2010 Massachusetts Minutemen Basketball: Massachusetts vs Rhode Island

If there was any remaining degree of uncertainty about Rhode Island's at-large NCAA Tournament candidacy, it just evaporated into the evening hours in the college town of Amherst, Mass.

In one calamitous visit to the Mullens Center, the Rams - who have had a penchant for sliding late in a season and already stood on the bad side of hte NCAA bubble - fell fully and finally into the NIT as far as at-large bids are concerned. The only way coach Jim Baron's team can now reach the field of 65 is if it wins the Atlantic 10 Tournament next week in Atlantic City, N.J.

This game is a real head scratcher. A sparse crowd came to the gym on the University of Massachusetts campus, as the Minutemen - under coach Derek Kellogg - entered play with a 10-19 record, 4-11 in the A-10. This game was not a resume-booster for Rhode Island, but it was nonetheless a must-win game precisely because an NCAA aspirant has no business dropping a decision against a low-caliber foe. Losing to a 10-19 team on the first weekend of March is exactly how a bubble team misses out on a trip to the wealthiest part of Bracketville, yet the Rams managed to falter in the worst possible fashion at the least convenient time of year.

The simple story for Rhode Island - which will experience its most miserable bus ride of the season as it heads back to its own campus in Kingston, R.I. - is that Baron's Boys couldn't put the ball in the bucket, especially in the second half. Rhode Island shot 38 percent as a team, but if URI starters Ben Eaves (4 of 5 from the field) and Marquis Jones (5 of 8) hadn't performed well, the totals would have been even worse for the visitors. Outside of the Eaves-Jones combo, URI hit just 17 of 55 shots, a conversion rate under 30 percent.

In the second half, the brickfest became particularly pronounced and thoroughly fatal for the Rams. URI led, 49-40, with 11:38 left in regulation and appeared well on its way to a stay-in-the-conversation victory. Then, however, the wheels flew off, as the Rams didn't hit another field goal for the next five minutes and 49 seconds. By the time they snapped out of their funk with 5:49 left in regulation, URI found itself up only one point, at 53-52. The two teams settled into a nip-and-tuck battle that went down to the wire, and when UMass guard Ricky Harris - who led all scorers with 28 points - drove to the lane and scored on a short floater with 3.5 seconds left, the Minutemen gained a 69-67 lead. A 40-foot heave by Jones missed the mark on URI's last-ditch possession, and the prospect of a disastrous loss had become reality.

The NIT is calling Rhode Island's name, unless the A-10 Tournament can be won. It will be a long uphill battle next week for the shaken and shocked Rams.

Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans

Massachusetts vs Rhode Island Basketball Recap