University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Basketball Begins Road Trip at La Salle
January 23, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2001
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Probable UMass (6-10/4-1) Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. F 40 Micah Brand 6-11 243 So. F 20 Winston Smith 6-5 228 Sr. C 33 Kitwana Rhymer 6-10 256 Sr. G 5 Monty Mack 6-3 200 Sr. G 30 Shannon Crooks 6-2 222 Jr.
Probable La Salle (7-9/1-4) Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. F 45 Rasual Butler 6-8 195 Jr. F 25 Victor Thomas 6-7 200 Sr. C 52 Garrett Bragg 6-11 275 Sr. G 21 Julian Blanks 6-2 195 Jr. G 34 James Jordan 6-8 234 Sr.
About the Minutemen: Off to a 4-1 start in the Atlantic 10 for the second time in the past three seasons (UMass was also 4-1 in 1998-99), the Minutemen aim for their best league start since the 1997-98 campaign (a 9-0 start en route to a 12-4 finish) and hope to maintain their place among the A-10 leaders when they square off against the La Salle Explorers in the first of three straight conference road games. UMass, 4-1 in the A-10 and 6-10 overall after last Saturday's 80-69 victory over Duquesne at the Springfield Civic Center, began the week tied with Temple (a team it faces Saturday at the Liacouras Center) for third-place in the league race, a half-game behind co-leaders St. Joseph's (hosted Rhode Island last night) and Xavier (plays at Duquesne on Saturday). The Minutemen, who were picked for third in the A-10 preseason coaches and media poll but left for dead after fashioning a 2-9 non-conference record, find themselves in the thick of the title chase. Off to its slowest start since the 1986-87 season, UMass has played one of the nation's most demanding schedules this season, and one of the toughest in school history. The Minuteman slate is ranked as the nation's sixth (College Basketball News, CollegeRPI.com) toughest through games of Jan. 22, as its 16 opponents own a combined record of 182-91 (.667). The 10 schools that have beaten UMass this season are a combined 120-45 (.727) to date. UMass senior guard Monty Mack enters tonight's game with 1,886 points, good for third place on the school's all-time scoring list, and needs 20 points to move past No. 2 Lou Roe (1,905 points from 1992-95). Mack, who has scored 20 or more points in six of his last seven outings and is averaging 21.2 points against A-10 foes, ranks as the second-highest active career scorer in Division I hoops, behind Centenary's Ronnie McCollum (2,226 points).
About La Salle: The Explorers are 7-9 overall and 1-4 in the A-10 after Sunday's 62-43 loss at Dayton. La Salle, which stood 6-4 after an 81-78 overtime victory over Lafayette, Dec. 28, has dropped five of its last six games, with the lone victory in that stretch being an 82-69 homecourt win over Duquesne eight days ago. Coach Speedy Morris' team is 3-1 at home this season, with the loss coming at the hands of crosstown rival Temple, 75-61, three weeks ago tonight, and plays four of its next five games at home starting with tonight's game against the Minutemen.
Last Time Out: Playing at the Springfield Civic Center for the first time in six seasons, UMass led Duquesne by as many as 10 points in the first half, and held a 34-28 advantage at intermission. The visiting Dukes, though, used a 9-2 run to take a 37-36 lead on a conventional three-point play by Brad Midgley, but the Minutemen regained the lead for good at 38-37 with 17:10 left on a Monty Mack basket. UMass led by as many as 17 in the second half en route to its 15th-straight victory over Duquesne, 80-69, before a season-high home crowd of 6,837. Mack led the Minutemen with 25 points, while Micah Brand had 16 points and Kitwana Rhymer added 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. UMass shot a season-high 55.2 percent from the field, its second-straight 50.0 percent or better shooting game, and also recorded season-bests for points (80), blocks (13) and steals (11). Courtney Wallace paced the Dukes' attack with 17 points.
