Turning Back the Clock - Why URI Should Have Beaten Oregon
I would not be a proper URI basketball attendee if I did not list the reasons why URI should have beaten Oregon in their Round of 32 matchup in the 2017 NCAA tournament.
1. "Mr. March" Tyler Dorsey lit the Rams up for 27 points on an insane and efficient 9-10 shooting from the field. A couple more missed three-point jump shots by Dorsey on the night and I would have been writing about how Rhode Island beat Oregon by double digits.
2. Stanford Robinson had the game of the Rhode Island season and the best game in his entire career, scoring 22 points on 10-12 shooting from the field.
3. Hassan Martin was not Hassan Martin. The Staten Island native battled foul trouble all night and Coach Dan Hurley came out in the postgame conference to tell the media that Martin's quad injury began bothering him again. Hence, Martin spent the majority of the game on the sidelines and not on the hardwood floor in Sacramento, CA.
4. Nicola Akele played the worst possible six minutes of basketball I have seen in a very long time in any NCAA tournament, at the most inconvenient time. If he either played less minutes, did not commit a costly turnover, or did not commit three fouls, the Rams had the game in the bag.
5. Cyril Langevine played fantastic in Hassan Martin's long absence. Langevine scored 9 points on 4-4 FG and 1-1 FT, while also cleaning up the glass with 9 total rebounds in 22 minutes.
6. Jared Terrell played well again in a game of epic proportion. Terrell had 15 points on 7-11 FG, as well as 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.
7. Dillon Brooks scored his 19 points on an inefficient 7 of 20 shooting night from the field and he contributed zero assists to his team's offensive output.
The man pictured below is why the Ducks and not the Rams, advanced to the Sweet 16.
