AMHERST — After starting Atlantic 10 play 0-2 and having struggled throughout its non-conference slate, it looked as if the UMass men’s basketball team was headed back toward the bottom half of the league following a promising 20-win season a year ago.

The Minutemen couldn’t hit shots, they had several defensive lapses each contest and they lacked an identity that all successful teams have.

That was, until UMass defeated Dayton 76-72 on Jan. 8. Since then, the Minutemen are winners of three straight, and have emerged victorious in four of their last five to move into a tie for fourth (4-3) in the A-10. Their only loss in that stretch came to George Mason, who currently sits atop the conference at 6-1.

Wednesday night’s opponent, the Rhode Island Rams, are in an opposite situation. Rhode Island won nine straight games to start the season, the final coming against Providence, and entered league play 11-1. The Rams are 3-5 in the A-10, and have lost three of their last four – most recently a a 70-64 loss at La Salle, who UMass beat soundly (82-60) at Mullins Center a week and a half ago.

When the calendar flipped to 2025 four weeks ago, it felt as UMass wasn’t going to have a chance when it made its annual trip to the Ryan Center. But now, the streaking Minutemen can continue to redefine their season with another huge win on Wednesday night.

“[The Ryan Center] is a really hard place to play at,”UMass head coach Frank Martin said during Monday’s media availability. “It’s a beautiful arena. Their fans come out and support their team. We went in there a couple years ago and we were both in the bottom of the league, but the turnout was incredible… [URI head coach Archie Miller] has them playing the right way. He’s got a team that plays to his personality, with a consistency offensively and a physicality defensively… We’ve got our hands full going into that building.”

While Martin noted that Miller’s team plays to his personality, it finally seems as if UMass is playing to Martin’s.

During the first month or two of the season, the Minutemen were being out-worked and out-hustled every time it stepped on the floor. A five-game losing streak portrayed that. But UMass has begun to ugly up its games, forcing opposing teams to score in the half court and play around its physicality – something they’ve really used to their advantage.

The Minutemen are 20th out of 364 teams in Division 1 men’s college basketball in offensive rebounds per game (11.6), and fourth in the country in blocked shots (5.9). Frank Martin-led teams are always good offensive rebounding teams, and that’s because all it takes is effort and anticipation – both of which he teaches in practice. UMass is averaging 17 offensive boards per game over its last three contests.

Rhode Island leads the Atlantic 10 in points per game, and the Rams have five players averaging at least nine points per game. They are of course led by senior Sebastian Thomas, who transferred back to Rhode Island after one year in Albany (he spent his first two collegiate seasons at URI). The senior is averaging 18.8 points and 5.7 assists per game while shooting career-best percentages percent from the field (45) and from 3 (32).

Thomas hasn’t scored less than 16 points since Nov. 27, so he’s certainly going to get his. But keeping him from completely taking over the game is a necessity for the Minutemen defense. Jaylen Curry’s defense has improved this season, so if Martin decides to stick his sophomore on the 6-foot-1 Thomas, it’ll be his toughest task yet.

David Greene (14 ppg) and Jaden House (11 ppg) are also threats for Rhode Island.

“Thomas is a really good player,” Martin said on Monday. “He controls the game, gets everyone involved, doesn’t make mistakes. It’s fun to watch him play. It’s not going to be fun to watch him play on Wednesday, but it’s fun to watch him play. He plays like a winning, traditional point guard. And our guards have gotten better, but I think their guards have gotten better, too… Jaden House kills us every time we play [Rhode Island].”

With a UMass win, it’ll put the Minutemen at 5-3 in the conference an get them one step closer to a .500 record (they’re currently 9-11). A victory will also keep them in the mix for a conference tournament double bye, something that is important to keep in mind as the final month of the regular season looms large.

Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.