Rhode Island MBB's Home-and-Home Series with Western Kentucky - My Likes and Dislikes
After hearing the news of a home-and-home series vs. Western Kentucky, it was only right that I highlight my likes and dislikes about this scheduling move.
Likes:
1. Western Kentucky is coming off of a very successful season. While going 27-11 overall, the Hilltoppers upset the likes of Purdue and SMU in the early portion of their non-conference schedule at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. At the same tournament in the Bahamas, they narrowly lost 66-58 to the most recent national champions, Villanova, in the opening round.
2. They no longer have the likes of Mitchell Robinson, a consensus Top-15 commit coming into college. After a bunch of drama at the school last season, Robinson was a second-round draft selection on the New York Knicks. He would have posed many problems in the paint for URI.
3. Western Kentucky is a team that can be expected to always be at or near the top of the Conference USA standings.
4. The Hilltoppers typically play a challenging non-conference schedule that will help them be viewed as a quality opponent (hopefully a win) for Rhode Island. In the upcoming 2018-2019 season, they will play Washington, Arkansas, Belmont, Saint Mary's, and Wisconsin.
Dislikes:
1. Rick Stansbury has been on fire on the recruiting trail in recent seasons so his team will always have the talent to give Rhode Island a run for their money. After having Mitchell Robinson and Josh Anderson commit for the 2017-2018 season, Stansbury was able to land Charles Bassey, the 18th best recruit (according to ESPN) in the Class of 2018.
2. The Hilltoppers have been excellent at defending home court lately. In 2015-2016, they were 12-4 at home. In 2016-2017, they were 11-3 at home. In 2017-2018, they were 14-3 at home. They will be no easy task to handle when the Rams travel there in the 2020-2021 season.
3. None of their leading scorers from the 2017-2018 season graduated. Much like Rhode Island, this team is looking to collect young talent and build from there. They heavily utilize the option of redshirting their players.
