Reviewing the 2016-2017 Rhode Island MBB Non-Conference Schedule
Game by game, I am going to review each team that was scheduled by the Rhode Island MBB team for the non-conference portion of their schedule. Obviously, the Atlantic 10 mandated who the Rams were paired and scheduled with for the 18 games of the conference portion of their schedule.
Friday, November 11: I wish we could've bought a better opponent for the home opener. The buy game vs. Dartmouth did nothing but boost the team's confidence and give E.C. Matthews some confidence.
Monday, November 14: I wish we could've bought a better opponent again. The buy game vs. Marist did nothing but boost the team's confidence again and show that they were capable of dropping over 100 points on inferior competition.
Wednesday, November 16: URI plays Brown annually anyways but in this one, they played the Bears as their first game in the HOF tip-off tournament. Brown surprisingly gave the Rams a scare in the Ryan Center but both teams still were on completely different levels, in terms of competency.
Saturday, November 19: These Rhode Island Rams earned the right to be invited to the HOF Tip-Off tournament in Uncasville, CT and they got their best regular season and non-conference win of the season by beating the Cincinnati Bearcats, 76-71.
Sunday, November 20: The Rams did what they needed to do at Mohegan Sun by first getting by Cincinnati and then affording themselves the opportunity to face off against the nation's #1 team, the Duke Blue Devils. Even though they lost the game 75-65, Rhode Island's MBB team took care of their necessary tasks in the HOF Tip-Off tournament and helped their at-large chances greatly.
Friday, November 25: This game against the eventual OVC regular season champions was the most underrated game on Rhode Island's schedule by a long shot. I call GREAT scheduling on this one.
Tuesday, November 29: In the return game of another quality home-and-home series, URI lost a close contest against the Horizon League favorite. Valparaiso is an underrated team that does nothing but add to a team's resume.
Saturday, December 03: Losing to the cross-town rivals in the battle of the Ocean State was not a good look but it was another quality opportunity on the schedule. Playing PC every season is great for the Rams.
Tuesday, December 06: Playing against ODU appeared to be a solid matchup in the final game of the home-and-home series but unfortunately, the Monarchs underperformed after URI beat them, 51-39.
Saturday, December 10: In the return game of an underrated home-and-home series, URI fell on the road to one of the best teams in the AAC, the Houston Cougars. This non-conference game was another quality opportunity on the resume.
Sunday, December 18: URI took out the garbage again. Holy Cross is a team that simply does not belong on the same court as the Rams, never mind on their schedule.
Thursday, December 22: Continuing along the lines of some aggressive scheduling, Dan Hurley's team faced off against a team that usually performs relatively well in the CAA. I would have preferred this non-conference finale be against a team like Charleston (also from the CAA) but this win had top-100 potential and was close to finishing as such.
