Sports

Here’s who URI men’s basketball will face in nonconference play

Nairavoice · Aug 21, 2026 · 3 min read

A visit to Mohegan Sun, a two-game stay in West Virginia and a pair of state rivalry contests at home highlight the nonconference schedule released by the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball program on Thursday, Aug. 20.

The Rams will battle Monmouth just across the state line in Connecticut, take on Liberty and UAB as part of a trip to the Greenbrier Tip-Off and host both Brown and Providence at the Ryan Center during the opening week of December.

URI opens with Holy Cross on Nov. 3, touching off a stretch that sees the Rams play four of their first five games in Kingston. The Crusaders have dropped the last six games in the series, including a 91-77 loss in November 2024. Tip times and specific broadcast information will be released at a later date.

The Hawks and URI will meet as part of a doubleheader at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. The Friars and Nebraska will play in the other half of the doubleheader, which is likely to be on a Saturday afternoon at the casino. URI dropped a pair of games to Northwestern and Washington State during its last trip to Uncasville early in the 2024-25 season.

Maine, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Princeton all visit before the Rams meet the Flames and Blazers as part of the Greenbrier event. Liberty has won at least 26 games in three of the last four seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament three times under coach Ritchie McKay. UAB has been a 20-game winner in all six seasons under Andy Kennedy, including March Madness berths in 2022 and 2024.

American International visits in a Division II clash before URI wages the annual grudge matches with the Bears on Dec. 1 and Providence on Dec. 5. The Rams snapped a four-game losing streak against Brown with a 66-56 triumph last year and will take on Bears coach Eric Reveno for the first time. The Friars have dropped three of their last four trips to URI, including a 69-63 defeat in 2024 that coach Bryan Hodgson will look to avoid in his series debut.

The Rams follow with true road games at Tulane and Northeastern before rounding out nonconference play against Buffalo on Dec. 22. The Huskies made a second NCAA Tournament under former URI assistant coach Bill Coen in 2019 but have struggled in recent seasons, going a combined 55-101 since the start of 2021-22. The Rams and Bulls played an overtime thriller in a 2017 exhibition game, with URI scoring an 80-72 victory and proceeds going to the American Red Cross.

The Rams are coming off a 16-16 mark in 2025-26 and a fourth straight defeat to open Atlantic 10 tournament play. URI coach Archie Miller is entering the last year of his contract and has yet to push the program to or past the .500 mark in league play. The Rams used an 11-1 start to build some real momentum in 2024-25 but faded to 18-13 overall, including the first of two straight 7-11 campaigns in the league.

Nov. 3 – Holy Cross

Nov. 7 – Monmouth (Mohegan Sun)

Nov. 10 – Maine

Nov. 12 – Maryland Eastern Shore

Nov. 15 – Princeton

Nov. 20 – Liberty (Greenbrier)

Nov. 22 – UAB (Greenbrier)

Nov. 25 – American International

Dec. 1 – Brown

Dec. 5 – Providence

Dec. 12 – at Tulane

Dec. 19 – at Northeastern