Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
7:00PM
Media
TV: YurView
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews:
UMass Lowell Fan Forum
The University of Rhode Island look to build on this weekend’s win over Army with a home tilt against UMass Lowell. The River Hawks come into this game with a blistering 11-1 record with wins at Brown & at UMass Amherst. Two of their wins are against non-D1 teams (both 50+ blowouts), but 7 of their 9 wins have been by double-digits. There only loss on the season came at Rutgers where they lost by just 8 points.
Junior Max Brooks was picked as a preseason all-conference team, but has struggled to stay out of foul trouble this season. If he does stay out of foul trouble, he could be tough to defend downlow as he is shooting an impressive 66% from the floor. He is also a very solid defender with almost 2 blocks per game. Fifth year senior Everette Hammond is leading the River Hawks in scoring with 13 a game. This teams shares the ball well with 6 players averaging over 8 points per game. Those numbers are a bit inflated given they surpassed 100 in their 2 non-D1 games. La Salle transfer Ayinde Hikim runs the offense, averaging over 4 assists but game but is turnover prone, averaging almost 4 a game. Rhody can play off him on defense, daring him to shoot from 3 as he is just 1 for 12 on the season. The two main deep threats are the aforementioned Hammond & Yuri Covington, who are both shooting it at 45%. On the plus side, the River Hawks are averaging more turnovers per game than Rhody (15.7/15.1). These turnovers could lead to some breakouts.
As for Rhody, Jalen Carey was a much-needed spark off the bench after missing the last 5 games due to injury. He went for 12/6/5 & the best number in my mind was just the 1 turnover. Hopefully he can become a reliable scorer which will take some of the burden off Ish & Bray. Ish once again had a great game, notching his first career double-double. I am looking forward to this game Tuesday night because I think it is going to be a close one & is a good test before starting conference play at the end of the month. The River Hawks are going to give Vermont & Bryant a run for their money in winning the America East
I think UMass Lowell will be favored by a point or two given how well they are playing. Will Rhody have enough to pull out the victory? I hope so, but I think they falter late. My prediction is UMass Lowell 69 – URI 67. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
11-1, 0-0 in the America East
15-16, 7-11 in the America East (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 57 (286)
RPI: 86 (250)
KenPom: 118 (196)
BPI: 95 (245)
Sagarin: 119 (198)
Barttovik: 123 (213)
Leaders:
Points – Everette Hammond 13.0 (Sr., G)
Rebounds – Abdoul Karim Coulibaly 8.6 (Jr., F)
Assists – Ayinde Hikim 4.3 (Jr., G) (3.8 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 2-0
H: 1-0, A: 1-0, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 11/16/14 72-56 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 32.9% Chance of URI Winning