University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Basketball Heads To Battle In Seattle
December 02, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2004
Complete Release With Stats and Player Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
UMASS (2-1) vs. GONZAGA (4-1)
SATURDAY, DEC. 4, 2004 • 1 p.m. PST
BATTLE IN SEATTLE • KEY ARENA
SEATTLE, WASH.
CSTV • UMass Radio Network
• The UMass men's basketball team goes across country as the Minutemen take on perennial power Gonzaga at the "Battle In Seattle" on Saturday, Dec. 4 at Key Arena, home of the NBA's Seattle Sonics. The teams tip-off at 1 p.m. (PST) in a game that will be broadcast nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV). Carter Blackburn will handle the play-by-play while former North Carolina and Notre Dame coach Matt Doherty will be the color commentator.
• The Gonzaga game opens the Minutemen's most difficult three-game stretch of the season taking them to two of the furthest corners of the country. After the game in Seattle, UMass flies home to face defending national champion #6/7 Connecticut on Thursday, Dec. 9. The regional battle will also be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. Following the UConn game, UMass will board yet another flight and head to Florida for a game against the ACC's Miami Hurricanes on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
• The games in Seattle and Miami are UMass' only two road games prior to Jan. 12, but happen just eight days apart and cover nearly 4,500 miles each way.
• UMass started the year 2-0 for just the second time since the Final Four year of 1995-96 after beating Yale, 70-56, last Sunday at the Mullins Center. The only other time in the last nine years UMass started 2-0 was 2001-02, in Steve Lappas' first year in Amherst. But the Minutemen lost to Northeastern on Wednesday night, 84-68 at the Mullins Center. In the loss, Preseason First Team A-10 selection Rashaun Freeman scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in leading three players in double-figures. Senior guard Anthony Anderson had 17 points as he moved into 30th in career scoring at UMass (1,044), he also handed out four assists to tie current Boston College coach Al Skinner for ninth in career assists (320). Freshman Lawrence Carrier scored 10 points for the second game in a row. Facing The Top Scorers
• After facing the nation's top scorer in Jose Juan Barea (28.0) on Wednesday at home, UMass will face another top scorer in Gonzaga's All-American Ronny Turiaf. Barea, who scored 24 vs. UMass still leads the nation in scoring. Turiaf is ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (25.6).
GONZAGA CAPSULE
• The Zags (4-1) have been one of the best stories in college basketball over the last decade. They have emerged from mid-major to a national power. They had been ranked in the top 25 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls prior to losing to current No. 3 Illinois, 89-72, on Nov. 27 in Indianapolis. Gonzaga was ranked all of last season and finished the year ranked No. 3 by AP, ranked a number two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga is led by Ronny Turiaf, who is a first-team All-American candidate. He is scoring 25.6 points per game this season and averaging 10.0 rebounds. Along with Turiaf, sophomore Adam Morrison is scoring 19.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds. The Zags opened the season with three wins: Portland State (98-80), Montana (78-62) and Idaho (88-74) before losing to Illinois. They got back on track on Wednesday as they beat state rival Washington for the seventh year in a row (99-87) in Spokane. Head Coach Mark Few is 137-33 in his sixth year as head coach at Gonzaga after 10 years as an assistant. Few is the off to the second-best start of any coach in NCAA history through five years, winning 133 games. Only legend Everett Case (137) had more wins to start a career in five years.
Series Notes
• This is the first game between UMass and Gonzaga in men's basketball. It is the start of a three-year series with the teams playing at the Mullins Center next season, followed by a game in Spokane in the 2006-07 season.
• UMass has not been to the Northwest portion of the country since a Dec. 2, 2000 game against Oregon, which was played at the Rose Garden in Portland. The Ducks beat the Minutemen, 91-76 in that game.
• UMass has never played a team from the state of Washington prior to this game and has never played a game in the state.
SEASON OUTLOOK CAPSULE
• Heading into the 2004-2005 season, the UMass basketball team looks to return to its place among the top teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference. With all five starters returning from last year's squad, and some talented newcomers joining the team, the Minutemen should once again have the ingredients necessary to contend in the league, and make a run at their first postseason tournament bid since 1999-2000.