Minuteman Coach Bruiser Flint: UMass' James "Bruiser" Flint (St. Joseph's, 1987) stands 77-67 (.535) in his fifth season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Minutemen. In his 12th season overall in Amherst, Flint is one of only two coaches in school history to take three teams to postseason play in their first four seasons at the UMass helm (John Calipari was the other), and ranks as the fifth-winningest coach in school history, four victories behind No. 4 Robert Curran (81 victories in seven seasons from 1952 through 1959) and eight behind No. 3 Harold M. Gore (85 victories in 11 years from 1916-17, 1918-19 and 1920-29). Only three other men, Jack Leaman (343 games), Calipari (264) and Curran (161) have coached in more games at UMass than Bruiser's 144. Flint, whose first two Minuteman squads earned NCAA Tournament bids and whose fourth team went to the NIT, owns a 45-24 (.652) record in regular-season Atlantic 10 Conference play. Each of Flint's first four UMass squads finished third or higher in the A-10 standings, and his 2000 unit became the first to reach the conference tournament semifinals since the 1996 squad captured the last of the school's five consecutive league tournament crowns. In addition, his program has produced at least one all-conference performer each season, and nine of his 11 seniors (81.8 percent) have left Amherst with degree in hand. Before being tabbed to replace Calipari, Flint spent seven seasons as an assistant to Cal on the UMass bench. One of only 31 active Division I head coaches to have both played and coached a team in the NCAA Tournament, Flint is 4-1 vs. La Salle and coach Speedy Morris, 0-1 in Gola Arena.
Explorer Coach Speedy Morris: La Salle's Speedy Morris (Pittsburgh, 1991) owns a 233-195 (.544) record in his 15th season as a head coach, all with the Explorers. The winningest coach in La Salle history, Morris has guided the Explorers to six postseason tournament appearances (four NCAA, two NIT) in his tenure. He is 1-7 vs. UMass, 1-0 at Gola Arena.
The Series: Tenth meeting in a series that UMass leads, 7-2, after last year's 82-48 victory in Amherst. La Salle won the first meeting between the schools, 82-75, Dec. 30, 1971, in the Quaker City Classic at Philadelphia, but UMass won the next six contests before the Explorers scored a 63-60 victory two years ago at Gola Arena. In games played in Philadelphia, the series is deadlocked 2-2.
Last Year's Meeting: The Minutemen and Explorers were tied, 15-15, with 8:31 left in the first half, but UMass used a 22-5 run to take a 37-20 halftime lead. La Salle would close to within 14 early in the second half, but the Minutemen would eventually build the lead to as many as 35 en route to the 82-48 victory. Chris Kirkland led the UMass attack with 26 points, while Monty Mack netted 20 and Shannon Crooks 12. Donnie Carr led La Salle with 16 points.
Active UMass Players vs. La Salle
GP FG% 3FG% FT% Reb. PPG A TO BK ST MP
Blizzard 1 1.000 .000 .000 0.0 2.0 0 0 2 0 6
Brand 1 .000 .000 .500 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 11
Crooks 1 .556 .667 .000 3.0 12.0 3 1 1 2 32
DePina 2 .333 .500 .000 2.0 1.5 3 2 0 2 31
Mack 3 .375 .333 .600 4.0 13.7 6 5 0 5 105
Rhymer 2 .333 .000 1.000 5.0 5.5 1 2 1 0 29
Smith 3 .333 .000 .000 1.0 0.7 0 1 0 2 14
Road Warriors: One of the hardest things to do in college basketball is win away from home, but under Bruiser Flint, the Minutemen have enjoyed success away from the Mullins Center. Including games played at neutral sites, UMass is 41-48 (.461) all-time outside of Amherst under Flint, including a 21-13 (.618) record in regular-season A-10 road games under his leadership. UMass and Temple were the only A-10 teams to record winning road records in conference play last season, as the Minutemen were 5-3 vs. A-10 foes away from home a year ago, their third winning league road mark in Flint's tenure. The Minutemen, 11-10 outside of the Mullins Center a year ago, were also the only Atlantic 10 team to post a victory at Virginia Tech last season, and have posted a .500 or better overall road record 10 times in the last 11 seasons.
On the Inside: The UMass frontline played key roles in last week's wins over Dayton and Duquesne, scoring 94 of the team's 142 points on the week. In the Minutemen's 62-57 victory over Dayton the frontline tallied 51 of the team's 62 points, and it had 43 of 80 points in the Duquesne victory. Senior center Kitwana Rhymer and sophomore forward Micah Brand did most of the damage last week, and Rhymer earned A-10 player-of-the-week honors for his efforts. He averaged 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds and recorded back to back double-doubles for the first time in his career (a career-high-tying 19 points and 13 rebounds vs. Dayton, 15 points and 12 rebounds vs. Duquesne). Brand, who has recorded three-straight double figure scoring games for the first time in his career, averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in the victories. In A-10 play, the UMass frontline has played an important role in the team's 4-1 start, accounting for 54.2 percent of the offensive production (38.8 ppg), and shooting a sizzling 56.6 percent from the field. No Minuteman frontline player has stepped up his game more in the A-10 than Rhymer, who is averaging a double-double (14.2 ppg and 10.6 rpg) against league foes, and who may well be the league's most improved player.
