KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Media

TV: CBSSN

Replay:

Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or iHeart Radio App

Previews:
http://www.providencejournal.com/sports ... m-his-rams

Vegas:

Opponent

Record:
10-12, 3-6 in the Atlantic 10
Home: 9-3
Last season: 15-18, 4-14 in Atlantic 10

Rankings:
RPI: 201 (213.6 expected)
BPI: 186
KenPom: 199

Leaders:
Points - Luwane Pipkins, 19.9
Rebounds - Malik Hines, 6.2
Assists - CJ Anderson, 5.0

Last Five (1-4)

1/27/18   @FOR    L  82-69
1/25/18   @LAS    L  87-72
1/20/18   SLU     L  66-47
1/17/18   @URI    L  73-51
1/14/18   JOES    W  72-69

Roster and Statistics (not updated from prior game)



Coaching Staff
Matt McCall, Head Coach (1st Year) - Florida '04
Cliff Warren, Assoc. Head Coach - Mount St. Mary's '90
Rasheen Davis, Asst. Coach - St. Thomas Aquinas '02
Peter Gash, Asst. Coach - Lynn University '07

Preview

See in-depth team preview here. For purposes of the second game, we will keep it short and sweet.

UMass came to the Ryan a couple of weeks ago as a team that was up-and-down to that point in the season, with some decent wins and some tough losses. In many ways, their season had gone better than expected - with the coaching change and the roster turnover (detailed in preview of prior game), expectations among UMass fans were low for this season.

Since coming to the Ryan and getting blown out by URI, the wheels have fallen off a little bit. They have not won a game since, dropping A-10 contests to Saint Louis, La Salle and Fordham. Counting the URI game, their average margin of defeat in their 4 game losing streak has been 17.25 points. Their RPI, BPI and Kenpom are in free-fall: their rankings in the three metrics have fallen by an average of 35 in two weeks.

URI should come into this game exceptionally focused - in their last time on the floor, where they were favored to win by 18 points at home, they trailed most of the game and by as many as 15 in the second half, only to pull it out on a buzzer-beating three pointer from Stan Robinson. As exhilarating as the comeback and the final play of the game were, URI drastically underperformed and saw their A-10, home and overall winning streaks (all at or near all-time program marks) flash before their eyes - along with their hard-earned national ranking.

URI is a much better team than UMass in 2017-18, as their respective records and rankings, not to mention the prior head-to-head contest, attest. Still, The Mullins Center has been a house of horrors for URI in the past (7-18 in the building since it opened, by my count), and UMass's 9-3 home record this season stands in stark contrast to its 1-9 record away from the Mullins. URI needs to approach this game like it has something to prove - to itself and also anyone else out there in the college basketball world wondering how they were taken to the wire by a spunky but ultimately overmatched Duquesne team. They already have a plan that they know should work from the previous matchup, so this one is all about execution and effort.

I'd guess that URI will be favored by about a dozen points, and with a representative effort they should cover that number easily. With anything less, they could be fighting for their lives again like they were forced to do on Saturday.

Let’s go!!

They have been blown out their last 4 so we need to come in and take it to them early

reef wrote:They have been blown out their last 4 so we need to come in and take it to them early

No offense, but I hate when people do this. Last game is last game. In no way does that shape how they will play, how well they shoot or execute tomorrow. Every dog has its day, that’s how upsets happen.

Agree with DC and generally the law of averages kick in. So if they have been mediocre in last 4 expect them to play much better on their home court for a game they will be amped about. We are the hunted, like with duqeusne we should expect everyone’s best shot. Conversely our team can become complacent or lose their edge with multiple double digit wins. Human nature, and these are 20-22 year old kids at end of day.

Exactly. On top of that, IF we lose, the world crashes down even harder because we are “supposed” to blow them away. These are all Division I athletes at the end of the day. They can get hot just like we can go cold.

DC_Rams wrote:

reef wrote:They have been blown out their last 4 so we need to come in and take it to them early

No offense, but I hate when people do this. Last game is last game. In no way does that shape how they will play, how well they shoot or execute tomorrow. Every dog has its day, that’s how upsets happen.

Agree with Reef, disagree with you. We need to get up on them early and have them thinking "oh great, here we go again." After being blown out four in a row, if it starts happening again against the best team they've faced they very well could pack it in. Don't let them hang around and feel like they have a chance.

It's true that that could happen, and would be great if it does. Another possibility is that UMass just plays better than they've played the last couple of weeks - where they've mostly been on the road, which they obviously struggle with – and we do not blow their doors off from the opening tip. I agree with DC insofar as we cannot assume that UMass will just roll over because they haven’t played well in their last several games. They might, but we don’t know for sure.

Don't have an exact quote here, but I believe Hurley has said something along the lines of "We prepare for a team like they're going to give us their best game". So I'm not worried at all about being caught off guard by these guys.

URI'21 wrote:Don't have an exact quote here, but I believe Hurley has said something along the lines of "We prepare for a team like they're going to give us their best game". So I'm not worried at all about being caught off guard by these guys.

Agreed, and whether that gets into players' heads or not is one thing. I think after having to claw back at home against Duquesne, they have that on their minds.

URI'21 wrote:Don't have an exact quote here, but I believe Hurley has said something along the lines of "We prepare for a team like they're going to give us their best game". So I'm not worried at all about being caught off guard by these guys.

But Hurley has said that before. What is important is whether they identified what went wrong in the Duquesne game and can they correct it. URI was a bit sloppy in that one, but worse yet was the shooting and Terrell did not have a stellar game. To get the upper hand on UMass, that has to change.

Obadiah wrote:

URI'21 wrote:Don't have an exact quote here, but I believe Hurley has said something along the lines of "We prepare for a team like they're going to give us their best game". So I'm not worried at all about being caught off guard by these guys.

But Hurley has said that before. What is important is whether they identified what went wrong in the Duquesne game and can they correct it. URI was a bit sloppy in that one, but worse yet was the shooting and Terrell did not have a stellar game. To get the upper hand on UMass, that has to change.

I agree with you fixing last game's problems is the #1 priority. It seemed like all of our struggles came from the poor shooting, and as a result too much iso basketball. The weak shooting can happen any night and is always a risk, but Hurley's already addressed the iso offensive mistakes and I doubt that will be a problem tmorrow night.

Rams by 100

I worry about every game....

URI'21 wrote:

Obadiah wrote:

URI'21 wrote:Don't have an exact quote here, but I believe Hurley has said something along the lines of "We prepare for a team like they're going to give us their best game". So I'm not worried at all about being caught off guard by these guys.

But Hurley has said that before. What is important is whether they identified what went wrong in the Duquesne game and can they correct it. URI was a bit sloppy in that one, but worse yet was the shooting and Terrell did not have a stellar game. To get the upper hand on UMass, that has to change.

I agree with you fixing last game's problems is the #1 priority. It seemed like all of our struggles came from the poor shooting, and as a result too much iso basketball. The weak shooting can happen any night and is always a risk, but Hurley's already addressed the iso offensive mistakes and I doubt that will be a problem tmorrow night.

Rams by 100

The shooting was bad for the individuals who took bad shots, forced shots, team did not pass well. Too much individual ball. All players did not shoot badly though.
Plus rebounding was weak losing by 12 rebounds - thatis a lot!
Defensesas not good and energetic until Garrett and Russell got in there and created havoc and disruption
Lucky to win that game - and we were favored by 18.
Got to change the performance level quickly

It's a road game and a rivalry game too which could bode for a close game

I am just saying it would be nice to start fast and play with the lead especially vs a team that has been struggling as they may get down on themselves and press

Tough to beat a team twice.

He’s not wrong, but I love that Dan is that cranky about a game they won

The advantages Rhody had in the home game against UMass still exist for this game. Rhody will turn them over a lot.
UMass is in a tailspin. They lost their second best player for the year. They have lost their last four games by 22 (Rhody), 19 (SLU), 15 (LaSalle) and 13 (Fordham). The SLU game was the only home game.

You have to think they're going to play this game like it's their superbowl. Mullins Center is never easy.

Yep.

“We’ve been in fantasy land,” Hurley said.
“We just didn’t share the ball,” Hurley said. “We’re going to look bad on offense when we don’t do that.”
“We didn’t play the way we needed to play,” Hurley said.

MattVautourDHG
According to UMass coach Matt McCall Chris Baldwin will not play in Tuesdays game against Rhode Island

43 minutes ago

Ouch. Tough to match up-tempo with 6 guys.

ramster wrote:Yep.

“We’ve been in fantasy land,” Hurley said.
“We just didn’t share the ball,” Hurley said. “We’re going to look bad on offense when we don’t do that.”
“We didn’t play the way we needed to play,” Hurley said.

MattVautourDHG
According to UMass coach Matt McCall Chris Baldwin will not play in Tuesdays game against Rhode Island

43 minutes ago

Every shot JT missed the next time down he wanted the ball to shoot again. He kept wanting to make up for his misses (making it worse) and when he made one he thought he'd make the next one (took an nba 3 right after he made one - which missed the rim completely). Love him but it wasn't one of his best games Saturday. I'm sure he will play 1000% better tonight.

I worry about every game....

only real danger is if Pipkins channels Trae Young.

get on them early and hold serve

With just 6 players we should be able to wear them down if we are aggressive. Get after it at both ends.

Ramulous wrote:I worry about every game....

Fret not...go forth boldly and with confidence.

Section208 can do that because he is a sports fan first before being a Rams fan......I am a born-again Ramfan created in 1974 when I arrived at Kingston as a freshperson....I fret always....

6 scholarship players?? We should run them out of Amherst. Moving on!!!

UMass fan here.

No other way to say it: we are in as precarious predicament as any UMass team I've ever seen (been watching them for 25 seasons now). We started the year with 9 scholarship players and a new coach. About a month before the year started, Jaylen Brantley, a fifth year senior transfer from Maryland who was absolutely going to be our starting PG, was ruled out for life due to a previously undetected heart condition. Rashaan Holloway, our center with all conference talent (if not always all conference effort) was then out all preseason with a broken thumb. He returned and did his usual 10 and 5 thing but never really dominated in the way we had hoped. Then he had academic issues and stopped playing by the third game of conference play. Initially the team rallied in his absence, winning three straight in shocking fashion (double digit comebacks in all three). Eventually our lack of size and depth was going to wear on us and it did, as we've now lost four straight--all in ugly fashion. Making matters worse is that Holloway is now done for the year, having been ruled academically ineligible. Unclear if he returns next season. And for the second straight game we are without Chris Baldwin. Baldwin has been something of a jekyll and hyde act all year. He was highly recruited out of HS and spurned a West Virginia offer to come be a part of last year's decorated, top 30 recruiting class (a class which basically all transferred when Kellogg left) but has never really gotten his shit together on both ends. Still he's an athletic big who shoots 35 or 38 percent from 3 and losing him will hurt. We have four guys sitting out (three of whom could be starters next year) and two talented recruits coming in so the fan base was always viewing this as a bridge year. Then, shockingly, McCall was masterful in the early going, somehow getting ten wins out of this frankly not talented roster. People got overly excited prematurely and now things have come crashing back to earth. Truth is I had always predicted 10 wins this year and we may end the year with 14 straight losses and ten wins total. It's simply that dire right now.

Thankfully we still have Pipkins, who has emerged as a sure-thing first team all league guy this year and has single handedly willed us to three or four wins this year. Stop him and we're pretty much done. The other two reliable guys this year have been Carl Pierre, a smooth shooting LIGHTS OUT three point shooter who didn't have a single D1 offer until April when McCall swooped in and offered. He's averaging almost 12 a game and could be remembered as a Jaylen Adams type in that he truly slipped through the cracks. He's still a true freshman though and isn't always up to par on the defensive end just yet. And without a true PG on this team (Pip is better off the ball) UMass has a ton of trouble getting into sets or forcing teams to rotate on D. That's even more pronounced when Baldwin is out since he's a three point threat. Without him, Pip and Pierre are the only threats from deep so teams can overplay them and back WAY off our other guards, none of whom can shoot at all. Malik Hines, our center, has been totally solid all year but probably won't go nuts offensively. He's an 8 and 6 type of guy pretty consistently. The other rotation guys include Unique McLean (a freakishly athletic freshman who is maybe the greatest leaper I've ever seen but literally can't hit the broad side of a barn from anywhere beyond 3 feet), Khaleah Turner Morris (a huge freshman who plays 5 minutes a game tops), and CJ Anderson (a senior guard who can get into the lane and score sometimes but shouldn't have ever been asked to be anything more than a 6th or 7th man glue guy). Ray Miller, a former manager, gets 25 or more minutes a game now. He'll occasionally hit a corner three but against good opponents, he understandably is a step or two behind. McLean and Anderson are DK recruits and can't really shoot or take people off the bounce, two prized characteristics in McCall's offense.

