University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Faces Alabama In NIT First Round, Tuesday On ESPN
March 12, 2007 | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2007
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2007 MasterCard NIT First Round
UMASS (23-8) vs. ALABAMA (20-11)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 • 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Mullins Center (9,493, Amherst, Mass.)
TV: ESPN (Brad Nessler & Jimmy Dykes)
Radio: WRNX (100.9 FM - Flagship)
WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM)
UMass Faces Alabama In NIT First Round, Tuesday On ESPN
• Atlantic 10 Co-Champion UMass returns to the national postseason picture for the first time since 2000, as the No. 4 seeded Minutemen host the No. 5 seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the MasterCard NIT First Round. UMass and Bama will square off at 9:30 p.m. in a nationally-televised game on ESPN. The Minutemen come into the game with a 23-8 overall record, winning eight of their last 10 games. The Crimson Tide, who were ranked as high as No. 4 this season, are 20-11 overall. Alabama was the preseason No. 11 team in the nation and started the year 7-0 and went 13-1 in non-conference action, before a 7-9 record in the SEC. Both teams lost in the first round of their conference tournaments. The Minutemen, who were seeded second in the A-10, were upset by Saint Louis, 74-71 in OT on March 8. Alabama lost to Kentucky, 79-67, last Thursday, as they have dropped 10 of its last 17 games overall.
• UMass is in the NIT for the 10th time in history, posting a 5-10 all-time record. The Minutemen last played in the NIT on March 16, 2000, losing to Siena, 66-65 in Albany. The Minutemen made their furthest run in the NIT in 1991, reaching the semifinals at Madison Square Garden (with wins over La Salle, Fordham and Siena) before a pair of losses in the semis (Stanford) and consolation game (Colorado). UMass has also played in the NIT in 1970 and 1971 with Julius Erving; 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1990.
• 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.
UMass Co-Atlantic 10 Champions
• The Minutemen captured a share of the league title on March 3 with a 71-67 win at Saint Joseph's. It marked UMass' first regular-season league title since 1996 and sixth A-10 regular-season crown overall. The Minutemen won five straight regular-season titles from 1992-96 and proceeded to win the A-10 Tournament each time.
• The Minutemen are 23-8 overall and in the midst of their best season since the 1995-96 Final Four year when they went 35-2 in finishing as a national semifinalist. UMass finished with a 13-3 record in the Atlantic 10. UMass had its best conference record since going a school-record 15-1 in 1995-96. Prior to the loss to Saint Louis in the A-10s, the Minutemen had won six games in a row overall, their longest win streak since capturing 10 games in a row in Jan.-Feb. 1998.
Lasme, Freeman Gain A-10, Regional Honors
• UMass senior Stephane Lasme was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07. Lasme is the first UMass player to be named the league's top player since Marcus Camby in 1996 and fourth overall joining Camby, Lou Roe (1995) and Harper Williams (1992). Lasme was joined by senior Rashaun Freeman on the A-10 First Team. Freeman is the first player since Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson (2001-04) to be a three-time first-team selection.
• Lasme is the second player to be named the league's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same campaign joining Pepe Sanchez of Temple in 1999 and David West of Xavier in 2002.
• Lasme joins Tony Dobbins of Richmond (2002-04) as the only players in league history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors in successive seasons. Lasme was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the second year in row.
• Lasme and Freeman were named to the NABC All-District First Team and USBWA All-District First Team.
UMass' 20-Win Season
• UMass picked up its 20th win of the season on Feb. 21, beating St. Bonaventure, 83-44. The win gave the Minutemen their first 20-win season since 1997-98 when UMass went 21-11. Prior to that season, UMass last won 20 or more when they set the school record for wins a season with a 35-2 record the Final Four season of 1995-96.
• With wins against La Salle and Saint Joseph's in the last week of the regular-season, UMass has 23 victories on the season, marking the most since 1995-96 and tying for the sixth-most wins in school history.
• This is UMass' 13th 20-win season in school history. The Minutemen had their first 20-win season in 1970-71, when they went 23-4.
UMass-Alabama Series History
• UMass and Alabama have played once before in basketball. The Crimson Tide beat the then-Redmen, 79-73 in the VPI (Virginia Tech) Tournament in Blacksburg, Va., on Dec. 18, 1965. Clarence Hill, who is UMass' 14th all-time leading scorer (Rashaun Freeman passed him back on Nov. 28, 2006 at Savannah State), led UMass with 26 points.