• Although last year's Minutemen were only able to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 East Division, they showed some flashes of what UMass fans can expect to see in years to come. UMass led the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots with an average of 5.3 per game, while standing second in assists with an average of 15.4 per contest.
• To build the 2004-2005 team, the Minutemen have 11 players returning, including all five starters and nine of the 10 scholarship lettermen off last year's squad. All told, the 11 returnees provided 93.4 percent of the scoring and 91.3 percent of the rebounding a year ago. They will be joined by a cast of three newcomers, who will look to help the Minutemen return to the postseason this spring. The returning starters for the Minutemen this year are senior Anthony Anderson, juniors Rashaun Freeman and Jeff Viggiano, and sophomores Art Bowers and Maurice Maxwell.
UMASS AMONG LEAGUE FAVORITES
• As the preseason basketball publications continue to roll in, the UMass men's basketball team continues to garner national attention. In CBS Sportsline/Basketball News Preview, the Minutemen have been picked as the favorites to win the Atlantic 10 East Division. UMass was also selected as the No. 1 team in the East by Lindy's preseason magazine.
• In addition to being picked as the top team in the East, Rashaun Freeman has also been named CBS Sportsline/Basketball News Preview's Conference Player of the Year. Freeman has also been named to the publication's preseason Atlantic 10 first team, while senior guard Anthony Anderson has been named to the preseason second team.
• According to this preview magazine, "Massachusetts has five starters back and hopes to return to glory ... UMass might start to wake some of the echoes of old as they make some noise in the A-10."
• According to Lindy's, "UMass will win the A-10 East because it has the best returning talent. ... The Minutemen return the A-10's best low-post scorer (Freeman), two gifted young wings (Art Bowers, Maurice Maxwell) and a senior point guard (Anthony Anderson)."
• Freeman has also been named the league's top rebounder, is a member of the preseason all-conference first-team and is ranked as the 17th center in the nation according to the magazine.
• Anderson was also named to the preseason all-conference third team. Additionally, the magazine is quoted as saying, newcomer front-court player Lawrence Carrier will be a player to "keep an eye on."
• In checking other preseason magazines, Freeman has also been named to the preseason All-Atlantic 10 first team according to Athlon Sports College Basketball as well as in Street & Smith's College Basketball Preview. In Street & Smith's, Freeman was named the A-10's best rebounder.
ANDERSON LEADS MINUTEMEN IN BACKCOURT
• Senior captain Anthony Anderson is once again be the leader on the court for UMass this season. Last year, Anderson averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest, while hitting 38.7 percent from three-point range and posting a 1.7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. In addition, he became the 36th career 1,000-point scorer in UMass history during the game at Richmond on March 6, 2004, finishing the year with 1,007 career points scored. Anderson also hit the 200th three-point shot of his UMass career at Fordham on January 28, becoming only the fourth player in school history to accomplish that feat.
• Anderson is now 30th all-time in career scoring with 1,044 points. He moved past four players in the Northeastern game: Dana Dingle (1,043), Charlton Clarke (1,041), David Brown (1,037) and Derick Claiborne (1,033). He is just nine points from 29th place Alex Eldridge (1053).
• He is ranked third on the school's all-time chart for three-pointers made (236), and three-point attempts (604) and fifth in three-point percentage (.390). Anderson needs to hit 95 three-point shots to break Monty Mack's school record for three-pointers made (331), which was set from 1997-2001.
• In addition, Anderson totaled 102 assists in 2003-2004, becoming only the sixth player in school history to record 100 or more assists in three consecutive seasons (joining Charlton Clarke, Joe DiSarcina, Alex Eldridge, Derek Kellogg and Carl Smith). If he posts 100 or more assists again in 2004-2005, Anderson will join Smith as the only Minutemen to reach triple digits in assists four times.
• Anderson is now tied for ninth all-time in career assists at UMass with 320 with current Boston College coach Al Skinner. Anderson passed Shannon Crooks (310) in the season opener with three vs. Birmingham Southern. Next on the list after Skinner is another major college coach in Louisville mentor Rick Pinto, who had 329 during the same era.
FREEMAN HAS IMPRESSIVE START
• Center/Forward Rashaun Freeman, who established himself as one of the top young players in the nation last season, should be a top candidate for All-America and Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year honors in 2004-2005. Freeman was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season, in addition to being selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District I second team and the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team.
• In 29 games played last year, Freeman averaged team bests of 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds, while hitting 54.9 percent of his shots from the floor and posting 12 double doubles. A seven-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week selection last season, Freeman had his top game in the victory over St. Bonaventure on February 28, when he totaled 31 points and a Mullins Center-record 18 rebounds, while hitting 14 of 19 field goal attempts.
• Among Atlantic 10 players who are returning for the 2004-2005 season, Freeman ranks first in both rebounding and field goal percentage, and third in scoring.
• Freeman leads UMass in scoring with 17.0 points per game and rebounds with 7.7 this season. He posted his 13th career double-double in the loss to Northeastern with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE
• The three-point shot has become an important part of the UMass offense since Steve Lappas began his tenure as head coach, and that should continue in 2004-2005. Last season, UMass was 192 of 573 from three-point range (33.5 percent), to record the second-highest totals in school history for both three-point shots made and attempted. In addition, the Minutemen set school single-game records for both three-point field goals made (18) and attempted (40) during last year's game at Temple on March 3. During Lappas' first season at UMass in 2001-2002, the Minutemen set the school records for both three-point field goals made (204) and three-point field goals attempted (587). In 2002-2003, UMass sank 164 three-pointers (fifth-most in school history), while attempting 544 shots from beyond the arc (third-most in school history). Massachusetts has made at least one three-point goal in 180 straight games, heading into the 2004-2005 season.
BLOCK PARTY
• The Minutemen look to once again be among the top teams in the Atlantic 10 at blocking shots during the 2004-2005 season. Last year, UMass totaled 155 blocks in 29 games, good for an average of 5.34 blocks per contest. The Minutemen stood far ahead of every other school in the Atlantic 10, as Richmond finished the season ranked second with an average of 4.33 blocks. In the final NCAA statistics, UMass ranked 12th in the nation with its average of 5.33 blocks per game. Leading the way for the Minutemen was freshman forward Stephane Lasme, who totaled 51 blocks to rank second in the Atlantic 10 with an average of 1.8 blocks per game.
MULLINS MAGIC
• UMass is in its 13th season of play at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center, and has posted an all-time record of 102-43 in the building. The Minutemen went 8-7 at the Mullins Center last season, recording their 100th all-time victory at Mullins against St. Bonaventure on February 28.
• With the addition of last year's 8-7 mark at Mullins, UMass has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-1993. In fact, UMass has gone 21 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. The Minutemen also own a 62-27 all-time record in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 3-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests.
• UMass will welcome its 1,000,000th fan to a men's basketball game at Mullins early this season as 985,604 have come through the turnstiles following the first game this season (10,717 more fans). The 1,000,000th fan will receive two season tickets to the 2005-06 season and two plane tickets courtesy USAir and hotel accommodations to the 2005 Atlantic 10 Tournament in Cincinnati.
• This season, UMass will play a school-record 17 home games at Mullins.
Making The Road Trips Count
• UMass has just 10 road games this season and only two prior to Jan. 12. The Minutemen will travel far and wide as part of their road schedule this season with trip to opposite corners of the country. UMass heads to Seattle to face Gonzaga at Key Arena on Dec. 4. That trip is the longest on the schedule at 2,980 miles.
• The following weekend after the trip to Seattle, UMass heads to Coral Gables, Fla., home of the University of Miami for a game on Dec. 12. That trip is 1,471 miles. Sandwiched between those cross-country ventures is a match-up with defending national champion UConn on Dec. 9.
• Overall, UMass travels 14,258 (7,129 each way) miles during the regular-season for an average trip of 713 miles each way.