Stepping Up: The names are the same, but their games are not. Perhaps that's the best way to explain how a team was picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll, then stumbled to a 2-9 record in the non-conference season, but has since won four of five games to open its A-10 slate. Six players are scoring at a higher rate than they did in the non-league season, and the result is that UMass is averaging 6.9 points more per game against its league foes (71.6 ppg) than it did in the non-conference (64.7 ppg) portion of the schedule. Those Minutemen stepping up since the league season arrived include:
Player Non-League A-10 Difference Kitwana Rhymer 8.6 ppg 14.2 ppg +5.6 Monty Mack 16.3 ppg 21.2 ppg +4.9 Micah Brand 8.2 ppg 10.2 ppg +2.0 Jameel Pugh 2.0 ppg 3.0 ppg +1.0 Ronell Blizzard 1.7 ppg 2.2 ppg +0.5 Jackie Rogers 5.2 ppg 5.6 ppg +0.4
UMass Non-League vs. A-10 Offensive Statistical Comparison
GP FG% 3FG% FT% Reb. PPG A TO BK ST
Non-Conf. 11 .385 .296 .626 36.6 64.7 126 179 57 73
A-10 5 .475 .299 .726 37.0 71.6 67 73 31 31
About the Schedule: Grueling. Tough. Hard. Difficult. Take your pick. They're all words that can be used to describe the UMass schedule this season, which this week is ranked as the sixth or seventh toughest in college basketball, depending on the rating service looked at. Using the latest RPI rankings from Jerry Palm's College RPI.com, 14 of the Minutemen's 16 opponents thus far have an RPI of 115 or better, and 10 are ranked 76th or better. UMass is 1-4 vs. opponents ranked from 1-50 in the RPI, 1-6 vs. teams ranked from 51 through 100, 2-0 vs. teams ranked from 101 to 150 and 2-0 vs. teams ranked worse than 151. For the record, UMass' RPI ranks 74th, while La Salle's is 130 according to Palm. Every team that has beaten UMass this season has a .500 or better record, and eight have already won at least 11 games. The Minutemen would appear to be on track to have a schedule ranked among the nation's top 20 in degree of difficulty for the third time under coach Bruiser Flint, and the fourth time in school history, based on CollegeRPI.com's figures. UMass' other top 20 schedules in terms of difficulty came in 1997-98 (No. 19), 1996-97 (No. 14) and 1993-94 (No. 9). Over the last eight seasons, only once has the Minuteman strength of schedule been ranked lower than 56.
Why We Win: In each of their six victories this season, the Minutemen have outshot their opponent and watched their bench provide more points than the opposition's subs. In Saturday's win over Duquesne, UMass hit a season-high 55.2 percent from the field, compared to 38.8 shooting for the Dukes, and its bench outscored DU's bench, 16-10. In its six wins, UMass has shot 47.5 percent (152-of-320) from the field, 68.5 percent at the foul line (100-of-146), outrebounded its opponents by +4.2 per game, while averaging 71.3 points and 14.3 turnovers per game. Those numbers compare to 37.6 percent field goal shooting (216-of-575), 64.1 percent free throw marksmanship (161-of-251), a -3.5 rebound margin, 64.2 points and 16.6 turnovers in UMass' 10 setbacks. As can be expected, there is also a marked statistical difference between the Minutemen's defensive averages in their wins when compared to their losses. UMass has held its opponents to 61.2 ppg and 39.0 percent (130-of-333) field goal shooting, while forcing 15.7 turnovers in its six wins, but in defeat, the 10 opponents have averaged 75.2 points per game, shot 43.3 percent (245-of-566) from the field and averaged just 14.8 turnovers per game.
The SWAT Squad: Through 16 games, UMass leads the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots with an average of 5.5 rejections per game (a league-best 88 on the season). The Minutemen, who have had five or more rejections in 10 of 16 games on the year, had a season-high 13 snuffs against Duquesne, and have had at least one blocked shot in 82-straight games since being held rejectionless in a 74-66 loss at Temple, March 1, 1998. Senior center Kitwana Rhymer leads the team and the Atlantic 10 Conference with 2.25 bpg (36), while sophomore Micah Brand (20) ranks second on the team and sixth in the A-10 and junior Ronell Blizzard (17) is third on the squad and seventh in the A-10.
70 or More Spells W-I-N: Although the Minutemen are just 3-2 this season when scoring 70-or-more points, that number has usually been a good indicator to use in predicting their success over the last few seasons. In 13 of its 17 victories a year ago, UMass tallied 70 or more points, and for the season it was 13-2 when putting 70-plus points on the scoreboard. Under coach Bruiser Flint, the Minutemen are 42-12 (.778) all-time when reaching the 70-point mark, but just 35-55 (.389) when scoring 69 or fewer points. UMass is also 11-39 (.220) under Flint when it allows 70 or more points, including an 0-6 record this season.
