2/18 | UMass | 2:00PM (ESPNU/ESPN+)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs University of Massachusetts
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, February 18, 2023
2:00PM

Media
TV: ESPNU
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews
UMass Fan Forum


Coming off a devastating buzzer beater loss to 1st place VCU, the University of Rhode Island takes on rival University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center. This game is the complete antithesis of the women’s game Thursday night. It was a battle for first place with both teams entering that contest with double-digit winning streaks. This game is a battle to stay out of the basement of the A10 & Rhody has a 4-game losing streak while UMass has a 5 gamer. Hopefully the outcome is also an antithesis as Rhody got rolled by 20+.

The injury bug has hit the Minutemen hard as of late. Noah Fernandes, who was the leading scorer, has missed half the season with an ankle injury. Matt Cross stepped up in his absence & is now leading the team in points & rebounds. He went for 22 & 7 when they played URI last month. Unfortunately, in their last game against Loyola just 5 minutes into the game he injured his MCL. Throw in Brandon Martin’s UCL injury he incurred in practice earlier this week, UMass will certainly be playing this game shorthanded. Martin could potentially play Saturday, but Coach Frank Martin said Cross is “definitely not playing.”

The Minutemen are certainly not known for their defensive prowess, but they played great defense against Loyola in their last game. They were down 61-43 after a 3 pointer from Loyola with 9:51 to go in the game. They held Loyola without of a field goal for the remainder of the game. They closed on a 19-3 run but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the win. RJ Luis is the only healthy player on the team who is averaging in double figures. Luis is a tall guard, listed at 6’7”. UMass has some height downlow with Isaac Kante and center Wildens Leveque. Leveque, who followed Coach Martin from South Carolina to Massachusetts, is a widebody downlow. UMass also showcases two players from RI in TJ Weeks Jr & Dyondre Dominguez. Dominguez went for 12 & 7 off the bench the last time these teams played.

Rhody played great defense in their last game against VCU. VCU, which averages 70 points per game was held to just 55 points & their best player Ace Baldwin went 0-10 from the field. A defensive presence like this against a battered UMass team should hopefully lead to a win. I feel like I am a broken record with this statement but if Rhody can limit some of their unforced turnovers they can win this one. Rhody has lost 4 of the last 5, but that will change Saturday afternoon. Rhody will also win the race to 10 on Saturday. Mark it down. The Rams should be favored by a couple points for being at home. With the 1987-88 Rhody team being honored at halftime, that team swept UMass that season. This Rhode Island team will win it in their honor. MY prediction URI 64 – UMass 60. Go Rhody!!


Opponent
Record:
13-13, 4-10 in the A10
15-17, 7-11 in the A10 (Last Season)

Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 199 (228)
RPI: 160 (250)
KenPom: 210 (217)
BPI: 180 (213)
Sagarin: 191 (195)
Barttovik: 211 (210)

Leaders:
Points – Matt Cross 12.9 (Jr., F)
Rebounds – Matt Cross 6.3 (Jr., F)
Assists – Leon Thompson 2.6 (Fr., G) (1.8 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 68-93
H: 41-33, A: 27-55, N: 0-5
Most Recent Matchup: 1/14/23 75-65 L at UMass
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 – UMass
Match-up Predictor: 55.3% Chance of URI Winning

[Jersey77]

UMass will probably continue to struggle with all their injury woes.
Without their leading scorers Fernandes and Cross, plus starter Martin, I expect Rhody to win at the RC.

[RhowdyRam02]

University of Rhode Island vs University of Massachusetts
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, February 18, 2023
2:00PM

Media
TV: ESPNU
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews
UMass Fan Forum


Coming off a devastating buzzer beater loss to 1st place VCU, the University of Rhode Island takes on rival University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center. This game is the complete antithesis of the women’s game Thursday night. It was a battle for first place with both teams entering that contest with double-digit winning streaks. This game is a battle to stay out of the basement of the A10 & Rhody has a 4-game losing streak while UMass has a 5 gamer. Hopefully the outcome is also an antithesis as Rhody got rolled by 20+.

The injury bug has hit the Minutemen hard as of late. Noah Fernandes, who was the leading scorer, has missed half the season with an ankle injury. Matt Cross stepped up in his absence & is now leading the team in points & rebounds. He went for 22 & 7 when they played URI last month. Unfortunately, in their last game against Loyola just 5 minutes into the game he injured his MCL. Throw in Brandon Martin’s UCL injury he incurred in practice earlier this week, UMass will certainly be playing this game shorthanded. Martin could potentially play Saturday, but Coach Frank Martin said Cross is “definitely not playing.”

