried to console him, Stanford Robinson spun in a 360-degree circle and punched his other hand. After his career performance and the show that he put on, no one deserved to be more frustrated than Robinson. Shortly behind these players, there came Will Leviton and Jeff Dowtin, who both looked ready to shed tears. In addition, Jared Terrell and Kuran Iverson's frustrations were evident on both of their faces as they walked towards the locker room. Behind basically all of the team, Dan Hurley came walking and screaming, "Amazing effort, amazing effort, could not have done more. Couldn't be prouder, amazing ... some things you can't control." No true Rhode Island basketball fan ever wants to see this devastating sight ever again.

Following the tragic defeat to the Oregon Ducks in their Round of 32 game, some of the players had to attend the mandatory postgame conference. The same foursome - Kuran Iverson, Hassan Martin, E.C. Matthews, and Jared Terrell that attended all of the previous conferences, went to this postgame conference. As much as I personally enjoy watching all of the March Madness press conferences and postgame conferences, watching the postgame conferences of any team that loses in March is depressing. The most unforgettable exchange in the press conference was when a reporter asked Jared Terrell, "What allowed Oregon to overtake you?" and he responded (with a sigh and a grin) by saying, "I don't have a response to that ... I just think my guys just came out and fought their hardest man. We left it all out there all season, we had our ups and ours downs ... but today was no different. We put everything out there. We fought as hard as we could... just ended up coming up short". I highly doubt that any of the Rhode Island players, coaches, or fans could have verbalized the heartbreaking loss any better. There was a painful aura around watching Oregon in Phoenix, Arizona at the Final Four, including watching them on the official NCAA March Madness Snapchat story. Just writing about the entire experience of the Round of 32 game, I have to say this, "THEY WILL BE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!"

Essentially, the 2016-2017 season gave Hurley his future stars, in the form of freshmen Jeff "Jefe" Dowtin and Cyril Langevine. When Jarvis Garrett had to sit out for an extensive period of time due to a lingering stomach illness, Dowtin was there to pick up the slack and add even more to the team. When Hassan Martin had to heal his own injuries, or spend some time on the bench with foul trouble, Langevine was there to swallow up all of the rebounds and swat everything on the defensive end.

The final order of business is to thank the two seniors that graduated, Hassan Martin and Kuran Iverson.