Gameday: Rhode Island

THE CONTENTS: No. 8 Duke hosts Rhode Island at 4:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. You can see the game on ESPNU and hear it on 620 AM.

THE EXPOSITION: The Blue Devils are off to a 2-0 start with easy victories over Presbyterian and Georgia Southern in the 2K Sports Classic. That makes this their first non-tournament regular-season game and represents a step up in opponent quality. That’s a trend this week for Duke, as it faces off with URI, then Southern Illinois, and finally UCLA (or less likely Michigan) at MSG Friday.

Rhode Island, meanwhile, escaped Friday night with a 76-74 home win over Brown in its season opener. The Rams are coming off an up-and-down 2007-08 campaign, with most of the ups coming in the non-conference schedule and the downs in the unexpectedly difficult A-10 last year (URI was 14-1 before going just 7-9 in conference and losing in the first round of the NIT).

This is the first-ever regular-season meeting between Duke and Rhode Island, although the Blue Devils have twice defeated the Rams in the NCAA Tournament, including a 73-72 win to advance to the Final Four in 1988.

THE PROTAGONISTS: It’s tough to say Duke has played all that great in its first two games. The Blue Devils committed 21 turnovers in their 80-49 win over Presbyterian, and, while they cut that number to 11 against Georgia Southern, still looked sloppy at times. After all, the Eagles were only down a dozen with about 5:00 to play in the first half.

Kyle Singler has been Duke’s primary offensive option, usurping the role I (and pretty much everyone else) expected to be occupied by Gerald Henderson. However, it wasn’t like the Blue Devils were running the offense through Singler in either of the first two games; a lot of his buckets came in the open floor or scavenging on the inside. It will be interesting to see how the Duke offense takes shape in a game played more in the halfcourt–although that might not happen today either.

THE ANTAGONISTS: Rhode Island lost its leading scorer, Will Daniels, from a season ago, but the Rams return one of the nation’s best shooters in Jimmy Baron, the son of head coach Jim Baron. Baron the Younger, who averaged 14.2 points per game last season and shot over 40% from deep, scored all 17 of his points against Brown in the second half Friday night while hitting 3-of-7 from beyond the new arc.

The Rams’ next two returning scorers, guard Keith Cothran and forward Kahiem Seawright, poured in 16 and 15, respectively, against the Bears.

THE CONFLICT: Duke forced 45 turnovers against Presbyterian and Georgia Southern; Rhode Island committed just three against Brown. Now the Bears may not exactly play pressure defense, but three turnovers? That’s three touches for Brian Zoubek.

It might just be an anomaly, as the Rams averaged 14 giveaways per contest a season ago. Nevertheless, the Blue Devils will look to pressure Cothran and Marquis Jones in the backcourt while overplaying Baron and forcing him to beat them off the dribble. Rhode Island isn’t exactly a slow-down team–they averaged 80 points per game a year ago–but the Rams will likely be picking their spots when it comes to pushing tempo.

TIM’S FAVORITE PLAYER IN URI HISTORY IS…: Now this is where you expect to hear the Rams’ best player of the last decade, one-and-done star Lamar Odom. But I’m going back one year earlier (when Odom was academically ineligible) to URI’s best team in memory–the 1998 eighth-seeded squad that upset No. 1 Kansas in the second round before choking away a Final Four berth to Stanford in the final minute in the Regional Final–and their three-headed monster in the backcourt of Preston Murphy, Tyson Wheeler, and star Cuttino Mobley.

THEY CHOKED?: Big-time. Six-point lead in the final minute until Stanford went on a 14-3 lead behind Arthur Lee, who is perhaps best remembered for making the “choke” sign when Wheeler missed two huge free throws in the final seconds.

URI WILL PROVE TROUBLE IF…: They take care of the ball and Baron lights it up from the outside. Duke hasn’t had to play in the halfcourt in either of their first two contests, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were rusty running through their sets, particularly with a new starter at point guard in Nolan Smith. If the Blue Devils can’t get out on the break, the Rams can keep it close for awhile.

URI WON’T PROVE TROUBLE IF…: The above doesn’t happen: The Rams turn the ball over, shoot 39% from the field like they did against Brown, and allow Duke to shoot 50% like the Bears did against the URI defense.

THE DENOUEMENT: After several days of practice following the opening games, Duke comes out crisp offensively and knocks the Rams off their heels early. URI manages to keep it respectable for awhile, likely behind the secondary options (I see Baron being bottled up), but the Blue Devils roll relatively easily…DUKE 81-59.