ESPN2 won’t receive quite the matchup it ordered when the UMass men’s basketball team visits Rhode Island at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Sophomore center Tre Mitchell will miss his second consecutive game with an injured shoulder, UMass coach Matt McCall said Friday.
“I think it would be difficult to say that Tre plays with where he’s at right now,” McCall said. “He’s still got some time before we can put him into contact. Those guys like to practice and take on contact, we’ve got to make sure of that before we can chuck them into a game.”
Rhode Island (9-10, 6-6 Atlantic 10) may be without senior guard Fatts Russell. He missed the Rams’ Wednesday home loss to VCU with an injured right ankle, and his status is unsure for Saturday.
“They’ve go a lot of other good players, too. Fats is terrific, don’t take anything away from him,” McCall said. “As a coach you have to plan on them playing until you see or hear otherwise. They have talented guards. (Jeramy) Sheppard is in the upper echelon of guards in our league. The thing that’s most impressive about Rhode Island is how hard they play.”
That’s potentially one-third of the preseason Atlantic 10 all-conference team out of commission for a primetime game on national TV. UMass hasn’t played on an ESPN network since Nov. 29, 2019, against St. John’s at Mohegan Sun.
“Everybody’s family gets to watch this, I’m sure it gives our guys more juice. How can it not?” McCall said. “Our program is getting recognition. We’re getting back on the map, and they’re putting us in marquee games.”
Rhode Island played its first two games on ESPN and has had two other games on ESPNU.
UMass (6-4, 5-2) adjusted well in its first game without Mitchell, holding off Fordham on Wednesday. The Minutemen were without sophomore point guard Noah Fernandes against those Rams, and he’ll be a game-time decision against the Rhody Rams.
They only had eight players available against Fordham but should have a more full deck against Rhode Island. UMass played five-on-five in practice Friday for the first time in more than a month with the eight players they used against Fordham plus Dyondre Dominguez and walk-on Ryan Marcus. Dominguez was available against Fordham but didn’t fit into the flow of the game, McCall said.
“This game has been a really, really good game the last few times we’ve played,” McCall said. “There’s a lot at stake. I like where our guys are at.”
UMass beat Rhode Island in overtime Jan. 13 in the Mullins Center. The Rams won two games last season: a one-point thriller in Amherst and a six-point battle in Kingston, R.I. Five out of the past six games have featured single-digit margins.
“It’s a lot of history between both of us,” UMass freshman Jahvon Garcia said.
Should Russell not play, McCall doesn’t expect Rhode Island to alter how they play. Rather than running actions for Russell, they’ll put Sheppard in those positions. The senior is averaging 11.6 points per game this season and is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 43.2 percent from deep. In the two games the Rams didn’t have Russell, he put up 14.5 points per contest.
Freshman Ishmael Leggett filled in at the point guard spot against VCU’s Rams and scored a career-high 17 points.
“He’s having a terrific year, he’s physical, he’s got feel, he’s got size, he can guard multiple spots. He can get in the lane and create,” McCall said. “For a freshman in the Atlantic 10 to be doing what he’s doing, it’s impressive.”
ITINERARY – UMass will shoot around at home Saturday before taking a bus to Kingston. The Minutemen didn’t want to spend all day in a hotel Saturday with the 8 p.m. tip, which also saves the cost of the hotel stay.
WARDROBE – McCall won’t have to worry about matching his suit and tie for a national TV appearance, as the coaching staff is wearing polos this year. His children helped pick out the shoes to complete the ensemble: Adidas sneakers with Goofy on them.
“They think they bring me good luck,” he said.