If you're a fan of college basketball in Rhode Island, this weekend is for you. Here's why.
Send a note of thanks to Phil Martelli Jr. and Mike Martin.
Offer the same to Thorr Bjorn and Steve Napolillo.
This upcoming two-day span of in-state men’s college basketball rivalry renewal is primarily thanks to them.
Two traditionalist head coaches and two clear-minded athletic directors all arrived at the same conclusion. It’s in the best interests of their respective institutions — satisfying their fans, bolstering their marketing campaigns, avoiding the occasional absurdity of nonconference travel — to put one another on the schedule.
Bryant and Brown will open the weekend Friday at 7 p.m. The University of Rhode Island and Providence will continue it Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The heat will be turned up on the East Side and downtown as the Bulldogs, Bears, Rams and Friars all clash.
“I think it should be a great weekend for college basketball in our state,” said Martin, the longest-tenured of the four head coaches. “And it happens to be in our city.”
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Bryant and Brown have traded road victories over the past two seasons, with the Bears playing some of their best basketball in the first half of last year’s 72-60 statement in Smithfield. The Bulldogs erased a seven-point deficit to post a 65-59 triumph in 2021-22, the first time Martin and former Bryant coach Jared Grasso purposely set the date for the first Friday night in December.
“It’s never been a question of if we’re playing,” Martelli said this week. “And credit to [Martin] — he came up with the idea of playing the Friday night before Rhody and Providence play that Saturday in December.”
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URI and Providence signed a 10-year agreement to continue their series after the Friars declined to schedule the game in 2020-21. Former Providence coach Ed Cooley waffled publicly on whether or not it should still be considered a rivalry for the Friars — the likely sellout at Amica Mutual Pavilion after barely cracking 8,000 fans for Wagner the other night tells you all you need to know. That gap of about 5,000 empty seats or so isn’t being made up solely by Rams fans looking to escape South County for an evening.
“You throw everything out the window,” Providence coach Kim English said. “It’s a game and an opponent and a coach we have the utmost respect for.”
English phoned an old friend — and six-time participant in the game — earlier this week for some perspective prior to making his debut. Rick Barnes was in his third season with Providence when Corey Floyd Sr. took a poke at Jeff Kent and ignited a melee along the baseline fronting the home bench at the old Civic Center. Al Skinner wound up riding on Ken McDonald’s back into the Friars student section and Marques Bragg followed up an Eric Murdock miss in the final seconds to hand URI a bitter defeat.
“As a competitor, that’s what you’re looking for,” said URI forward Josaphat Bilau, who netted 16 points in an 88-74 home loss last season.
The first five rivalry meetings under Barnes were decided by a total of 14 points — he lost a pair of those, including one in overtime. It wasn’t until his final season in 1993-94 that Providence enjoyed a bit of a breather, coasting to an 86-72 triumph. Barnes punched a third NCAA Tournament ticket that March and was hired away by Clemson.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to go at each other at one point in time and get bragging rights,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “I think when you’re playing the game, when you’re coaching the game, you've got to understand that.
“It’s important. We have to really be ready to embrace the challenge.”
They won’t be alone.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence, Rhode Island, Brown and Bryant basketball face off
