1/15 | UMass | 4:30PM (USA)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs University of Massachusetts
William D. Mullins Memorial Center, Amherst, MA
Saturday, January 15, 2022
4:30PM

Media
TV: USA
Online: USA
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App

Previews:
UMass Fan Forum

After picking up their first conference win of the season, the Rams head north to Amherst to take on UMass. The Minutemen are led by Matt McCall who is in his 5th season at the helm. I thought he was going to be an up & coming coach in the A10, but he has struggled in his time at UMass and I would have to believe he is on the hot seat in Amherst. They are already struggling in conference play as well as having lost to Yale by 20 & Northeastern by 6. His one good move is having ex-Rhody star Tyson Wheeler on his coaching staff. An addition by subtraction was when UMass bought out the contract of former assistant coach Tony Bergeron. His services were no longer needed after Tre Mitchell transferred to Texas. No reason to have that awful person on your staff anymore. Noah Fernandes leads the team in both scoring & assists (16.2 & 5.5 respectively). He has been very consistent all season, scoring in double figures in all but 1 game. UMass features 2 Rhode Island natives in TJ Weeks Jr & Preston Santos. When Weeks gets going, he can be tough to stop. Santos has missed much of the season & I believe he won’t be playing this weekend. When on defense, Rhody will need to keep an eye on guard Rich Kelly, who is deadly from long range. 56% of his points scored this season are from behind the arc & is shooting over 51%. As a team the Minuteman are shooing over 40%. Conversely, when UMass is on defense…well, they don’t really play defense. They are giving up 78 per game (compared to URI who gives up just under 63). I am guessing the spread will be URI favored by about 2 points. Rhody will be looking for revenge after being swept by UMass last season & I think it happens. Final score in this one, URI 79 – UMass 71. Go Rhody!!

Opponent
Record:
7-8, 0-3 in the A-10
8-7, 6-4 in the A-10

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 171 (100)
RPI: 178 (80)
KenPom: 147 (78)
BPI: 162 (84)
Sagarin: 155 (92)

Leaders:
Points – Noah Fernandes 16.2 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Trent Buttrick 5.5 (Sr., F)
Assists – Noah Fernandes 5.2 (Jr., G) (2.2 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 67-91
H: 41-32, A: 26-54, N: 0-5
Most Recent Matchup: 2/6/21 75-63 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 – UMass
Match-up Predictor: 58.4% Chance of URI Winning

[Rhody15]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

[steviep123]

Someone make sure Cox knows if Santos isn't playing so they can actually scout correctly.

[steveystuds06]

Maybe I've only seen Umass at their worst, but I thought they looked like a bottom 3 A10 team in the games I've watched this season. Poorly coached, They have trouble against good big men, which we have. They take a lot of bad shots. I get it's tough to play them on the road, but I would be surprised if we lose this game.

[Jersey77]

UMass is 6-1 at home so far this season including wins against Rutgers and Penn State.

Their transfers are playing a big role for them and make up most of their starting lineup.
Rich Kelly (BC), CJ Kelly (Norfolk State), Buttrick (Penn State), Steadman (Montana/San Jose State).

The guards Fernandes, both Kelly's, and Weeks, can all light it up for them and are the bulk of their offense.

Hopefully we can rebound from our 2 losses against them last year.

[TruePoint]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

[Jersey77]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

I don't know, maybe he is working on another highly rated recruit's mother.

[Rhody15]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

His twitter says he’s head coach at “First Love Christian Academy.”

The School sounds like a bible camp in a Disney movie.

[RhowdyRam02]

He is the head coach of the national boys basketball team for First Love Christian Academy in Pittsburgh

[RF1]

We lost to this UMass team TWICE last year. How was that even possible? How did we lose twice to Duquense as well? Or once to GW?

[RF1]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of Mitchell:

He is averaging just 19.3 minutes per game with an average of 9.3 points at Texas. He is 5th in average minutes played and tied for 4th for average points on the team. The Longhorns play on a much bigger stage and are presently 13-3. Will being a smaller fish in a big pond end up better for him than being the big fish in a smaller pond? Only time will tell.

[bigappleram]

You automatically have to question any school with a CEO.

Mitchell seemed perfectly suited to be a dominant A10 big and have a long overseas career. His offensive game is polished but IMO he lacks the athleticism his position requires at NBA level.

[theblueram]

We lost to this UMass team TWICE last year. How was that even possible? How did we lose twice to Duquense as well? Or once to GW?

We lost to just about everyone. We only won 10 games.

[CaptainRon]

We lost to this UMass team TWICE last year. How was that even possible? How did we lose twice to Duquense as well? Or once to GW?

We lost to just about everyone. We only won 10 games.

But it was part of the new record streak!

[KeaneyBluBallz]

ZooMass by a dozen

[Rhody15]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of Mitchell:

He is averaging just 19.3 minutes per game with an average of 9.3 points at Texas. He is 5th in average minutes played and tied for 4th for average points on the team. The Longhorns play on a much bigger stage and are presently 13-3. Will being a smaller fish in a big pond end up better for him than being the big fish in a smaller pond? Only time will tell.

Beard reeled in an insane amount of high level transfers this off season, there were bound to be some very good players who would get crunched out.

I never thought he was Texas level good, but he definitely had better than A10 talent.

[NYGFan_Section208]

We lost to this UMass team TWICE last year. How was that even possible? How did we lose twice to Duquense as well? Or once to GW?

We lost to just about everyone. We only won 10 games.

But it was part of the new record streak!

Yep, double digits!

[Taylor Swift]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

Coach Shinebox… that is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever read. Well done.

[Taylor Swift]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

I don't know, maybe he is working on another highly rated recruit's mother.

I’ll never forget his maroon suit as long as I live complete carvone

[SGreenwell]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of Mitchell:

He is averaging just 19.3 minutes per game with an average of 9.3 points at Texas. He is 5th in average minutes played and tied for 4th for average points on the team. The Longhorns play on a much bigger stage and are presently 13-3. Will being a smaller fish in a big pond end up better for him than being the big fish in a smaller pond? Only time will tell.

To be slightly fair to him, I think he's also missed time with injuries and a close Covid contact. That being said, less incentive for Texas to change the lineup when things are going well, and UMass is probably a vibrant example of why it might not be great to tie your program's success to heavily recruiting from one source.

[Jersey77]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of Mitchell:

He is averaging just 19.3 minutes per game with an average of 9.3 points at Texas. He is 5th in average minutes played and tied for 4th for average points on the team. The Longhorns play on a much bigger stage and are presently 13-3. Will being a smaller fish in a big pond end up better for him than being the big fish in a smaller pond? Only time will tell.

To be slightly fair to him, I think he's also missed time with injuries and a close Covid contact. That being said, less incentive for Texas to change the lineup when things are going well, and UMass is probably a vibrant example of why it might not be great to tie your program's success to heavily recruiting from one source.

They still have 6 players on their roster with ties to Woodstock Academy via Bergeron:
Santos, McCrory, Fernandes, Weeks, Walker, and Dominguez.

[SmartyBarrett]

He is the head coach of the national boys basketball team for First Love Christian Academy in Pittsburgh

I could be mistaken, but thought I read somewhere that he has an administration position at First Love as well as being the basketball coach.

[rhodysurf]

Umass literally doesn’t play defense

[Rhody15]

Umass literally doesn’t play defense

We sometimes don’t play offense so should be fun!

[TruePoint]

Cannot wait to see what the scouting report for Tre Mitchell is.

Speaking of which does anyone know where Coach Shinebox landed? Obviously UMass had no use for him after Tre left, and obviously Texas didn’t need to bring him in to get Tre because they aren’t UMass. Just curious where that clown is now - maybe I will send him a care package (new shoe shine kit maybe).

Coach Shinebox… that is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever read. Well done.

He loved it when I was as yelling at him to “go get his shine box” after he had his little meltdown with DC a couple years ago so he became Coach Shinebox to me forever.

[RhowdyRam02]

You think things are bad here, they don't even have a thread for this game over on umasshoops.com.

Honestly, I feel a certain kinship to UMass, dislike them a lot less than our other rivals, and would like to see them get better.
A state population and government that doesn't support them well enough? Check.
A state population that views them as too far out of the way to check them out? Check.
A state population that attaches themselves to an Ivy League school or a private school in a superior athletic conference located in the capital city that they never attended? Check.
Negative to neutral at best media coverage? Check.
A University that outperforms their shoddy support? Check.
An athletic department with some outstanding moments? Check.

[RhowdyRam02]

Attendance figures taken from their board. These numbers are brutal!

2014 - DK - 6,544
2015 - DK - 4,553
2016 - DK - 3,365
2017 - MM - 3,296
2018 - MM - 2,994
2019 - MM - 2,792
2020 - MM - no attendance
2021 - MM - 2,159 (6 games) Probably affected somewhat by Covid concerns.

[Rhody15]

They have a great practice facility and I for one like the Mullins Center as an arena. Fits 9400.

Amherst is a very good college/party town as well.

The rest of campus is absolutely atrocious though.

[section(105)]

……..UMess………ice hockey rules……..I would say awful hoop facility, darkish…….