Watch the Clock: Under coach Bruiser Flint, UMass has been nearly unbeatable when leading with 5:00 remaining, as the Minutemen are 70-9 (.886) all-time under his leadership when leading after 35 minutes of play, including a 6-0 mark this season. UMass is 2-2 (.500) in Flint's tenure when tied with 5:00 to go, 0-1 this year. UMass has struggled nearly as much when trailing with 5:00 left, posting a 5-56 mark (.083), which includes an 0-9 record this year. The Minutemen's come-from-behind victories in Flint's tenure came against North Carolina-Wilmington (down 41-37, but won 47-46) and Duquesne (trailed 63-60, but won 73-71) in 1996-97, Charlotte (behind 48-45, but won 68-62 in OT) and St. Joseph's (behind 63-58, but won 82-79 in OT) in 1997-98 and Villanova (down 40-38, but won 52-51) last year. On 17 occasions over the last six-plus seasons, including 11 times under Flint, the Minutemen have overcome a double-digit deficit at some point in the game to claim victory. UMass' most-recent double-digit rally to win effort came against Dayton, when it overcame an 11-point first half deficit to beat the Flyers, 62-57. Earlier this month against George Washington, the Minutemen overcame a 15-point deficit with 1:07 left in the first half to beat the Colonials, 76-60. The 15-point lead the Minutemen overcame to win marked their largest comeback win under Flint, three points more than they overcame in a 69-48 victory over Drexel during the 1996-97 campaign, and the program's largest since rallying from 16 down in the first half to beat Maryland, 50-47, Dec. 2, 1995.
Happy New Year: Under coach Bruiser Flint, UMass is 31-10 (.756) all-time in the month of January, and has won nine of its last 12 games in the first month of the New Year. In game's played on this date, UMass is 1-0 under Flint, 7-11 all-time on the 25th day of the year's first month.
Finding the Touch: After hitting a then-season-high 54.0 percent from the field in their season-opening victory over Iona, the Minutemen shot just 38.3 percent over the next 13 games (and did not reach the 50.0 percent mark in any game), before hitting 50.0 percent in back-to-back games last week against Dayton (.510) and Duquesne (season-best .552). League play has brought out the UMass shooting touch, as the squad that hit just 38.5 percent in non-conference play and averaged 64.7 points, has connected on 47.5 percent of its fielders against A-10 foes (en route to 71.6 ppg) to move its season mark to 41.1 percent. The Minutemen, who were 7-0 a year ago when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the floor, own a 28-4 mark under Flint when hitting better than half of their fielders and have won 14-straight when reaching the 50.0 percent mark since an 88-83 loss to George Washington in the quarterfinals of the 1998 Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Foul Shooting: After hitting just 58.6 percent from the free throw line in their first four games of the season, the Minutemen have shot 68.7 percent (193-of-281) from the stripe over the last 12 games to improve their season mark to 65.7 percent. UMass has hit 70.0 percent or better in seven of its last 12 games, including a season-high 83.3 percent effort at Ohio State and a 78.6 percent performance against Dayton. The Minutemen, who have watched their opponents hit 70.9 percent from the line, have been outscored at the foul line 293-261 on the year. However, in A-10 action, UMass is shooting 72.6 percent at the free throw line (compared to 62.6 percent in the non-league season) and has outscored its opponent, 90-68, from the stripe. In fact, the Minutemen have made (90) just eight fewer free throws than their opponents have attempted (98) in league play. UMass' top free throw shooter is senior guard Monty Mack at 78.0 percent (64-for-82), while his backcourt runningmates, senior Jonathan DePina and junior Shannon Crooks, rank second and third, at .708 and .704, respectively.
Cleaning the Glass: While its free throw shooting has improved in its last 12 games, UMass' rebounding has been better over the last 10 games, too. After being outrebounded in each of their first six games, the Minutemen have outrebounded eight of their last 10 opponents, and for the season are now even with their opponents on the glass (36.8-36.8). In A-10 play, though, UMass is a +4.6 rpg on the glass. Senior center Kitwana Rhymer is UMass' top rebounder at 7.7 per game (10.6 rpg in A-10 play).
