Surveying the Atlantic 10: Where UMass stacks up as the stretch run approaches

Christina Yacono/Daily Collegian

Selection Sunday, as well as the fates of many teams embedded in the fringe of the potential NCAA Tournament landscape, is exactly a month away.

Wait, really?

It’s a bit surprising that within the next month, the 2014-15 season will conclude, conference tournaments will take place and brackets will set as bubbles burst. But that’s exactly where we stand, and if you’re a UMass fan, you’re probably wishing the regular season could prolong.

Unlike last season for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team, in which it felt like the Minutemen were forced to wait an eternity for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, this year’s rendition is just now rounding into shape. UMass sports a six-game winning streak and is tied with three other teams (VCU, URI and Dayton) for first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference. But is it enough?

UMass is a part of a conference which, for the most part, will spend the next month scrambling to separate itself from the pack. This could either help or hurt the Minutemen depending on how the season plays out but also sets up for a potentially thrilling final 30 days within conference play.

Let’s take a look at the conference landscape, with an eye on March Madness. We’ll start with the conference standings.

Dayton (19-5, 9-3 A-10)
Massachusetts (16-9, 9-3)
Rhode Island (17-6, 9-3)
Virginia Commonwealth (19-6, 9-3)
Davidson (17-6, 8-4)
George Washington (17-8, 7-5)
St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-6)
La Salle (14-11, 6-6)
Richmond (13-12, 6-6)
Saint Joseph’s (11-12, 5-6)
Duquesne (8-15, 3-9)
George Mason (8-16, 3-9)
Saint Louis (10-15, 2-10)
Fordham (6-16, 1-10)

*Bold indicates a tie for first place

Teams that should be in: VCU, Dayton 

What you need to know: UMass hosts Davidson in first Atlantic 10 Conference match up

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

What does the Massachusetts men’s basketball team get as its reward for two straight conference wins and a recent surge in overall team play? A Wednesday night showdown with one of the hottest — and the newest — members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Davidson visits Amherst for the first time as a member of the A-10 and brings the nation’s third-highest scoring offense in tow. Led by Jack Gibbs and Tyler Kalinoski, the Wildcats are making an immediate impact and even garnered a vote in the AP Top 25 polls. UMass didn’t deliver on many “signature” non-conference chances and this marks its first such opportunity in conference play.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know…

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (9-7, 2-1 A-10) VS. DAVIDSON WILDCATS (11-3, 2-1 A-10)

Mullins Center, Amherst, Massachusetts
Wednedsay, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. EST
TV Broadcast — Campus Insiders – http://www.campusinsiders.com/live/mens-basketball-davidson-at-umass-campus-insiders-exclusive
Radio: UMass Sports Network, 12:40 p.m. ET air time (Network info here:http://www.umassathletics.com/basketballradio.html)
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports /  @Mark_Chiarelli / @Andrew_Cyr

News and notes

• Davidson’s quickly joining the upper echelon of teams within the conference. The Wildcats’ three losses this season all came to ranked opponents — North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth — and recently handed Richmond and Saint Louis losses within the conference.
• UMass has faced it’s fair share of high-powered offenses this season and Davidson is no different. It averages 84.6 points per game, 17.9 assists per game (sixth in the country) and both Gibbs and Kalinoski both average over 16 points a contest.
• The Minutemen are 8-3 this season when scoring at least 70 points.
• UMass holds an advantage over Davidson in size. The Wildcats feature a guard-oriented offense and don’t have a player averaging over 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Wednesday’s game marks an up-tick in scheduling difficulty for UMass. The Minutemen face Rhode Island on Saturday and a match up against Dayton lurking on Jan. 29.

Their words, our take 

UMass guard Derrick Gordon, who is used to being asked to defend the top scoring guard on the other team, told reporters Tuesday he expects Wednesday’s game to be an up and down affair.

“It’s going to be similar to the Iona game as far as getting up and down the court, which I love. We’ve got to make sure we get back on defense, rebound and make our shots on the offensive end.”

What you need to know: UMass focusing on tempo, rebounding against George Mason

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

The Massachusetts men’s basketball team hasn’t put a win streak together since the last week of November, but heads to George Mason with a chance to embark on a new streak.

UMass held on to beat La Salle 71-65 Wednesday night in Philadelphia to win its first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season. It now faces a George Mason team which also beat La Salle, but is fresh off a 75-65 loss to Richmond.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know…

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (8-7, 1-1 A-10) VS. GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS (6-8, 1-1 A-10)

Patriot Center, Fairfax, Virginia
Sunday, Jan. 11, 1 p.m. EST
TV Broadcast — A-10 Digital Network http://www.atlantic10.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=31600&mid=80215
Radio: UMass Sports Network, 12:40 p.m. ET air time (Network info here:http://www.umassathletics.com/basketballradio.html)
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports /  @Mark_Chiarelli

News and notes

• The Minutemen are no strangers to difficult games with George Mason. The Patriots nearly upset the Minutemen in Virginia last year, but UMass squeaked out an 88-87 victory on a Derrick Gordon layup with 8.1 seconds left. At the time, the Minutemen were ranked No. 16 in the country and the win made them 15-1.
• George Mason earned revenge later in the season, upsetting UMass at the Mullins Center 91-80. Sherrod Wright (22 points), Bryon Allen (19 points) and Erik Copes (15 rebounds) terrorized the Minutemen.
• Luckily for UMass, none of those players still play for George Mason. Junior college transfer Shevon Thompson, who is 6-foot-11, 232 pounds, shoulders the load for the Patriots, averaging 12.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
• In the Minutemen’s last game, forward Maxie Esho shined, scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds.
• UMass coach Derek Kellogg debuted a new starting lineup against the Explorers — Donte Clark started instead of Jabarie Hinds — and said he’ll most likely stick with that lineup moving forward.

Their words, our take 

After his team’s Friday practice, Kellogg was asked what the focal point was heading into George Mason.

“I’ve really started concentrating on UMass, to be honest with you. I want us to play our style. I think we were maybe looking at other teams a little too much and saying ‘What are they going to do’ instead of saying ‘What’s UMass’ identity? What do we do?’ We spent a lot of time leading up to the La Salle game of trying to reinforce some of the things that I think we should be doing better.

What you need to know: UMass aims to push tempo against La Salle

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

PHILADELPHIA — The Massachusetts men’s basketball team heads to the “City of Brotherly Love in search of re-kindling strong spirits from earlier this season.

It’s been a tough go for the Minutemen in recent stretch, who are losers of six of their last eight games and are coming off a 69-55 loss to St. Bonaventure to open conference play. They’ll face a La Salle squad which also lost it’s first Atlantic 10 game, 70-62 to George Mason.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know…

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (7-7, 0-1 A-10) VS. LA SALLE EXPLORERS (8-6, 0-1 A-10)

Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. EST
TV Broadcast — None
Radio: 105.5 FM WEEI (Springfield/Amherst), 1440 AM WVEI (Worcester), UMass Sports Network  http://www.umassathletics.com/basketballradio.html
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports /  @Mark_Chiarelli

News and notes

• The Minutemen are no strangers to talented scoring guards and will face another Wednesday. Explorers guard Jordan Price, a redshirt sophomore, transferred to La Salle after playing at Auburn his freshman season. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is averaging 17.5 points per game, a figure which dropped after a 2-point performance against George Mason.
• La Salle is also rich on experience. A combination of Steve Zack, Jerrell Wright and D.J. Peterson have won 68 games for the Explorers. Zack and Wright are two skilled options in the post and should give UMass, a team short on frontcourt depth, a strong challenge.
• Both team’s could use a respected win. The Explorers endured a stretch of four losses in a row to Virginia, Vanderbilt, Villanova and Temple earlier this season and also lost to American in overtime.
• It’s also a battle of teams with recent NCAA Tournament success. La Salle shocked much of the nation two years ago in the tournament, reaching the Sweet 16, while UMass returned to “March Madness” last year for the first time in 16 years.
• Road blues: UMass hasn’t won on the road this season (0-4) and hasn’t gotten off to particularly strong starts in recent games.
• La Salle is 7-3 against UMass in the last 10 meetings, but the Minutemen have won the last two match ups.

Their words, our take 

UMass coach Derek Kellogg wasn’t particularly pleased with his team’s performance following the loss to St. Bonaventure. One of the focuses this week in practice was returning to the core of “UMass basketball,” which is predicated on transition offense and stronger defense.

“I think we’re going to have to do that a little bit more. We’ve not played well against (St. Bonaventure) at times throughout the years because of that when the tempo’s not moving. We didn’t get the tempo the way we like and it became more of a half-court, rough-house type of game. That doesn’t really fit our style, so we’re going to be working on forcing tempo.”

What you need to know: UMass returns to action against dangerous Iona squad

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

The Massachusetts men’s basketball team has faced its fair share of high-powered opponents this year, and its game against Iona Tuesday poses another challenge.

The Gaels rank within the top 30 nationally in points and assists per game and total field goal percentage. They’re a favorite within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — UMass has faced Siena and Manhattan, which are members of the same conference — and face a UMass team which has lost five of its last six games. The Minutemen haven’t played since a Dec. 23 overtime loss to Brigham Young.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know…

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (6-6) VS. IONA GAELS (8-4)

Mullins Center, Amherst, Massachusetts
7 p.m. EST
TV Broadcast — None
Radio: 105.5 FM WEEI (Springfield/Amherst), 1440 AM WVEI (Worcester), UMass Sports Network  http://www.umassathletics.com/basketballradio.html
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports / @Andrew_Cyr / @Mark_Chiarelli

News and notes

• Tuesday marks UMass’ final non-conference game of the season. Its Atlantic 10 Conference schedule begins Saturday at home against St. Bonaventure.
• Iona guard A.J. English is the real deal. The junior guard upped his efficiency from a year ago and is averaging 23.4 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting on 3-pointers. He’s had impressive scoring performances against Wake Forest (27 points), Florida Gulf Coast (27 points) and Arkansas (25 points).
• The Gaels are averaging 85.2 points per game which is eighth in the nation.
• Will the Donte Clark from the BYU game show up again? The Minutemen freshman made his mark after halftime, scoring 14 points while establishing his role as a wing scorer. UMass will need more of that to stabilize a scuffling offense. The Minutemen are 6-3 this season when scoring at least 70 points.
• Struggling stalwarts: Over his last four games, UMass center Cady Lalanne is averaging 10 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 turnovers. Guard Derrick Gordon is averaging just over eight points per game in that stretch, while Trey Davis has scored in double-figures only four times since his 28-point scoring outburst on opening night against Siena.

Their words, our take 

Despite losing to BYU, UMass coach Derek Kellogg was pleased with the effort of his team, specifically on the defensive end. It was an encouraging performance by the Minutemen in a hostile road environment and gives Kellogg something to build on moving forward. He had this to say regarding the defensive performance against the Cougars to Masslive.com.

“I thought we played much better defense today. We paid attention to detail and got up and pressured the ball some. We made their shooters work. We didn’t turn the ball over as much as give easy baskets going the other way like we’d been doing against very good teams.”

What you need to know: UMass faces staunch road test in Provo

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

It’s been a frustrating stretch for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team.

Losers of four of their last five, the Minutemen aren’t playing the type of basketball they expected at the beginning of the season and are coming off their worst loss of the year, an 85-65 drubbing at the hands of Providence. It doesn’t get any easier either. UMass traveled to Provo, Utah immediately following the loss on Saturday and will face Brigham Young University in a Tuesday afternoon matinee. The Cougars play some of the fastest — and most prolific — offensive basketball in the nation. Winners of five of its last six, BYU poses a difficult challenge for a Minutemen team in desperate need of a win.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know…

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (6-5) VS. BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY COUGARS (9-3)

Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
2 p.m. EST
TV Broadcast — BYU TV
Radio: 105.5 FM WEEI (Springfield/Amherst), 1440 AM WVEI (Worcester), UMass Sports Network  http://www.umassathletics.com/basketballradio.html
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports / @Andrew_Cyr / @Mark_Chiarelli

News and notes

• UMass hasn’t picked up a quality non-conference road victory this season and Tuesday’s game against BYU is its final opportunity to do so. The Cougars are a strong team at home and two of their three losses have come against teams (San Diego State, Utah) who were ranked at the time.
• Numbers, numbers, numbers. BYU has them. The Cougars lead the entire country in points per game (88.9) and are shooting 3-pointers at a clip that nearly doubles its output from last season, making 9.5 3-pointers per game. They’re out-scoring opponents by an average margin of 14.5 points and are shooting 47.8 percent as a team.
• Minutemen coach Derek Kellogg told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that he intends to use the same starting lineup — Trey Davis, Jabarie Hinds, Derrick Gordon, Maxie Esho and Cady Lalanne — that he’s used since forward Seth Berger suffered a foot injury. There was thought that Kellogg may opt to reshuffle his rotation to spark UMass.
• If the Minutemen want to rediscover their own offensive prowess — they’re shooting 44.8 percent and 29 percent on 3-pointers this season — they may want to take a trip down memory lane to last season. UMass beat BYU 105-96 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield in one of the most exciting games of the season. Of course, the Minutemen won’t have the services of Chaz Williams, who scored 32 points and dished out 15 assists, but it won’t hurt to look back on that game.
• Fun fact: This is the first time UMass has ever played a game in Utah.

Their words, our take 

Following the loss to Providence, Gordon spoke at length about the team’s lack of energy and careless play to open the game. UMass fell behind by double-digits, never led against the Friars and committed 18 turnovers.

“We waited till the second half with 10 minutes left or whatever to really start playing. We should have done that in the first half. And that’s something we’ve done in the past, as far as trying to come back late in the game. We can’t do that against great teams.”

What you need to know: Manhattan visits UMass in nationally televised morning affair

Photo by Robert Rigo/Daily Collegian

Did you grab a coffee this morning? Drop the kids off at school? Skip that early first class? Sounds like a typical start to the day. But instead of yet another Tuesday dragging on, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team is uncharacteristically jutting into morning schedules. The Minutemen host Manhattan a part of ESPN’s 24-hour college basketball tip off Tuesday in a game set to tip at 11 a.m.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to know.

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (2-0) VS. MANHATTAN JASPERS (0-1)

Mullins Center, Amherst, Massachusetts
11 a.m. EST
Game Preview
TV Broadcast — ESPN3/Watch ESPN app
105.5 FM WEEI (Springfield/Amherst), 1440 AM WVEI (Worcester), 95.9 FM WATD (South Shore), 1200 AM WXKS (Boston, Worcester, Manchester, Providence)
Twitter updates: @MDC_Sports / @Andrew_Cyr / @Mark_Chiarelli

News and notes

• Manhattan enters the Mullins Center after losing its season opener against Florida State, 81-66. The Jaspers opened up an early 23-13 behind hot 3-point shooting. But that reliance from long-rage eventually cooked Steve Masiello’s squad, as the shooting evaporated and the Seminoles outlasted the Jaspers.
• Despite boasting impressive length, Manhattan was dominated inside the paint by Florida State, as the Seminoles outscored them 32-12. That doesn’t bode well for the Jaspers, who now face a UMass team that didn’t score a single 3-pointer in a 71-62 victory over Boston College.
• UMass instead relied on scoring within the paint, led by forward Maxie Esho. He’s scored 44 points through two games to start the season and was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week.
• The Minutemen also saw spark from its bench for the first time against the Eagles. Sixth-man Jabarie Hinds played 30 minutes and scored eight points, while Donte Clark earned playing time down the stretch in the second half and chipped in five points.
• Manhattan won the MAAC last season with a 25-8 record, made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and flirted with an upset bid over Louisville.
• UMass leads the all-time series with Manhattan 7-1.