Game Info: Saturday, February 28, 2026 - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Ryan Center - Kingston, R.I.
TV: ESPN+ | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Rhode Island Game Notes

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Opening Tip
Longtime conference foes renew their rivalry as Saint Joseph's travels to Rhode Island on Saturday, February 28. Tipoff from the Ryan Center is scheduled for noon with the game to air on ESPN+.

The Job Isn't Done    
Wednesday's win has the potential to go a very long way in helping Saint Joseph's to secure a double bye in the upcoming conference tournament. At 10-5, the Hawks are now a game clear of George Mason in the Atlantic 10 standings and can take care of business themselves for the coveted top-4 spot. SJU also holds its own destiny for the three-seed as they are tied at 10-5 with Dayton. Saint Joseph's has the tiebreaker against the Flyers, thanks to an 81-74 win against UD on January 24. Among the three teams in the hunt for the double bye, on paper the Hawks have the most manageable remaining schedule. Their three remaining opponents (Rhode Island, Davidson, La Salle) have a combined winning percentage of .482. Dayton's opposition (George Washington, Richmond, VCU) is at .619 while George Mason has the toughest path with St. Bonaventure, VCU and Saint Louis checking in at a combined .723 winning percentage. St. Joe's has not earned a top-4 seed in the A-10 tournament and double bye since 2018.

Welcome Back    
After missing a pair of games, Khaafiq Myers looks to be an important contributor to St. Joe's down the stretch. He got back to action with 12 minutes against Loyola Chicago on Saturday, scoring four points. It was what he did against George Mason, however, that reminded people of what a difference maker he can be. He scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, pulled in six rebounds and had six assists with no turnovers. The game was his fifth scoring in double figures this season and tied a career-high in assists.

One Of A Kind    
Known as the St. Joe's floor general and main distributor, Derek Simpson has made his mark in other ways as well as he has been one of the most balanced and versatile players in the Atlantic 10 this season. He is the only player in the A-10 and one of nine nationally to be averaging 13.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 5.0 APG this season. The Mount Laurel, N.J. native leads St. Joe's in assists and is second in scoring and rebounding. Simpson also leads the conference and is ninth in NCAA D1, hitting 91.4 percent at the free throw line.

Handle with Care    
While the prior two games were good in terms of ball security, the Hawks took things to another level on Wednesday night. St. Joe's gave the ball up just three times against George Mason, its lowest total since January 10, 2018, also against the Patriots. It is just the fourth time in the last 20 seasons that SJU has turned the ball over only three times. It was also the second lowest total by an A-10 team this season. The run marks the first time since March 4-11, 2020 that the Hawks have had single-digit turnovers in three consecutive contests.

Turning Stops into Success    
Since January 11, St. Joe's has shown a marked improvement at the defensive end. In the last 12 games, opponents are scoring 66.2 points per game, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor overall and 31.7 percent from distance, helping the Hawks to a 9-3 record during the run. They have kept eight opponents 65 points or fewer in the stretch and one under 60. Rim protection has been key during that time, as the Hawks have blocked 5.0 shots per game. In its first 14 games against Division I competition this season, SJU was 7-7 and was allowing 75.2 points per game with opponents shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.

Scouting Report    

• Rhode Island enters its Thursday evening game with St. Bonaventure at 15-12 overall with a 6-8 record in the Atlantic 10 and is coming off a 59-46 setback at La Salle its last time out. The Rams were picked 12th in the A-10 preseason poll.
• Leading the offense for URI is Tyler Cochran at 14.5 points per game. Also in double figures are Jonah Hinton (13.9), Jahmere Tripp (12.5) and Miles Corey (10.3). Tripp has missed the last four games, during which Rhode Island is 1-3. Keeyan Itejere tops the team in rebounding at 5.8 per night. RJ Johnson has 92 assists to lead the Rams.
• Defense has led the way for Rhode Island this season, ranking in the top 50 in NCAA D1 in scoring defense at 68.4 points an outing. Part of that comes from a pressure defense that is 32nd nationally with 8.7 steals a night and is 28th in the country in taking the ball off its opponents, forcing 14.4 turnovers per game. That defensive effort has allowed URI to average nearly three more field goal attempts a contest than its opponents. It also uses those turnovers to get out in transition, scoring 12.4 fastbreak points a night.
• Rebounding has been an issue for Rhode Island, ranking 304th nationally, pulling in just 32.8 boards an outing. It also struggled beyond the arc on both sides of the ball, sitting lower than 300th in three-point percentage (31.1) and three-point percentage defense (36.0).
• Archie Miller is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Rams with a record of 54-67 in Kingston. Prior to coming to URI, he spent four seasons at Indiana, leading the Hoosiers to the 2019 NIT. He started his head coaching career with six seasons at Dayton, leading the Flyers to the NCAA Tournament four times with an Elite Eight run in 2014.

All-Time Series    
Saturday is the 113th installment of the series between the Hawks and Rams that dates back 86 years. St. Joe's holds the advantage, 63-49. The 63 wins and 112 previous games are the third most for SJU against any opponent, trailing both Temple and La Salle in both categories. Rhode Island has had the better of the series as of late, winning seven of the last 10. Saint Joseph's is 25-31 on the road against the Rams, including a 7-10 mark at the Ryan Center. The first game between the two schools was a 74-66 URI win on December 14, 1940.

Last Time Against Rhode Island    
Saint Joseph's broke open a close game in the second half on its way to a 91-74 win against the Rhode Island Rams on March 5, 2025. Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks with 22 points, gin 10-of-12 at the line. Rasheer Fleming scored 19. Anthony Finkley had a career-high 18 points. URI led 28-19 with 8:28 to go in the opening period before SJU scored 19 of the last 27 points of the frame to hold a 38-36 lead at the break. St. Joe's established control early in the second half, beginning the stanza on an 18-5 run and never led by fewer than 10 the rest of the way.

Special Delivery    
Derek Simpson was a distribution specialist once again with 10 assists against Loyola. It was his third game this year with double-digit dimes. In all three, he has posted a double-double. The three such games are the most in a season for a St. Joe's player since 2004-05 and are tied for the second most overall. There have been seven games where a player has 10+ assists in a contest in the A-10 this season. No one else has more than two. In 15 conference games, he leads the Atlantic 10 with 6.4 helpers an outing. His 5.1 overall APG is second in the A-10. He is also third overall with a 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Next Up    
The Hawks play their penultimate regular season game, traveling to Davidson on Wednesday, March 4. Tipoff from Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game to air on ESPN+.