Game Day Essentials: Game #11 vs Rhode Island

Rhode Island Info

Head Coach: Dan Hurley
Location: Providence, RI
Conference: A-10
Nickname: Rams
Mascot: Rhody the Ram
Last time out: Beat Houston
Typical Rotation Depth: 8 players
Tempo: Slow Ride
Offensive Style: To the rim, half court
Defensive Style: Pressure, Tenacious
Line: Nebraska by 1.5
Famous Alumni: Lamar Odom

Miles Presser
http://www.huskers.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=4811425

Player to watch: Four McGlynn

Rhode Island overall is a pretty terrible 3pt shooting team with the exception of Towson transfer McGlynn who hits at a 38% clip. (Freshman Christion Thompson also is viable though doesn't play a ton) McGlynn also is easily the best FT shooter on a team that shoots and misses a lot from the charity stripe.

The Skinny

The Huskers need to play with the type of urgency a game like this demands as Rhode Island is a fringe NCAA tourney team and a loss represents another win you need in the B1G in order to make the post season. Dan Hurley's squad is fairly short and missing E.C. Matthews but is extremely physical and will be a grind in their first true road game of the year.

The Rams remind you a lot of the 2013-14 Huskers where they run a stingy defense, operate at a slow pace, and make their living at the FT line. The keys to a Nebraska win on defense will discipline in their pack defense and keeping beefy post players like Hassan Martin and Earl Watson off the offensive boards. On offense, it's about holding onto the ball against a team that turns you over and keeping patient as an average shooting day should do the trick. This is one of the few times where a faster pace favors the Huskers so any sort of running game that's egged on by the crowd should be to our benefit.

Once again Michael Jacobson will get the start as at the moment Miles wants to pair Jacboson(offense) with Benny (Defense) and Watson(O)/Hammond(D). For those wanting to see Watson start it might unfortunately take a Husker loss to re-shuffle the lineup again.

This should be yet another good test to see where a young Huskers team is at. You hope that Creighton doesn't beat Nebraska again and that a 1pm Sunday crowd can help against a Rhode Island team playing its first road game.

Prediction: Nebraska 66 - Rhode Island 62 with a 42% chance of Runzas