All of this is to say I am STUNNED that ya'll are only 10.5 point favorites. Frankly, if it's within 10 it's because UMass has gone bonkers from deep and if UMass gets that hot they may just win. But let's be real. Our fan base is very much focused on next year and it's a weeknight in Amherst, meaning our fans (a huge portion of whom live 90 minutes or more from campus) won't be there. Maybe you'll see a late push to bring in some students (ya'll are ranked after all) but the place will more than likely be morgue-like and we haven't had a margin under 13 in the last four. That includes a 13 point loss to Fordham and a 19 point home loss to St Louis. We were favored in both games. I do expect UMass to play loose and if Pierre and Pipkins can get hot there's a chance this one's close, but if Rhody turns us over early this could be a 75-45 type of affair very quickly. Frankly you didn't even play brilliantly at the Ryan Center and you still beat us with ease.

I desperately hope we stun you but it'd be a catastrophic setback to your seeding hopes if we did. Next year, however, this rivalry will be great again. I expect five of the six guys coming in to be regular rotation players and Pip and Pierre are underclassmen so UMass has a lot to look forward to. It's just really, really dire right now.

Hopefully the gym will be empty, they suck.

Thanks Sage

I take it the alums are relatively happy with the new coach or am I wrong?

A good UMass is good for the A10...as is a good Dayton and VCU...with the other schools giving us a great year every now and then.....RI, Mass, Dayton and VCU have to be very good every single year for this league to get back to 3,4, and hopefully 5 bids again.....

Ramulous wrote:Thanks Sage

I take it the alums are relatively happy with the new coach or am I wrong?

A good UMass is good for the A10...as is a good Dayton and VCU...with the other schools giving us a great year every now and then.....RI, Mass, Dayton and VCU have to be very good every single year for this league to get back to 3,4, and hopefully 5 bids again.....

As much as I hate them, I'd add St. Joe's to that list. Davidson as well.

Ramulous wrote:Section208 can do that because he is a sports fan first before being a Rams fan......I am a born-again Ramfan created in 1974 when I arrived at Kingston as a freshperson....I fret always....

He is also a long time Red Sox fan...since well before 1974 (and the silly term 'freshperson' - I'm just glad my spellchekker is still saying "wtf?" with a wavy red underline on that one)....and although it hasn't 'happened' for Rhody yet, 2004 proves that: anything is possible and fretting is a waste of energy ENJOY!

Sage, thanks for the contribution. So I’ve been a UMass hater since your Dr. J days but I almost feel bad for you. Almost. But we’re coming off a couple of lackluster efforts and I imagine Hurley will have us ready. Pipkins (who I admire) won’t see a clean shot all game.

STAY THE COURSE RHODY TONIGHT

STAY THE COURSE

We need to force tempo early and wear them down since they are short players

Law of averages. And based on the last game it's not looking good for umass.

JetBlue has like 25 sports channels, none of which are cbssports. I literally flew JetBlue because they have directtv and I wanted to be able to watch the game.

Major bummer.

TruePoint wrote:JetBlue has like 25 sports channels, none of which are cbssports. I literally flew JetBlue because they have directtv and I wanted to be able to watch the game.

Major bummer.

they have wifi--stream it cbssports website

where the hell is the game?

Let’s do this!

glad to see they came ready to play again

Clearly a foul.

Hot start. Rhody just has to stay dialed in and lean on them.

weather the early storm--they have 6 players--attack the basket

Slow start indeed

Let's get our act together????

More ball movement

Is UMass ever gonna miss?

Not again

Like I said...any given night. Teams get HOT