5 Fast Facts: Rams to Challenge Friars in 125th Meeting- Dec. 10

12/9/2014

Last year, the Friars edged a young Rhody Ram squad 50-49 in Kingston.

Kevin Aherne

One team is thriving; the other -- reeling.

Coming off their third straight loss, most recently to Brown at home, the Providence College Friars (6-3) play host to the Rhode Island Rams (5-2) Wednesday at the Dunkin Donuts Center in the 125th meeting of the intrastate rivals.

Coming off two tough road losses to Boston College (4-3) and top-ranked Kentucky (6-0), the Friars fell to Brown (5-6) on Monday night, snapping a 39-game non-conference home win streak, and marking just their 28th loss to Brown in 121 tries. Ranked in the Top 25 just weeks ago, Providence received just 4 votes in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Rams, on the other hand, have played impressive basketball as of late. Despite two tough neutral-site losses to Georgia Tech (5-1) and #12 Kansas (3-1), Dan Hurley's Rams have come out swinging in 2014. Two weeks ago, they knocked off #21 Nebraska (2-1) in overtime, marking their first win against a ranked opponent since 1998. Most recently, they completed a blow out road victory over Southern Mississippi (4-3): 75-43. That win, URI's first true road victory of the season, snapped Southern Mississippi's 38-game non-conference and 19 game overall home win streaks.

Check Out 5 Fast Facts Below!

Un-Sided Rivalry

70-54. Providence has a slight historical edge over the Rams, having won 70 of the 124 previous matchups, including 5 straight. At the Dunkin Donuts Center, the Friars hold a much more distinct margin, having won 36 of the 59 games played in the venue.

No Sophomore Slump

URI Sophomore guard E.C. Matthews has followed up a remarkable Freshman campaign with an even more impressive start to his second season. Averaging 16.1 points through 7 games, the 6'5" Detroit native leads his team in scoring and leads the Atlantic 10 in 3-pointers made. Showing an ability to score from the perimeter or the post, Matthews could give the Friars fits on defense.

Two Sides, One Coin

Senior forward LaDontae Henton can score in bunches, and when he does, the Friars win. In PC's six wins, Henton has an average of 24.3 points per game. In the three losses, he has an average of just 9.3 PPG. If the Rams can shut down the 6'6" Henton, victory may come quite easily.

In Depth

While the Friars hold an advantage when it comes to the starting five, the Rams hod court when it comes to reinforcements from the bench. The typical starting five for PC is strong: (G) Kris Dunn, (G) Kyron Cartwright, (F) LaDontae Henton, (F) Tyler Harris, and (F) Carson Desrosiers, but they only tend to rely on two bench players, a pair of Freshmen: (F) Ben Bentil and (G) Jalen Lindsay. The Rams boast a lineup of: (G) Jared Terrell, (G) E.C. Matthews, (G) T.J. Buchanan, (F) Gilvydas Biruta, and (F) Hassan Martin; but they also offer extensive minutes to (G) Biggie Minnis, (G) Jarvis Garrett, (F) Jarrelle Reischel, and (C) Earl Watson.

Cooley - Like the Other Side of the Pillow

For nine seasons, URI coach Dan Hurley had unparalleled success as coach of St. Benedict's Prep (NJ), compiling a 223-21 record for the Prep squad. Hurley has been able to find similar success after four-plus seasons at the D-I college level. Between two years at Wagner, and two-plus at URI, coach Hurley has compiled a 67-64 record, and has yet to coach in a postseason game. On the other half, Ed Cooley (a Providence native) boasts a career NCAA coaching record of 155-117, including a 63-47 table at PC. In the postseason, Cooley has a 4-4 record, but is winless in 1 NCAA tournament game.

BONUS FACT: What's in a Number?

The home team Friars have billed this game as PC vs. URI #125. But if the game were at URI's Ryan Center, the Rams would claim it to be meeting #127. The first two games of the Ocean State rivalry (1920 and 1921) -- both Rhody victories -- are considered to be exhibition games by Providence College.

They can't even agree on how many times they've played!

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