Rhode Island Basketball: How can the Rams match up with Duke?

Stay close in the rebounding margin

Duke is the best rebounding team in the country. Because of this, it would be way too much to ask Rhode Island to somehow outrebound the Blue Devils. However, it is reasonable to hope that the team can stay competitive on the glass. The Rams may not be able to snag offensive rebounds of their own but they need to prevent Duke from getting those second-chance opportunities.

On the season, Duke ranks No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding percentage as they snag 39.2% of their own misses. This is largely due to the play of Wendell Carter and Marvin Bagley III. These two both belong in the discussion of who the best big man in the country is.

In order to prevent the impact of these two on the offensive glass, Andre Berry and Cyril Langevine will need to be at their best. These two are both excellent on the defensive glass and need to box out hard in this game. Even if Berry and Langevine do not grab rebounds, their box-outs will allow players like Stanford Robinson, who has a high defensive rebounding percentage (18.1%), to soar in for the boards.