The fans who have bought tickets for tonight’s URI-UMass game at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass., could receive a bonus. They could end up seeing not only what shapes up as an excellent basketball game, but also a bit of a track meet, as well.

If form follows, there will be lots of running and plenty of points scored. That’s the way both teams want to do it. Both have played that way all season and, faced with an opponent who likes to run as much as they do, neither side is likely to want to slow it down tonight.

Not so long ago, UMass and URI had teams that wanted to out-tough each other. This time around, they will be trying to outrun each other.

Massachusetts (14-7, 3-4 in the A-10) has become one of the surprise teams in the conference. It has done it by totally revamping its style, in much the same way that URI did last season. Coach Travis Ford has gone from a power game that relied on Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme, two inside players, to having his team run, run and run some more.

“It’s what I’ve usually done in the past,” said Ford, a former University of Kentucky star. “My first two years here we were blessed to have some really, really good big men inside with Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman … We ran a whole lot more sets and we were more particular about who got the basketball.”

The team wanted to set up in the halfcourt and run sets designed to get the ball to the block.

“We lost 75 percent of our scoring off last year’s team,” Ford pointed out. “It was a good time to change gears back to the way I wanted to play. Plus, it fit this group, and that’s the main thing. That’s the number-one priority for me and it always has been. The team is built more for speed and versatility.”

The team, much like URI’s, is built around players in the 1, 2 and 3 positions in senior wing Gary Forbes and starting guards Chris Lowe and Ricky Harris.

“We think we’ve got a pretty quick point guard [Lowe] who can get up and down the court. We have some other guys who can really flourish in this style of basketball,” Ford said.

Forbes, a transfer from Virginia, is tied for first in the conference in scoring, at 20.4. Lowe is second in the conference in assists. Harris has been the big surprise. He was used little as a freshman, averaging 4.5 points. This year he has become a leading candidate for most improved player in the conference. He has skyrocketed to 19.3 points per game, fourth in the conference. He is battling URI’s Keith Cothran for the league lead in steals. His speed has been a huge boost in making the new style work for the Minutemen.

The teams mirror each other in many ways. UMass is seventh in the country in scoring at 83.2. URI is 13th nationally, at 82.2. Each has played seven conference games and the teams are one-two in scoring in the A-10. UMass has scored 555 points, URI 554.

Massachusetts has good veteran talent at the two power positions in 6-foot-9 senior Dante Milligan, 6-7 senior Etienne Brower, 7-1 junior Luke Bonner and 6-8 junior Tony Gaffney, who rotate in the 4 and 5 spots. Despite the size, though, rebounding has been a problem at times.

A key for URI will be health, most notably Will Daniels’ ankle and coach Jim Baron’s battle with flu-like symptoms. Daniels, URI’s leading scorer, sprained an ankle when he landed on a Dayton player’s foot with 7:50 left in the win over the Flyers last Saturday. Daniels has missed some practice time but has been able to work a bit, too.

“It’s doing good. I’ve been getting a lot of treatment,” Daniels said before heading to practice yesterday afternoon. “I’ve been icing it, getting ultrasound. I’m definitely going to be ready to play.”

The guy who was not doing well was the head coach. Jim Baron was noticeably ill at practice, to the point where he was being urged to go home and rest. Baron did not travel with the team to Amherst last night, although he is expected to do so today.

In the weekly A-10 conference call Monday, Baron spoke about how, with the pace expected to be so quick tonight, a key for both teams will be protecting the ball.

“You’ve got to make good decisions,” he said. “They’ve been playing exceptionally well and limiting turnovers. That’s going to be important for both teams.”

The game is being televised by CSTV and Cox Cable. It is “black out” night, a special promotion in which students will be given black T-shirts, and all UMass fans are being encouraged to wear black. The same promotion was held for the URI game last season and drew more than 8,000 fans as the Minutemen won easily, 77-55.

pkenyon@projo.com