Houston at Rhode Island

Houston will bring a team to Rhode Island that has NCAA Tournament aspirations, while Jim Baron has a lot of fresh faces that may take some time to gel. Houston won 21 games last year, but it wasn't with their offense. They shot 39% in their league, and are a poor FT team, finishing at 60.8%. The two hallmark's of a Jim Baron team are rebounding and defense. This matchup is between two teams that defend well, but have difficulty putting the ball in the basket. URi has lost its top two scorers from a year ago, and even though they put up 86 vs Stonehill, this game will be a much different story. These teams met in Houston last year, and played to a game that featured 108 total points scored, as both teams shot 37%! It would be hard to imagine this one being much different, as the coaching styles are predicated more on the defensive end of the court, vs the offensive end, and the personnel on the floor, has not shown the ability to score consistently. We like the value in this t otal as we see this one playing in the 60s.