SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The players enjoyed a weekend off. The coaching staff engaged in some self-scouting based on the season’s first 22 games. Monday brought a rise to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll, the highest ranking in program history.
The good times continue to roll at the University of Rhode Island.
The Rams seem to make history every time they take the floor these days, something they’ll potentially do again for a nationally televised matchup with Davidson on Friday. A sellout crowd is expected to welcome URI back from its seven-day break, an 81-68 victory at VCU last Friday the last of 14 straight wins.
“This week’s message is now we’ve got to finish,” URI coach Dan Hurley said. “This is the stretch and this is right where we want to be.”
Not since 1939-40 have the Rams won 15 consecutive games, and only one time in program history have they enjoyed a longer run. URI captured its last nine games of 1937-38 and its first 13 of 1938-39 for a 22-game winning streak, one that would carry the current group deep into March’s Atlantic 10 tournament should it be duplicated. Only three times in program history have the Rams reached 20 wins in a season in as few as 23 games.
“It’s hard not to have pride in that and to be excited about that,” Hurley said. “You feel good about that. The thing about the coach and the players on this team, though, is we want more. We’re not satisfied with that.”
URI (19-3, 11-0) could open a four-game lead in the loss column over the rest of the league by beating the Wildcats. The Rams have captured 19 straight against conference foes and 14 in a row at the Ryan Center, both new program bests. It’s a reward for players such as fifth-year senior guard E.C. Matthews, the fulfillment of promises Hurley made while recruiting the Michigan left-hander.
“I say it all the time, but these were the [conversations] we had four or five years ago when he was in Detroit in my apartment,” Matthews said. “To see it come to life, we just want to keep it going and see how high we can get together.”
URI won going away in a rematch of last year’s league title game, holding VCU to 8-for-24 shooting from 3-point range. That will be an area of focus again due to Davidson’s perimeter marksmanship, with the Wildcats (13-9, 8-3) featuring five players among their regulars at 40 percent or better from deep. Davidson’s 250 made 3-pointers rank them inside the national top 20.
“Shooters,” URI guard Fatts Russell said, when asked about his team’s defensive area of focus. “The 3-point line. We have to get after them in the backcourt.”
Senior forward Peyton Aldridge, freshman guard Kellan Grady and sophomore guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson could all contend for major conference honors at season’s end. Aldridge was a preseason all-league selection while Grady, a Boston native, has lived up to his four-star billing as a top-100 recruit. Gudmundsson reached double figures in 17 of his first 20 games, racing past the 12 times he hit that mark as a freshman.
“They’re playing by far their best ball of the year since they’ve gotten into conference play,” Hurley said. “They’ve dominated their opponents with their shooting and their typical offensive efficiency.”
-- bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25