Rhode Island Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:06:00 PDT

It's not how you start, but how you finish.

The Rhode Island Rams are well aware. In 2007-08, the team burst out to a 19-3 record and broke into the Top 25. But, a finishing record of 2-9 led to a disappointing 21-12 record and no NCAA Tournament berth.

In 2009, Rhode Island got off to a 16-7 start and finished second in the Atlantic 10 with an 11-5 record. However, slim defeats to Xavier and Massachusetts seemed to be the most likely culprits that again kept the Rams from securing a bid to the Big Dance, the big goal that Rhode Island hasn't accomplished since 1999.

So what did the Rams do during the offseason to try to shake things up?

"Six a.m. workouts," said forward Delroy James.