The Minutemen are certainly not known for their defensive prowess, but they played great defense against Loyola in their last game. They were down 61-43 after a 3 pointer from Loyola with 9:51 to go in the game. They held Loyola without of a field goal for the remainder of the game. They closed on a 19-3 run but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the win. RJ Luis is the only healthy player on the team who is averaging in double figures. Luis is a tall guard, listed at 6’7”. UMass has some height downlow with Isaac Kante and center Wildens Leveque. Leveque, who followed Coach Martin from South Carolina to Massachusetts, is a widebody downlow. UMass also showcases two players from RI in TJ Weeks Jr & Dyondre Dominguez. Dominguez went for 12 & 7 off the bench the last time these teams played.

Rhody played great defense in their last game against VCU. VCU, which averages 70 points per game was held to just 55 points & their best player Ace Baldwin went 0-10 from the field. A defensive presence like this against a battered UMass team should hopefully lead to a win. I feel like I am a broken record with this statement but if Rhody can limit some of their unforced turnovers they can win this one. Rhody has lost 4 of the last 5, but that will change Saturday afternoon. Rhody will also win the race to 10 on Saturday. Mark it down. The Rams should be favored by a couple points for being at home. With the 1987-88 Rhody team being honored at halftime, that team swept UMass that season. This Rhode Island team will win it in their honor. MY prediction URI 64 – UMass 60. Go Rhody!!

Brandon Martin is Coach Martin's son, and there are some UMass fans that seem to think the amount of time he's been playing is because he's the coach's son and not because of merit. Could also explain why Frank has been so touchy regarding fan criticism this season.

Somewhere David Cox is writing up plans to foil Matt Cross...

[RhowdyRam02]

Saturday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
The game is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. tip, though it could slide back as many as five minutes depending on the status of the Texas Tech-West Virginia men's basketball game that airs at noon on the channel.
Matt Martucci will handle the play-by-play, with Tom Crean as the color analyst.
Steve McDonald and Chris DiSano will have the audio call on the Varsity Network.

In addition to the Ring of Honor ceremony Saturday, members of the 1987-88 and 1997-98 teams will be recognized during timeouts of the game.

https://gorhody.com/news/2023/2/17/mens ... urday.aspx

[SGreenwell]

University of Rhode Island vs University of Massachusetts
Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, February 18, 2023
2:00PM

Media
TV: ESPNU
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network

Previews
UMass Fan Forum


Coming off a devastating buzzer beater loss to 1st place VCU, the University of Rhode Island takes on rival University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center. This game is the complete antithesis of the women’s game Thursday night. It was a battle for first place with both teams entering that contest with double-digit winning streaks. This game is a battle to stay out of the basement of the A10 & Rhody has a 4-game losing streak while UMass has a 5 gamer. Hopefully the outcome is also an antithesis as Rhody got rolled by 20+.

The injury bug has hit the Minutemen hard as of late. Noah Fernandes, who was the leading scorer, has missed half the season with an ankle injury. Matt Cross stepped up in his absence & is now leading the team in points & rebounds. He went for 22 & 7 when they played URI last month. Unfortunately, in their last game against Loyola just 5 minutes into the game he injured his MCL. Throw in Brandon Martin’s UCL injury he incurred in practice earlier this week, UMass will certainly be playing this game shorthanded. Martin could potentially play Saturday, but Coach Frank Martin said Cross is “definitely not playing.”

The Minutemen are certainly not known for their defensive prowess, but they played great defense against Loyola in their last game. They were down 61-43 after a 3 pointer from Loyola with 9:51 to go in the game. They held Loyola without of a field goal for the remainder of the game. They closed on a 19-3 run but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the win. RJ Luis is the only healthy player on the team who is averaging in double figures. Luis is a tall guard, listed at 6’7”. UMass has some height downlow with Isaac Kante and center Wildens Leveque. Leveque, who followed Coach Martin from South Carolina to Massachusetts, is a widebody downlow. UMass also showcases two players from RI in TJ Weeks Jr & Dyondre Dominguez. Dominguez went for 12 & 7 off the bench the last time these teams played.

Rhody played great defense in their last game against VCU. VCU, which averages 70 points per game was held to just 55 points & their best player Ace Baldwin went 0-10 from the field. A defensive presence like this against a battered UMass team should hopefully lead to a win. I feel like I am a broken record with this statement but if Rhody can limit some of their unforced turnovers they can win this one. Rhody has lost 4 of the last 5, but that will change Saturday afternoon. Rhody will also win the race to 10 on Saturday. Mark it down. The Rams should be favored by a couple points for being at home. With the 1987-88 Rhody team being honored at halftime, that team swept UMass that season. This Rhode Island team will win it in their honor. MY prediction URI 64 – UMass 60. Go Rhody!!

