Mayhem in the Mullins: UMass Hoops 2014-15

mabrowndog

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Not to be confused with the glory days at Curry Hicks:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iA038V5hq0
 
Anyway, the schedule is out:
 
11/14/14 - 07:00 pm - Siena (Amherst MA) - ESPN
11/16/14 - 03:00 pm - Boston College (Coaches Versus Cancer Tripleheader, TD Garden, Boston) - TV
11/18/14 - 11:00 am - Manhattan (Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic, Amherst MA) - TV
11/22/14 - 12:00 pm - Notre Dame (@ Mohegan Sun, Uncasville CT) - TV
11/23/14 - 12:00 pm - Florida State (@ Mohegan Sun, Uncasville CT) - TV
11/26/14 - 07:00 pm - Northeastern (Amherst MA)
11/29/14 - 02:00 pm - @ Harvard (Cambridge MA)
12/02/14 - Time TBA - @ LSU (Baton Rouge LA)
12/07/14 - Time TBA - Florida Gulf Coast (Amherst MA)
12/13/14 - Time TBA - Canisius (Amherst MA)
12/20/14 - Time TBA - @ Providence (Providence RI)
12/23/14 - 04:00 pm - @ BYU (Provo UT)
12/30/14 - Time TBA - Iona (Amherst MA)
01/03/15 - Time TBA - St. Bonaventure* (Amherst MA)
01/07/15 - Time TBA - @ La Salle* (Philadelphia PA)
01/11/15 - 01:00 pm - @ George Mason* (Fairfax VA)
01/14/15 - 07:00 pm - Davidson* (Amherst MA) - TV
01/17/15 - 02:30 pm - Rhode Island* (Amherst MA) - NBCSN
01/21/15 - Time TBA - @ Saint Joseph's* (Philadelphia PA) - CBSSN
01/29/15 - Time TBA - Dayton* (Amherst MA) - ESPNU
01/31/15 - Time TBA - @ Saint Louis* (St. Louis MO) - CBSSN
02/04/15 - Time TBA - @ Fordham* (Bronx NY)
02/08/15 - Time TBA - La Salle* (Amherst MA) - TV
02/11/15 - Time TBA - @ St. Bonaventure* (Olean NY)
02/14/15 - Time TBA - Duquesne* (Amherst MA)
02/18/15 - 07:00 pm - @ Rhode Island* (Kingston RI) - TV
02/21/15 - Time TBA - @ VCU* (Richmond VA) - ESPN2
02/25/15 - 07:00 pm - Saint Joseph's* (Amherst MA) - TV
02/28/15 - Time TBA - Fordham* (Amherst MA)
03/04/15 - Time TBA - Richmond* (Amherst MA)
03/07/15 - 03:30 pm - @ George Washington* (Washington DC) - NBCSN
03/11/15 - Time TBA - Atlantic 10 Tournament First Round (Brooklyn NY) - SNY
03/12/15 - Time TBA - Atlantic 10 Tournament Second Round (Brooklyn NY) - NBCSN
03/13/15 - Time TBA - Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarterfinals (Brooklyn NY) - NBCSN
03/14/15 - Time TBA - Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinals (Brooklyn NY) - CBSSN
03/15/15 - Time TBA - Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship (Brooklyn NY) - CBS

TV Information will be released at a later date
All games are Eastern Standard Time and subject to change

All home games played at the Mullins Center
* Denotes Atlantic 10 Conference game

 
If anyone comes across corrections, updates, etc., please post and I'll update as needed.
 
For reference, here's last season's thread.
 

mabrowndog

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Former UMass center Lari Ketner has died of a rare form of colon cancer at age 37.
 
 
The 6-foot-10 Ketner came to UMass in 1995, when John Calipari was still the coach. After sitting out a season to improve his academics, Ketner wound up playing for Bruiser Flint after Calipari took a job with the New Jersey Nets in 1996.
 
Ketner played in the NBA with Chicago, Cleveland and Indiana from 1999 through 2001. That followed a career at UMass that was productive but challenging because Ketner was expected to help uphold the team's success from the Calipari years, which proved an unfair burden for the players who followed.
 
He was often a dominant post player and he also achieved another, important distinction. Accepted as a Proposition 48 athlete at UMass, Ketner rose from status as a borderline student to become an honor student - one of the school's best examples of student seizing the academic opportunity his athletic skill had given him.
 

