WATCH: URI and Brown coaches speak postgame on Dec. 2, 2025
The Rhode Island Rams beat the Brown Bears on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
PROVIDENCE — I’m siding with Providence men’s basketball. I don’t think Rhode Island deserves a win against the Friars.
But not so fast Providence fans, I’m also riding with the Rams.
Neither of my conclusions, though, have to do with the Saturday, Dec. 6, matchup downtown. (Tip-off is at noon.) This starts at the beginning, and I mean the actual inauguration of the state’s premier basketball rivalry.
These two programs hate each other so much, they can’t agree on how many times they’ve played and the all-time series record. Rhode Island is steadfast that the first two matchups — in 1920 and 1921 — were true games that saw the Rams win both in Kingston. That, in Rhode Island’s opinion, makes the all-time record 77-59 in favor of the Friars.
But Providence disagrees. The Friars believe that both games were simply exhibitions and don’t count toward the series record, which, in their mind, sits at 77-57. Don’t say this annual matchup doesn’t matter anymore — both schools still make note of the discrepancies in their game previews.
It’s tremendous theater and I hope they leave the records that way.
“It’s a great game with great historical implications in the state and we’ll be ready to go,” Providence men’s basketball head coach Kim English said.
“That game is on your mind 365 days a year. It really is,” Rhode Island head coach Archie Miller said. “It means a lot to the tradition of both places. There are a lot of great players and great coaches who have competed in that game. When you play here or you play there, it is the best of the best. You want to be in those games, those environments. As a player, you want to thrive in those environments. To do that, you have to learn how to be able to be composed and be yourself on a daily basis.”
The rivalry is great but I had to figure out the answer. I’m a nerd and, honestly, it was going to bother me forever if I hadn’t found the results. So, I dove into the archives and The Providence Journal, without a doubt, wrote that the first game was an exhibition.
Let’s see some of The Journal’s recounting from Dec. 8, 1920:
Rhode Island State College opened its basketball season last evening in Kingston with an exhibition game with Providence College. The visitors were greatly outclassed by the fast State collegians, who rolled up a score of 87 to 25.
That negates a win for Rhode Island. The next year, though, the Rams scheduled appropriately. The Dec. 7, 1921, edition of The Journal states:
Rhode Island State opened the basketball season last evening and defeated Providence College, 35 to 19. The game was slow throughout and neither team showed much brilliance.
Theodore Tribolet led Rhode Island with 13 points in the first official meeting between the in-state rivals. Joe McGee, an old-school Providence Hall of Famer, scored all but one of the Friars’ points in the loss.
That’s a victory for Rhode Island. And let the records show, the first meeting was held in 1921 at Lippitt Gym. But if you still aren’t convinced that the 1921 meeting was the start of the rivalry, The Journal’s preview of the game mentions the state’s anticipation of the showdown.
The State College Basketball team will open its season tonight when the Kingstonians meet the Providence College quintet in Lippitt Gymnasium. Being the initial contest, great interest has been aroused in the match in Kingston.
There you have it, Providence and Rhode Island, you’re both correct.
There is an important note, though. If that first game was, in fact, an exhibition, it could change Frank Keaney’s all-time record, which is listed as 401-124 over 28 years with the Rams. That game was the GOAT’s debut as Rhode Island’s coach.
Both game stories from those first two years speak about how fast Rhode Island played. Keaney was on to something, and it started against his neighbors to the north. Keaney would have loved to see the scoring that is expected to happen on Saturday. We should all be thankful for the Hall of Famer.
Real games or not, the records should never change. It adds another layer to the state’s best rivalry.
