Rhode Island opens its men's basketball regular season against Holy Cross on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Ryan Center. Both teams enter 0-0, and URI lists ESPN+ and live statistics among its coverage options.
The Rams have won six consecutive meetings in the series, though Holy Cross holds a 24-18 advantage overall, according to URI's game notes. The most recent meeting listed in those notes was a 91-77 Rhode Island victory on Nov. 8, 2024.
Forward Matas Deniusas joins Rhode Island after his first season at UT Martin. Wing Jason Fontenet II arrives from UC Santa Barbara, where an injury limited his most recent season to five games.
Deniusas started all 33 games for UT Martin in 2025-26 and averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference's rookie of the year and scored in double figures 24 times. URI's notes also list 11 weekly rookie honors during that season.
Fontenet averaged 9.9 points, six rebounds and 2.7 assists for UC Santa Barbara in 2024-25. A leg injury limited his next season to five games. URI describes him as recovered entering this season. In Rhode Island's Oct. 11 exhibition at Massachusetts, he recorded 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Rams lost the Massachusetts exhibition before beating Southern New Hampshire 101-61 in their final preseason game. Deniusas led Rhode Island with 20 points and 16 rebounds against Southern New Hampshire, according to URI's game report.
Holy Cross was picked eighth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Its coach, Dave Paulsen, enters his fourth season with the Crusaders. He previously coached George Mason for six seasons and spent two seasons as a Fordham assistant, giving him experience with Atlantic 10 programs.
