University of Massachusets Athletics
Viggiano Earns Atlantic 10 Honor
December 29, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts freshman forward Jeff Viggiano (Suffield, Conn.) earned his first Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honor for his performance in last week's homecourt victories over Rider and Marshall. He is the first Minuteman to be honored by the league this season.
For the week, Viggiano averaged 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 1.5 bpg, while shooting 64.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point range en route to a pair of double-figure scoring efforts. He became the first UMass freshman since Ajmal Basit in 1996-97 to record back-to-back double-figure scoring games for the Minutemen.
Viggiano had career-highs of 17 points, nine rebounds, and three assists in UMass' 76-54 win over Rider on Dec. 23, then tallied 13 points to go with a career-high four assists in an 81-58 win over Marshall five days later. He also shined defensively against Marshall, holding the Herd's leading scorer, Ron Blackshear, to 1-12 shooting from the floor.
Massachusetts, 4-6 on the season and winners of two-straight, hosts 7-1 and 24th-ranked (USA Today/ESPN coaches poll) North Carolina State on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. game, which will be televised nationally by ESPN, can be purchased by calling the UMass Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-UMASS-TIX.