BigA27

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That is indeed sad. I always liked Lari Ketner. He often was frustratingly bad at finishing, but the man worked hard at all times. I always rooted for him to do well. 37 is very young. 
 

Orel Miraculous

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Only 2-4 more baseball games left on the calendar...which means it's time for me to start getting excited about college hoops!  I hope you guys don't mind a GW fan kicking around here this season, it's gonna be another great year for the A10 and there's not a lot of places for A10 talk on the internet (besides, for RPI purposes I'm a UMass fan from November through January anyway).  
 
Here's how I see the league shaking out this year:
 
The Flagship
1. VCU
Shaka is special, there's no question about it, and as long as he's on the sideline I don't believe that VCU will ever finish outside the top third of the league. They're retaining much of their top talent from last year's runner-up and supplementing that core with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation so if everything breaks right, this is a team that will spend the entire year in the top 25, make a few appearances in the top 10, and earn a 2-5 seed in the tournament. Having said that, this also a team with 4 underclassmen in their top 7 rotation, so there could be some stumbles along the way and a first place finish--or even a top 3 finish--is no guarantee in what should be another very competitive season.
 
Playing for the Tournament
2. GWU
Yes, I'm biased, but GW deserves to be here. As the only team with three players that made the pre-season all-conference teams, GW probably has the best starting five in the league and is led by four juniors who've been starting since they were freshmen.  The big question is depth, as we will be heavily relying on freshman off the bench. Granted, this freshman class is our highest rated in over a decade (and it includes Worcester Academy's Matt Cimino, whom we somehow stole from Indiana), but freshmen are freshmen, and if any of them struggle to adjust to college ball or an injury hits one of the upperclassmen, than GW could fall from conference favorite to NIT entrant.
 
3. Dayton
Yes, the Elite Eight run was glorious, but let's not let a hot streak mask the fact that this team wasn't all that great during the regular season and has lost some core contributors. Sibert and Pierre are good enough to keep Dayton at the top, but I can easily see this team living on the bubble all season.
 
4. UMass
Count me amongst the crowd that thinks losing Chaz won't hurt as much as most people think, especially with the addition of Hinds. They return most of an experienced rotation and I don't expect much of a drop-off.  However, I also don't think they were ever as good as their RPI indicated last year, so when I say I don't expect much of a drop-off, I'm saying that I think they were somewhere in the 3-6 range last season and will be there again this year. The non-conference schedule will once again be very important for resume-building purposes. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of opportunities for marquee wins, but there are some opportunities for solid-if-unspectacular wins. UMass needs to either steamroll through the non-con once again, or hope for some strong seasons from BYU, Notre Dame, Providence, and FSU to pump up the resume.
 
5. Richmond
The Spiders were storming towards the bubble down the stretch last year until losing their best player for the season. He's graduated and gone for good now, but Anthony and Jones still give them potentially the best backcourt in the league. This squad could give Richmond, VA two tourney teams this year.
 
6. Rhode Island
Get on the bandwagon now, Rhody Soshers!  URI returns nearly their entire team from last season, and last year they weren't nearly as bad as their record indicated, as i they lost six games against SLU, UMass, and SJU by 5 points or less. GW was in the same situation after the 12-13 season, and we all saw what happened after that. Rhode Island is ready to jump back into national prominence. 
 
Also Playing for the Tournament (That One That Ends in MSG)
7. George Mason
Like URI, this is another team I think was a lot better last year than their record indicated (see their win over UMass and two OT losses to SLU). They return enough talent to make an NIT push, and if they don't, Hewett should probably be shown the door. 
 
8. St. Bona
They have a 7-footer--a good one--and that's rare in today's college basketball world. They also have an experienced if unspectacular starting 5. Part of me wonders if this is too low.
 
9 LaSalle
I'm not quite sure what went wrong last year after their Sweet 16 run.  They can still put together a solid season with Wright and Zack in the frontcourt.
 
10. Saint Joe's
Bembry could be the best player in the league--for the next three years.
 
The Rest 
11. SLU
Just lost too much.
 
