Getty Rhode Island guard Jeff Dowtin.
The Rhode Island Rams basketball team will host the Nicholls State Colonels on Tuesday.
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How to Watch Nicholls vs Rhode Island
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch it live on ESPN+
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch Nicholls vs Rhode Island live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Nicholls vs Rhode Island Preview
The Rams bested the Alabama Crimson Tide 93-79 their last time out, improving to 2-1 on the season.
Rhode Island guard Fatts Russell led all participants with 22 points, adding 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Jeff Dowtin, his backcourtmate, added 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
The Rams led by 22 late in the first half, but the Crimson Tide stormed back to cut the deficit to five with three minutes to play in the second. URI responded by scoring the next 12 points, half of which came from Russell, to seal the victory.
“When you are in big games and if you want to win big games and get to the NCAA Tournament, you have to handle other team’s runs and handle adversity,” Rams head coach David Cox said, according to The Providence Journal. “How you respond is going to be paramount and they responded the right way.”
He added: “Outstanding win for the program, outstanding win for the conference. I’m happy for these guys. We endured some tough times last year and we’ve just come a long way. The growth and maturity of (Russell, Dowtin and Cyril Langevine) have pointed us in the right direction with their play and their leadership.”
Langevine, a 6-foot-8-inch forward, dished 6 assists and collected 3 blocks, both game highs, to go with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
“We emphasized fighting through adversity,” Russell said, per The Providence Journal. “Coach told us adversity was going to come and it was going to be how we handled it. I thought we handled it really good today.”
The Colonels are 2-2, having already played three Power Five schools on the road. They fell to the Illinois Fighting Illini 78-70 in overtime to open their season, then bested the Pittsburgh Panthers 75-70.
Following a home victory over the NAIA’s Paul Quinn Tigers, Nicholls State went back on the road, losing to the No. 23 LSU Tigers 75-65 on Saturday.
The Colonels helped the Tigers to 25 turnovers, but shot just 24-of-62 (38.7%) from the field; LSU went 28-of-56 (50%).
Nicholls State guard Dexter McClanahan, whose 17 points per game lead the team, dropped a game-high 20 points on LSU to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Fellow Colonels guard D’Angelo Hunter added 15 points and a pair of rips.
“We missed some shots we normally make, but LSU played very well defensively,” Colonels head coach Austin Claunch said, according to The Associated Press. “We forced a lot of turnovers (25), but they were able to get back on defense quickly and prevent us from capitalizing on them.”