All Attendees Unite Against UMASS (Except Kids in Calc 2)
In another pivotal A10 matchup, the two neighboring states, Rhode Island and Massachusetts would be pitting their two biggest universities' basketball teams against one another. With 7,118 in attendance at the Ryan Center, it was time to show no class UMASS how to play some real basketball. On a very different tangent, the student fan base was unable to have anyone in a MTH 142 class at the game since they had an exam schedule for a half hour before the 7 pm tip. Good thing I was not one of those students. Well on this cold February night, some dude named Colby Roussel managed to speed through his Calculus 2 exam and ran straight from the test taking site to some nosebleed seat in the Ryan Center. Roussel was able to witness a blowout that the Minutemen from Amherst would never forget.
From the tip to the very last second of the game, Rhode Island was making one thing clear, they were here to play, to dominate, and to DEFEND THEIR HOME. URI used several fast breaks off of 18 Massachusetts turnovers and attacked early and often in transition to fuel their 75-59 win. The 46.2% mark from behind the three point line made URI look like they could win games with their offense, a nice change of scenery for the Rhode Island fans.
The Rhode Island Rams not only put themselves alone atop the A10 standings at 10-3 but they also united an entire student body in Kingston, RI. Nearly everyone was ready to yell "Go Rhody!" and do some "spongy knees" after watching URI destroy UMASS in this vital rivalry game. Personally, up to this day, I had never previously screamed this much at a Rhody basketball game. Losing my voice for the next week was worth it.
Maybe the origins of UMASS's failures in this New England battle was due to their logo.