[Rhody72]

MA gov't built and fully paid for the Mullins Ctr and an attached in-door practice rink over the objections of the UMASS community. MA Gov't supported UMASS football going FBS against the advice of the schools Bd of Trustees, But it was donors who built a ~$30M Champions Ctr while URI scrambles to find donors for $8M to remodel the West Gym. So, MBB is a #3 sport at UMASS while MBB is the #1 sport at URI.

[theblueram]

MA gov't built and fully paid for the Mullins Ctr and an attached in-door practice rink over the objections of the UMASS community. MA Gov't supported UMASS football going FBS against the advice of the schools Bd of Trustees, But it was donors who built a ~$30M Champions Ctr while URI scrambles to find donors for $8M to remodel the West Gym. So, MBB is a #3 sport at UMASS while MBB is the #1 sport at URI.

Not even sure why I reply. It was donors who built the RC. Donors who built the Boss Arena. Donors who built Mackell. Donors who built Fascitelli Center. And yes, donors will build the practice facility.

[Taylor Swift]

MA gov't built and fully paid for the Mullins Ctr and an attached in-door practice rink over the objections of the UMASS community. MA Gov't supported UMASS football going FBS against the advice of the schools Bd of Trustees, But it was donors who built a ~$30M Champions Ctr while URI scrambles to find donors for $8M to remodel the West Gym. So, MBB is a #3 sport at UMASS while MBB is the #1 sport at URI.

Not even sure why I reply. It was donors who built the RC. Donors who built the Boss Arena. Donors who built Mackell. Donors who built Fascitelli Center. And yes, donors will build the practice facility.

Essentially, as we all know, URI pretty much operates as a private higher ed learning institution. Last I checked, only about 6-9% of the operating budget comes from the state?

[Rhode_Island_Red]

They have a great practice facility and I for one like the Mullins Center as an arena. Fits 9400.

Are you out of your mind? The worst seat in the Ryan Center is better than three-quarters of the seats in the Mullins Center, where 10 rows off the floor puts you somewhere near Pittsfield.

[Rhody15]

They have a great practice facility and I for one like the Mullins Center as an arena. Fits 9400.

Are you out of your mind? The worst seat in the Ryan Center is better than three-quarters of the seats in the Mullins Center, where 10 rows off the floor puts you somewhere near Pittsfield.

Never said Mullins was better than The Ryan Center.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

They have a great practice facility and I for one like the Mullins Center as an arena. Fits 9400.

Are you out of your mind? The worst seat in the Ryan Center is better than three-quarters of the seats in the Mullins Center, where 10 rows off the floor puts you somewhere near Pittsfield.

Never said Mullins was better than The Ryan Center.

OK, you're out of your mind if you like it as anything other than a hockey barn. And even then, it's dark, cold and has lousy acoustics.

[Taylor Swift]

Are you out of your mind? The worst seat in the Ryan Center is better than three-quarters of the seats in the Mullins Center, where 10 rows off the floor puts you somewhere near Pittsfield.

Never said Mullins was better than The Ryan Center.

OK, you're out of your mind if you like it as anything other than a hockey barn. And even then, it's dark, cold and has lousy acoustics.

You literally cannot hear a damn thing in that place.

[RF1]

Hopefully Cox is aware of this and is planning a game plan for either scenario



Starter CJ Kelly is the 3rd leading scorer for UMass with a 13.9ppg average. Plays 29mpg on average.

[Rhody72]

Not even sure why I reply. It was donors who built the RC. Donors who built the Boss Arena. Donors who built Mackell. Donors who built Fascitelli Center. And yes, donors will build the practice facility.

RI provided the majority of funding for the RC thanks to Linc Almond. Then again, you made my point so I should skip over the State funding for the RC.

[Rhody15]

Hopefully Cox is aware of this and is planning a game plan for either scenario



Starter CJ Kelly is the 3rd leading scorer for UMass with a 13.9ppg average. Plays 29mpg on average.

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

[theblueram]

Not even sure why I reply. It was donors who built the RC. Donors who built the Boss Arena. Donors who built Mackell. Donors who built Fascitelli Center. And yes, donors will build the practice facility.

RI provided the majority of funding for the RC thanks to Linc Almond. Then again, you made my point so I should skip over the State funding for the RC.

"The University is also celebrating the successful conclusion of the $15 million private fund drive that helped support the project. Financing for the $54 million Convocation Center project includes the $15 million in private donations, $18 million in state appropriations and $21 million in revenue bonds."

The state funded $18 million for a $54 million dollar Ryan Center. That's 33%. The rest was paid for by donors and URI. The state of RI provided nothing in comparison to Mullins.

[Jersey77]

Hopefully Cox is aware of this and is planning a game plan for either scenario



Starter CJ Kelly is the 3rd leading scorer for UMass with a 13.9ppg average. Plays 29mpg on average.

