Archie Miller will return to Dayton as part of a rugged Atlantic 10 road schedule for the University of Rhode Island in 2023-24.
The Rams men will visit four of last season’s top five teams in the league standings. The Flyers, defending regular season and tournament champion VCU, Fordham and George Mason will all play host to URI at dates and times to be determined.
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URI coach Archie Miller talks with his team on the sideline during a game against George Mason in January.
Miller spent six seasons at UD Arena and built Dayton into the league’s premier program. The Flyers reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his last four years and advanced to an Elite Eight in 2013-14. Dayton dropped just eight home games in that span — one of those was a 75-66 stunner against the Rams in 2015-16, as Andre Berry starred with 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting.
URI will play road contests only against the Flyers, Davidson, George Washington, St. Bonaventure and VCU. The Rams will play home contests only against Duquesne, Loyola Chicago, Richmond, Saint Joseph’s and Saint Louis. Fordham, the Patriots, La Salle and traditional rival Massachusetts will face URI home and home as part of the 18-game league schedule.
The Rams closed 5-13 in league games in 2022-23, and just one of those wins was played away from Kingston. That was a 79-77 triumph against the Ramblers, and Loyola Chicago is now set to visit URI for the first time. Upsets of Dayton and Fordham highlighted a 4-5 effort at the Ryan Center.
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The Explorers will visit and host the Rams at Gola Arena. La Salle knocked URI out of the conference tournament with a 73-56 victory at Barclays Center in March. That closed a 9-22 debut under Miller, who has brought in a host of transfers and other reinforcements during the offseason.
Some shuffling on the sidelines is worth noting atop the league. VCU coach Mike Rhoades and George Mason coach Kim English were hired away by Penn State and Providence, respectively. Ryan Odom and Tony Skinn are in from Utah State and Maryland, with Skinn returning to an alma mater he led as a player to a shocking Final Four appearance in 2006.
Nonconference action for the Rams includes a pair of games at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. URI will open with Northwestern at Mohegan Sun and face either Mississippi State or Washington State the following day. Those two contests will be played Nov. 18 and 19.
Other expected highlights for the Rams include a short trip to face in-state rival Friars and a home date with in-state rival Brown. URI also has a pair of existing home-and-home contracts to fulfill at some point — a road game at Seton Hall and a home game with Milwaukee. The Rams took out the Pirates early in 2020-21 and blasted the Panthers early in 2021-22.
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: URI men’s basketball will face the iron of A-10 on the road
