THE BASICS
Massachusetts (13-13, 4-10 A-10) at Rhode Island (8-17, 4-9 A-10)
Tip-Off: Saturday, Feb. 18, 2:05 p.m. EST
Coverage: ESPNU | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 

RHODE ISLAND VS. MASSACHUSETTS - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island and Massachusetts are playing for the 162nd time overall and the second time this season on Saturday. The Minutemen lead URI in the all-time series, 93-68.
• UMass won the first meeting of the year 75-65 on Jan. 14. Rahsool Diggins scored seven points during a 12-0 run by the Minutemen early in the second half that turned a one-point URI lead into an 11-point UMass lead. Massachusetts never relinquished its lead, shooting 19-for-24 from the free throw line and 13-of-27 from the field en route to a 48-point second half scoring effort.
• Rhode Island was led by Ishmael Leggett's 19 points and Jalen Carey's 12 in the first meeting.
• Both teams enter Saturday's game looking to snap extended losing streaks. Massachusetts has dropped five straight games while Rhode Island has lost four in a row.
• Rhode Island is 41-33 when hosting Massachusetts.
• UMass has won two straight in the Ryan Center. Before that, URI had won five straight at home in the series.

ESPNU TO CARRY GAME FOR NATIONAL AUDIENCE

• Saturday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
• The game is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. tip, though it could slide back as many as five minutes depending on the status of the Texas Tech-West Virginia men's basketball game that airs at noon on the channel.
• Matt Martucci will handle the play-by-play, with Tom Crean as the color analyst.
• Steve McDonald and Chris DiSano will have the audio call on the Varsity Network.

LEGENDS OWENS, GARRICK AND GREEN TO BE RECOGNIZED IN RING OF HONOR

• At halftime, Carlton "Silk" Owens, Tom Garrick and Kenny Green will become the first members of URI's newly created Ring of Honor. The three men - all key members of the 1987-88 Sweet 16 team - will have their names and jersey numbers hung in the Ryan Center permanently.
• Rhode Island's all-time leading scorer with 2,114 points, Owens was a two-time First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, an All-Rookie Team pick and the New England Player of the Year as a senior.
• He still owns program records for career field goals (766); 3-point percentage (.462); and points in a season (762). He is second in career assists with 502, behind only Tyson Wheeler (1994-98).
• Garrick finished 1,573 points and 407 assists, which still rank 15th and seventh in team history. He still owns URI's single-season steals record (88), and he was the career leader with 189 at the time of his graduation.
• Garrick was a two-time Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and he famously scored a program-record 50 points against Rutgers in the 1988 A-10 tournament.
• Green is the only player in program history to be both the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year (1989-90) and Rookie of the Year (1986-87).
• His 1,724 points still rank 11th in team history and his 996 rebounds are fourth.
• He led the nation with 124 blocked shots in 1989-90, a number that is still Rhody's single-season mark. Green also is the URI career record holder with 328 blocked shots.

1987-88 and 1997-98 TEAMS INDUCTED INTO RHODE ISLAND ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

• In addition to the Ring of Honor ceremony Saturday, members of the 1987-88 and 1997-98 teams will be recognized during timeouts of the game.
• Both squads were officially inducted into the Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night during a dinner held at the Newport Marriott on America's Cup Avenue on Friday night.
• The 1987-88 and 1997-98 men's basketball teams became the third and fourth full squads inducted to the Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame, joining the 1984 and 1985 Yankee Conference-champion football teams.
• This year marks the 35th and 25th anniversaries of arguably the two most successful men's basketball teams in University history.
• The 1987-88 squad was the first in school history to reach the Sweet 16. In fact, the Rams were the first Atlantic 10 school to reach the Sweet 16 after the conference had evolved from the Eastern 8 six years earlier.
• The 1997-98 Rams made it to the Elite 8, the deepest NCAA tournament run in program history.
• The success of that season paved the way for the construction of the Ryan Center, URI's basketball home since the 2002-03 season.