2010 Rhode Island Rams Basketball: Rhode Island vs St. Bonaventure

The pain has to be too much for Jim Baron. Just when his Rhode Island Rams were trying to make a case for an at-large NCAA Tournament invite, his alma mater ruined everything on a shocking Saturday afternoon in Olean, N.Y.

Baron has been coaching Rhode Island since 2001, but before he went to the smallest state in the nation, the 1977 graduate of St. Bonaventure served the school that gave him his college degree. Baron led the Bonnies to the 2000 NCAA Tournament and a near-upset of Kentucky in the first round. Getting St. Bonaventure to the Big Dance, just once, represented a towering achievement for a very proud graduate of SBU.

Upon reaching the Promised Land with the Bonnies, however, Baron sought out greener pastures at Rhode Island, a school with more of a recent basketball pedigree. The Rams reached the 1998 Elite Eight by knocking off No. 1 Kansas and Paul Pierce in the second round, and nearly made it to the Final Four before a late rally by Stanford stunned the Rams in the Midwest Regional Final. When Baron took the URI job eight and a half years ago, he had to think that he'd have made an NCAA Tournament or two at this point in time.

After a Saturday shocker, it looks as though Baron will have to wait another year to go dancing in New England.

Precisely when a loss was simply not an option, Rhode Island couldn't defend well enough to stay on course for a tourney ticket. St. Bonaventure hit 55 percent of its shots and went a sparkling 21 of 23 from the foul line. The Bonnies placed five players in double figures, four of them starters. Coach Mark Schmidt's SBU crew displayed superb shot selection, taking only 13 3-pointers but making six. While Rhode Island fell in love with the long ball and hoisted 27 threes, the Bonnies played a more blended game, and that's a big reason why they shot the ball for a high percentage while getting so many different players into the scoring column. Throw in an 8-of-8 showing at the foul line in the final two minutes, and it's little wonder that the Bonnies preserved a lead that got shaved to one (71-70) with 2:14 remaining.

One other detail needs to be mentioned about this contest. When the Rams did get within a point, they were certainly not in a position where they had to foul. Not immediately. Yet, URI sent the Bonnies to the line on two separate occasions before the final 30 seconds of regulation, in a one-possession game. Two fouls - one with two minutes on the clock at 71-70, and the second one with 54 seconds left in a 73-70 game - handed SBU cheap points and decided this A-10 encounter at the Reilly Center.

Rhode Island wasn't smart enough or tough enough to claim a game it had to have. As a result, the Rams will have to win the A-10 Tournament if they want to get to the Big Dance for the first time in the Jim Baron era.

Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans

Rhode Island vs St. Bonaventure Basketball Recap