This year's race for the Atlantic 10 men's basketball crown is the tightest in recent memory.

The Lions (14-5, 7-3 in the A-10) are currently tied for third place with Rutgers. But they get a shot at second as they take on current second-place Rhode Island (12-8, 8-3) at 7:30 tonight in Rec Hall.

"I think right now Rhode Island is the hottest team in the league," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "They've been playing great basketball and it seems that this time of year every game is just magnified as far as importance is concerned.

"They just get bigger and bigger, especially the way the league race is this year. I really feel we'll have to play our best game of the year."

The last time the two teams met was Jan. 3 in Rhode Island. The Rams won, 71-61, in a game that was much closer than the score indicates.

The Lions were down 62-61 with 3:33 left when high-scorer Ed Fogell fouled out. With the help of foul shots, the Rams went on a 9-0 run to win the game. In that meeting, Rhode Island center Kenny Green totaled 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots. If the Lions want to win the game, they must concentrate on shutting him down. Green is this week's A-10 Co-player of the Week (with Duquesne's Mark Stevenson) and leads the nation in blocked shots (5.2 per game). In addition, he leads the A-10 in rebounding, averaging 10 boards per game.

"We pretty much do the same thing to prepare for a guy like Kenny Green," forward Dave Degitz said. "He has good quickness and he's a really good leaper. It's not that he can jump that high, it's that he can jump really quick."

Aside from worrying about Green, the Lions have to concentrate on their game in general. The key offensively for the Lions is not to miss any shots they would normally make, a problem which has been plaguing them lately. The Rams give out few chances for offensive rebounds.

The Lions' defensive game is a particular worry for Parkhill. He's seen his squad get nailed on the inside far too often in recent games.

"I don't think the last three halves we've played have been particularly good," Parkhill said. "We really need to pick it up."

Over the past few weeks he has even expressed wonder at his team's overall record, saying he's not sure how it can be so good considering the low statistics.

The student entrance for the game will open at 6 p.m. There will be open seating and students need only show their identification cards to gain admission.

After tonight's game, the Lions have seven more games to play before the A10 tournament in Philadelphia the first weekend in March. Most of these games are against teams which could potentially win the A-10 regular season title or tournament -- West Virginia, Temple, Rutgers.

"I think it's exciting," Parkhill said. "Personally, I like it, and I think from a fan perspective it has to be exciting. I think there are five teams that could win it, and certainly five, maybe more, that could win the tournament.

"It's going to be an unbelievable tournament ... but it could end up hurting somebody when bids go out."