OKLAHOMA CITY — URI gets another chance to play a Travis Ford-coached team tonight, which is not necessarily good news for the Rams.

Ford gave the Rams fits in the three years he coached at UMass. His Minutemen went 4-2 against URI, including wins in each of the last three meetings. Two came late last season, and were major contributors to Rhody’s late-season struggles.

For a while, it looked as if URI had seen the last of Ford.

Ford, whose UMass teams won 49 games in the last two years, was wooed by Providence College. He turned down PC, saying he wanted to stay in Amherst. However, just six days after saying no to PC and having his contract (which ran through 2015) sweetened by UMass officials, Ford accepted the job at Oklahoma State.

Which brings us to tonight. URI plays in the O’Reilly All-College Classic at the Ford Center (no, the building is not named for the new coach). The opponent in the 7:30 game?

It is Ford and his Oklahoma State Cowboys.

URI has great memories of Oklahoma City. The Rams won two games in the old Myriad (the Ford Center opened in 2002) in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, first beating Murray State and then upsetting No. 1-seeded Kansas.

Tonight’s game, the opener of a doubleheader that will have Oklahoma playing VCU in the nightcap, is pivotal for both teams. The Rams enter 8-3, while Oklahoma State is 7-3. Both teams have suffered two losses to top-25 teams. Winning tonight would be a major step toward a possible postseason berth.

The way Ford talks, though, worrying about playing in March is not a concern. He insists he is just trying to put together what has been a hugely successful program in the past, but one that is coming off a 17-16 season, including 7-9 in the Big 12, which cost Sean Sutton his job. Sutton had spent only two years as head coach after taking over for his father, Eddie, who twice had taken the Cowboys to the Final Four.

“We’ve got some really positive strengths with this team, but we also have some weaknesses that we can’t necessarily cure right away,” Ford said. “We’re going to try to camouflage and play around them as much as possible.”

“We’re not overly big, not overly deep and not overly physical,” Ford offered. “Any time you take over a program you’re going to go through growing pains . . . It’s part of the process, growing pains for any coach taking over. I’ve been through this before. It’s part of the deal.”

What the team does have is a lot of speed and athleticism, a squad not unlike URI. If nothing else, the match-up should make for an entertaining show for ESPN Classic, which will televise the game. Ford has the Cowboys running at every chance, to the point where Oklahoma State is averaging 83 points, three more than URI is putting up.

The team often plays four natural guards, although some of the guards have size, at 6-foot-5 and 6-6.

URI has its own challenges. Exams did not finish until yesterday. The team is flying to the event on private charter, thanks to help from ESPN, which owns rights to the tournament. Because of exams, the Rams could not leave until yesterday afternoon, after the snow had begun in Rhode Island.

Rhody has played three guards much of the season, so playing a small, quick team would not figure to be a bad match. However, the URI guards have struggled in recent games. Keith Cothran, after a fast start, has not played well in the last two games. Marquis Jones, the point guard, also has struggled more now than early on. He has begun sharing time with freshman Stevie Mejia and expects that to continue.

“Both (Jones) and Stevie Mejia have played solid. They’ve given us quality minutes,” coach Jim Baron said. “Marquis has 40 assists and Stevie has 21. They’ve done a good job distributing the ball, and they’re making the right plays.”

pkenyon@projo.com