Brandon Martin is Coach Martin's son, and there are some UMass fans that seem to think the amount of time he's been playing is because he's the coach's son and not because of merit. Could also explain why Frank has been so touchy regarding fan criticism this season.

Somewhere David Cox is writing up plans to foil Matt Cross...

Brandon Martin's PER is 6.4, yet he's playing 18.7 MPG and inexplicably started each game for UMass, so I'd agree with those fans. If he was on URI, that PER would be lower than Weston (8.2), and slightly ahead of Rory Stewart (5.7) and Louis Hutchinson (5.5). Dominguez leads the team in PER (21.1) and he's averaging 19.5 MPG. I can't say I'm super familiar with the UMass depth chart, but unless he's some defensive sieve or always injured, he should be getting closer to 30 MPG.

[Billyboy78]

I hope we get a good crowd for this one. It would suck to finally be honoring past greats in a half empty house.

[TruePoint]

I hope we get a good crowd for this one. It would suck to finally be honoring past greats in a half empty house.

The only other game I’ve been to this year is PC. Just too hard for me to make it down for games regularly right now because of other life and family obligations. But I will be there tomorrow and hoping for a good crowd and a nice win.

[Jdrums#3]

Good stuff as always,Spooky. Thanks!

I think we will see another rock fight. If we keep UMass under 60, I think we have a better than 50/50 chance to win. If UMass gets to 65 or more, I think the chances flip.

Go Rhody!

[reef]

If someone can post the ceremony of the 88 team on this board would be great I’m going on a cruise tomorrow and will miss the next 3 games thanks

[RhowdyRam02]

If someone can post the ceremony of the 88 team on this board would be great I’m going on a cruise tomorrow and will miss the next 3 games thanks

I would hope URI athletics will post it on their YouTube

[section(105)]

Is the an early gate and recommended to be in seats time?

[PeterRamTime]

If someone can post the ceremony of the 88 team on this board would be great I’m going on a cruise tomorrow and will miss the next 3 games thanks

I would hope URI athletics will post it on their YouTube

I dont think they believe in youtube.

[RhowdyRam02]

Is the an early gate and recommended to be in seats time?

Nothing in the game notes about arriving early, it appears the ceremony will be at the half instead of pre-game

[spookydog]

Is the an early gate and recommended to be in seats time?

Nothing in the game notes about arriving early, it appears the ceremony will be at the half instead of pre-game

There is nothing pregame. The main ceremony will be at halftime but there will be videos during the first half timeouts.

[Billyboy78]

Is the an early gate and recommended to be in seats time?

Nothing in the game notes about arriving early, it appears the ceremony will be at the half instead of pre-game

That sucks. Not much they can do in the approximate 10 minutes that can be allotted at halftime. I was hoping to see career highlights of all the players on the video board. Maybe they'll do that, but it'll be very short. There also the unveiling of their names to the Ring. I would have hoped they'd dedicate about half an hour for this ceremony. Archie has said how important it is to connect to past greats. 10 minutes isn't enough to truly honor all of them. Maybe 1, but not all.

[reef]

Is the an early gate and recommended to be in seats time?

Nothing in the game notes about arriving early, it appears the ceremony will be at the half instead of pre-game

That sucks. Not much they can do in the approximate 10 minutes that can be allotted at halftime. I was hoping to see career highlights of all the players on the video board. Maybe they'll do that, but it'll be very short. There also the unveiling of their names to the Ring. I would have hoped they'd dedicate about half an hour for this ceremony. Archie has said how important it is to connect to past greats. 10 minutes isn't enough to truly honor all of them. Maybe 1, but not all.

Yeah I would prefer pregame also would be longer and not rushed also the current players could attend instead of focusing on halftime adjustments

[section(105)]

Hopefully the PA guy will under control.

[Billyboy78]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

[Rhody15]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap, this would be a “Blue Out” and t shirts would be put on seats in the whole lower bowl.

No more pink out, white out, blue out.

Won’t ever forget the pink out game vs Richmond in 2010.

Absolute blizzard, tons of students.

That was the first loss in our late season collapse. Cothran missed a wide open 3 right in front of Rhody bench at the buzzer.

[Rhodymob05]

Yea what happened to those shirt events? They were pretty common.

[section(105)]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap, this would be a “Blue Out” and t shirts would be put on seats in the whole lower bowl.

No more pink out, white out, blue out.

Yes, exactly. Nothing these days, no buzz. OK, I get it sitting at near bottom A-10. But, maybe it was Archie’s at hiring time(or some other coach) said, in reference to the atmosphere of the RC, ‘there was always something going on, tough place to be a visitor team……’
Or, as wife says, I am making shit up again.