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

They absolutely need to plan for him.

I happen to think UMass is better than their record.
Like I said they have wins against Penn State and Rutgers.
Also CJ Kelly missed their last game against Davidson.
Their center Steadman has missed 6 games and Fernandes missed 2 games.
They have just lost 3 games in a row, it worries me that they may break out against us.

[theblueram]

Hopefully Cox is aware of this and is planning a game plan for either scenario



Starter CJ Kelly is the 3rd leading scorer for UMass with a 13.9ppg average. Plays 29mpg on average.

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

They absolutely need to plan for him.

I happen to think UMass is better than their record.
Like I said they have wins against Penn State and Rutgers.
Also CJ Kelly missed their last game against Davidson.
Their center Steadman has missed 6 games and Fernandes missed 2 games.
They have just lost 3 games in a row, it worries me that they may break out against us.

Penn St and Rutgers? Are you for real? Rutgers is not top 100 and Penn St is barely.

[Jersey77]

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

They absolutely need to plan for him.

I happen to think UMass is better than their record.
Like I said they have wins against Penn State and Rutgers.
Also CJ Kelly missed their last game against Davidson.
Their center Steadman has missed 6 games and Fernandes missed 2 games.
They have just lost 3 games in a row, it worries me that they may break out against us.

Penn St and Rutgers? Are you for real? Rutgers is not top 100 and Penn St is barely.

Rutgers is still a P5 team with a good coach.
They beat Clemson and #1 ranked Purdue at the time this season.
Plus last season they went to the 2nd round of the NCAAT, losing only to #2 seed Houston by 3 pts in the final seconds.
They have 3 starters back from that team and most of the bench.

Penn State another B10 team has beaten Oregon State, Northwestern, and Indiana. Lost to LSU in OT.

You act as if these teams are the blind sisters of the poor.

Who is saying that UMass is great, just don't think it will be a total pushover, although I hope it ends up that way.

[Rhody72]

...

The state funded $18 million for a $54 million dollar Ryan Center. That's 33%. The rest was paid for by donors and URI. The state of RI provided nothing in comparison to Mullins.

That was the point of my original post. But you were wrong that the State didn't contribute to the RC. Also, revenue bonds are backed by the State and are both State and federal tax exempt and are paid off from ticket sales etc from events. Do you remember how much ticket prices increased compared to Keaney? URI doesn't pay for this.

[PeteRI]

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

They absolutely need to plan for him.

I happen to think UMass is better than their record.
Like I said they have wins against Penn State and Rutgers.
Also CJ Kelly missed their last game against Davidson.
Their center Steadman has missed 6 games and Fernandes missed 2 games.
They have just lost 3 games in a row, it worries me that they may break out against us.

Penn St and Rutgers? Are you for real? Rutgers is not top 100 and Penn St is barely.

Just like us.

[TrevlontRook3]

First Rhody Umass Mullens game my wife and I will be unable to attend since graduating URI……

[Rhody15]

The sad thing is, you’re wholeheartedly not kidding about hoping Cox is aware of this.

Like, there’s precedent for our head coach to game plan for a player who isn’t playing.

They absolutely need to plan for him.

I happen to think UMass is better than their record.
Like I said they have wins against Penn State and Rutgers.
Also CJ Kelly missed their last game against Davidson.
Their center Steadman has missed 6 games and Fernandes missed 2 games.
They have just lost 3 games in a row, it worries me that they may break out against us.

Penn St and Rutgers? Are you for real? Rutgers is not top 100 and Penn St is barely.

Is any team actually legitimate to you? I truly don’t remember a team you’ve said was decent/tough on this board except for Rhody in our tournament days.

Every single team sucks, is garbage, we should kill them, etc.

[ATPTourFan]

First Rhody Umass Mullens game my wife and I will be unable to attend since graduating URI……

That's too bad, since this year you could sit anywhere in the building and have at least 10 empty seats around you in all directions.

[ramster]

First Rhody Umass Mullens game my wife and I will be unable to attend since graduating URI……

Technically we all missed last years game at the Mullins Center

I was at the last game of the season at UMASS March 7, 2020 at the Mullins - turned out to be the last game for a long time until November 2021.

March 7, 2020 was also the last time we beat UMASS losing both games home and away last year

Today will be 22 long months since returning to the Mullins.

It will be good to be back. Hope they improved the lighting in that dark place.

[RF1]

The David Cox record as Head Coach of URI versus UMass in the last three seasons is 3-3.

@URI 63-75
@UMass 78-80 (OT)
@UMass 64-63
@URI 73-67
@URI 94-75
@UMass 70-77

UMass overall record in the last three seasons should be noted:

2020-21 8-7
2019-20 14-17
2018-19 11-21
Total 33-45