University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Battles Temple In A-10 Clash On ESPN
January 20, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2006
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UMASS (8-6, 3-1) vs. TEMPLE (9-6, 3-2)
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 • 2:00 P.M. (ET)
Mullins Center (9,493), Amherst, Mass.
TV: ESPN (Dave Barnett, Tim McCormick, Jason Williams)
Radio: WRNX (100.9 FM - Flagship)
WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM)
UMass Battles Temple In A-10 Clash On ESPN
• The newest chapter in the most storied rivalry in Atlantic 10 basketball history will be written on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center. Rival Temple (9-6, 3-2) comes to Amherst to take on UMass (8-6, 3-1) in a game that will be nationally-televised on ESPN. Dave Barnett, Tim McCormick and Jason Williams call the action for the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
• UMass (5) and Temple (6) have captured the most conference championships in the history of the Atlantic 10, which began playing 1976. The rivalry reached its height in the mid 90s when UMass defeated the Owls in four consecutive conference championship games from 1993-96. Temple has beaten UMass twice in the championship game (1990 and 2001).
• Saturday's game figures to be hotly contested as both teams are off to strong starts in the Atlantic 10 with UMass winning three of their first four conference games under new coach Travis Ford. Temple, guided by John Chaney, in his 24th season at Temple, has won three straight in A-10 play.
• UMass' 10-game home winning streak will be put to the test by the Owls, who have four road wins this season. The Minutemen are a perfect 6-0 at home this season. UMass head coach Travis Ford has been strong at home over the last two years winning 18 of the last 19 games he has coached. He posted a 12-1 record at Eastern Kentucky's McBrayer Arena prior to this year's perfect start at the Mullins Center. Ford has led his teams to 13 straight home wins with EKU closing the 2004-05 season with seven wins a row at home in their way to the NCAA Tournament.
• Saturday's game pits college basketball's oldest bench boss -- coaching his 74th birthday -- John Chaney against Travis Ford, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Dec. 29. Ford is the 20th youngest Division I college coach of the 333 schools.
• UMass is looking to go to 4-1 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they started 8-1 in the league.
• The game will be carried on the UMass Sports Network on 100.9 FM in Western Massachusetts and 830 AM and 95.9 FM in the Eastern portion of the state. Bob Behler and Kevin Kennedy call the action for UMass. Gametracker will be available on UMassAthletics.com.
HOME SWEET HOME AT MULLINS
• UMass has won 10 straight games at the Mullins Center dating to last season when the streak began with a 74-58 win over St. Bonaventure on Feb. 5, 2005. The last loss came on Jan. 29 to Richmond, 67-63. UMass is 6-0 at home this year. They are just one of three teams in the A-10 to have not suffered a home loss, George Washington and Xavier are the others.
• The 10-game win streak is the second longest active streak in the Atlantic 10 as Xavier has won 13 in a row after Thursday's game vs. Cincinnati.
• The win streak is tied for the third-longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center. The longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center came from the building's opening, as the Minutemen reeled off 27 wins starting with the debut game, a 64-59 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 1993. The streak lasted until late in the 1994-95 season when George Washington beat the Minutemen on Feb. 14, 1995.
• UMass won 11 in a row after George Washington ended that streak, giving UMass 38 wins in the arena's first 39 games. The Minutemen also won 10 in a row from Feb. 6, 1997 to Feb. 1, 1998. That streak was ended by Temple with a 61-47 win on Feb. 3, 1998.
• UMass is in its 14th season of play at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center, and has posted an all-time record of 122-47 (.722) in the building with a perfect 6-0 this season. Last year, UMass was 12-5 at the Mullins Center as they hosted a school-record 17 games. The 12 home wins last season was the second-best total at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen were 14-0 in 1993-94 and 11-1 in 1994-95.
• With the addition of last year's 12-5 home record, UMass has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-93. In fact, UMass has gone 22 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. The Minutemen also own a 70-30 (.700) 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-Temple Series
• The series with UMass and Temple has been one of the most intense in the history of the Atlantic 10 as the teams battle for the 55th time on Saturday. Despite Temple winning the first 21 games in the series, UMass only trails the all-time series, 37-17. Temple has won three straight including both games last season, by virtually the same score: 61-49 on Jan. 5 at UMass and 61-48 on Feb. 26 at Temple. Since that run at the start of the series, UMass holds a 17-16 advantage after the Minutemen won their first game in the series on Feb. 16, 1992 at the Cage.
• UMass rebounded to win 13 of 15 contests from 1992-97, including two six-game win streaks. Since then the Owls have won 12 of 17 meetings, but UMass snapped Temple's three-game series win streak in the series, last year the Mullins Center with a 66-65 win on Jan. 24.
• UMass is 10-5 all-time against Temple at the Mullins Center. The 15 games played against the Owls are the most UMass has played against any team all-time at the Mullins Center since the building opened in 1993. The 10 wins are also the most by UMass against any team at the Mullins Center.
• The Owls hold a 20-4 advantage for games played at the Liacouras Center (7-1), McGonigle Hall (12-3) or the Palestra (1-0).
• The two teams split the series two years ago with a win in Amherst (66-65) on Jan. 24, 2004 and a double-overtime loss in Philadelphia (98-92) on March 3, 2004
• UMass coach Travis Ford has never coached against Temple. Owl coach John Chaney stands 37-17 all-time against UMass, coaching every game in the series. The 37 wins are the third-most he has against any team, winning 41 vs. St. Bonaventure and 40 against Rhode Island.
Last Season's Games Vs. Temple
• AT UMASS (Jan. 5, 2005): Temple's Dustin Salisbery scored 12 consecutive points, including a pair of three-pointers, as the Owls used a 29-to-7 to close out a 61-49 win over UMass in the 2005 Atlantic 10 opener for both teams on Jan. 5. The Owls overcame a dismal 17.5 percent shooting percentage in the first half hitting just 7-of-40 field goals. Salisbury scored 12 of his 14 game points in the second half to lead Temple out of a 10-point deficit. UMass held its largest lead of the game (42-32) at the 11:29 mark of the second half after a jumper by Chris Chadwick. Temple started the first 11:30 of the game going just 1-for-23 from the field, including a streak of 13 consecutive missed shots, until Antywane Robinson hit a jumper from the right key. Mardy Collins led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Salisbery finished with 14 points. Robinson and Mark Tyndale added 13 and 11 points each despite the fact that Tyndale was 1-for-20 from the field. No player for UMass reached double-digits in the scoring column for the first time since Dec. 29, 1984. Rashuan Freeman, Art Bowers and Maurice Maxwell each scored eight points on the night.
• AT TEMPLE (Feb. 26, 2005): John Chaney missed Temple's 61-48 win over UMass, serving the first of a three-game suspension for ordering rough play by one of his players, who subsequently broke an opponent's arm. Chaney wasn't there to rant and rave at the officials on the sideline. His Temple players didn't hear his raspy-voiced instructions. The absence of the suspended Hall of Fame coach made for a different atmosphere at the half-empty Liacouras Center. Dan Leibovitz, 42 years younger than the 73-year-old Chaney, seemed uptight in the opening minutes, standing with his arms behind his back and offering occasional encouragement. He loosened up as the game went on, giving a fist pump and high-fiving his players when the Owls went up 10 early in the second half. The suspension resulted from Chaney's actions during Tuesday's game against Saint Joseph's. Angered by what he thought were illegal screens, Chaney put in seldom-used 6-foot-8, 250 pound Nehemiah Ingram against the Hawks on Tuesday to "send a message." Mardy Collins led the Owls with 25 points and Mark Tyndale had 10. Rashaun Freeman had 15 points for Massachusetts. Chaney's only other suspension came in 1994, when Temple suspended him for one game after he threatened then-Massachusetts coach John Calipari during a postgame news conference in the media's Green Room at the Mullins Center.
UMass Names Team Captains
• On Jan. 16, head coach Travis Ford announced the selections of team captains for the remainder of the season. Senior Jeff Viggiano along with juniors Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme were named team captains this season. Ford said, after the rough BC loss, these three players have taken on responsibility and leadership roles earning the right to be named captains.
UMass Season Overview
• The Minutemen come into the Temple game at 8-6 overall and 3-1 in the A-10, having won six of their last nine games. UMass won its most recent game, a 74-61 victory over Fordham on Jan. 18. UMass outscored the Rams 48-29 in the second half shooting 60 percent from the field and 75 from the 3-point arc. Rashaun Freeman led the way with 21 points and 13 rebounds, his sixth double-double this season. Freshman point guard Chris Lowe drew his first collegiate start and responded with a career-high 14 points and seven assists. He did not commit both of his turnovers in the final three minutes of the game. Senior Jeff Viggiano scored 15 points for the second game in a row.
• The Minutemen lost at Saint Louis, 50-48 on Jan. 14 as Tommie Liddell hit a baseline jumper with 1.5 seconds left in the game. Prior to that game, UMass beat Saint Joseph's, breaking an eight-game losing streak to the Hawks, on Jan. 11. That was their second A-10 win in a row after winning on the road at Duquesne (1/7). Those wins came on the heels of back-to-back losses to St. John's in the Panasonic Holiday Festival (51-49, on Dec. 28) and at No. 11 Boston College (91-62 on Jan. 3). Before the losses, UMass had won three games in a row beating St. Peter's (66-49 on Dec. 27); Siena (78-60 on Dec. 23) and Boston University (64-45 on Dec. 12).
• In the win over Saint Joseph's, UMass held the A-10's top three-point shooting team to just 4-for-25 while the Minutemen were able to shoot 47.7 percent for the game. UMass also received a boost from its bench with its reserves outscoring their SJU counterparts 18-to-2. Those are two impressive facts considering UMass entered the game as the 13th-ranked 3-point shooting team in the conference and play just an eight-man rotation.
• Rashaun Freeman leads UMass in scoring (15.7), rebounding (8.9) and field goal percentage (54.1). Freeman is second in the A-10 in field goal shooting and second in rebounding, while he is eighth in scoring.
• Freeman has been in double-figures in 11 of 14 games. Freeman has scored more than 20 points five times this season with the last coming vs. Fordham, when he had 21. He has six double-doubles this year. Freeman enters the Temple game with 1,097 career points, 28th all-time at UMass. He needs 26 points to move into 27th-place.
• Stephane Lasme is second in scoring (9.9) and rebounding (6.4). He leads the Atlantic 10 and is third in the nation in blocked shots per game (4.7). He is shooting 59.0 percent from the floor, which would rank him second in the A-10 if he had the required 5.0 field goals made per game.
• Lasme scored in double-figures for four games in a row from Dec. 27-Jan. 7. Overall, he has seven games with 10 or more this season. Coming into this season, he had just five career games with 10 or more points. His scoring average of 9.9 is more than double his career average entering the season, of 4.7 points per game.
• Lasme averaged 16.5 over four games from Dec. 27-Jan. 7. In those games, he shot 61.4 from the field.
• Lasme had the best game of his career against St. Peter's (Dec. 27) as he had 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. His eight blocked shots were part of a team effort of 16 blocked shots, the second-most in a game for UMass, following the record 20 against West Virginia on Jan. 3, 1995. Lasme was named to the Panasonic Holiday Festival All-Tournament team in addition to being named the A-10 Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week after his great week.
• Against Siena, playing against the school he grew up just miles from, Rashaun Freeman poured in a game-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds for his third double-double this season and 23rd of his career. UMass had four players score in double-figures in the game as senior Jeff Viggiano and junior James Life had 12 points while freshman guard Chris Lowe netted a career-high 10 points. With UMass up 71-69, Lowe made a running jumper with 1:02 left in the game and added two free throws with 49 seconds left to seal the win.
• James Life had the best game of his young career with UMass against Boston University on Dec. 12, as he had a game-high 20 points including six 3-point field goals.
• Life drew his first start with UMass on Jan. 7 at Duquesne and responded with 11 points including three 3-point field goals. The former JUCO All-American duplicated that performance exactly in the win over Saint Joseph's - his second start of the season. He is averaging 8.4 points and leads the team with 24 treys starting the last three games.
• Three consecutive wins came on the heels of a 78-60 loss to No. 3 UConn on Dec. 8. Prior to the loss, UMass posted a 36-point win over Savannah State on Nov. 28. In the win over the Tigers, UMass had six players score in double-figures for the first time since 1990-91 as James Life (18) led the way. Life also led UMass in scoring against Boston University with 20 points.
• Jeff Viggiano has been solid since entering the starting line-up in the third game of the season. He had four straight games in double-figures from Dec. 8-27 including a season-high 17 against UConn on Dec. 8. He posted his first double-double since Feb. 8, 2004, when he had 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. St. Peter's on Dec. 27. In that game, he also added a career-high six blocked shots and five assists.
• Brandon Thomas has had an up-and-down season, scoring in double-figures in two of the last four games with 12 at Boston College and 10 at Duquesne. Thomas started the first 13 games this season, at three different positions including his most recent spot -- point guard, where he started three of the last four games. He started the first two games at small forward then eight games at the shooting guard spot. He is scoring 7.6 points per game, fifth on the team. He averaged 16.3 points over three games from Nov. 22-28. He is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and has made 15 3-pointers. Thomas has scored the first field goal for the UMass in six of 14 games this season.
• After opening the year with a 67-62 win over Hartford on Nov. 18, UMass dropped a pair of hard-fought games at Davidson, 66-63 on Nov. 22 and vs. UAB in the Tip-Off Classic, 86-77 in Springfield, Mass., on Nov. 25. In the loss at Davidson, UMass led by 10 points with 7:30 left in the game, but the Wildcats went on a 16-3 run to finish the game. Stephane Lasme tied the UMass school record with nine blocked shots in addition to 10 points and 11 rebounds, coming up just short of what would have been UMass' second-ever triple-double.
READ THE PDF FOR COMPLETE NOTES AND PLAYER PROFILES