William D. Mullins Memorial Center, Amherst, MA
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
7:00PM
Media
TV: NESN
Online: ESPN+
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App
Previews:
UMass’ Fan Forum
With a change in the Rhody schedule, the Rams now head north to Amherst to take on UMass Wednesday night. URI is coming off a a big road win against VCU in Richmond while UMass is coming off an easy win at home over La Salle. The Minutemen have played half as many games as Rhody this year because of COVID related issues as well as their game being postponed in DC last week given the insurrection. Never thought I would have to say that in a game write-up, but here we are. The Minutemen are a young team lead by fourth year head coach Matt McCall. Opposing team’s assistant coaches generally fly under the radar, but not for this team. I would venture to say that a wide swath of KB members has very high regards for one assistant coach, former Rhody great Tyson Wheeler, while a vastly different feeling towards Tony Bergeron, who tried to get into a fight with David Cox last year at the Ryan Center. On the court UMass, the offense flows through center Tres Mitchell. He is the only non-senior on the A10 preseason all-conference team and in my opinion the best player in the conference. The Rhody big men have their hands full with him & will need to remember to play him past the arc as he is a good three-point shooter, hitting almost half of his attempts. Mitchell plays just about the whole game, averaging 35 minutes of playing time. UMass rounds out their lineup with primarily guards; Pierre, Fernandes, Garcia & Rhode Island native TJ Weeks. Weeks was hurt much of last year, so he didn’t play against the Rams in both contests last year. Sophomore Noah Fernandes is a player to watch as he has played great this year, averaging 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds & a fantastic 5.8 assists per game. Hopefully Rhody’s defense can slow him down & not facilitate to Mitchell as much as he has been. The Rams have won 7 of the last 8 contests against UMass, so hopefully they will be able to continue this trend. As has been the case so far this season, the Rams need to keep better care of the ball. Rhody had 19 turnovers last game but were saved by their shooting from deep. If they don’t shoot like they did against VCU but have the same number of turnovers, they can’t possibly think they will win. If Fatts keeps getting to the line while Betrand & Sheppard shoot high percentage shots Rhody should win this one by almost double digits. I am guessing the spread will be Rhody -2.5 & I like this in this one. Rhody wins 77-71. Wear a Mask & Go Rhody!
Opponent
Record:
3-3, 2-1 in the Atlantic 10
Last season: 14-17, 8-10 in the Atlantic 10
Rankings (URI):
RPI: 142 (78)
KenPom: 113 (68)
NCAA NET: 111 (76)
BPI: 117 (69)
Sagarin: 123 (76)
Leaders:
Points – Tres Mitchell 20.7 (Soph., C)
Rebounds – Tres Mitchell 7.2 (Soph., C)
Assists – Noah Fernandez. 5.8 (Soph., G) (1.5 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 67-89
H: 41-31, A: 26-53, N: 0-5
Most Recent Matchup: 3/7/20 64-63 W at UMass
Most Recent Win Streak: 3 – URI
Match-up Predictor: 59.3% Chance of URI Winning