Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Saturday, January 13, 2024
2:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Previews
UMass’ Fan Forum
As the famed philosopher Ric Ocasek once said, “Let the good times roll.” The Rams open conference play with 2 wins. Boom! Rhody will look to make it three in a row on Saturday afternoon when rival UMass comes to town. URI’s last three game conference win streak was two years ago. The last time the Rams opened conference play with three straight wins was 2018 when they started 13-0. UMass is the Rams 2nd most common opponent throughout their history, having played 162 times.
The UMass Minutemen come to the Ryan Center with an 11-4 record & 2-1 in conference play. They rolled both Duquesne & La Salle at home while losing a tight one in Dayton. Offensively, UMass has a two-headed monster with forwards Matt Cross & Josh Cohen. The 6’10” Saint Francis transfer Josh Cohen is leading the team in scoring at just over 17 per game. In his last game against La Salle he went for 24 & 10. As for Matt Cross, the Massachusetts native is leading the team in rebounds at over 8 per game & is second on the team in scoring at just shy of 16. He is also second on the team in assists at just over 3 per game. He went for 18 & 14 against Daron Holmes & Dayton. The other double-digit scorer is guard Rashool Diggins. He has really upped his game over the previous season. Last year he averaged 4.7 points per game while this year he is at 11.8. What is most remarkable is his free throw shooting. He shot a putrid 36% last season and is somehow now at 83.3% this year. Diggins is also leading the team in three pointers made. The final player to keep an eye on is guard Keon Thompson. He is leading the team in assists & is averaging 9.5 points per game.
As for Rhody, they showed that they can win, even on the road, when David Green doesn’t play much. He was a difference maker since being healthy & eligible to play. Due to foul trouble, he only played 11 minutes & the Rams still got the road win. A very promising sign. What also helped was Kortright’s monster game, going for 26 & 5 assists. One of the biggest things was going 9 for 10 from the line. The Rams hope to get some revenge after last season’s loss to the Minutemen at the Ryan Center. Rhody was embarrassed on their home court, losing by 24 in one of the worst games in a few years, and that is saying something. If you take Ish out of the equation, the starting lineup shot 19% from the field & 1-12 from deep. Ram1980 summed up the last match-up perfectly “Booooooooo, putrid, pathetic, embarrassing. From the coach on down. Sitting in parking lot after leaving early which we never do.” Yup, that is how bad it was.
Will the Rams win their third straight conference game? As Blue Man asked, are we goin’ streaking? The Rams have lost the last 3 in a row & 5 out of the last 6 to the Minutemen. It has been 4 years since the last home win against UMass. I am assuming the Rams will be home underdogs for this game. Green will need to stay out of foul trouble given that UMass has very good bigs. Unfortunately the students aren’t back yet for this home game, cause the Rams could use their support. This is going to be a tough one. My prediction, URI 82 – UMass 79 in OT. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
11-4, 2-1 in the A10
15-16, 6-12 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 80 (187)
RPI: 54 (165)
KenPom: 91 (186)
BPI: 94 (201)
Barttovik: 80 (170)
Leaders:
Points – Josh Cohen 17.1 (Sr., F)
Rebounds – Matt Cross 8.3 (Sr., F)
Assists – Keon Thompson 3.3 (Soph., G) (1.3 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 68-94
H: 41-34, A: 27-55, N: 0-5
Most Recent Matchup: 2/18/23 69-45 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 3 – UMass
Match-up Predictor: 32.8% Chance of URI Winning