298 replies to this topic

[Franklin Fanatic]

UMass opens its season tomorrow vs Harvard on ESPN at 10am. Big expectations for last year's NIT semi-finalist squad.

[Marbleheader]

I loved UMass hoops in the 90's, the only college sports team I ever followed. I thought they would be contenders for years to come, and it all came to a screeching halt. Would be nice to see them relevant.

[Vinho Tinto]

It's part of ESPN's 24 hour coverage. Here's the schedule: http://www.thehoopsr...le.aspx?id=1010

[Jed Zeppelin]

Should be smoking this team.

[Corsi]

The game is on ESPN3 for those with access.

[Jed Zeppelin]

I'm only 3/4 watching since I'm at work but it didn't take long for me to be reminded how much worse NCAA refs are than NBA refs.

[Corsi]

Listen live here: http://player.triton...entercom/WWEIFM

[Jed Zeppelin]

Bubblelicious indeed. This team looks sloppy as shit.

[mabrowndog]

Wow. Clutch shot by Morgan. "Some onions in Amherst!!"

And the defensive pressure from Chaz forces a turnover.

Edited by mabrowndog, 13 November 2012 - 12:07 PM.

[mabrowndog]

Carter for the win!!!

Yeah, they should have blown out the Crimson, but this was a great comeback. An 8-0 run to end it.

[Jed Zeppelin]

HUUUUUUUUUUGE.

What a kick-out by Chaz after he had forced up some bad ones today. Awesome finish. I retract all previous negative sentiment.

[Corsi]

[mabrowndog]

HUUUUUUUUUUGE.

What a kick-out by Chaz after he had forced up some bad ones today. Awesome finish. I retract all previous negative sentiment.

Bold #1: Yeah, that was fantastic. Drawing defenders his way and firing it cross court while threading the needle.

Bold #2: Let's not kid ourselves. They've got work to do. In Kellogg I Trust.

[Billy R Ford]

Goddamnit, why did I go to class at half-time?

[WayBackVazquez]

They'll have to call out the riot police if they beat St. Joe's, I guess.

[Corsi]

Just to be clear, that photo is from when UMass upset defending national champ UConn back in 2004 (my freshman year at UMass).

[scottyno]

I almost feel stupid asking but the storming the court picture isn't actually from today is it?

edit: and answered as I was posting, that makes much more sense, great game, totally worth waking up at 7am for

Edited by scottyno, 13 November 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[mabrowndog]

Yeah, the actual celebration today was a tad more subdued. But not much...

Edited by mabrowndog, 13 November 2012 - 02:36 PM.

[BigA27]

Man, I miss the student section. We always sucked when I attended but I had a lot of fun.

[RedSoxFan]

Just got back from the game. The final minute made it worth the two hour drive and day off work.

[BoSoxFink]

Just to be clear, that photo is from when UMass upset defending national champ UConn back in 2004 (my freshman year at UMass).

I am somewhere in the middle of that mess. I will never forget that, it was awesome

[Franklin Fanatic]

HUUUUUUUUUUGE.

What a kick-out by Chaz after he had forced up some bad ones today. Awesome finish. I retract all previous negative sentiment.

Had it all the way!! Sloppy, but somewhat expected in the first game and on national TV. However, I really liked what I saw from Lalanne; he was impressive on the boards. On to Puerto Rico; first up is PC.

[gmogmo]

The PC game is enormous tomorrow night...a win, and you can lock in a solid SOS for the year because you'll all but guarantee yourself games against NC State and either Ok State or Tennessee. A loss and you probably get Penn State and Akron/UNC-Asheville. Much better off going 1-2 with a win over PC and losses to the aforementioned good teams vs a loss to PC and wins over aforementioned crap teams.

[mabrowndog]

The PC game is enormous tomorrow night...a win, and you can lock in a solid SOS for the year because you'll all but guarantee yourself games against NC State and either Ok State or Tennessee. A loss and you probably get Penn State and Akron/UNC-Asheville. Much better off going 1-2 with a win over PC and losses to the aforementioned good teams vs a loss to PC and wins over aforementioned crap teams.

I hate how counterintuitive that is, but you're absolutely right.

[Helmet Head]

I know PC got some top recruits last year. What happened to them? They are not playing right now. Looks like they are actually playing some walk ons.

[DesperadoDelonteWest]

I know PC got some top recruits last year. What happened to them? They are not playing right now. Looks like they are actually playing some walk ons.

Kris Dunn is out with an injury until later in the year and Ricky Ledo is ineligible, not sure who might be out beyond those two.

Minutemen are lucky to be up, they've been playing pretty sloppy basketball for most of the half.

[Helmet Head]

Kris Dunn is out with an injury until later in the year and Ricky Ledo is ineligible, not sure who might be out beyond those two.

Minutemen are lucky to be up, they've been playing pretty sloppy basketball for most of the half.

Umass is a dumb team. They should have ran away with this game. Getting killed on the on the boards. How many offensive rebounds does PC have? Just a joke.

[Helmet Head]

Umass is getting called for everything

[BoSoxFink]

Umass fouls it seems like on every damn possession.

[Helmet Head]

PC is on the line every time down the floor

[Helmet Head]

Umass kinda sucks at defense and seems to play when they want to play.

[jsinger121]

Another buzzer beater for the win.

[Helmet Head]

Nice win, but they should have killed them. Atleast they have some balls.

