Team #89 - Rhode Island

On Monday December 13th, 2021, I saw my 89th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the Rhode Island Rams take on the Milwaukee Panthers. Rhode Island is the 5th team that I have seen out of the A-10. The Rams are 7-3 on the year. They come into the matchup with Milwaukee following a 72-62 win over Sacred Heart on December 7th. Rhode Island has a very balanced scoring attack, seven players average at least eight points. The leading scorer this year for Rhode Island has been Makhel Mitchell who is averaging 11.3 PPG. Makhel and his twin brother Makhi are both starters for Rhode Island. They spend a limited amount of their Freshman year at Maryland but have since made a home at Rhode Island. On the other hand, Milwaukee is now 2-7 on the season. They are coming off a 65-54 loss at Colorado. Milwaukee led late in this game but failed to score over the last five minutes, dropping the contest. Patrick Baldwin Jr, has been the leading scorer for the Panthers, averaging 16.5 PPG. 

The first half of basketball was one of the worst halves of basketball I have ever seen. In the span of two and a half minutes, Rhode Island jumped out to a 10-0 lead. For the next ten minutes of play, I have no ideas what I watched. During this stretch the two teams combined for 13 turnovers and 16 fouls. This lead to very choppy play and both teams being in foul trouble. Milwaukee certainly had the worst end of the foul trouble. Starters Patrick Baldwin Jr, Tafari Simms and Joey St Pierre sat most of the first half with two fouls. The defensive pressure of Rhode Island was a huge issue for Milwaukee. Every shot that Milwaukee took in the 1st half was contested. DeAndre Gholston and Josh Thomas hit a number of tough shots to even keep Milwaukee in the game. Jeremy Sheppard was a major factor for Rhode Island in the first half. He was able to do whatever he wanted on the offensive end. He ended the first half with 11 points. The Mitchell twins also created a big problem for Milwaukee. Joey St Pierre would struggle all night with them and his play was very limited due to foul trouble. After a stagnant stretch out of Rhode Island they saw the early 10-0 lead turn into a 18-16 advantage. Rhode Island would end the half on 16-5 run over the final six minutes and go into halftime with a 34-21 lead. The earlier mentioned foul trouble caused Milwaukee to play arguably it's worst half of basketball of the season. DeAndre Gholston was the leading scorer for Milwaukee in the 1st half with 11 points. Rhode Island would never trail in the 1st half. 

The 2nd half was much of the same result. Rhode Island controlled all parts of the game. Keeping their lead over Milwaukee at about ten points for most of the 2nd half. With about seven minutes to go in the 2nd half Rhode Island began to pull away. A ten points lead would turn into a 15 point lead just like that. With 12 minutes left, Milwaukee Center Joey St Pierre would foul out. Despite St Pierre being very neutralized on the offensive end this would be a huge turning point in the game. Milwaukee has been struggling to find a backup center. Moses Bol and Samba Kane, when healthy have attempted to fill out this role but neither has seen much success. It was interesting that Milwaukee gave a lot of time to Baldwin at the five after St Pierre fouled out. At around the five minute mark, the Milwaukee bench would get a technical foul and the wheels would come off. Rhode Island would outscore Milwaukee over the final five and half minutes 20-10. They would go onto win the contest by a score of 82-58. Jeremy Sheppard put on a great performance for the Rams. He scored a season high 25 points. Makhi Mitchell also had a nice performance on the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndre Gholston would lead the charge for the Panthers with 16 points. Rhode Island I think could very well be an NCAA Tournament team. I even believe they could even win a game in the tournament if they make it. They have enough offensive scoring for sure and they play great defense. I was quite surprised to see them picked 7th in the A-10 preseason poll. As for Milwaukee, I am really starting to feel bad for Patrick Baldwin Jr. This season is certainly not what he expected at all. 

My next game is Tuesday December 21st as the UConn Huskies come to Milwaukee to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles.