WH

RHODE ISLAND

W - NOV. 9 NORFOLK STATE (HALL OF FAME TIPOFF CLASSIC)
L - Nov. 12 at Virginia Tech
L - Nov. 17 vs. Ohio State (HoF Classic)
L - Nov. 18 vs. Seton Hall/Washington (HoF Classic)
L- NOV. 23 LOYOLA (MD) (HoF Classic)
L - Nov. 25 at Auburn
L- NOV. 28 GEORGE MASON
W- DEC. 1 VERMONT
L - Dec. 6 at Providence
W- DEC. 15 SMU
W- DEC. 22 GEORGIA STATE
L - Dec. 27 at Saint Mary’s
W- JAN. 4 BROWN


NONCON FORECAST: 5-8

A-10 FORECAST: 3-13

OVERALL PREDICTION: 8-21

Tough sked for a URI team in transition. Rhody has so many new faces, including coach Danny Hurley, that this excercise is heavy on guesswork. I use my normal rules to guide me.

Norfolk State lost their star bigman who helped them upset Missouri in the NCAA tournament. Three other starters are gone, but the school returns a lot of players who contributed. Rams eke out a win in Hurley's debut.

The good feelings fade with losses at Va Tech, Ohio State, and Seton Hall or Washington. All of these teams are clearly better and more experienced than URI except for Tech. The Hokies are young and lack depth, so an upset is quite possible. A win would tell us a lot about Hurley.

Though desperate for a win, Rhody is unable to beat a veteran Loyola Md team that returns four starters who won 24 games last season. Nothing is easy for this Rams team!

Auburn is young as former UMass star Tony Barbee replenishes the roster. Tough to win on the road vs SEC teams.

George Mason is not the same defensively since Larranaga left, but the team did won 24 games and returns a lot of players. GMU holds off URI in a close game like last year's.

Vermont was another 20-win team last year, but the Mounts had a lot of player turnover and lost scoring punch. They are still a sold team, but Rhody's size and athleticism carry the game.

Providence is not deep and URI might be able to wear them down, but the Friars' top five are better than URI's top five and they are playing at home. Hurley will endear himself to Rams fans if he gets an upset here.

SMU is a poor team with a new coach and a roster in badly need of repair as the school prepares to join the Big East. Win for rapidly developing Rams.

Georgia State slammed URI last year, 96-64, below the Mason-Dixon line. Yet the team lost almost all its best players players except its point guard. Rhody remembers last year - and wins.

In a surprise, Rhody goes to St Marys in California for a road game that almost certainly will turn ugly.

Back home, URI takes care of a Brown program who fleeting glimpse of glory appears gone. Bears lost 23 games last season, largely because of poor defense.

twisted3829

i'm hoping for a few more wins but this seems about right

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2010-2011 Lock of the Day Contest NIT Champion

ATPTourFan

Hard to argue your logic, WH. I'm hoping for maybe 1 or two more conf wins as you mentioned they are "rapidly developing".

twisted3829

would this change if Ifeanyi Onyebaka (6'7" C) becoming eligible for this season? (currently going through NCAA Clearing House, late signee)

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2010-2011 Lock of the Day Contest NIT Champion

WH

Probably not. Rhody needs a huge talent infusion and I dont put a lot of stock in freshmen.

WH

One change for Rhody. Norfolk State actually lost four starters. The school is not returning four starters as I suggested. Read the Blue Ribbon profile backward. I saw the Missouri upset and thought Norfolk State had a lot of good players aside from Kyle O'Quinn. But a lot of them graduated

Norfolk State is still supposed to be pretty good, but I switch this game to a win.

However, I am switching Loyola to a loss to be conservative. Hard for me to see this team almost achieving a .500 record in noncon play.

UD40

Not that it matters this year, but Gilvydas Biruta is probably the best athlete on this squad.

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All Heat First Team

RF1

I don't expect this season to have lots of wins for Rhody given all the turnover and short bench. I will view this season apart from wins and losses. I want to see a well coached/prepared/disciplined team that puts in a strong effort every game and gets better as the season progresses. To me, this season is all about laying the groundwork for the future. It is year 2 under Dan Hurley when the new highly rated recruits and transfers become eligible that will be the true beginning of a new era in Kingston. That is when Hurley will have all the pieces and the team will really be his. That is when you will see Rhode Island begin to win on the court.

WH

Agreed, RF. Hurley plans for a fast turnaround, much Travis Ford accomplished at UMass. Take the first hit that first year, grab some BCS transfers and sign some good recruits. I think he's going to turn out to be a great hire.

DistrictBaller

I agree. Hurley's got it going over there. Very impressive given the circumstances.

I do think Georgia State will be better than the preseason prognosticators are giving them credit for. I can completely understand why they aren't given the benefit of the doubt given what they lost, but there are some impact players in that class coming in. Manny Atkins is also eligible after transferring from Virginia Tech. He will be a big scorer for them. Also Ron Hunter's son R.J. is coming in and has no business playing in the CAA. He's a major conference talent who had offers from Cincinnati, Iowa, Miami, Wake, VT, Vanderbilt, and Oregon State. Markus Crider was a Providence decommit that's also coming in. Devonta White is a quality point guard who should help lead the young team to a higher than expected finish.

Ron Hunter plays a very tricky zone defense with odd spacing that throws off a lot of teams. He has more athletes at his disposal now than he did last year. For all that they lost, none of those players ever won anything of significance until Hunter took over last year. He's a system coach and he'll be pretty successful once his young guys buy in.

I wouldn't say they could beat most A-10 teams this year, but they have enough talent on that squad to knock off this year's URI team which should be close to the very bottom of the league. That's a toss-up in my opinion.

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"We will wreak havoc on our opponent's psyche and plan of attack."
- VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart