GAME NOTES: The second-seeded Stanford Cardinal play host to the third-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the second round of the 2015 NIT on Sunday evening.

The winner will play either South Dakota State or Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals.

Stanford, the 1991 and 2012 NIT champion, has won all three previous meetings against the Rams, including a victory in the 1998 NCAA Midwest Regional Final.

The Cardinal downed UC Davis, 77-64, in the first round on Tuesday. Marcus Allen hit on 10-of-12 shots for 22 points, Chasson Randle contributed 18 points with five assists, and Anthony Brown netted 11 to go with five rebounds for the victors. Reid Travis came off the bench to tally a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Stanford held a 40-24 advantage in points in the paint and used a 38-25 rebounding edge to reach the 20-win plateau.

The Cardinal boast three double-digit scorers in Randle (18.9 ppg, 3.2 apg), Brown (14.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Stefan Nastic (13.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg). The team's defensive effort hasn't been quite up to snuff, with foes netting 67.5 ppg, and Stanford shoots about as well as its opponents do across the board (.438 to .429, .386 3-pt. to .376 3-pt). The Cardinal is a solid free-shooting team (.723) as well, and it is +4.2 in rebounding differential.

Also last Tuesday, Jarvis Garrett recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists as Rhode Island coasted to an 88-75 victory over Iona in the opening round.

E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell netted 18 points apiece for the Rams, who received 13 and 10 points, respectively, from reserves Biggie Minnis and T.J. Buchanan. Earl Watson grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

URI assisted on 13 of its 18 makes from the floor and outrebounded the visitors, 27-19, in the opening period en route to a 51-39 halftime lead. The Rams outscored Iona, 14-5, at the free-throw line over the final 20 minutes of regulation to protect their lead.

The young Rams showed they can compete throughout the season. Matthews leads the team in scoring at 16.7 ppg, followed closely by fellow sophomore Hassan Martin's 11.3 ppg. Martin has been special defensively, leading the team in blocked shots with 99, including six against Iona, and owning a team-best rebounding mark of 7.7 boards per outing. The Rams are netting 67.7 ppg with a strong defensive effort limiting opponents to just 59.8 ppg.

This looks like a tight matchup on paper, but Stanford has boasted a 14-3 record at home -- with all three losses coming against NCAA Tournament teams in Utah, UCLA and Oregon. URI may be a bit out of its league.