Minutemen welcomed to Miami
By Stephen Sellner
The Massachusetts men’s basketball team failed in its first attempt to grab a signature win after being blown out by 20 points to Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Nov. 24.
Saturday’s test at Miami (Fla.) offers the Minutemen (6-2) another chance to solidify themselves as a potential playoff team when the calendar turns to March.
In its first six victories of 2011, UMass has run by the opposition with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points. However, a pair of convincing defeats to the College of Charleston and the Seminoles makes its matchup with the Hurricanes (4-2) a huge game for the Minutemen going forward.
Junior Freddie Riley acknowledged the stakes of the upcoming game, but is going in with the idea that it’s another chance for him and his teammates to improve.
“It’s a big game because we did struggle against Florida State, but we know that you’re [going to] struggle some games so we’re not so much worried about the team we’re that playing against. We’re just worried about getting better and having a good game,” said Riley after Wednesday’s win over Towson, whose hometown of Ocala, Fla. is roughly a five-hour drive north of Miami.
The game also offers a homecoming for freshman Cady Lalanne, whose family resides in Orlando, Fla.
The Hurricanes are coming off back-to-back losses in their first two road games after reeling off five wins in a row to start the season. Miami fell to a tough Purdue team, 76-65, and came up just short in a 64-61 overtime loss to Mississippi as the Hurricanes’ Malcolm Grant failed to cash in a pair of attempts that could’ve won or tied the game at the end of regulation and the overtime frame, respectively.
Grant is Miami’s go-to option on the offensive end, averaging 17.5 points per game. The senior guard can be lethal from downtown, shooting 40 percent from behind the arc.
Another compelling aspect of the contest comes before the tip-off as to UMass coach Derek Kellogg’s decision on the starting five.
Kellogg has preached all year long that he does not consider his bench players to be reserves and that there isn’t a great discrepancy between the first five and the second five to enter the game.
After solid performances by Chaz Williams and Riley in their first appearances coming off the bench, Kellogg would not say whether the lineup would be the same when the Minutemen take the floor against the Hurricanes. According to Kellogg, he plans to reevaluate the rotations on a game-by-game basis and admitted that more changes could be coming in the future.
UMass got back into the win column on Wednesday with its 86-56 win over an inferior Towson team, which Riley believed was an important step towards redeeming themselves after their shortcomings in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
“Anytime you lose big the way we did, you always want to redeem yourself as quickly as you can,” he said.
In the game, the Minutemen forced a staggering 26 turnovers, 17 of which came in the first half, which lead to 37 points.
Kellogg and his new up-tempo game plan was implemented in the offseason with the help of Miami coach Jim Larranaga, who enters his first year at the helm for the program after spending the last 14 years at George Mason (where Kellogg was an assistant coach with him in 1997 and 1998). As Kellogg alluded to before the season started, Larranaga ran a similar pressing style while he was on the Patriots coaching staff.
Larranaga and the rest of the Hurricanes will be able to see the UMass product in full swing with a 1 p.m. tip-off.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at ssellner@student.umass.edu and followed on Twitter @MDC_Sellner.
Minutemen tame Tigers
By Stephen Sellner
It took the first nine minutes of regulation for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team to hit its stride. From that moment on, Towson didn’t stand a chance.
UMass (6-2) turned a five-point first half lead into a 19-point advantage in just under three minutes, as the Minutemen cruised their way to an 86-56 drubbing of the Tigers on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.
UMass coach Derek Kellogg felt it was a big bounce-back game as the win helped erase its pair of losses to College of Charleston and Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
“I thought coming off that long kind of trip we had … this would be a good game for us to come back and play a team that is a little less experienced, that is in kind of the growing stages and we came away with the victory,” said Kellogg.
Chaz Williams and Freddie Riley found themselves coming off the bench for the first time this season. Both responded positively as Riley shot 6-of-8 from the field for a team-high 15 points while Williams chipped in with 12 points and 8 assists.
Kellogg said the decision not to start the guards was not a discipline issue, but rather an attempt to shake up the lineup after the team’s disappointing showing in the Bahamas.
“I wanted to let them know that really there is no set lineup in that the way things went in the Bahamas, I wasn’t happy with and I thought maybe shaking it up a little bit would get their attention,” said Kellogg.
Sophomore Jesse Morgan had nine points and dished out eight assists in his first start of the season, which was an encouraging sign to Kellogg who feels he is an important factor to how good the team can be. Raphiael Putney added 10 points of his own as the sophomore filled in for Riley in the starting five.
Robert Nwankwo was the only Tiger who could muster any sort of success against the UMass defense as the senior led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, nine coming off the offensive glass.
Kellogg made the decision in the second half to guard Nwankwo with freshman Cady Lalanne, who answered the call and was able to neutralize him on the glass, which helped seal the victory.
“He just told us, ‘Keep him off the boards and box him out so I just went out there and did that,” said Lalanne.
Lalanne continues to flourish for the Minutemen as he develops into a prominent big man that UMass utlilizes in the paint. Kellogg has high expectations for Lalanne, saying that he expects double-double performances on a consistent basis.
The rookie pitched in with 11 points and nine boards, while also defending the basket with six blocks. Lalanne attributes his growth to progressively getting back in shape as the season wears on.
The Minutemen will need to rely on Lalanne and the rest of the bench to replace the production of Sampson Carter, who was inactive for the game with a torn labrum in his hip.
Kellogg called surgery “a definite possibility,” which would be a critical loss for his squad. Carter has gotten off to a fast start this season, averaging 8.6 points per game coming off the bench.
Towson coach Pat Skerry was very impressed with the depth and talent UMass featured throughout its roster.
Skerry, whose Tigers have played nationally recognized programs Kansas and Michigan, dubbed the Minutemen as the “most athletic team and deepest team we’ve played this year.”
The Minutemen’s schedule stiffens with a trip to Miami (Fla.) on Saturday as they tip-off with the 5-2 Hurricanes.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at ssellner@student.umass.edu and followed on Twitter @MDC_Sellner.
Week of 10/24-10/30
Monday:
Women's Tennis--Day 4 of ITA Regionals all day long.
Tuesday:
Women's Tennis--Day 5 of ITA Regionals all day long.
Friday::
Men's Soccer--vs. George Washington at 3 p.m.
Women's Soccer--at George Washington at 4 p.m.
Field Hockey: vs. Richmond at 1 p.m.
Men's Hockey: vs. Boston University at 7 p.m.
Saturday:
Football: at Richmond at 1 p.m.
Men's Cross Country: at Atlantic 10 Championships at 10 a.m.
Women's Cross Country: at Atlantic 10 Championships 10:45 a.m.
Men's Swimming and Diving: vs. Stony Brook at 1 p.m.
Women's Swimming and Diving: vs.Stony Brook at 1 p.m.
Men's Hockey: at Boston University 7 p.m.
Women's Rowing: vs. Head of the Fish All Day Long
Sunday:
Men's Soccer: vs. Richmond at 12 p.m.
Women's Soccer: at Richmond at 1 p.m.
Field Hockey: at Providence 2 p.m.
