Key Conference Battles Wednesday Night for Friars and Rams

Both the University of Rhode Island Rams and Providence College Friars are on the cusp of being ranked in either the AP or Coaches polls, and both will face big conference tests Wednesday night.  The Rams will seek revenge for a narrow loss in January at the hands of the Massachusetts Minutemen, and square off at the Ryan Center tonight at 7 pm.  At 17-6, the Rams have won 6 of their last 7 games, and sit atop the Atlantic 10 at the latest point in any season in the program's history. The Friars travel to Chicago in an attempt to sweep the season series with the the DePaul Blue Demons. PC, at 18-8 is in the middle of a tough stretch, having lost 3 of 5, but trail just two teams -- #6 Villanova and #19 Butler -- in the Big East standings. 

Rhode Island hosts UMass

Rhode Island and long-time rival Massachusetts meet for the 145th time on the hardwood on Wednesday . The Minutemen will now tie the UConn Huskies as URI's second-most common opponent (145 games), behind just Brown (157). UMass holds an 86-58 advantage in the all-time series record, which dates back to the 1907-08 season. The Rams already dropped one game to the Minutemen this season, falling 60-56 at the Mullins Center on January 17th.  Rhode Island has lost the last seven overall matchups against Massachusetts, nine of the last 10, but is 37-34 all-time  is 52-21 all-time versus the Minutemen at home .

Providence on the road at DePaul

Providence and DePaul have met 33 times in school history, with the first meeting coming on February 16, 1961 when the Friars earned an 81-77 victory in Providence. The Friars lead the all-time series, 25-8. PC has recorded a 14-3 record versus DePaul in Providence, a 9-5 mark on the road and a 2-0 record on neutral courts. The teams have met 13 times since DePaul joined the Big East with the Friars recording a 10-3 record. In the first game this season, Providence defeated DePaul, 83-72, on January 29 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. In the first meeting between the two teams last season, the Friars defeated DePaul, 77-72, on February 1, 2014 at Allstate Arena. The Friars won the second meeting between the two teams last season as they earned an 84-61 win at Providence on February 15, 2014. Providence is 4-1 in its last five games at DePaul, including 3-0 in the last three. 

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