SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The first question directed at Jim Baron as he joined this week’s Atlantic 10 conference call was the obvious one.

“So,” the questioner wanted to know, “how is it that your team is in first place? Is this something you expected?”

The questioner, like most others, obviously was surprised that Baron’s University of Rhode Island squad, picked to finish 11th in the league’s own poll, stands at 5-1 and atop the standings. Baron used the opportunity to explain just how improbable it is.

“This summer,” he began, “we lost our center [J.R. Moore left school to return to Oregon to be with his mother, who is battling cancer]. Then we lost our starting point, Jon Lucky, for the year with an ankle injury. And we had three of our players have eligibility issues. At least we’ve gotten two of them back.”

What Baron was saying is that he is as surprised as anyone with what his team has done. As the coach, he is more pleased than anyone, even with his team facing what figures to be its biggest test yet tonight.

The Rams, 12-8 overall, take on Massachusetts at 7 at the Ryan Center in a battle for the top spot. The Minutemen, picked to be a prime contender, are living up to expectations. They are 14-5, 4-1 in the A-10.

They also are probably the most difficult match-up in the league for URI. The reasons the Minutemen are strong are a bit different than many expected.

Much of the attention, before play began, was on the influx of new talent. Coach Travis Ford brought in guys expected to kick the talent pool up a level. And they have.

Gary Forbes, a transfer from Virginia, has taken over at small forward and has been very good. Tiki Mayben, who was originally headed for Syracuse but ended up at UMass and sat out last season for academic reasons, leads the A-10 in assists even though he is sharing time at the point with Chris Lowe, last year’s starter.

Etienne Brower, a transfer from Boston University, has had injury problems but he has helped. So has 7-footer Luke Bonner, a transfer from West Virginia.

Still, the biggest reasons the Minutemen are stronger than they have been since John Calipari left Amherst are the two big guys on the inside, seniors Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme. They are far and away the top inside combination in the conference. They are first and second, respectively, in offensive rebounding. Lasme leads in both overall rebounding (Freeman is third) and blocked shots. Lasme had almost twice as many blocked shots (98) as the entire URI team.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Freeman, a star since he began playing, is averaging 17 points. As good as he is, though, if a vote for A-10 player of the year was held today, Lasme would be the likely winner.

The only college player in the United States from the African nation of Gabon, he has developed from a raw talent into an NBA prospect.

“He’s 6-8, but he plays like he’s 7-2 or 7-3” is the way UMass’ Ford described him in this week’s conference call. Some scouts are calling Lasme the best NBA prospect in the conference.

“I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls on him. That’s been said to me a lot lately,” Ford said. “What he can do on the court to affect a basketball game is tremendous. . . . He’s improved every year and he continues to get better and better.”

Lasme is averaging a double-double, not to mention more than five blocked shots per game. He and Freeman are the type of inside players who have given URI major problems this season. For URI, it becomes another hurdle to overcome, albeit a huge one.

URI starters Will Daniels (chest) and Parfait Bitee (knee) were both banged up late in the Temple game Saturday but are expected to play.

URI officials are encouraging fans who attend to wear pink to be part of a “Pink Out” to raise money for breast cancer research.

pkenyon@projo.com