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.”