Larry Ness
Rhode Island -1.5 vs Charlotte
Analysis:
Are the Rams dead? I guess one could argue so. On Jan 2 Rhode Island was 14-1 and ranked No. 22 in the nation but lost at No. 17 Dayton, 92-83. The Rams won the rematch with the Flyers on Feb 2 (82-70) and looked like an NCAA 'lock' at 19-3. Then the 'bottom' fell out. Rhode Island finished the year on a 2-7 slide (1-6-1 ATS) and only a A-10 tourney title will get the Rams 'dancing' this year. However, I'm sticking up for Jim Baron's team and give them a great shot to win the A-10 tourney. Let's take a closer look at the team's 2-7 'collapse.' The Rams lost a two-point game at U Mass and suffered a three-point OT loss at Temple. In close home losses to Xavier and St Joe's, the Rams saw the Musketeers shoot 54.0 percent and the Hawks shoot 62.2 percent. Are you kidding me? Baron's an excellent coach and in his son Jim (13.9) and Bitee (12.0-4.5 APG), he's got an excellent guard duo. In the 6-8 Daniels (18.8-6.7) he's got one of the A-10's best forwards. Also, Rhode Island's frontcourt is the deepest in the league, with the 6-8 Seawright (9.3-8.4), swingman Cothran (7.7), the 6-6 Ulmer (7.3-4.9) and the 6-6 Mbang (6.5-4.7) all joining Daniels. Charlotte cannot match that type of depth or talent in its frontcourt with the 6-7 Mack (12.9-5.1), the 6-7 Coley (8.5-5.7), 6-6 freshman Wilderness (8.4-4.9) and the 6-10 Jones (3.4-3.1) trying to keep up. Goldwire (18.8-4.4) is a terrific guard and four other perimeter players combine for just under 20 PPG, giving Charlotte and edge in depth on the perimeter. However, Charlotte depends way too much on its three-point shooting, owning the lowest percentage of two-point scoring in the entire conference. Case in point was last Saturday's season-finale for both teams, when the 49ers won in Kingston over the Rams, 74-64. In that game, Charlotte made 12-of-25 three pointers with Goldwire scoring 34 points (6-of-13 on three pointers) and Mack scoring 19 points (6-of-7 on three pointers. Meanwhile, the Rams shot an abysmal 33.9 percent for the game, including 3-of-21 from behind the three-point line. Jim Baron likely couldn't have hand-picked a better opponent for his team's first game in this "must-win" tourney. Can Rhode Island "run the table?" That's for later. For now, expect the Rams to return the favor from last Saturday, winning by 10 points or more!
A-10 Tourney GOY 20* Rhode Island.