Ford's Connection To Gottfried
• Even though this will be the first-ever coaching match-up between Travis Ford and Alabama's Mark Gottfried, the coaches have a long-standing friendship. Both coaches were at the helm of schools in the Ohio Valley Conference prior to taking their current jobs. Ford served five years as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2000-05, leading the Colonels to the NCAA Tournament in his final season. Gottfried coached three seasons at Murray State from 1995-98, leading the Racers to two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT.
• Ford and Gottfried are also tied together because Ford's dad, Eddie Ford, was a letterwinner for the Racers from 1964-66 and is an involved alumnus of the university.
UMass' NIT History
• The Minutemen are playing in the NIT for the 10th time in history and have a 5-10 record in the previous showings. UMass has played just one home NIT game coming into the Alabama match-up, beating La Salle on March 15, 1991, at the Curry Hicks Cage as the Minutemen advanced to the NIT Semifinals in New York for the first time that season.
• Some of UMass' all-time greats have played in the NIT. Hall of Famer Julius Erving played in UMass' first two NIT appearances, as the then-Redmen lost to Marquette in 1970 and North Carolina in 1971.
• The 1972-73 UMass team won the school's first postseason game beating Missouri, 78-71 on March 17, 1973, at Madison Square Garden. That team featured current Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Boston College coach Al Skinner. Skinner had 14 points an six rebounds in that win.
UMass' Special Senior Class
• On Senior Night, Feb. 24, UMass honored its senior class of center Rashaun Freeman, forward Stephane Lasme, guard James Life, forward Matt Pennie, swingman Brandon Thomas and manager Paul Kavanaugh. Lasme went out and posted his fourth triple-double of the season to tie the all-time NCAA record for triple-doubles in a season. He equaled the mark set by Michael Anderson (Drexel, 1986) and Jason Kidd (Cal, 1994). Lasme is a first to accomplish the feat with blocks as both of the others did it with assists. Freeman posted his 13th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Life broke out of a nine-game slump with his first game in double-figures since Jan. 24 with 17 points. Thomas started and scored 11 points, his second-highest output of the season. Pennie also drew his first career start and had an assist.
• Freeman and Lasme have combined to be one of the best two-man post combination in UMass history. Freeman is fifth all-time in scoring at UMass with 1,728 points (just four points from fourth), stands third in career rebounds (982, 18 shy of 1,000 career rebounds) and fourth in career field goal percentage (56.0). Lasme is UMass' all-time leading shot blocker with 387 swats and counting. He stands 21st all-time in NCAA history with his block total which is enhanced by his single-season record of 156 this year. He is just 24 points shy of becoming the 38th player in UMass history with 1,000 career points. Life is sixth in career 3-pointers made with 142 makes. He has the eighth-most 3-pointers made in a season with 81.
• UMass senior class has a four-year composite record of 62-54 with a strong 41-16 record at the Mullins Center. Over the last two years, UMass is 21-4 at home.
Lasme (nearly qualifies to be) In Elite Company
• Stephane Lasme was one of only two players in the nation to rank among the Top 25 in three major statistical categories (until this week as Lasme doesn't have enough made field goals to qualify). The other is Greg Oden of Ohio State, one of the nation's most heralded stars. Lasme currently is second in the nation in blocked shots (5.0) and ranks tied for 20th in rebounds (9.5) His is four field goals made shy of qualifying with 5.0 makes per game and would be 12th in field goal percentage with his mark of (61.9). Oden is also ranked in the same three categories: fifth in blocks (3.5), 15th in rebounding (9.7) and 12th in field goal percentage (61.4). Darren Collison of UCLA was on the list, but he no longer has enough 3-point field goals to qualify for 3-point field goal percentage in addition to his steals and assists marks in the Top 25.
Lasme's Continues To Gain National Attention
• Stephane Lasme's achievement of his fourth triple-double appeared on ESPN SportsCenter on Feb. 28. He was also featured on College GameNight on ESPN that night as Hubert Davis Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Additionally, on Feb. 15 after UMass' win at Fordham. His dunk off a behind-the-back pass from Brandon Thomas was featured as the No. 7 Play of the Day on Feb. 15, 2007 as well.
• Lasme's third triple-double was named ESPN SportsCenter's No. 4 Play of the Day on Feb. 8, 2007, as he had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks. He became the eighth player to have three triple-doubles in the same season, in NCAA history. He earned his third A-10 Player of the Week honor after that game.
• Lasme was named Dick Vitale's National Player of the Week, earned conference player of the week and was one of five candidates for ESPN's Big Man On Campus for the week ending Jan. 15. That came after averaging 22.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 8.5 blocks which making 16-of-21 (76.2) from the floor in two wins over George Washington (91-84) on Jan. 10 and Temple (88-77) on Jan. 13 at the Mullins Center. Lasme became a part of NCAA history in the win over GW as he became just the 23rd player in D-I history to post multiple triple-doubles in the same season as he had 23 points, 15 rebounds and tied his own school and A-10 record with 11 blocked shots. The list of players with multiple triple-doubles includes the likes of all-time legends David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway.
VOTE UMASS!
• Last week, UMass was in the AP Poll's "Others Receiving Votes" for the sixth time this season and fifth week in a row with a season-best 11 votes. The Minutemen would have been "ranked" 37th if the poll was extended past the Top 25. UMass also received one vote in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll last week. Conference foes and George Washinton and Xavier are also receiving votes in both polls.
• Two weeks ago, UMass had six votes this week after having four the previous week. UMass had five votes in the poll of Feb. 12, 2007 and four votes in the poll of Feb. 5, 2007. UMass returned to the Associated Press poll as a team in Others Receiving Votes as the Minutemen had two points in the Nov. 27, 2006 poll. The last time UMass was in "ORV" was on Jan. 21, 2005 the week following their overtime upset win at No. 7 George Washington, when UMass received four points.
Home Sweet Home, As Fans Come Back
• The Minutemen are 11-2 at home this season playing before an average of more than 6,000 fans per game at the Mullins Center, including a sellout of 9,493 for the Boston College game on Dec. 2. that UMass had its second crowd of more than 9,000 this year with 9,088 against Saint Louis on Feb. 24. This season marks the first since 1998-99 UMass has had two crowds of more than 9,000 in the same season. The Saint Louis crowd was the largest for an A-10 game, since a sell-out of 9,493 against Temple on Feb. 17, 2001.
• With an average of 6,103 UMass is having its best attendance since 1998-99 when an average of 6,723 came to the Mullins Center. UMass is fourth in the league in attendance.
• UMass drew its third-largest crowd for a game this year on Feb. 8 against Rhode Island with 8,328. The URI crowd included more than 3,500 students.
• There have been six crowds of more than 6,000 this year.
• UMass has won 21 of its last 25 at home, spanning Travis Ford's two seasons in Amherst.
Ford-Tough At Home
• UMass head coach Travis Ford has been strong at home over the last three years with a 33-5 record as the home-team coach. He is 21-4 at UMass. In 2004-05, Ford posted a 12-1 record at Eastern Kentucky's McBrayer Arena prior to this year's perfect start at the Mullins Center. Staff members Tim Maloney, Steve Middleton, James Altman and Austin Newton were all with EKU as well.
Ultimate Road Warriors
• UMass has been strong away from the Mullins Center this season with a 12-6 record. Those 12 road/neutral wins are tied for the fifth-most in the nation among all teams. Vermont (16-3) and Davidson (16-3) are the leaders with 16 wins.
• It is huge improvement for UMass, which was just 3-13 away from home in 2005-06. UMass won eight of the 10 games away from home in the first two months. That included a stretch of five wins in a row away from Mullins. UMass' signature win of the year was a 72-68 win at Louisville on Dec. 13. For UMass coach Travis Ford the win was especially sweet, as he defeated his former coach Rick Pitino, who coached him at Kentucky.
• UMass also picked up a huge win at Dayton on Feb. 18, ending the Flyers' perfect 14-0 start at UD Arena.
• With 12 wins away from home, UMass has its most away from the Mullins Center since 1997-98, when they won 13 on the road and at neutral sites.
• The Minutemen's only non-conference road losses came at then-No. 4 Pittsburgh on Nov. 18, an 85-68 loss at the Petersen Events Center and an 82-68 loss at Rupp Arena against Kentucky on Dec. 22. Following the road loss at Pitt, UMass ripped off six wins in a row away from home prior to falling at UK. In A-10 play, UMass has lost at Xavier, 83-77, on Jan. 18, at Rhode Island, 75-72, on Jan. 24 and at Temple, 98-89, on Feb. 11. UMass lost in the A-10 Tournament at Atlantic City, falling to Saint Louis, 74-71 in overtime, on March 8, 2007.
• Last season, UMass won just two games in opponents' arenas as UMass went 2-11 on the road with wins at Duquesne and St. Bonaventure. They also won a neutral site game at Madison Square Garden.
Century Minutemen
• UMass has three 100-point games this season marking the most since they had a school-record six in 1971-72. UMass scored a Mullins Center record 102 points in the win over La Salle on Feb. 28. UMass had its first-ever 100-point game at the Mullins Center as it defeated Duquesne, 101-87, on Jan. 21. With UMass' 100-69 win at Jacksonville State on Nov. 25, the Minutemen posted a pair of 100-point games in the same season since 1994-95. All-time, UMass is 34-2 in 100-point games.
Minutemen Leaders In A-10 Stats
• With the 23-8 record and Atlantic 10 Co-Championship, UMass is atop the A-10 in several stats and many players are listed in the top 10 in categories. UMass leads the A-10 in five stats including: field goal percentage defense (40.0), rebounding (40.6), rebounding margin (+8.0), blocks per game (7.52) and offensive rebounds (14.48). UMass is second in five categories: scoring (76.9), scoring margin (+9.4), field goal percentage (47.6), assists (15.94) and defensive rebounds (26.13).
• UMass has four players leading in an individual category with Stephane Lasme topping in three.
• Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Stephane Lasme tops the league in blocks per game with 5.03 per game, which is second best in the nation. With less than 5.0 field goals per game, he does not qualify for field goal percentage and would be second (to SJU's Ahmad Nivins) in that category at 61.9, which would be 12th in the nation. He also leads in total rebounding with 9.5 (tied for 20th in the nation) and first in defensive rebounding at 5.81 per game. Lasme is also second in offensive rebounds per game (3.71).
• Senior Rashaun Freeman is third in the league in field goal percentage (61.4) -- which ranks 12th nationally. He leads the A-10 in offensive rebounds per game (3.81 per game). His scoring mark of 15.2 is 13th in the A-10. He is also third in rebounding at 8.3.
• Sophomore Chris Lowe, who led the A-10 in assists as a freshman in 2005-06 handing out 4.9 per game is now third in 2006-07. Lowe has 4.10 dishes per game. Lowe is second in the A-10 in assists in conference games with 5.1 per league game. Lowe is also fourth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.81-to-1. He's second in A-10 games with 2.83-to-1. Freshman Tiki Mayben is fourth in the A-10 in assists per game with 4.07 per game. He was first in the league until late in January.
• Three-point gunner James Life is sixth in the league in 3-pointers made per game with 2.61 and sixth in steals per game (1.45).
What An Improvement!
• Year Two of the Travis Ford Era has produced more results similar to what the coach predicted upon his arrival at UMass. The Minutemen are running and scoring while playing tough defense. UMass is scoring almost 77 points per game after netting just 64.9 last season, a more than 12-point improvement.
• From the floor, UMass is shooting better with a mark of 47.6 overall and 34.1 from 3-pointers. Last year, the Minutemen were 43.8 from the field and just over 30 percent from trifecta-land.
• UMass is also rebounding better, handing assists and coming up with steals at a better rate than last season.
This Year Is the Best Since...
• UMass is having its best season overall since the 1995-96 Final Four season, when they went 35-2 in capturing the school's fifth Atlantic 10 Championship in row. This year also features many other "best sinces" including the longest win streak since 1998, the most conference wins since 1996 and many other statistical numbers.
Big Blockers
• Thanks in large part to Stephane Lasme, UMass is currently third in the nation as a team in blocked shots with 7.5 per game. Connecticut leads the nation with 8.6 per game. Alabama A&M is second at 7.9 blocks per game.
• UMass was third in the nation in blocked shots with 7.2 per game in 2005-06. Connecticut was first at 8.8 per game and Northeastern was second at 8.0 per contest. UMass was second most of the season until mid-February,
Shooting the Lights Out
• UMass has greatly improved its shooting from the floor this season. UMass is shooting 47.6 percent from the floor (.3 behind league leader Xavier, 47.9) after leading the league most of the season. The Minutemen shot a season-best 61.9 against Dartmouth (11/11) in the season opener. That mark set a Mullins Center record for shooting percentage in a home game. It was also the best field goal shooting mark since the 2000 season. UMass shot 59.6 percent at Jacksonville State on Nov. 25, making 34-of-57 from the floor. It was the second-best mark of the year.
• UMass has shot better than 50 percent in 10 games this season. In 28 games last season, UMass shot 50 percent in six games. UMass equalled that with six games over 50 percent in the first 17 games this season. They had two games in a row from Jan. 10-13: vs. Temple (1/13) with 52.6 and against George Washington (1/10) with 58.8 percent.
• In both second halves, UMass was red hot, shooting 64.3 in the second half vs. Temple and 61.9 in the second half of the GW game.
• The Minutemen were on fire in the second half in A-10 conference games, shooting 245-472 for 52 percent.
• UMass made 40 field goals in a game for the first time since Jan. 27, 1995 as they went 40-of-71 against La Salle (2/28) for 56.3 percent.
• The Minutemen shot 50.0 percent against Oakland after starting the game 10-of-11 from the field (90.9 percent) in the first 10 minutes.
• The only two game UMass shot less than 40 percent all season, were at Kentucky (37.3) and a season-low 29.5 percent in the win over Saint Louis (2/24).
• UMass' top two bigmen are all shooting better than 61 percent: Stephane Lasme (61.9/would be 12th in nation, if he qualified) and Rashaun Freeman (61.4/12th in nation).
Freeman Moves Up Career Charts
• Three-time Atlantic 10 First Team selection and three-time All-NABC All-District First-Team selection Rashaun Freeman (1,728 points) is one of the most prolific scorers in UMass history as he stands fifth all-time. Next on the list is Lorenzo Sutton (1,731). He passed current UTEP coach Tony Barbee (1,643) with 12 points at Temple (2/11). This season he has passed the likes of Julius Erving (1,370) and Marcus Camby (1,387).
• With his 22 at Xavier, has passed Donald Russell (1,558 in 1981-85) for sixth all-time. Freeman passed 2006 UMass Hall of Famer Harper Williams (1,534 in 1989-93) in the win over Temple (1/13) with 21 points. He also passed Mike Pyatt (1,503 in 1974-78) for after scoring 18 at La Salle (1/6).
• With 16 points against Boston College (12/2), Freeman passed all-time great Marcus Camby (1,387) and Edwin Green (1,393) on the list. That came on the heels of Freeman passing all-time legend of the game Julius Erving (1,370) on the scoring list at Savannah State with 14 points. Of course, Erving accomplished the feat in just two seasons as freshmen not eligible and he left after his junior year for the ABA.
• With his 61.4 field goal mark this season, he passed current Boston College coach Al Skinner for fourth all-time in career field goal percentage. Freeman has risen up to 56.0 for his career, just ahead of Skinner at 55.7. Stephane Lasme is now eligible for this career stat and he is placed second at 59.8 surpassing the 500 attempt mark at Xavier.
• Freeman is also now third in career rebounds with 982. The only UMass players with more rebounds than Freeman are Lou Roe (1,070) and Julius Erving (1,049). Freeman is fourth in career field goals made with 681.
Freeman Making Shots Count
• Rashaun Freeman is in the midst of his finest season, his final at UMass. Just when critics thought there wouldn't be enough basketball to go around, Freeman has just gotten better with efficiency in the paint. He is averaging 15.2 points per game, shooting a sensational 61.4 from the floor. Freeman is 12th in the nation in field goal shooting percentage (202-of-329). With more limited opportunities with a better offensive team, Freeman has made the most of his chances and has scored in double-figures in every game this season except six (25-of-31): at Kentucky (12/22), vs. Duquesne (1/21), at Fordham (2/15), Saint Louis (2/24), at Saint Joseph's (3/3) and againt Saint Louis (3/8). Overall, he has 10 or more points in 89 of 115 career games.
• Freeman has led UMass in scoring 13 times including six of eight games from Jan. 2-28: at La Salle (1/6) with 18 points, vs. Temple (1/13) with 21 points, at Xavier (1/18) with 22, at Rhode Island (1/24) with 19 and at Charlotte with 18.
• Freeman led UMass in scoring in three games in a row (Dec. 6-13), scoring more than 20 in each game he led, averaging 21.3 in the three games. He hit for 20 at Boston University (12/6), 23 vs. Central Connecticut (12/9) and 21 at Louisville (12/13). Kentucky limited him to a season-low seven points.
• He has 20 or more points in nine games this season including three in a row from Jan. 10-18: vs. GW (1/10) with 21, Temple and Xavier. He had 20 on Senior Night against La Salle (2/28).
• Freeman earned his fourth career Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor on Dec. 18, after his huge game Louisville, a 72-68 UMass win on Dec. 13. Freeman was named the Billy Minardi Classic MVP with a game-high 21 points, adding five rebounds. Freeman shot 7-11 (.636) from the field and 7-10 (.700) from the foul line. He also handed out one assist. The win ended Louisville's 24-game non-conference home winning streak. It was his first Player of the Week award of the season and fourth of his career.
• He is also grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game to rank third in the A-10, and has 13 double-doubles this season and 43 in his career. His most recent came with 20 points and 12 rebounds on Senior Night vs. La Salle (2/28).
Freeman Candidate For CLASS Award
• Rashaun Freeman and De'Angelo Alexander of Charlotte were among 30 candidates for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. Neither player was selected to be a finalist which was announced in early February. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excel both on and off the court. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Lasme, the Sultan Of Swat
Senior Stephane Lasme, the A-10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year continues to swat shots in his final collegiate season. Lasme is the active career leader in blocked shots in the NCAA (387). Lasme is second in the nation in blocked shots per game with 5.03 per game He trails just Mickell Gladness of Alabama A&M at 6.3 per game. Last season, he was third in blocks with 3.9 per game. He is the leading returning shot blocker in Division I in 2006-07 as Shawn James is sitting out as a transfer from Northeastern to Duquesne and Justin Williams of Wyoming had graduated.
• Lasme took over as the career blocked shots leader at UMass with three at Charlotte (1/28). He now has 387 breaking Camby's mark of 336 from 1993-96. Camby accomplished his mark in just three seasons before leaving for the NBA as the Toronto Raptors selected him second overall.
• Lasme is now 21st all-time in NCAA history in career blocked shots with 387. He passed Pervis Ellison (374 at Louisville) and Jason Lawson (375 at Villanova) with 10 against La Salle on Feb. 28. Next on the list at a tie for 19th is Tim Perry (Temple) and D'Or Fischer (Northwestern State/West Viriginia) with 392.
• The all-time NCAA record for blocks is 535 by Wojciech Mydra at Louisiana-Monroe from 1999-2002.
• With his 156 blocks this season, Lasme now has the most prolific blocks season in UMass history. With his seven blocks at Fordham (2/15) he passed Marcus Camby's single-season mark of 128 set in 1995-96, in the 25th game of the season. He tied his own previous second-best season mark (108) at Charlotte as well -- in just 21 games. He passed Camby who had 105 in 1993-94. Lasme reached that mark in 20 games.
• He reached the sixth-best mark in just 15 games with nine at La Salle (1/6) with 74. Lasme now has the first, third and eighth-most blocks in a season with 108 last year as a junior and 72 as a sophomore in 2004-05.
• With his 156 blocks this season, Lasme has equal or more blocks than the 13 teams in the A-10, individually (UMass has 233). In 2005-06, Lasme's 108 total blocks were more than the entire team totals for eight of the 14 Atlantic 10 teams with UMass leading the way with 233.
• This season, Lasme has more blocks than 308 of the 336 teams in Division I as of March 12. Just 28 teams have more, including UMass.
Oh Yeah, He Can Rebound Too
• Overall, Stephane Lasme is leading the Atlantic 10 in rebounding at 9.5 per game -- which is tied for 20th in the nation. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with 13.3 per game and shooting 61.9 percent from the floor.
• He has risen to the top of the league in defensive rebounds with 5.81 per game. Lasme corralled a career-best 17 rebounds vs. Duquesne (1/21), that included a career-best 11 offensive rebounds. He also had 16 rebounds vs. Yale (12/28) as he grabbed 15 defensive rebounds to set a new Mullins Center record.
• He earned Dick Vitale's National Player of the Week and his second A-10 Player of the Week honor on Jan. 15 after he averaged 22.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 8.5 blocks in win over George Washington and Temple. That included his second triple-double of the year vs. GW.
• Lasme was named the Nov. 26 Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the second time in his career after his tremendous performances against Northeastern (11/19), St. Francis (N.Y.) (11/22), and Jacksonville State (11/25). He also named the UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26 to go along with his A-10 honors. Lasme averaged 12.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game as UMass went 3-0 on the week.
• Lasme had a double-double against Jacksonville State with 11 points and 11 rebounds along with three blocks on Nov. 25. He opened his decorated week with seven points and 11 rebounds in the win over Northeastern at Pittsburgh's Colonial Classic. He was named to the All-Classic team as he averaged 11.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in the three games at Pitt.
Lasme Triple-Doubles His Pleasure
• In addition to his blocks, Stephane Lasme has shown a more complete game, scoring, shooting and rebounding at a high level with an NCAA all-time single-season record tying four triple-doubles this season.
• Lasme made NCAA history in the win over La Salle (2/28) with his fourth triple-double of the year. He is now just one of three players to have four triple-doubles in the same season. He joins Michael Anderson (4, Drexel in 1986), Jason Kidd (4, Cal in 1994). Lasme is the first to reach the achievement with blocks as a statistic.
• In the win over Rhode Island (2/8) as he posted his third triple-double this season with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Lasme became the eighth player with three triple-doubles in the same season. In addition to Anderson and Kidd, the list includes: David Robinson (3, Navy in 1986), Shaquille O'Neal (3, LSU in 1992), Gerald Lewis (3, SMU in 1993), David Edwards (3, Texas A&M in 1994), Andre Igoudala (3, Arizona in 2004).
• Only 23 players have multiple triple doubles in a single-season and it has only happened 26 times overall.
• His second triple-double came on Jan. 10, 2007 against George Washington, when he had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks.
• The native of Gabon posted the second triple-double in UMass history with 19 points, 10 rebounds and a school-record 11 blocked shots in the win over St. Francis, N.Y., 63-49 on Nov. 22, 2006. Prior to that, only other triple-double in UMass history was accomplished by current Boston College coach Al Skinner, who has 27 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists against St. Peter's in Dec. 28, 1973 in Springfield, Mass.
• Lasme set the UMass record for blocked shots in the St. Francis win and tied it again against George Washington and Rhode Island, breaking the mark which he tied last season, of nine. Back in 1991, Harper Williams set the record which was twice equalled by Marcus Camby in the 1995-96 season.
Well-Rounded Forbes
• A lot has been expected of Gary Forbes, the junior transfer from Virginia. In his first 31 games as a Minuteman he has scored in double-figures 24 times -- as he has done it in 15 of the last 18 games. He also opened the year with 10 or more points in nine of 10 games. He now has 48 career games with 10 or more points.
• Forbes was UMass' leading scorer in A-10 conference games until late February (when he had just two points against La Salle on Feb. 28). He finished second with 14.8 points per game. Over seven games (from Feb. 3-24), he scored 17.5 points and grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game.
• He had led UMass in scoring in six of the last nine games (since Feb. 8); netting 23 at Dayton (2/18), and three times with13 against Saint Louis (2/24), Saint Joseph's (3/3) and Saint Louis (3/8).
• Forbes scored a career-high 31 points at Temple (2/11) to mark the most points by a UMass player since Rashaun Freeman tallied 31 against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 28, 2004. Forbes grabbed 14 rebounds for his second double-double in a three-game span. He made a career-high 10 field goals on a career-best 23 attempts. He also made 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
• In addition to his scoring, Forbes has emerged as an all-around player. He is in the top three on the team in every statistic: third on the team scoring (13.0), third in rebounds (5.9), third in assists (76), third in blocked shots (15), second in steals (30), second in 3-pointers (30) and third in field goals made (141).
• He has made a major improvement at the free-throw stripe. After shooting 54 percent in the first 13 games of the season. He is 73 percent in the last 18 contests.
• Forbes had a career-high four steals against Saint Louis (2/24) including the game-clinching theft with 1.9 seconds left. He made the two free throws following a foul to seal the game, 53-50.
• Forbes had his second career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against Richmond (2/3). With his 16 rebounds, he had three more rebounds personally than the entire Spider team (13). He is the only player in the NCAA with such an achievement this season.
• He scored 22 against Rhode Island (2/8) along with nine rebounds. He had 19 both at Xavier (1/18) and against Duquesne (1/21). Forbes returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Kentucky (12/22) and had 13 points at Charlotte (1/28).
• At Xavier (1/18) he had a well-rounded game with 19 points (second-most this season), eight rebounds and four assists. He followed that with 19 points and season-best nine rebounds vs. Duquesne. That game also included him going 8-of-8 from the foul line.
• Most impressive of his 16 points against GW was that he made a career-best 10-of-12 from the foul line. It was a high for both makes, attempts and percentage at 83.3, which was impressive as he came into that game as a 55 percent career free-throw shooter.
Lowe Makes Things Go
• Sophomore Chris Lowe led the A-10 in assists last season as a freshman with 4.9 per game. This season he has been a key to UMass' recent surge, starting 18 of the last 19 games (didn't start Senior Night). UMass is 14-5 in those games.
• In A-10 games, Lowe was sensational averaging 7.9 points and 5.13 assists. He ranked second in assists in A-10 games. He has just 29 turnovers to 82 assists, 2.83-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, also the second-best mark in conference games.
• He has risen to third in the A-10 in overall assists with 4.1. Lowe is scoring 6.6 points per game in all his games.
• Lowe made the play of the game at Saint Joseph's (3/3) in the A-10 regular-season title clinching win. With 3:17 left in regulation Lowe made a steal from SJU's D.J. Rivera drove to the basket, made the lay-up and converted a free throw on the and-one. That gave UMass the lead for good as the Minutemen captured a share of the crown.
• Lowe scored a career-high 19 points against Richmond (2/3) including a career-best 11-of-12 showing from the foul line.
• He had one of his finest showings at La Salle (1/6) as he tied his previous career-high with 14 points and handed out six assists along with a career-high tying three steals. He followed that with seven points and seven assists against GW (1/10). At Xavier (1/18) he did not score, but had seven assists, six rebounds and just one turnover. Lowe had 14 points (for the second time in five games) against Duquesne (1/21) as he also had six assists.
Time Of His Life
• Senior James Life has been the sharp shooter from 3-point range that UMass through it was getting from beyond the arc. The Florida native is shooting 42.8 from the field including 38.9 percent from 3-point range (81-of-208) as he averaging 11.2 points per game, fourth on the team in scoring.
• He is sixth in the A-10 in 3-pointers made per game with 2.61.
• With his 81 3-pointers this season, Life has risen to sixth in career treys made with 142, passing Derek Kellogg (who had 138 from 1991-95). Life is also sixth in career 3-point attempts with 410.
• Life is now eighth in 3-pointers in a season with 81. Next on the list is Anthony Anderson with 82 in 2003-04.
• Life broke out a nine-game slump with his first game in double-figures against La Salle (2/28) on Senior Night as he had 17.
• Life, scored at least 15 points in the first four games this season and in six of the first seven games this year. He has broken the 10-point mark in 15 of 21 games this season, most recently with 19 against Rhode Island (1/24).
• Over nine games from Dec. 22-Jan. 24, he is averaged 16.7 points per game as he led the team in scoring at Kentucky (12/22) with 24, vs. Yale (12/28) with 16, 24 against Duquesne (1/21) and a team-high 19 at Rhode Island (1/24). He scored at least 10 points in each game.
• Life has also been UMass' top defender with a team-high 45 steals, 1.45 per game, to rank sixth in the A-10.
• Life was named to the Colonial Classic All-Tournament team in Pittsburgh as he averaged 16.3 points in the tournament as he shot the lights out. Life canned 17-of-25 shots in the Classic for a 68 percent mark from the floor. From beyond the 3-point arc, he was 11-of-17 for 65 percent. His highest scoring game came against the Huskies, when he hit for 19.
Call To Action Off The Bench
• Junior forward Dante Milligan is playing the best basketball of his career over the last 10 games. He had a career-high 11 rebounds and added nine points on his 23rd birthday at Fordham (2/15). Then he followed it up with six points and eight rebounds at Dayton (2/18). Over six games (from Feb. 15-March 3) he averaging 6.0 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He had 36 total points in six games from Feb. 3-21 (6.0 ppg) after totalling 13 points in the previous 12 games from Dec. 9-Jan. 28. Over three games from Feb. 15-21, he averaged 7.0 points and 7.7 rebounds.
• Freshman Ricky Harris has scored in 12 of the last 13 games after five scoreless games from Jan. 2-18. He has five games with double-figures after netting 10 against La Salle (2/28). He tallied a career-best 14 points vs. St. Bonaventure (2/21) along with 13 against Duquesne (1/21) and followed that with 10 points at Rhode Island (1/24). He is fourth on the team made 3-pointers with 17. He is the top bench scorer at 4.6 points per game.
• Sophomore Luke Bonner had his career game against St. Bonaventure (2/21) as he set new highs in scoring (11 points), rebounds (5), 3-pointers (2), field goals (4) and blocks (3). It was a major breakout game for Bonner as he had just 21 points all season coming into the game, nearly half of what he scored in the game. He also made a pair of 3-pointers after being 1-of-24 in his career from beyond the arc. Bonner continued to contribute in the LaSalle game (2/28) as he made all three of his 3-point attempts to give him six 3-pointers in a three-game span after making one all season.
• Senior Brandon Thomas has continued his hot play of late with 32 total points in the last three games (10.7 ppg) with 11 each against La Salle (2/28) and Saint Joseph's (3/3) and 10 against Saint Louis (3/8) in the A-10 Tournament. He had a season-best 12 points at Fordham (2/15). He also added season-highs with five assists and four rebounds. He had five points at Temple (2/11) in the previous game giving him 17 total points in two games (Feb. 8-11). That came after scoring just six total points in his previous eight games. He made a 3-pointer for the first time eight games as well at Temple and added two more at Fordham. Overall, he is third on the team in 3-pointers with 20 treys.
• Freshman guard Tiki Mayben is fourth in the A-10 in assists per game with 4.07 per contest. He led the league until late in January. He has led the team in assists in nine games. He handed out a career-high 11 in his collegiate debut vs. Dartmouth on Nov. 12.
• Of late, his best game came with eight assists vs. St. Bonaventure (2/21).
• Mayben was named the A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week on Sunday, Nov. 12 after the first week of the season. In his UMass debut against Dartmouth, the freshman had 12 points and 11 assists in the 98-61 win. He had nine assists in the first half alone before scoring 10 of his points in the second half. His 11 assists tied the Mullins Center record of helpers in a game set by Monty Mack in 1998.
• Mayben returned to his scoring ways with 10 points against Yale (12/28), it was his second game in double-figures and first since the opener.
