URI Falls to Valpo in ESPN Tip-Off Classic

Senior Four McGlynn led the Rams with 13 points as they fell to Valparaiso on Tuesday morning, marking the teams first loss of the new season.  The Rams, without their star junior E.C. Matthews, struggled to score, shooting just over 35 percent from the field in the losing effort at the Ryan Center. 

RHODE ISLAND VS. VALPARAISO - ALL-TIME SERIES

• Today is the fourth meeting between Rhode Island and Valpo on the hardwood.
• The Rams are 1-2 all-time against the Crusaders.
• URI's lone win came in the 1998 NCAA Tourney - 74-68 - in the Sweet 16 round.
• Rhody assistant Antonio Reynolds-Dean had 16 points, 11 boards and three blocks for the Rams and was the CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game.
• Valpo head coach Bryce Drew tallied 18 points, three assists and three steals.
• The Crusaders won both ends of a home/home series between 2000-01.

RHODE ISLAND VS. THE HORIZON LEAGUE

• Today marks the 14th time Rhode Island has faced a Horizon League opponent.
• The Rams are 5-8 all-time vs. schools that now make up the Horizon League.
• Last year, URI earned a 69-55 decision at home vs. Detroit (Dec. 20, 2014).

RHODE ISLAND IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

• Since joining the Eastern 8 in 1980, URI is 270-216 (.556) in non-conference play.
• Rhody has captured its last eight non-conference home games.
• Rhody is 66-23 (.742) in the regular season and 75-24 (.757) in all  non-conference games played at the Thomas M. Ryan Center.

RHODE ISLAND AT THE ALEX AND ANI COURT AT THE THOMAS M. RYAN CENTER  

• Rhode Island holds a 133-71 all-time record in the Thomas M. Ryan Center and went 14-2 last year on the Alex and Ani Court.
• It marked the 10th time in venue history (13 years) that the Rams won 10 or more home games.
• The Rams' first victory in the building was a 73-71 overtime affair vs. USC on Nov. 26, 2002.

RHODE ISLAND: THE ATLANTIC 10'S TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SLATE IN 2015-16    

• Rhode Island continues to play one of the toughest non-conference slates in the nation.
• The Rams rank first among all A-10 schools in average non-conference RPI, at 116.79.
• Rhody is followed by VCU (141.75), Dayton (142.4), La Salle (148.9), and Saint Joseph's (150.25).
• Eight of the potential 14 non-conference foes played in the postseason, including three NCAA teams: Valpo, Maryland, Providence.
• URI's average 2014-15 KenPom.com rating of the non-conference slate is 120 and the composite 2014-15 record is 251-172 (.593).
• Ten different conferences are represented Rhody's on non-conference slate:  American (Houston); Big East (Providence); Big Ten (Maryland, Nebraska); Big 12 (TCU); Conference USA (ODU); Horizon (Valparaiso, Cleveland State); Ivy (Brown); MAAC (Rider, Iona); MVC (Illinois State); Patriot (American, Holy Cross)
• Four opponents in 2015-16 received votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll - Providence (10), Valparaiso (5), ODU (3), and Iona.
• Potential Cancun Challenge opponent Maryland ranks third in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

TODAY IN RHODE ISLAND BASKETBALL - NOVEMBER 17

• Rhode Island is 2-2 all-time in games played on November 17 - three of the four games were part of MTE's.
• In 2012 as part of the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic, the Rams fought for 40 minutes before falling to #4 Ohio State, 69-58.
• URI earned wins in 1998 vs. UNC Wilmington (78-69) and 2007 vs. Stetson (80-65) in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla.
• In 2006 in Fairbanks, Alaska, Rhode Island dropped an 84-78 decision to Troy in the Top Of The World Classic.
• The calendar date of November 17 also marks the separate (but related?) celebration of National Bakalava and Take A Hike Days.  
• Notable November 17 birthdays:  actor Danny DeVito, director Martin Scorsese, and the late, great musician Jeff Buckley.

TODAY'S RHODE ISLAND FACT(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

• Today's Theme:  42 or fewer
• Rhode Island held American to just 42 points - the lowest point total by an opponent in Ryan Center history.
• It was the lowest point total by a Rhody opponent in close to a decade (URI 48, Boston University 38 - Nov. 29, 2005).
• The last time URI held an opponent to 42 points or fewer at home came on Jan. 16, 1979 (URI 86, Providence 42 - Prov. Civic Center).
• Last year, the Rams held their opponents in the 40's on the scoreboard on five occasions, with the season-low of 43 at Southern Miss.

A LEANER TERRELL AIMS TO CONTINUE TRENDING

• In his Rhode Island career, on the 16 occasions in which Jared Terrell scored in double-figures, the team has won 15 of those games.
• When Terrell scores more than 10 points, Rhody is 14-0.
• Terrell was a 2014-15 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection after averaging 9.2 points and 1.4 steals per game.
• He was named the CBSSports.com/Wayman Tisdale Award National Freshman of the Week on Feb. 3.
• The Weymouth, Mass. native dropped from his playing weight of 225 as a freshman to 215 at the start of practice this year.

CBSSPORTS.COM RANKS IVERSON AS TOP 20 IMPACT TRANSFER

• Memphis transfer Kuran Iverson is another newcomer for Rhode Island for the 2015-16 campaign.
• The 6-9 forward joined the Rams' roster for the 2015 spring semester and won an appeal to compete immediately.
• CBSSports.com's Jon Rothstein tabs Iverson as one of the nation's top 20 impact transfers for this season.
• He played in eight games in 2014-15 for Memphis, scoring 13 points vs. Oklahoma State in just his second game action of the season.
• A native of Hartford, Conn., Iverson ranked as the 28th-best prep prospect on Rivals.com, while ESPN ranked him #33.

McGLYNN ONE OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S TOP SHOOTERS

• Graduate transfer Four McGlynn made his Rhody debut on Nov. 13 vs. American, scoring a team-high 15 points.
• The 6-2 guard connected on 5-of-7 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from the perimeter.
• The York, Pa. native has scored 1,163 career points - including 198 made 3FG - in 105 games at Vermont and, most recently, Towson.
• McGlynn led the Tigers in scoring in 2014-15 (12.0 ppg), connecting on close to 40% of his 3FG attempts.
• He holds a career free throw percentage of 90.5%, having connected on 313-of-346 attempts from the charity stripe.
• That currently ranks him sixth all-time in NCAA Division I history (min. 300 FTM and 2.5 FTM/g).
• He began his collegiate career at Vermont, where he was named the 2011-12 America East Rookie of the Year.