SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – As painful as last season’s experience was for Rhode Island, it is paying off right now in a way the Rams might not have imagined. They remember what happened, and aren’t ready to let it happen again.
Last season, you will recall, the Rams started out like gangbusters. They ran out to a 14-1 start and were nationally ranked heading into Atlantic 10 play. A couple of early road losses slowed them before a four-game winning streak got them going again. Then it all came crashing down after splitting the next two games, as they lost five in a row, including three straight at home in a crucial week. The season ended with a three-game losing streak that included a tough loss in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and a heart-breaker in the NIT.
This season, the Rams didn’t have the same start or the same buzz. That doesn’t mean they haven’t been good, but between last year’s events and an unconvincing win over rebuilding Brown to open the season, one can imagine that many weren’t going to get so high on this team so soon. They exited non-conference play with a few more battle scars at 11-4, but it’s not as if they had bad losses, a point head coach Jim Baron made after last night’s thrilling 93-91 overtime win over Dayton.
“We’ve played a lot of people that everybody said to play, whether it’s BCS schools or ACC schools,” said Baron, who has led the program to three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in its history. “We haven’t had many bad losses, and that’s the beauty of this basketball team. And when you look at graduating three players and having a sophomore point guard and a sophomore center, I think this team really deserves credibility, especially with what we’ve done in the league.”
The Rams’ four losses were a close one at Duke, a battle against Villanova in the championship of the Philly Hoop Group Classic, a one-point classic at arch-rival Providence, and a four-point loss to Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City a day after players took their last final exams. There’s no slouch in that group, as all four teams are at least in the NCAA Tournament discussion.
As Baron noted, they have good wins in non-conference as well. They knocked off the top two CAA teams in Northeastern and VCU, the former on the road. They beat Penn State in Philadelphia. They beat Akron, which is a game off the MAC East Division lead with just over a week to go. And in Atlantic 10 play, where they are 10-4, they knocked off Temple and Dayton, while losing close ones at Saint Joseph’s (a three-overtime classic), at home to Xavier and at Richmond and Temple. There’s no shame in losing to those teams, especially with three coming on the road.
Whether or not that, along with a good finish in the next week and the Atlantic 10 Tournament, will get them into the NCAA Tournament is unknown. But one thing is for sure: this team is a different one from last year in important ways.
“We learned from last year,” said Jimmy Baron. “We’re not going to make that mistake twice. Last year, we saw our name coming up on ESPN – we weren’t ready for the success we were having. Now we’re having success late in the season, when it’s most important.”
Indeed, after going 2-6 last February, the Rams will exit this February with a 6-1 mark and having won nine of ten. They finished last season by losing eight of nine and nine of 11. This is a team that looks better each time out and seems to be coming of age.
“It shows the maturity of our team,” senior forward Kaheim Seawright said of Wednesday’s win. “In November or December, we probably wouldn’t have won this game. Ever since that win over George Washington in overtime, we’ve been winning overtime games. Like I said before, we just needed one of those tough wins to realize that when a game is close and we go into overtime, we can pull it out.”
The players and the coach talked a lot about maturity after Wednesday night’s game. Dayton has made a living winning these kinds of games all season long, entering the game 9-0 in games decided by five points or less. They won their only previous overtime game as well. Meanwhile, the Rams entered the night 3-5 in games decided by five points or less, although they were 2-1 in overtime games.
Wednesday night’s win is one more sign of this team growing up. It comes at a good time, being down the stretch and considering it came against a team that looks to be in good shape for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Both coaches, naturally, were advocating for their conference after the game, but the more important comments were about the winning team and how it’s grown.
“The senior leadership on this team has been tremendous,” Jim Baron said. “I think that has emulated over to the rest of the team. You need upperclassmen to really step up and continue to keep us together, and I think those guys have shown tremendous leadership, tremendous fortitude, and great togetherness.”
The Rams have two games left in Atlantic 10 play. They should be able to win both and finish the conference at 12-4, and winning out would give them a bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. But after last year, this team takes nothing for granted and isn’t thinking past Sunday’s game at Duquesne, a team that Jimmy Baron noted is similar to them in style of play.
