A week off of basketball is enough to knock a lot of teams out of rhythm, and the Massachusetts men’s basketball team fell victim to that Wednesday against Rhode Island.
Within the Minutemen’s (9-12, 4-4 Atlantic 10) performance, they dominated the paint on both ends and rebounded strongly as a team. These elements of the game were not present early against the Rams (15-6, 4-5 A-10).
In the first half, Rhode Island out-rebounded UMass 21-18 and outscored them 28-22 in the paint. The disparity in paint points can be credited to the Rams’ ability to push in transition, something the Minutemen has been favorable towards in past games. Rhode Island ended the first half with a 15-10 advantage in fastbreak points.
Head coach Frank Martin’s team have won the rebounding battle in a majority of their victories this season, showing that winning on the boards is an integral part of this team’s identity and success. They also find a majority of their success on offense inside the arc, which is clearly something the Rams picked up on in the first half.
Rhode Island clogged the paint every time UMass attacked, forcing the Minutemen to move the ball more. This did not work out in their favor, and the visitors had just three assists in the first half compared to nine turnovers.
This showing from the Minutemen is a far cry from the effort they put forward to end the game. In the second half, UMass dominated the glass, sporting a 10-0 advantage in offensive boards and an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points. The passing also got cleaned up as the Minutemen collected seven assists with just five turnovers.
The Rams took a hot shooting streak from the first half into the second half to grow their lead from eight points to 21 points in a span of three and a half minutes. UMass got their first score to stop the run with a pair of free throws from Daniel Rivera that he drew after corralling his own rebound.
“I was excited that [five minutes] into the second half, that we finally matched their physicality without getting out of what we were trying to do which gave us a chance to obviously get back in the game,” Martin said.
Jaylen Curry got the next bucket for UMass off of another second chance produced by Rivera. From there, the Minutemen offense got back into a familiar flow as Curry and Rahsool Diggins ran the offense effectively. After a turnaround shot in the paint by Daniel Hankins-Sanford, Diggins and Curry combined for the next 14 points.
Curry supplied much-needed spacing for UMass as it made its comeback, cashing a pair of triples in this stretch in particular. Diggins, on the other hand, controlled the game like a veteran as he got downhill at will and took hits as needed to get to the free-throw line.
Despite the impressive performance from the guard pairing, Hankins-Sanford was the most impactful player for Minutemen in the second half of this game. The 6-foot-8 junior forward played at center in the second half against a 7-foot-0 Javonte Brown and allowed no second chances to the home squad.
“His hand’s not bothering him anymore so now he’s at peace,” Martin said. “He’s starting to play well, and we need him to play well for us.”
Even with an exhausting assignment on the boards, Hankins-Sanford found a way to make a significant scoring impact in clutch situations. With just over three minutes to go, he nailed a three from the top of the key to bring UMass to within four points of its opponent. This was just the 17th make of his career from beyond the arc on 67 attempts.
Hankins-Sanford’s clutchest bucket came with 1:12 left, as he faded away from just outside the paint to bring the Rhode Island lead down to two. The Minutemen don’t often look to their bigs in clutch situations, but this time the junior took it upon himself to deliver.
Although UMass’ comeback efforts ultimately came up short, don’t think that this game was a negative sign for the team. After going a full seven days without playing a game, it’s tough for any team to step into a rowdy Ryan Center and pick up where they left off. If anything, this game shows a significant amount of growth in this Minutemen team as they were able to turn a miserable and disorganized first-half performance into a spirited and intense second-half battle.
There should be no concern as to the legitimacy of this UMass team as they head into the final 10 games of the regular season. This squad is battle-tested and ready to come together as a unit to close the year. All they needed was a wake-up call in the form of a 21-point deficit.
The Minutemen will attempt to get back in the win column against Duquesne on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.. That game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.