We Can Play the "D": A trademark of the UMass basketball program over the last 12 years has been stingy defensive play, and that appears to again be the case again this season. For the year, Minutemen opponents are shooting 41.7 percent (38.8 percent by A-10 foes) from the field, including 31.7 percent (28.9 percent by A-10 opponents) from three-point range, and have topped the 50.0 percent mark only three times in 16 games. The Minutemen have held 49 of their last 59 opponents, including 13 of 16 this season, to under 50 percent shooting from the field (UMass is 26-23 in those games), and 29 foes to under 40 percent shooting (20-9). Under coach Flint, UMass has held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting 73 times (in 144 total games) and owns a 56-18 (.757) record in those contests. Last year, UMass ranked fourth in the A-10 in both scoring (64.8 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.412). Each of Flint's first four teams rank among the school's top 10 in fewest points allowed per game (since the 1951-52 season), with the average points scored against UMass in his tenure being 65.2 points per game.
Playing the D, Part II: Since allowing North Carolina to shoot 50.0 percent from the field and put 91 points on the scoreboard in a 91-60 victory in the opening round of the Hardee's Tournament of Champions in Charlotte, N.C., the Minutemen have limited their last six opponents to 63.2 points per game and 37.6 percent shooting from the field.
Consistent Success: The Atlantic 10 Conference's winningest program over the last 11 seasons, UMass is one of 21 Division I schools to have earned 10 postseason tournament bids in the last 11 years (from 1989-90 through 1999-2000). The guest list:
The Minutemen have recorded a winning A-10 record in each of the last 11 seasons, own a 130-52 (.714) mark in regular-season league play and have captured 10 league titles (five regular season, five tournament) in that time frame. Over the past 11-plus seasons, UMass owns a 260-120 (.684) overall record, an average of 23.1 victories per season.
Quick Tips: The Minutemen reached the 1,000 victory pleateau with their 62-57 victory over Dayton, and own an all-time record of 1,001-889 (.530) on the hardwood...UMass has used five different starting line-up combinations this season, and eight players have started at least one game on the season...The Minuteman bench, which scored a season-high-tying 28 points against BU (it also provided 28 points in the Oregon loss), has provided 277 points (17.3 ppg) on the season compared to its opponents' 286 (17.9 ppg)...UMass' six-game losing streak which ended against BU was its longest since the 1986-87 season...UMass had a season-high five double-figure scorers against Providence, marking the first time it had five double-digit scorers in the same game since its 1999-2000 season-opener at Iona...the Minutemen have hit at least one three-point goal in 79-straight games since a first-round 1998 NCAA Tournament loss to Saint Louis, while their opponents have at least one trey in 23-straight outings...UMass' 31-point loss to North Carolina was its worst ever under coach Flint, and the worst since a 105-74 setback to Duquesne, Feb. 18, 1989...the 2000-01 Minuteman roster features four former Bay State prep products with the addition of walk-on freshman guard Dwayne Killings to the roster...Killings, who prepped at Amherst Regional High School, will wear No. 11...the Minutemen had a season-low eight turnovers against George Washington, their fewest since committing eight against Virginia Tech, Jan. 2, 1999...under coach Flint, UMass is 21-33 (.389) in games played in November and December, 56-34 (.622) in games played in January, February or March...the 2000-01 season marks the 25th year of A-10 basketball, and the Minutemen have been there for every season...the A-10, of course, was founded as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League and started play with the 1976-77 campaign...the league became the Eastern Eight a year later, and the A-10 in 1983...UMass has produced at least one all-conference performer for 17-straight seasons...nine of UMass' first 16 games were against teams went to postseason play a year ago, and the Minutemen still have five games left against 2000 postseason tournament teams (two with Temple, one each against St. Bonaventure, Dayton and Xavier)...the Minutemen are 2-5 vs. 2000 NCAA Tournament entrants, 1-1 vs. 2000 NIT participants...UMass is one of only 15 schools to have made at least one Final Four appearance since 1996, as the Minutemen made their first and only trip in 1996.
Noting the 2000-01 Minutemen
#1 Jonathan DePina, 5-9, 185, Sr., Boston, Mass.
#2 Jackie Rogers, 6-8, 230, Jr., Syracuse, N.Y.
#3 Ronell Blizzard, 6-8, 205, Jr., Waterbury, Conn.
#4 Willie Jenkins, 6-6, 200, Fr., Memphis, Tenn.
#5 Monty Mack, 6-3, 200, Sr., Boston, Mass.
#20 Winston Smith, 6-5, 228, Sr., Summit, N.J.
#21 Eric Williams, 6-8, 243, Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.
#24 Jameel Pugh, 6-5, 200, Fr., Sacramento, Calif.
#30 Shannon Crooks, 6-2, 222, Jr., Everett, Mass.
#33 Kitwana Rhymer, 6-10, 256, Sr., St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
