1987–88 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1987–88 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 1987–88 college basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Tom Penders and played their home games at Keaney Gymnasium . They finished the season 28–7, 14–4 in A-10 play and lost in the championship game of the 1988 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament . Rhode Island was invited to the 1988 NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the East region and make the school's first run to the Sweet Sixteen. In the opening round, they upset No. 6 seed Missouri ,[ 1] and followed that by knocking off No. 3 seed Syracuse in the round of 32.[ 2] In the East regional semifinal, the Rams narrowly lost to Duke , 73–72.[ 3] To date, this season marks one of only two appearances by the Rams in the Sweet Sixteen of an NCAA Tournament (1998).
Roster
1987–88 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
10
Carlton Owens
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
—
Sr
G
22
Tom Garrick
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
Sr
F/C
24
Kenny Green
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
—
So
C
50
Bonzie Colson
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
—
Jr
G
16
Jim Christian
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
Sr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1987 *
vs. The Citadel Investors Classic
W 113–85
1–0
University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Nov 28, 1987 *
at Virginia Investors Classic
W 76–73
2–0
University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 1, 1987 *
at New Hampshire
W 96–67
3–0
Lundholm Gym Durham, New Hampshire
Dec 9, 1987 *
Northeastern
W 95–81
4–0
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Dec 12, 1987
at No. 11 Temple
L 66–75
4–1 (0–1)
McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 19, 1987 *
at Providence
W 92–70
5–1
Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 23, 1987 *
at San Diego State
W 77–76 OT
6–1
San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California
Dec 26, 1987 *
at U.S. International
W 101–90
7–1
The Pavilion San Diego, California
Dec 30, 1987 *
vs. Fordham Chaminade Tournament
L 53–59
7–2
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 31, 1987 *
vs. Manhattan Chaminade Tournament
W 94–80
8–2
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 1, 1988 *
vs. BYU-Hawaii
W 94–80
9–2
George Q. Cannon Activities Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 7, 1988
Penn State
W 83–80
10–2 (1–1)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 9, 1988
at Saint Joseph's
W 99–80
11–2 (2–1)
Hagan Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 12, 1988 *
at Brown
W 104–91
12–2
Marvel Gymnasium Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 16, 1988
at Rutgers
W 84–71
13–2 (3–1)
Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey
Jan 18, 1988
at George Washington
W 92–61
14–2 (4–1)
Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C.
Jan 23, 1988
Saint Joseph's
W 91–85
15–2 (5–1)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 26, 1988
at UMass
W 101–78
16–2 (6–1)
Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, Massachusetts
Jan 28, 1988 *
vs. George Washington
W 84–76 OT
17–2 (7–1)
Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 31, 1988
No. 6 Temple
L 70–77
17–3 (7–2)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 4, 1988
vs. Rutgers
W 111–92
18–3 (8–2)
Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 7, 1988
at West Virginia
W 74–71
19–3 (9–2)
WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
Feb 9, 1988
at Duquesne
L 93–98
19–4 (9–3)
Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 13, 1988
St. Bonaventure
W 93–73
20–4 (10–3)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 18, 1988
Duquesne
L 89–100
20–5 (10–4)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 20, 1988
vs. West Virginia
W 75–60
21–5 (11–4)
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Feb 25, 1988
at Penn State
W 77–69
22–5 (12–4)
Rec Hall University Park, Pennsylvania
Feb 27, 1988
at St. Bonaventure
W 93–79
23–5 (13–4)
Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York
Mar 2, 1988
UMass
W 87–73
24–5 (14–4)
Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island
Atlantic 10 tournament
Mar 7, 1988 *
vs. Rutgers Quarterfinals
W 104–73
25–5
WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
Mar 8, 1988 *
at West Virginia Semifinals
W 65–63
26–5
WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
Mar 9, 1988 *
vs. No. 1 Temple Championship game
L 63–68
26–6
WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988 *
(11 E)
vs. (6 E) Missouri First round
W 87–80
27–6
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 19, 1988 *
(11 E)
vs. (3 E) No. 9 Syracuse Second round
W 97–94
28–6
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 24, 1988 * CBS
(11 E)
vs. (2 E) No. 5 Duke East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 72–73
28–7
Brendan Byrne Arena (19,591)East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in EST.
[ 4]
References