Minutemen Battle URI In Regular Season Finale At Mullins Saturday

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 31	Massachusetts (14-16, 8-9 Atlantic 10) vs. Rhode Island (20-9, 12-5 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Saturday, March 7, 2020 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Watch	NESNplus \| ESPN+ (Outside New England)
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Live Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts Notes \| 2019-20 Prospectus
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassBasketball
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball
UMass Home Tickets	Get Your 2019-20 Tickets Now! \| 2019-20 Promotional Calendar

AMHERST, Mass. – Having already secured a bye in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2016, the UMass men's basketball team will go for its ninth conference win of the season on Saturday when the Minutemen host rival Rhode Island in the regular season finale at the Mullins Center at 7 p.m.

Senior Night at the Mullins Center
It's the final home game of the season for the Minutemen, and UMass will honor its senior student-athletes (Djery Baptiste, Davonte Higginbottom, Randall West) and senior managers (Ben Harris, Ciara Lockwood, Ceasar Adim, Seth Conklin) in a pregame ceremony.

In addition, UMass senior students will have the opportunity to sign up and take the court post game for a senior group photo.

Pizza will also be available for all students pregame, while supplies last, and students can check in on the Militia Student Rewards app on Saturday for a chance to win an electric scooter!

Keep rollin'
UMass' eight league wins are the most since the 2014-15 season, and is looking to finish .500 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time since that same 2014-15 campaign.

UMass has already secured a first round bye in next week's Atlantic 10 Championship, which hasn't happened since 2016. The Minutemen will be either the eighth or ninth seed in the tournament, their highest seed since 2015.

The series with Rhode Island
Overall, UMass holds an 89-66 advantage in the all-time series, with Rhode Island collecting wins in seven of the last nine meetings. Earlier this season, Tre Mitchell put on a show with 30 points on 13-of-20 from the floor, but Fatts Russell had 21 points (16 in the second half) to lead three Rams in double figures to lead Rhode Island past the Minutemen on Feb. 4 at The Ryan Center, 73-67

The annual series dates back to 1908 with UMass winning 32-14 that year. Since 1950, the teams have played every year as charter members of the Yankee Conference (which formed from the New England Conference).

Stiff competition
UMass has gone up against some of the nation's top teams, including 13 currently ranked in the top-100 of the NCAA NET Rankings: Dayton (3), Rutgers (31), Richmond (44), Virginia (47), Saint Louis (54), URI (57), South Carolina (63), VCU (64), Yale (66), St. John's (69), Akron (73), Davidson (79), Duquesne (86).

In games against top-100 teams, Tre Mitchell is averaging 18.3 points, 7.2 rebounds per game, and is shooting 48% (103-of-217).

Home sweet home
The Minutemen are back in the Mullins Center for the final time this season, where they are 11-4 this season. UMass is shooting 47% from the floor and 36% from three (122-of-337) at home. A win on Saturday would give the Minutemen their most home wins in a season since 2011-12.

Tre Mitchell (17.5) and Carl Pierre (13.8) are both averaging better than 13 points per game at home, while the defense is forcing opponents into an average of 15.7 turnovers per game.

Tre Ball
• On Mar. 2, Tre Mitchell became the first Minuteman since Rashaun Freeman in 2003-04 to earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors five times in a season, and first player in team history to win the award in four consecutive weeks. He's also the first A-10 player to win four straight since Rhode Island's E.C. Matthews in 2013-14.

• Mitchell is 56th in the NCAA, and third among rookies, with 196 field goals. On Mar. 4, he broke the UMass freshman record for made field goals in a season, previously held by Jim McCoy (193, 1988-89).

• Mitchell's 514 points are fifth in the nation among NCAA freshmen, and 41 away from tying the UMass rookie record for points in a season, held by Jim McCoy (555, 1988-98).

• He is averaging 18.3 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 47% from the floor against NCAA NET top-100 opponents this season (15 games).

• Mitchell is 16th in the country among rookies averaging 6.9 rebounds per game. His season total of 210 is 29 shy of tying Horace Neysmith's UMass freshman record of 239, set in 1981-82.

• Mitchell had a career-high 30 points on Feb. 4 at Rhode Island, and is sixth in the Atlantic 10 and first among rookies averaging 17.1 points per game this season.

• Mitchell's 30-point night against the Rams were the most for a UMass freshman since Rashaun Freeman scored 31 on Feb. 28, 2004. Mitchell's averaging 21.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in his last eight games.

• He is one of 17 players in the Atlantic 10 to have a 30-point game this season, and the only freshman to do so.

• Mitchell is one of nine players in the A-10 with a 30-point game in conference play.

• He has four 25+ point nights this season. UMass had six as a team last season.

• Mitchell's second half double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) at Fordham on Feb. 22 marked the first double-double for a Minuteman in a half since Terrell Vinson had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the second half against Fordham on Jan. 5, 2012.

• He pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds at Fordham on Feb. 22, tied for the fourth-most in the Atlantic 10 this season and the most in a game for a Minuteman since Antwan Space had 17 on Feb. 14, 2016 at Duquesne (OT).

Scoreboard

Minutemen Battle URI In Regular Season Finale At Mullins Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

Randall West

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics