The old saying is that it is better to be lucky than good, but in the case of No. 21 Rhode Island, which plays an Atlantic 10 game Friday at VCU, it is better to be both. Rhode Island went down early and then had to hang on late in Tuesday's victory against Massachusetts and will need to post its first road win against VCU to reach 14 straight victories.

Neighboring Pac-12 rivals Utah and Colorado are fighting to escape the mid-conference pack as they meet Friday night in Boulder. After winning three of their last four, the Runnin’ Utes are sitting sixth in the Pac-12 at 5-5 while the Buffaloes are ninth at 4-6 following three straight setbacks.