Men’s Hoops Heads To Rival Rhode Island For Saturday Tip On ESPNU

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 27	Massachusetts (13-13 Overall, 4-10 Atlantic 10) at Rhode Island (8-17 Overall, 4-9 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Saturday, Feb. 18 \| 2 p.m.
Location	Kingston, R.I.
Tickets	Tickets
Watch	ESPNU
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Rhode Island
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Varsity Network App
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassM BB
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team heads to Rhode Island for a nationally televised matchup Saturday. The Minutemen and Rams tip-off the rivalry game from the Ryan Center at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.

Longstanding Rivalry
Saturday's matchup marks the 162nd all-time meeting between the Minutemen and the Rams dating back to the first matchup during the 1907-08 season. UMass leads the series with a 93-68 all-time record against Rhode Island having won four of the last five games in the series. The Minutemen won the previous meeting this season 75-65 behind Matt Cross' 22 points and seven rebounds while shooting 48-percent from the field in the second half.

Welcome Home T.J.
T.J. Weeks Jr. poured in a career-high 30 points in a 78-67 win over Rhode Island in the Ryan Center last season. The Rhode Island native shot 12-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range while grabbing six rebounds and swiping five steals.

Bench Boost
The Minutemen rank 12th in the country and lead the Atlantic 10 in bench points per game at 29.3. UMass has outscored its opponent's bench in 18 games and has been outscored just five times this season.

Crashing The Boards
UMass averages 12.7 offensive rebounds per game to rank 18th nationally and first in the Atlantic 10. The Minutemen are also a top-50 rebounding team in the country with 37.7 rebounds per game ranking 43rd in the country and second in the A-10. Matt Cross leads the team with 2.4 offensive boards per game to rank sixth among A-10 leaders.

Key's Career Day
Freshman guard Keon Thompson had a career day in the last meeting against Rhode Island, finishing with then career-best marks in rebounds with seven and assists with five in 31 minutes. Thompson went on to set a new career-high mark in assists with 12 against Davidson, becoming just the third individual A-10 player this season to reach 12 or more assists in a game.

Looking Ahead
The Minutemen have just three games remaining on the schedule after this weekend with two of the final three at home in the Mullins Center. UMass plays its second consecutive nationally televised game on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at home against Dayton before the final road game of the regular season on March 1 at Duquesne. The regular season concludes in the Mullins Center with a Legacy Game matchup on March 4 against St. Bonaventure at 2:30 p.m. on USA.

Atlantic 10 Championship
Atlantic 10 Championship play begins for the league on Tuesday, March 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The new conference tournament format begins with three games on the opening Tuesday with an off day scheduled for Friday following the quarterfinals matchups. Visit Atlantic 10 Championship center using the link here.

Scoreboard

Men’s Hoops Heads To Rival Rhode Island For Saturday Tip On ESPNU

Players Mentioned

Matt Cross

Keon Thompson

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics