University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass and Temple Rematch In Philadelphia
January 31, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Jan. 31, 2006
UMASS (9-8, 4-3) at TEMPLE (11-7, 4-3)
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006 • 7 P.M. (ET)
Liacouras Center (10,200), Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: CN8 (Scott Graham, Rob Kennedy)
Live Streaming Video: UMassAthletics via CN8.tv
Radio: WRNX (100.9 FM - Flagship)
WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM)
UMass and Temple
Re-Match In Philadelphia
• Just 12 days after holding Temple to its lowest point total since 1973 and lowest by a UMass opponent since 1950, the Owls and Minutemen re-match at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The game will tip-off at 7:05 p.m. and televised live on CN8 in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Scott Graham and Rob Kennedy call the action which will also be available via streaming video on UMassAthletics.com.
• UMass handed Temple a stunning 60-34 loss at the Mullins Center on Jan. 21, the 74th birthday of Temple coach John Chaney. The Minutemen held the Owls to just 26.5 percent from the floor and 10.0 from 3-point range, as Temple made just 2-of-20 from beyond the arc. UMass played stellar defense all game as Temple's 34 points were the fewest for a UMass opponent in 56 years since the then-Redmen beat Norwich 37-28 on Jan. 7, 1950. In the win, UMass sophomore Lawrence Carrier was the difference on offense as he tied his career-high with 17 points as he made a career-best 5-of-7 from 3-point range, all from the left corner. Senior Jeff Viggiano also scored 17 in the win as the Minutemen shot 51.2 from the floor. It was UMass' largest margin of victory against an A-10 team since they beat Fordham, 85-59 in 2001 and the largest in the Temple series since an 84-55 win on Feb. 11, 1996. UMass held Temple without a double-figure scorer as four Owls had eight points in the loss. Owl All-American candidate Mardy Collins scored just eight, nearly half his average coming into the game of 15.2.
• Since the dominating performance for UMass, the teams have gone in different directions in the last week. The Minutemen have dropped a pair of road games at Rhode Island (58-55 on Jan. 25) and at La Salle (68-61 on Jan. 29). The loss at Rhode Island came on a last-second 3-pointer by Dawan Robinson after UMass clawed back from a 10-point deficit. Jeff Viggiano and Rashaun Freeman each scored 14 in the last loss. Then this past Sunday, UMass suffered a loss at La Salle, which ended a five-game losing streak with the win. UMass had four players in double-figures led by James Life, who had 14.
• SInce the UMass loss, Temple has ripped off two impressive wins, beating Xavier, 81-79 on a last-second shot by Antywane Robinson on Jan. 25 and a convincing 91-85 win over then-No. 19 Maryland last Saturday at the Liacouras Center. Mardy Collins cored 28 vs. Xavier and had 25 points and 12 assists vs. the Terrapins.
• Wednesday's game is key for positioning in the Atlantic 10 standings as both teams come into the game at 4-3 in the league. Overall, eight teams in the league of 14 have two of three losses.
• UMass is looking to break a losing trend in road games, as the Minutemen are just 1-7 in road games and 1-3 in A-10 games away from the Mullins Center. UMass is a perfect 7-0 at home at the Mullins Center, but is finishing up a three-game road swing with the Temple game. It is the second of three three-game road swings. UMass will travel to Florida State (Feb. 12), George Washington (Feb. 15) and St. Bonaventure (Feb. 19) later this season. Earlier they went 1-2 in a trio of games at St. John's, Boston College and Duquesne, their only road win (82-63 on Jan. 7).
• Wednesday's 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. Live Stats will be available on UMassAthletics.com and OwlSports.com.
• In his first year at UMass, Travis Ford is off to the best start for a first-year coach at UMass since John M. Orr, who got off to a 12-5 start in 1963-64.
The Series With Temple
• 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 56th time on Wednesday. Despite Temple winning the first 21 games in the series, UMass only trails the all-time series, 37-18. UMass won this season's first meeting, 60-34 on Jan. 21. Prior to that, Temple had 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 18-16 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 11-5 all-time against Temple at the Mullins Center. The 16 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 11 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 is now 1-0 against Temple. Owl coach John Chaney stands 37-18 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.
Ford Returns to Philly
• Making his first round around the Atlantic 10, in his first season in the league, UMass coach Travis Ford was at his first basketball game (Sunday's loss at La Salle) in Philadelphia since the 1992 NCAA Regionals at the Spectrum. Ford returned to the city for the first time since those games earlier this winter as part of Atlantic 10 media day in November, but these games will be the first time since he was a part of some of the most memorable college basketball.
• In the 1992 NCAA regional semifinal, Ford and his Kentucky Wildcats defeated UMass, 87-77 on March 26 at the Spectrum. Ford did not score in 12 minutes off the bench against the Minutemen. Jamal Mashburn led the Cats with 30 points, Jim McCoy topped UMass with 21. That was the first of two games Ford played against UMass in his playing career. He also faced the Minutemen on Feb. 6, 1994 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, a 67-64 Kentucky win.
• The 1992 NCAA regional final goes down as one of the all-time greatest games and one of the most disappointing for Ford as Kentucky lost to Duke, 104-103 in overtime as Christian Laettner hit the game-winning shot off a full-court inbounds pass with 2.1 seconds remaining. Ford played six minutes in the game and missed his only shot from the field.
This Year's Game Vs. Temple
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass used a 31-to-5 run starting in the first half to claim a 60-34 win over Temple on Jan. 21 in front of the season's largest crowd of 8,127 in the Mullins Center. Sophomore Lawrence Carrier had a career day hitting five three-pointers and leading UMass with 17 points. Senior Jeff Viggiano also paced the Minutemen with 17 points, four rebounds and two steals.
The win marked the eighth game of the season, fourth consecutive, that UMass (9-6, 4-1 A-10) has held an opponent under 40 percent shooting. The Minutemen held the Owls to just 27 percent shooting on 13-for-49 field goals from the floor.
Temple's 34 points was the fewest an opponent scored on the Minutemen since Jan. 7, 1950, when UMass beat Norwich, 37-28. It was the lowest point total for Temple since Feb. 15, 1973 when they lost to Tennessee, 11-6.
The Minutemen recorded their 11th-straight home win dating back to last season and are now 4-1 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time since 2000-01 when they started 8-1 in the league.
UMass took control of the first half with a 17-2 run keyed by three three-pointers from Carrier and four points from junior Brandon Thomas. Carrier entered the game with just three treys on the season. His third shot gave the Minutemen a 29-15 lead with 2:02 remaining in the half. In that stretch, the Minutemen played tenacious defense holding Temple to just 2-for-18 shooting over the last 15:09 of the first half after the Owls started the game 4-for-6 from the floor.
Temple's 15 points in the first half was the lowest total of points surrendered by the Minutemen for a half this season and the fewest since Feb. 12, 2003 held Richmond to just 14 in the first half.
The Owls' shooting did not improve to start the second half and UMass continued to pour on the offense with a 14-to-3 run following intermission.
After Temple's Mardy Collins hit the first lay-up of the second-half, UMass responded with two three-pointers and a break-away dunk from Viggiano to give the Minutemen a 35-17 lead with 14:47 to play in the game.
Carrier drilled his fourth three-pointer of the game, while Viggiano hit his third to give UMass a 43-18 lead with 11:31 remaining in the game. Junior walk-on Matt Pennie finished the game with his first-career points on a 3-pointer with two seconds left.
Collins entered the game averaging 15.2 points per game and the Owls had four players who averaged double-figures scoring per game. Against the UMass defense, however, Collins managed just eight points and no Temple player recorded double-figures in the scoring column.
Home Sweet Home At Mullins
• Only 13 teams in all of college basketball have longer active home winning streaks than UMass, which has won 11 in a row at the Mullins Center. Gonzaga and Southern Illinois have won 32 in a row at home. UMass is tied for 17th place nationally for the longest active home winning streaks with an elite group of No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Duke and Maryland.
• After a three-game road swing, UMass returns home to face Rhode Island on Feb. 4 followed by a visit from La Salle on Feb. 8.
• UMass has won 11 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 7-0 at home this year. They are just one of two teams in the A-10 to have not suffered a home loss, George Washington is the other.
• The 11-game win streak is the longest active streak in the Atlantic 10 as Xavier had won 13 in a row after Thursday's win vs. Cincinnati, but lost to Saint Louis on Jan. 22.
• The win streak is tied for the second-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.
• Those 27 games came after six wins in a row to close the Curry Hicks Cage, setting the overall UMass record for 33 home wins a row.
• UMass won 11 in a row after George Washington ended the record 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 123-47 (.723) in the building with a perfect 7-0 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.
Ford-Tough At Home
• UMass head coach Travis Ford has been strong at home over the last two years winning 19 of the last 20 games he has coached at his home arena. 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 14 straight home wins with EKU closing the 2004-05 season with seven wins a row at home in their way to the NCAA Tournament. He has added seven more this season at UMass. Staff members Tim Maloney, Steve Middleton, James Altman and Austin Newton were all with EKU as well.
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.
Lowe Rises To Second A-10 Rookie Of Week Honor
• Freshman point guard Chris Lowe (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) earned his second A-10 Rookie of the Week honor on Jan. 22 after a sensational week as UMass beat Fordham and Temple. Lowe, in his first two collegiate starts, averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 assists. He has moved to sixth in the A-10 in assists per game (4.24) and is first in assists in conference games (6.0).
• In his first career start, Lowe had a career-high 14 points along with seven assists in a 74-61 win over Fordham on Jan. 21. He earned his second start on Jan. 21 and had three points and a career-best nine assists in the Minutemen's 60-34 win over Temple. He played 39 minutes in each game.
• Lowe also earned Rookie of the Week on Dec. 25 after the Siena game on Dec. 23.
Lowe-And Behold, Freshman Steady
• UMass' lone freshman on the team Chris Lowe has earned increased minutes as the season has moved along to go with his continued progress. The Mount Vernon product has started the last four games after coming off the bench in the first 13 games. Over his last seven games (all A-10 games), he has averaged 35.9 minutes per game and 6.0 assists per contest. Lowe is averaging a team-high 4.2 assists per game (sixth in the A-10) along with 6.5 points.
• Lowe has been a telltale sign for the Minutemen this season. When he has more assists than turnovers, UMass is 8-2. In his four starts, which UMass is 2-2, he has 25 assists with just nine TOs. He has a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio in his starts and 2.21 in all six A-10 games, which is third among players in league gams only.
• In his first start at Fordham, he tallied a career-high 14 points making 5-of-8 shots. He also handed out seven assists for the third time this season. He played a season-high 39 minutes coming out just twice for a few seconds.
• Lowe posted a career-high nine assists vs. Temple on Jan. 21 as he aided UMass' defensive effort which limited the Owls to just 34 points. He has handed out more than five assists on six occasions including seven against Boston University on Dec. 12, Saint Joseph's on Jan. 11, vs. Fordham on Jan. 18 and at Rhode Island on Jan. 25. The game vs. St. Joe's was his best all-around game, as he played 37 minutes and had seven points and eight rebounds in addition to the seven assists.
• Lowe was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week following his performance against Siena on Dec. 23 has he hit the game-clinching shot in the game as he scored a career-high 10 points.
Defense, Defense, Defense!
• UMass has put extra emphasis on defense in the last month since conference play has begun. In Atlantic 10 games, UMass has the top defense in terms of field goal defense (36.8), three-point field goal defense (25.2), rebounding margin (+5.0) and blocked shots (7.3).
• UMass has held eight teams to less than 60 points and four teams to 50 points or less. UMass held Temple to just 34 points on Jan. 21. That was the lowest point total for a UMass opponent in 56 years, since the Minutemen beat Norwich, 37-28 on Jan. 7, 1950. It was Temple's lowest point total since 1973 when they lost to Tennessee, 11-6, in a stalling game.
• Over its five of its last six games, UMass held each opponents to less than 40 percent from the floor, including a season-low 26.5 percent by Temple. La Salle broke the string, shooting 41.7 from the floor.
• The defense on the 3-point arc has been even more dominant as only one A-10 team has shot more than 30 percent in a game. UMass held Temple to 10.0 percent (2-for-20) on Jan. 21. The Minutemen limited Saint Joseph's to 16.0 percent (4-for-25) on Jan. 11, which is remarkable as the Hawks came into the game leading the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.7 percent.
Lasme The Blocking Machine
• Stephane Lasme is third in the nation in shots blocked per game at 4.5. He has 76 blocks in 17 games. He trails Northeastern's Shawn James (6.1) and Wyoming's Justin Williams (5.5). The three are the only ones with more than 4.0 per game.
• Lasme's 76 total blocks are more than the entire team totals for 10 of the 14 Atlantic 10 teams with UMass leading the way with 138 . As a team, Temple has 47 blocks this season.
• UMass is second in the nation in blocked shots with 8.1 per game. Connecticut is first at 9.5 per game. With 138 total blocks, UMass' nearest competitor in the A-10 for blocks is Xavier (87).
• Lasme has moved to fourth all-time at UMass in career blocked shots. He has 199 overall passing Edwin Green (190) in the Temple game, Kitwana Rhymer (184) in the Fordham game and Will Herndon (128) with his performance at Davidson. Lasme will be the fourth Minuteman with 200 career blocks. Next on the list is Lari Ketner with 204.
• Through the first 16 games, Lasme's season was already the fourth-best in single-season in blocked shots with 75. With his seven blocks at Rhode Island on Jan. 25, he moved past his own mark of 72 which was sixth as well as Lari Ketner (73) and Harper Williams (74). The record for a season is 128 by Marcus Camby, who has the three top seasons.
• Lasme was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week on Jan. 1 after his big week at Madison Square Garden. He was named to Panasonic Holiday Festival All-Tournament team after two sensational games at Madison Square Garden. In the two games, averaged 18.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 6.0 blocks per game as he shot 13-of-23 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the foul line.
• Against St. Peter's on Dec. 27, posted the best game of his career with a career-high 21 points, career-high 14 rebounds and eight blocks (second-most in a game in his career) as he shot 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in leading UMass to a 66-49 win over the Peacocks. It was his fourth career double-double.
• Lasme has scored in double-figures in four games in a row with 19 at Duquesne, 12 at Boston College after leading the team in scoring in back-to-back games in New York with 21 vs. St. Peter's and 15 vs. St. John's.
• Scored a game-high 15 points and added five rebounds and four blocks in the Holiday Festival Championship game as the Minutemen lost to St. John's, 51-49 on Dec. 28.
• He is third on the team scoring at 9.5 per game and second in rebounding at 6.8 per game.
• He has six games this season with five or more blocked shots.
• The junior had a record-setting night in UMass' loss at Davidson, 66-63 on Nov. 22. Lasme tied the school-record for blocked shots in a game with nine. It was previously accomplished by Marcus Camby twice in 1996 and originally set by Harper Williams in 1991. Lasme's total set a new career high breaking his old mark of seven set vs. Rhode Island (2/23/05).
• Lasme had his third-career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. Davidson. He missed out on the second triple-double in school history which was done by Al Skinner in 1973 vs. St. Peter's.
• Lasme was in double-figures with 10 points vs. Savannah State on Nov. 28, his third double-figure game in a row. It marked the first time in his career he scored more than 10 points in three games in a row. He has seven double-figure games this season.
Freeman Leads The Charge Up Front
• Junior All-Conference selection Rashaun Freeman became the 37th UMass player to score more than 1,000 points against St. Peter's on Dec. 27 with a lay-up with 8:42 left in the first half. He did it in his 65th career game. Of his 73 career games, he has reached double-figures 58 times and has 20 or more points 17 times after his outing of 21 points vs. Fordham.
• He has 1,130 points in his career entering the Temple game to stand 27th all-time passing Mike Williams (1991-95, 1,122) vs. La Salle; Jack Foley (1954-57, 1,081) vs. Fordham; Shannon Crooks (1999-2002, 1,074) with four points at Saint Louis and Alex Eldridge (1974-78, 1,053) with his 19-point effort against Saint Joseph's.
• At his current pace, and going with average of 29 games per season, Freeman would finish his career with 1,805 points, which would be fourth all-time at UMass. Jim McCoy is the all-time record holder with 2,374 points.
• A 2005 Atlantic 10 First Team honoree and NABC All-District Second Team selection Freeman is the team's top scorer at 14.9 points per game, which ranks 14th in the A-10. His team-best 9.0 rebounding average is second in the A-10 and his 51.6 field goal percentage is second in the league.
• Freeman has scored in double-figures in 13 of 17 games this season and in 59 of 74 career games including team-highs of 14 at Rhode Island, 21 vs. Fordham; 20 at Duquesne, 18 at Boston College, 23 vs. Siena; and 19 points at No. 3 UConn on Dec. 8.
• He has eight double-doubles this season, most recently at La Salle with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He posted back-to-back double-doubles in the UAB and Savannah State games with 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Blazers and 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. the Tigers.
• Freeman has continued to be stellar from the floor shooting 51.6 percent field goals this season. Overall, his career mark of 53.8 ranks fourth all-time at UMass.
Senior Vigg Can Do It All
• The best all-around player on the team who does a little bit of everything is senior Jeff Viggiano. He is in the top four on the team in every statistic: scoring (9.5, third), rebounding (4.0, fourth), assists (2.3, second), blocked shots (26, second), steals (17, second).
• He has named Co-UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23 after his 16.0 average in two wins over Fordham and Temple, including several thunderous dunks.
• After 14 points at Rhode Island, he was averaging 15.3 points per game over four games (Jan. 14-25) including a season-high tying 17 points vs. Temple on Jan. 21, in a game nationally-televised on ESPN. His other game 17-point game this season, came on ESPN2 against home-state UConn on Dec. 8.
• The lone senior on the team, Viggiano has started the last 15 games and taken to his role at small forward in addition to playing power forward at times. Viggiano has scored in double-figures nine times in 16 games. He posted back-to-back 15-point games against Fordham and with a team-high at Saint Louis, as he was UMass' only double-figure scorer in the game. He had a season-high 17 points against his home-state team No. 7 Connecticut on Dec. 8. In fact, that started a stretch of four games in a row which he scored in double-figures, equalling the longest streak of his career. He continued with 10 vs. Boston University, 12 vs. Siena and 11 vs. St. Peter's.
• His game against St. Peter's at the Panasonic Holiday Festival in New York was indicative of his all-around game, as he had 11 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and five assists. It was his first double-double in nearly two years as he last did it against Dayton on Feb. 8, 2004.
Minute Matters From 2005-06
• UMass began the A-10 season 2-0 for the first time -- with an 68-58 win against Saint Joseph's on Jan. 11 -- since the 2000-01 season when they beat George Washington, 76-60 on Jan. 6 and Xavier 75-64 on Jan. 9. UMass had lost four straight A-10 openers.
• UMass' 4-1 start in the league is also the best since 2000-01 when it started 8.1 in the league.
• UMass has outrebounding its A-10 opponents by and average of 5.0 in each of its seven games. Over those games, the rebounds are 254-to-219.
• In its last six games, UMass has held its opponents to 23.0 from 3-point range, 27-of-107. UMass leads the A-10 in 3-point field goal defense in league games, giving up just 25.2 per game.
• The Minutemen held the A-10 top 3-point shooting team at the time, Saint Joseph's (41.7 entering the game) to just 16.0 percent on 4-of-25 shooting from behind the arc on Jan. 11. UMass held Fordham to 4-of-17 from the arc on Jan. 18.
• UMass' win by 26 points over Temple on Jan. 21 was the largest against an A-10 opponent since an 85-59 win over Fordham on Feb. 3, 2001. The 19-point win at Duquesne was the largest conference road win since the 78-46 win at Rhode Island on Jan. 30, 2001.
• UMass had 16 blocked shots against St. Peter's on Dec. 27 at Madison Square Garden, which was the second-most in school history and most since the record 20 was set vs. West Virginia on Jan. 3, 1995. UMass has had 10 or more blocks in a game four times.
• The Minutemen had a pair of players with double-doubles for the first time in two seasons in the game against St. Peter's as Stephane Lasme had career highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds along with Jeff Viggiano who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. The previous time UMass had two players with double-doubles was Feb. 3, 2004 vs. Rider.
• Stephane Lasme has at least seven blocks in a game on six occasions including three of the last four games.
• UMass' 44 points in the first half against Siena on Dec. 23 was the highest total at halftime in two years -- since the Minutemen led Marshall, 46-29 on Dec. 20, 2003.
• UMass held Boston University to just 45 points on Dec. 12. UMass also limited the Terriers to just 16 second-half points, the lowest also since that URI game when the Rams had 14 in the first half.
• Free throws were at a premium in the game with BU on Dec. 12 as UMass was just 3-of-6 from the line and the Terriers were just 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Those were the lowest numbers for UMass in two seasons.
• Against Savannah State on Nov. 28, UMass had six players with 10 or more points for the first time since Dec. 27, 1991 when they beat Harvard 98-63 in Springfield: Jerome Malloy (19), Lou Roe (15), Jim McCoy (14), Tony Barbee (13), Harper Williams (12) and Will Herndon (10). In the Savannah State game, James Life led the way with 18 points.
• In the Savannah State game, UMass posted its second-largest margin of victory in the history of the Mullins Center, winning by 36 points. The record of 39 was set on Jan. 22, 2000, as UMass beat Rhode Island, 89-50, which was the largest spread dating to its opening in 1993.
• On Nov. 18 against Hartford, the crowd of 6,488 was the largest for a UMass home opener since the 1997-98 opener when 7,356 came out for the College of Charleston game on Dec. 2, 1997.
• Against Hartford, Jeff Viggiano had 14 points his highest total since March 3, 2004, when he netted 23. It was his 27th career double-figure scoring game.
• Brandon Thomas scored the first field goal for UMass in six of the first 11 games.
• UMass is now 64-33 all-time in season openers having won 11 of the last 13. They are 7-0 at the Mullins Center in season openers.
• In their preseason exhibition win over Dowling, 96-55, UMass came away with 23 steals, which would have been a UMass record if the game had counted as a regular-season contest.