12. Davidson
Welcome aboard, thrilled to have you! 
 
13. Duquesne
Sure, why not?
 
14. Fordham
Good God, Frankie Frisch and Vince Lombardi went to your school, have some self-respect!
 

Orel Miraculous

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You know, upon a day's reflection, I retract my comment that UMass will need to either steamroll through the non-con again or hope for strong seasons from the handful of schools I singled out. That non-conference slate is stacked, period, and even going .500 in November and December will probably be enough to give UMass a strong RPI going into conference play. I ignored the strength of Harvard, Iona, FGCU, and Manhattan (three of which will almost certainly be tournament bound), and overlooked the fact all four of UMass's road games are going to be really tough. 
 
Non-conference scheduling is extremely important for A10 schools, and Kellogg appears to be great at it. He's once again put his team in a great position to be near the top of the RPI by January. 
 

SaveBooFerriss

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Last year's team was probably as good as it would be on game 1 because of all the veteran players.  This year's team should improve more as the year goes on.  A win is a win.  
 

SaveBooFerriss

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Nice win.  UMass looked horrible in the first half.  Much better in the second half, but still too many missed FT.  Missing the front end of a one and one is a killer.  
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Still turn it over a ton. Still take too many bad shots. Still commit too many pointless fouls.
 

BoSoxFink

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This team doesn't have enough talent this year I don't think.  They have no outside shooters besides Davis and that will kill them.
 

gmogmo

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Good to get 3 wins, because don't think they get a win out of the weekend tilts vs ND and FSU.  One win out of those two would leave them in a great spot early.
 

RedSoxFan

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Got the win against FSU after losing to ND yesterday. I don't think the Noles are that good but breaking even at Mohegan Sun is always a good result. Expecting to see this team get better as we progress and hopefully they can be at their best during A10 play.
 

RedSoxFan

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25 point win against the Huskies, was really worried about this game with NU looking good early in the season. Didn't get to see this game but looked like a nice complete effort with the game never in doubt. Two pretty big road games coming up, really hope they can beat Harvard on Saturday.
 

amfox1

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Listened to the game.  Game was over early, as NU couldn't hit a shot and had trouble with the press.  It gave DK an opportunity to play the entire bench (other than the walk-ons).  
 
It definitely looks like Berger, Hinds and Clark are developing into solid contributors to the core of DG, Cady and Maxie.    
 
Trey and Dyson, on the other hand, have been terrible.   It would help if Trey could get his shot back and if Coleman and/or Anderson could develop into a reliable backup forward.  
 
Bergantino is what he is.
 

Orel Miraculous

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Ouch. In isolation, losses at Harvard, LSU, and to FGCU in Springfield are all perfectly acceptable losses...but losing all three is not.  Barring something crazy like a 15-3 run in A10 play (not happening) I think UMass needs to win out in the OOC to keep their at-large hopes alive.
 

Orel Miraculous

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Never too early to start looking at national ratings!!! (Well, maybe it is given that Green Bay is number 1 in the RPI, but still, it's fun).  Here's how UMass and the rest of the top half of the A10 is looking:
 
RPI
21 VCU
33 Richmond
36 Dayton
46 Rhode Island
49 GW
52 UMass
70 Davidson
87 St. Bona
 
KenPom
37 VCU
51 GW
58 Dayton
68 Rhode Island
76 Richmond
83 Dayton
87 UMass
102 St. Bona
 
Sagarin
34 GW
51 VCU
58 Dayton
70 Rhode Island
79 St. Bona
81 Richmond
110 UMass
 
Teams are starting to run out of time to pump up these numbers before conference play starts, but upward movement can still be made. UMass can really help itself out with wins at BYU and, to a lesser extent, PC.  GW will have the chance to notch some big wins over Wichita State, Colorado, and Nebraska at the Diamond Head Classic, and VCU still has #21 UNI and Cincinnati.  Regardless, the A10 is not going to get 6 bids for the second year in a row, and probably won't match the 5 they got in 2013 either.  Four bids is still distinctly possible though, and UMass--still without any bad losses--can be one of them.  Avoiding bad losses isn't enough, though, they need to start picking up some good wins.
 

serotonin

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Close game @ BYU with around 2:30 to go and BYU up 60-59.  Huge second half for Donte Clark with 12 points, but it's otherwise been a fairly ugly offensive performance by both teams.
 

Orel Miraculous

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UMass simply did not do what it need to do in the all important out-of-conference schedule, going just 2-5 against KenPom top 100 teams (and those two wins weren't terribly impressive:  home victories against Northeastern and Iona).  The good news is they again played one of the toughest schedules in the country, so they still have relatively strong overall numbers (88 KenPom,  51 RPI), but they still haven't put themselves in a position for an at-large.  
 
If they storm through the A10 slate (15-3 or 14-4), then that might be enough to get them back onto the bubble, particularly if a couple of those wins come against GW, VCU, or Dayton, but I'm not sure this team is capable of that. If this team is going to make some noise this season they'll have to do it in Brooklyn.  
 

Orel Miraculous

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Arguably the best win of the season against La Salle tonight, as it was on the road against a KenPom top 100 team--its either this or the home wins against Iona and Northeastern (which, in essence, explains UMass's season right now).
 

amfox1

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They escaped a bad loss at George Mason.  This week - home vs. Davidson and URI - will go a long way towards determining how their season ends up.  All three teams have RPI rankings between 46-51 and Davidson and URI currently look poised to take the 4/5 spots for the A-10 in the NCAAs.
 
Five of UMASS's seven losses are to teams currently ranked in RPI's top 56.  The St. Bonnie/Florida Gulf Coast losses look really bad right now, especially the Dunk City game.
 

amfox1

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After blowing the Davidson game earlier this week, UMASS comes back to nip URI in another big game.  ESPN RPI is 59.  
 
Next seven games are @ St. Joes (155 RPI), vs. Dayton (22 RPI), @ St. Louis (187 RPI), @ Fordham (235 RPI), LaSalle (101 RPI), @ St. Bonaventure (158 RPI), Duquesne (226 RPI).  
 
Team (now 10-8) needs to go at least 5-2 and probably 6-1 to keep their NCAA hopes alive.   Four of UMASS's last six games are versus top-100 RPI teams.  6-1 and then 3-3 puts the team at 19-12 (11-7 conf), going into the tournament.
 
This team looks like it is NIT-bound.
 

WayBackVazquez

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9-17 from the free throw line and 13 turnovers in the loss to St. Joe's tonight. This team will need to work just to get an NIT invite.
 
Making Kellogg the highest paid state employee doesn't seem like it was quite necessary.
 

RedSoxFan

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Knock, knock
Who's there?
Foreign
Foreign who?
Four-in-a-row!
 
Good win over La Salle today. Now just one game back of 1st place in what appears to now be a wide open A10. Team is playing better and I really like what I'm seeing out of Donte Clark.
 

RedSoxFan

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WayBackVazquez said:
Big last minute heroics from Jabarie Hinds for the win at St. Bonaventure. Good to them keeping hope alive. 
 
8-0 run to end the game. What an amazing finish with the season hanging in the balance. If La Salle can beat VCU (right now leading in double OT) our beloved Minutemen will be tied for first place in the A10.
 
La Salle has won. Tied for 1st with Dayton, URI, and VCU.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I guess it probably doesn't look as good for tournament purposes, but this feels better than the recent teams who were really impressive early and faded badly in conference play.
 

BoSoxFink

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I agree with you Jed, but I feel like there was too much damage done early in the season. They would have to probably lose no more than 2 games the rest of the season to even be on the bubble and one of the wins will have to be against VCU on the road.
 

RedSoxFan

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BoSoxFink said:
I agree with you Jed, but I feel like there was too much damage done early in the season. They would have to probably lose no more than 2 games the rest of the season to even be on the bubble and one of the wins will have to be against VCU on the road.
 
All of the remaining home games are winnable. Have to avoid having a let down game and win one of the 3 remaining road games. Winning @VCU is a possibility as they are not the same team without Weber. I think if UMass is a bubble team the committee will look favorably on their tough OOC SOS and quality conference record. There's also a chance of winning the conference tourney and getting in that way. A10 is wide open right now.
 

SaveBooFerriss

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Six in a row now.  If they can win one of the next two against URI and VCU on the road, I will start to believe in this team.  
 

amfox1

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amfox1 said:
Next seven games are @ St. Joes (155 RPI), vs. Dayton (22 RPI), @ St. Louis (187 RPI), @ Fordham (235 RPI), LaSalle (101 RPI), @ St. Bonaventure (158 RPI), Duquesne (226 RPI).  
 
Team (now 10-8 ) needs to go at least 5-2 and probably 6-1 to keep their NCAA hopes alive.   Four of UMASS's last six games are versus top-100 RPI teams.  6-1 and then 3-3 puts the team at 19-12 (11-7 conf), going into the tournament.
 
This team looks like it is NIT-bound.
So, UMASS did go 6-1 in this seven-game stretch. Now, they need to go at least 4-2 down the stretch (St Joes/Fordham should be locks, plus two of GW/VCU/Richmond/URI), which would lock in a top-four seed in the A-10 tourney (20-11, 13-5). Getting to the semis in the A-10 tourney could be enough.

I still think they're NIT-bound, but this looks more possible than it did three weeks ago.
 

SaveBooFerriss

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amfox1 said:
So, UMASS did go 6-1 in this seven-game stretch. Now, they need to go at least 4-2 down the stretch (St Joes/Fordham should be locks, plus two of GW/VCU/Richmond/URI), which would lock in a top-four seed in the A-10 tourney (20-11, 13-5). Getting to the semis in the A-10 tourney could be enough.
 



I still think they're NIT-bound, but this looks more possible than it did three weeks ago.

Well, three weeks ago at 10-9, the NIT seemed unlikely.  I think the most likely path to the NCAA tournament is winning the A-10 tournament.  I think there are at least six teams that have a legitimate shot to win the A-10 Tourney and UMass is one of them.  
 

BoSoxFink

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I wish this game was on tv tonight. It's a big one for both UMASS and URI. The only team that still has tourney hopes alive is the team that wins.
 

yeahlunchbox

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In RI it's on OSN. It's also being broadcast by SNY, Comcast New England, Comcast Philadelphia and there should be free streaming through the A10 website.
 

EastCoasterOutWest

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RedSoxFan said:
 
All of the remaining home games are winnable. Have to avoid having a let down game and win one of the 3 remaining road games. Winning @VCU is a possibility as they are not the same team without Weber. I think if UMass is a bubble team the committee will look favorably on their tough OOC SOS and quality conference record. There's also a chance of winning the conference tourney and getting in that way. A10 is wide open right now.
VCU may not be the same team without Weber (my hopes for a deep tourney run are officially dashed), but those close losses they suffered after his injury also coincided with Graham's re-injuring his ankle and sitting out a couple games.
 

RedSoxFan

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EastCoasterOutWest said:
VCU may not be the same team without Weber (my hopes for a deep tourney run are officially dashed), but those close losses they suffered after his injury also coincided with Graham's re-injuring his ankle and sitting out a couple games.
 
Yep, Graham was a huge factor yesterday. Happy with how UMass was able to hang int there but VCU is still really good and the Siegel Center is a tough place to win.
 
Still think UMass can be a tournament team. Gotta win the last 4 games and hope to get a bye in the A10 tourney. Probably have to win 2 games in Brooklyn. Going to be tough but the opportunity is there.
 

RedSoxFan

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axx said:
 
You mean CBI right?
 
I guess so. Didn't expect UMass to crap the bed in two out of these 3 home games. Really disappointing and I don't see this program being much better next year.
 
RedOctober3829 said:
Marc Bertrand tweeted yesterday that UMass is planning to honor John Calipari next year.  They are holding out "a small hope" that Kentucky would be visiting Amherst.
 
Would be really nice if Kentucky came to Mullins next year but too much living in the past with this program. I wonder if UNLV supporters have the same level of obsession with the Tarkanian years as UMass supporters seem to have with the Cal years. Need to move forward. 

Honestly think UMass would have been better off shipping all sports to the MAC. Easier path to getting back to the tournament on a regular basis.
 

mabrowndog

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So frustrating to watch this team and its complete lack of discipline. I just cannot enjoy these games -- even when they win.
 

amfox1

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Team has totally quit on Kellogg.  
 
UMASS is the #8 seed in the A-10 tourney, which means they play at noon on Thursday vs. #9 seed LaSalle.  If they win, they play #1 seed Davidson (assuming they beat Duquesne tonight) at noon on Friday.  Both games are on NBCSN.