[TruePoint]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap

This is literally the least cheap they’ve ever been. Sorry you didn’t get a pink tshirt.

[Rhody15]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap

This is literally the least cheap they’ve ever been. Sorry you didn’t get a pink tshirt.

So you’re in favor of them stopping the “____ out?”

I thought it was always a cool concept that got people in the doors for big games.

Now we haven’t had a big game in a while, but I still think they should do a couple a season.

I couldn’t care less about getting a shirt, I have plenty. But thanks for the concern.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Keaney Blue day tomorrow. Dress accordingly.

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap

This is literally the least cheap they’ve ever been. Sorry you didn’t get a pink tshirt.

I've caught 4 shirts this year and missed a couple others where I just wasn't paying attention.
...Cheerleaders never throw t-shirts straight. There's usually a massive slice (occasional hook) so if you're in distance range, directionally it doesn't really matter where you are. Will be wearing the Ruckus one I caught during a Weds t's for 3, to the game tomorrow

[TruePoint]

Back when the athletic department wasn’t cheap

This is literally the least cheap they’ve ever been. Sorry you didn’t get a pink tshirt.

So you’re in favor of them stopping the “____ out?”

I thought it was always a cool concept that got people in the doors for big games.

Now we haven’t had a big game in a while, but I still think they should do a couple a season.

I couldn’t care less about getting a shirt, I have plenty. But thanks for the concern.

I’m not necessarily in favor of it, I also can’t say I’ve lost a lot of sleep over it.

[Maine66]

Heading down to Kingston today with my son in law as a guest in the President's box. Hope I don't jinx the team. Last year I was at the GW game when they couldn't shoot free throws and blew a huge lead which started their downfall. Always nice to get back to the campus. My grand daughter has been accepted into the honors program.

[section(105)]

Heading down to Kingston today with my son in law as a guest in the President's box. Hope I don't jinx the team. Last year I was at the GW game when they couldn't shoot free throws and blew a huge lead which started their downfall. Always nice to get back to the campus. My grand daughter has been accepted into the honors program.

Enjoy.

[RhowdyRam02]

Heading down to Kingston today with my son in law as a guest in the President's box. Hope I don't jinx the team. Last year I was at the GW game when they couldn't shoot free throws and blew a huge lead which started their downfall. Always nice to get back to the campus. My grand daughter has been accepted into the honors program.

If last year you started the downfall maybe this year you can start the up swing. Not really sure what's left for you to jinx this year

[damram]

I sit in 305, last row, just in front of the Presidents Box. I don’t have to worry about catching tee shirts.

[PeterRamTime]

Ok please beat UMass in front of these all time great Rhody Rams

[NYGFan_Section208]

I sit in 305, last row, just in front of the Presidents Box. I don’t have to worry about catching tee shirts.

just curious....why?

[hrstrat57]

I sit in 305, last row, just in front of the Presidents Box. I don’t have to worry about catching tee shirts.

just curious....why?

TSK forbids items tossed into upper deck.

[hrstrat57]

Line Q’d 100yds N entrance. Looks like 6k this afternoon:)

[PeteRI]

This sound system is so F#KING LOUD

[steviep123]

Sporting the Keaney Blues!

[adam914]

How about that Tchikou move!!

[Jdrums#3]

Good start. For Ish, too.

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Will this ESPN color guy PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?

[PeteRI]

At 15:54 Ish has 7 of our first 11 points.

[KingstonLane]

Will this ESPN color guy PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?

Please stop. This is 100x better than the usual student announcers were subjected to

[adam914]

Ish ain't messin around today!

[Rhode_Island_Red]

Will this ESPN color guy PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?

Please stop. This is 100x better than the usual student announcers were subjected to

Glad you like it. My ears are bleeding.

[RhodyRams916]

Martin still has the green light to shoot threes? Holy shit man, just stop. You’re a terrible offensive player.

[PeteRI]

Great tribute to 1988 team during timeout.

[PeteRI]

Rory with nice corner 3

[RhodyRams916]

RORY!!!

[PeterRamTime]

Martin still has the green light to shoot threes? Holy shit man, just stop. You’re a terrible offensive player.

It's amazing how inept he is at shooting the ball....and lay ups

[Jdrums#3]

Good game. Team is hustling. Rory providing some good minutes and hitting the O glass.

[RhodyRams916]

Martin still has the green light to shoot threes? Holy shit man, just stop. You’re a terrible offensive player.

It's amazing how inept he is at shooting the ball....and lay ups

Yup. Notice how many times he gets blocked. He shows WAAAYYY too much of the ball on layups.

[Jdrums#3]

Dangerous stretch here. Going cold on O. Can’t let them build a solid lead by half.