[Franklin Fanatic]

Umass fouls it seems like on every damn possession.

What's worse is that UMass generally commits these fouls in the back court or 35 feet from the hoop. Just stupid fouls; and it's been a problem going back to last season as well. But, 2-0 is nice and I expect them to play up to the level of NC State, not down like these first two games.

[gmogmo]

A win is a win, especially in November. A loss to NC State and a win over Ok State/Tenn would be a fantastic start to the season for us from both a record/SOS perspective.

[NickEsasky]

I didn't see the game but PC only had 6 scholarship players active last night.

[Corsi]

Tonight's game vs NC State is on ESPN2 and on WEEI (105.5 FM, 1440 AM) at 5pm EST.

[SaveBooFerriss]

Tonight's game vs NC State is on ESPN2 and on WEEI (105.5 FM, 1440 AM) at 5pm EST.

Those fuckers. Last night it said it was on ESPNU. I set my DVR last night. I won't be home until at least 6.

This team has talent, but can play much better. I think they need to move Morgan back into the starting line up.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Those fuckers. Last night it said it was on ESPNU. I set my DVR last night. I won't be home until at least 6.

This team has talent, but can play much better. I think they need to move Morgan back into the starting line up.

Didn't see last night's game, but yeah, Riley has 0 points in 39 minutes.

[Corsi]

Those fuckers. Last night it said it was on ESPNU. I set my DVR last night. I won't be home until at least 6.

This team has talent, but can play much better. I think they need to move Morgan back into the starting line up.

Hmm, don't fret yet. The UMass Athletics site says ESPN2, but the ESPN TV listings say ESPNU: http://espn.go.com/e...1-16-12-2:00-PM

However, this ESPN listing says it's on ESPN2 and ESPN3: http://espn.go.com/w...#type/upcoming/

Sooo, who the hell knows?

edit: My Comcast listings says the game is on ESPNU, while ESPN2 has the 2K Sports Classic from MSG.

Edited by Corsi, 16 November 2012 - 10:50 AM.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Lalanne in the post...make it stop. Riley out quick tonight.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Riley does nothing for this team.

Why are they doubling guys at the three point line? Just dumb basketball.

Edited by Jed Zeppelin, 16 November 2012 - 05:49 PM.

[mabrowndog]

To me this was a "not as bad as it looks on paper" loss. They came out like schizophrenic spazzes gone off their meds, falling behind 12-2 just over 3 minutes in on 1-of-4 shooting with 2 fouls and 4 turnovers against the Wolfpack press. For the remaining 17 minutes of the half they played the #6 team in the nation to within 36-30, and were outscored by just 2 in the second half.

Yes, NC State obviously took their foot off the gas along the way and their large lead was never in danger, and I wouldn't be too happy about UMass playing like this if it was March. But I'll still take some positives from this in just their 3rd game of the year.

Edited by mabrowndog, 16 November 2012 - 09:51 PM.

[Franklin Fanatic]

Another one point win at Siena. I'll take the win, but they've yet to play hard for 40 minutes. They'll need to pull their heads out of their asses to beat Miami (who just beat Michigan State tonight) on Saturday at the Mullins Center.

[mabrowndog]

I was following along on Twitter, and for most of the first half it was depressing and somber. Early on they shot and defended like shit, and trailed by a dozen. Chaz Williams hitting a 3 late in the first half for his 1000th career point was one of the few bright spots.

Nice to see them come back against a solid Siena team on the road.

[Jed Zeppelin]

I can't imagine such a long layoff was beneficial.

Seems like consistency might be the most important thing in taking that next step. We know they can turn it on and hang with anyone. Just need the in-game lows to be shorter and, ideally, not as low.

Edited by Jed Zeppelin, 28 November 2012 - 10:16 PM.

[mabrowndog]

Derek Kellogg will be on the Tim Brando Show at 10:30 EST this morning -- in between segments with Bo Pelini and Mark Richt.

EDIT - Listen live here

Edited by mabrowndog, 30 November 2012 - 10:25 AM.

[mabrowndog]

Well, that was brief. Didn't come on until 10:35 and the interview ended after 4 questions. Content below is paraphrased, not exact quotes:

Toughest 5-game stretch to start a season in a while? "Had to play some high-level teams, won 3 on last-second shots, had a couple of tough games in Puerto Rico. Miami will be a monumental task."

Your thoughts on the group you coach now? "Well, we haven't played as well as we'd like. Sometimes we don't share the ball as much or work as hard defensively. We're fortunate to be 3-2 right now. Need to make some shots and get the game up & down the floor because Mami's size and experience could give us some trouble."

On Jesse Morgan: "Just starting to hit his stride now, missed some time over the summer with a broken wrist, played very well at times in PR, getting in extra work at the gym, we're going to need 18-20 min from him vs Miami"

On Putney & Lalanne: "Big time test against some legit big guys who are 6'10" & 6'11", need to hold their own on both ends of the floor."

[mabrowndog]

Ken Pomeroy's rankings have UMass as the luckiest D-1 team in the nation.

[Franklin Fanatic]

Well, another shitty shooting performance yesterday at home. Not to mention the dumb fouls 30 feet from the basket. They are so frustrating to watch. I believe we were 7-32 on 3 pointers, yet they keep throwing them up. You need to win these types of games at home if you want to go to the dance.