Friar Basketball

Remembering Higher Stakes in the PC/URI Rivalry

Odom_URI

Thomas torched URI in 1998

Providence versus Rhode Island still matters, but it hasn’t mattered like it did in November of 1998.  It was a different era of PC and URI basketball back then.

The Rams entered that game riding a two game winning streak against the Friars, the first time they’d won back to back games against Providence in nearly 20 years.  And in those two seasons both programs had captured the imagination of basketball fans in the Ocean State.

In 1997 the Friars made an improbable run to the Elite Eight, coming within an overtime session against eventual national champion Arizona from their second Final Four in a ten year span.

A year later it was Rhode Island who knocked on the door of the Final Four, leading Stanford by six points with under a minute remaining in the Elite Eight before a flurry of turnovers and missed free throws cost the Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley-led Rams from making their first ever Final Four appearance.

That following November URI headed to the Providence Civic Center with the upper hand in the rivalry.  They’d matched PC’s run of a year prior and came into this game heavily favored.  The Rams were ranked 23rd in the country and were led by perhaps the nation’s most talented forward in Lamar Odom, the future lottery pick and two-time NBA champion.

The Friars were certainly underdogs, and while they had virtually no length (starting 6’6 Erron Maxey at center) it was a group that featured PC’s fourth all-time leading scorer in Jamel Thomas (who finished just shy of 2,000 points in his career), the forward who would lead the Big East in scoring that season, and the NCAA’s all-time leader in steals John Linehan.

Behind an inspired Thomas (30 points, 5-8 from 3) and aided by a subpar afternoon from Odom (5 points, 8 turnovers – Linehan had five steals) who later called the game a “humbling experience”, the Friars shockingly rolled to their biggest victory over URI since 1967, winning 87-63.

Providence students stormed the court.  It was a game they didn’t expect to win.  URI was ranked, coming off of an Elite Eight appearance and featured the much-hyped Odom, while the Friars were rebuilding under first year head coach Tim Welsh.

Few would have guessed that 14 years later we’d be where we are today.  Neither program has won an NCAA Tournament game since.

Odom led that group to the Tournament that season – a first round loss to Charlotte.  URI hasn’t been back in almost 15 years.

Providence waited another three years before returning to the Dance in 2001, with their only other appearance following in ’04.  They bowed out in the first round both years.

There have been memorable games since, with URI winning the rivalry’s first game in the new Ryan Center in the midst of a blizzard, and Geoff McDermott making a pair of last second free throws to win it for the Friars at the Dunk, but the stakes haven’t been nearly as high as they were in the late-90s.

We may not be far away from this game meaning what it once did.  Both Ed Cooley and Dan Hurley have re-energized their fanbases in large part because they’ve been able to overhaul their respective rosters with the type of talent not seen in the Ocean State in some time.

Hurley turned Wagner around in just two seasons and has ESPNU top 100 guard EC Matthews coming next year, as well as talented wing Hassan Martin and rugged Rutgers transfer Gil Biruta will be eligible.  Teamed with high-scoring guard Xavier Munford (18.9 ppg) and springy 6’10 shot blocker Jordan Hare, Hurley has the Rams trending upward and looking very dangerous in 2013-14.

With all of the talent Cooley has brought in, Friar fans are expecting big things as early as next season.  And with high expectations comes a rivalry game that means much more than in-state bragging rights.

It’s been too long since Providence and URI mattered like it used to.

 

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

 

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