The Massachusetts Minutemen and Rhode Island Rams meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Ryan Center. The Massachusetts Minutemen need a win after losing eight of their last 11 games. The Rhode Island Rams look to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Massachusetts Minutemen are averaging 76.3 points on 43 percent shooting and allowing 78.5 points on 48.6 percent shooting. Noah Fernandes is averaging 16 points and 3.1 rebounds, while Rich Kelly is averaging 13.1 points and 2 rebounds. Trent Buttrick is the third double-digit scorer and CJ Kelly is grabbing 4.2 rebounds. The Massachusetts Minutemen are shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc and 74.8 percent from the free throw line. The Massachusetts Minutemen are allowing 36.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 30.2 rebounds per game.
The Rhode Island Rams are averaging 68.2 points on 47 percent shooting and allowing 62.3 points on 37.2 percent shooting. Makhi Mitchell is averaging 11.6 points and 1.6 assists, while Jeremy Sheppard is averaging 10.1 points and 2.9 assists. Makhi Mitchell is dishing 1.5 assists and Antwan Walker is grabbing 4.6 rebounds. The Rhode Island Rams are shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc and 65.7 percent from the free throw line. The Rhode Island Rams are allowing 30.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 32.4 rebounds per game.
The Minutemen are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 road games. The Rams are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 13-4 in Minutemen last 17 overall. The under is 5-0 in Rams last 5 overall. The underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
The UMass Minutemen enter this game in rough shape, shooting 37.3 percent from the field in their last five games, and they lose on the road by an average of 11.5 points. The Rhode Island Rams aren’t lighting the world on fire, but they’ve shown more flashes overall this year, and they win at home by an average of 10 points while allowing 34.9 percent shooting. I’ll eat the chalk.