# 2019–20 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Rhode Island Rams basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rams, led by second-year head coach David Cox, played their home games at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 21–9, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in third place. Their season ended with the A-10 tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

## Previous season

The Rams finished the 2018–19 season 18–15, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in ninth place. They defeated La Salle and VCU to advance to the semifinals of the A-10 tournament where they lost to St. Bonaventure.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Will Leviton | 2 | G | 5'8" | 150 | Senior | Providence, RI | Walk-on; graduated |
| Ryan Preston | 5 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |
| Omar Silverio | 15 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Freshman | Bronx, NY | Transferred to Hofstra |
| Mike Layssard Jr. | 21 | F | 6'9" | 255 | Junior | Lena, LA | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Christion Thompson | 25 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Junior | Baton Rouge, LA | Graduate transferred to Tulane |
| Nicola Akele | 45 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Treviso, Italy | Graduated |
| Michael Tertsea | 55 | C | 6'10" | 230 | RS Sophomore | Makurdi, Nigeria | Transferred to Gannon |
| Dana Tate | 12 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Sophomore | Boston, MA | Transferred to Siena |
| Gregory Hammond | 22 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | New Orleans, LA | Transferred to UMass-Lowell |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jeremy Sheppard | 2 | G | 6'1" | 160 | Junior | Richmond, VA | Junior college transferred from College of Central Florida. Sheppard is not eligible for the 2019–20 season |
| Antwan Walker | 5 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Sophomore | Washington, D.C. | Transferred from Georgetown. Under NCAA transfer rules, Walker will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| DeVale Johnson | 23 | F | 6'7" | 185 | Sophomore | Brooklyn, NY | Junior college transferred from Williston State College. |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mekhi Long SF | Woodstock, VA | Massanutten Military Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jun 29, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Gregory Hammond SG | New Orleans, LA | Sophie B. Wright Charter School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 5, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Marial Mading SF | Springfield, MA | Commonwealth Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Oct 2, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ishmael Leggett SG | Washington, DC | St. John's College High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 19, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Elijah Wood CG | Bethesda, MD | Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 27, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Scholarship Tree

| 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | |
| Jeff Dowtin | Fatts Russell | Jermaine Harris | Jacob Toppin | Ishmael Leggett | =Senior |
| Cyril Langevine | DJ Johnson | Tyrese Martin | Mekhi Long | Elijah Wood | =Junior |
| Fatts Russell | Jeremy Sheppard | Antwan Walker | Ishmael Leggett | Open | =Sophomore |
| DJ Johnson | Antwan Walker | Mekhi Long | Elijah Wood | Open | =Freshman |
| Jeremy Sheppard | Jermaine Harris | Jacob Toppin | Open | Open | |
| Antwan Walker | Tyrese Martin | Ishmael Leggett | Open | Open | |
| Jermaine Harris | Mekhi Long | Elijah Wood | Open | Open | |
| Tyrese Martin | Jacob Toppin | Open | Open | Open | |
| Mehki Long | Ishmael Leggett | Open | Open | Open | |
| Jacob Toppin | Elijah Wood | Open | Open | Open | |
| Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | |
| Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | |
| Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 26, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Rhode Island College | W 93–55 | | Ryan Center Kingston, RI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, Cox/YurView | | LIU | W 76–65 | 1–0 | Ryan Center (4,258) Kingston, RI |
| November 9, 2019* 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 7 Maryland | L 55–73 | 1–1 | Xfinity Center (14,263) College Park, MD |
| November 15, 2019* 7:30 pm, NBCSN | | Alabama | W 93–79 | 2–1 | Ryan Center (7,021) Kingston, RI |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, Cox/YurView | | Nicholls Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic campus game | W 70–65 | 3–1 | Ryan Center (4,520) Kingston, RI |
| November 22, 2019* 4:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. North Texas Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic | W 60–47 | 4–1 | Montego Bay Convention Centre Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| November 24, 2019* 2:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. LSU Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic | L 83–96 | 4–2 | Montego Bay Convention Centre Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| November 27, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Manhattan | W 73–64 | 5–2 | Ryan Center (4,434) Kingston, RI |
| December 1, 2019* 2:00 pm | | at West Virginia | L 81–86 | 5–3 | WVU Coliseum (10,973) Morgantown, WV |
| December 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Providence Ocean State Cup | W 75–61 | 6–3 | Ryan Center (8,052) Kingston, RI |
| December 21, 2019* 2:00 pm, Cox/YurView | | Western Kentucky | W 86–82 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 | Ryan Center (5,325) Kingston, RI |
| December 29, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | W 89–62 | 8–3 | Murphy Center (2,806) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 2, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Brown Ocean State Cup | L 75–85 | 8–4 | Pizzitola Sports Center (2,738) Providence, RI |
| Atlantic 10 regular season ||||||
| January 5, 2020 12:00 pm, Cox/YurView/ESPN+ | | Richmond | L 61–69 | 8–5 (0–1) | Ryan Center (5,325) Kingston, RI |
| January 8, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Davidson | W 69–58 | 9–5 (1–1) | Ryan Center (5,095) Kingston, RI |
| January 11, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at VCU | W 65–56 | 10–5 (2–1) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 15, 2020 7:30 pm, Cox/YurView/ESPN+ | | at Saint Joseph's | W 71–61 | 11–5 (3–1) | Hagan Arena (1,964) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 18, 2020 12:30 pm, NBCSN | | La Salle | W 66–63 | 12–5 (4–1) | Ryan Center (6,323) Kingston, RI |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 pm, Cox/YurView/ESPN+ | | Duquesne | W 77–55 | 13–5 (5–1) | Ryan Center (6,007) Kingston, RI |
| January 25, 2020 3:00 pm, Stadium | | at St. Bonaventure | W 81–75 | 14–5 (6–1) | Reilly Center (5,480) St. Bonaventure, NY |
| January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, Stadium | | at George Mason | W 78–64 | 15–5 (7–1) | EagleBank Arena (3,140) Fairfax, VA |
| January 31, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | VCU | W 87–75 | 16–5 (8–1) | Ryan Center (7,896) Kingston, RI |
| February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Massachusetts | W 73–67 | 17–5 (9–1) | Ryan Center (6,328) Kingston, RI |
| February 8, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | at George Washington | W 82–51 | 18–5 (10–1) | Charles E. Smith Center (3,018) Washington, D.C. |
| February 11, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 6 Dayton | L 67–81 | 18–6 (10–2) | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 15, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Saint Joseph's | W 73–55 | 19–6 (11–2) | Ryan Center (6,673) Kingston, RI |
| February 22, 2020 5:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Davidson | L 75-77 $^{OT}$ | 19–7 (11–3) | John M. Belk Arena (4,597) Davidson, NC |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, Cox/YurView/ESPN+ | | at Fordham | W 76–75 | 20–7 (12–3) | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,588) Bronx, NY |
| March 1, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | Saint Louis | L 62–72 | 20–8 (12–4) | Ryan Center (7,004) Kingston, RI |
| March 4, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 3 Dayton | L 57–84 | 20–9 (12–5) | Ryan Center (7,895) Kingston, RI |
| March 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Massachusetts | W 64–63 | 21–9 (13–5) | Mullins Center (4,053) Amherst, MA |
| Atlantic 10 tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2020 8:30 p.m., NBCSN | (3) | vs. TBD Quarterfinals | A10 Tournament Canceled | A10 Tournament Canceled | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Source