SOUTH KINGSTOWN –– Postseason play in college basketball is two weeks away, but a post-season atmosphere is expected to arrive early at the Ryan Center. Like Wednesday night, at 7.

 That’s when Dayton and Rhode Island, two of the teams battling for the Atlantic 10 championship, clash. It is easily the biggest game of the season so far for URI, and vital for Dayton, too.

 The Flyers enter 23-4, 9-3 in the A-10, a half game behind first-place Xavier. The Rams come in 20-8 and 9-4 after winning eight of their last nine. Both sides have post-season aspirations. Both need a win  to put themselves in position.

 URI coach Jim Baron does not plan to give his team a pep talk for this one. He said his players know very well what is at stake. The coach has a spark in his voice when he talks about it.

 ``We know what Dayton is. They’ve got 23 wins. They’ve been in and out of the top 25. Our guys know how good they are,’’ Baron said. ``We’re just happy that we get to play at home. It’s Pink Out Night. We’re happy to be able to support such a great cause. It’s a big night. We’ve got everybody healthy. We’re looking forward to it.’’

 It is the third annual Pink Out Night to support the Gloria Gemma Cancer Resource Foundation. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and pink t-shirts will be sold at the gate, with proceeds benefiting the Gemma Foundation.

 What makes the match an attractive one on the court is the contrast in styles.

 Rhode Island leads the conference, and is ninth in the country, in scoring at 80.2. Dayton leads the conference, and is 15th in the nation, in defense, at 59.1. URI is the best shooting team in the conference, making 48.2 percent of its shots. Dayton is the best team at stopping opponents, holding foes to 38 percent shooting.

 In 22 of its 27 games, the Flyers have held opponents below their season scoring average. Dayton is 20-1 when holding opponents under 70 points. The only loss came Saturday at Saint Louis, 57-49. The Flyers like to keep games close and then let their defense do the work. They are 9-0 in games decided by five or fewer points, the best mark in that department in the country.

 While the teams go about their work differently, they are similar in some ways. They are two of the deepest teams in the conference, both going with 8, 9 and even 10-man rotations. And they might be the two most athletic teams in the A-10.

 Rhody fans enjoy seeing Lamonte Ulmer, Delroy James and Keith Cothran make highlight-reel plays with their speed and athleticism. Dayton has forward Chris Wright, who might be the most athletic player in the conference, as well as Marques Johnson and Charles Little, among others, who are every bit as flashy as the URI players, although they tend to use their speed more to play aggressive, in your-face defense than wide-open offense.

 ``It’s not only that they’re athletic, you look at their bodies,’’ Baron said. ``Charles Little is 247 poounds, Kurt Hueslman is 245 pounds at 6-10. Chris Wright is 6-8. They’ve got big guards. They’ve got guys 6-9 and 6-10 coming off the bench.’’

 ``They play mostly man (defense). They’re physical. They’ll press at times and use their bodies. They do a great job of rebounding,’’ Baron said. ``They’re as physical any team we’ve played all year.’’

 A rivalry is developing between the schools. They played twice last year and split. Dayton beat the Rams, 92-83, in the A-10 opener, when both teams were ranked in the top 25. URI won 82-70 a month later at the Ryan Center when Joe Mbang had the best game of his career, with 21 points. That 12-point decision broke a string that had seen five games in a row between the teams decided in single digits.

 If there is a rivalry, it is a gentlemanly one between the coaches. While Baron is lavish in his praise of the Flyers, Dayton coach Brian Gregory was equally complimentary about the Rams in this week’s Atlantic 10 conference call.

 Among other things, Gregory called the Rams the hottest team in the league and proclaimed, ``they’re as good as any team we’ve played all year.’’ This, remember, from a coach whose team already has beaten Marquette and Xavier, among others.

 Tickets have been selling well but a good number remained available as of Tuesday afternoon.

pkenyon@projo.com