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• UMass closes out a two-game road trip at George Mason on Sunday afternoon.
• The UMass Sports Network will feature the "Voice of the Minutemen" Josh Maurer handling play-by-play duties alongside analyst Tim Collins. The game can be heard live starting at 12:40 p.m. ET on 105.5 FM WEEI (Springfield), 1440 AM WVEI (Worcester) and1200 AM WXKS (Bloomberg Radio in Boston). The broadcast is also available online through www.UMassAthletics.com and on smart phones & tablets through the TuneIn app.
• Streaming video will be available at UMassAthletics.com via the A-10 Digital Network for as low as $4.95.
QUICK HITTERS
• This is the 106th season of UMass Basketball. UMass has an all-time record of 1,236-1,085 (.533) in 2,321 games. UMass is 458-314 (.593) in conference games, including a 294-294 in Atlantic 10 play. The Minutemen have claimed 15 regular-season conference championships and five tournament titles.
• UMass wraps up its first A-10 road trip of the season with a Sunday matinee at George Mason. The Minutemen snapped a 4-game road losing skid on Wednesday at La Salle and are 1-4 on the road this season. Mason is 5-2 at home this season and has wins over common opponents Iona, Manhattan and La Salle.
• The Minutemen rank 65th nationally in scoring (73.1), 4th in FT made (283), 8th in FT attempted (397), 87th in FT pct. (71.3%), 111th in steals (7.1) and 73rd in blocks (4.6).
• UMass is 8-3 when scoring at least 70 points. It is 4-1 when leading at half and 1-0 when tied at the break.
• The Minutemen have scored at least 34 points in the first half seven times this season and are 6-1 in those games.
• UMass finished non-conference play with a strength of schedule between 7 and 11 among four different ratings formulas. The team enters the George Mason game with a strength of schedule of 6 by both ESPN.com and CBS Sports.com.
• UMass entered the year having won 70 games in the last 3 years (25, 21 & 24) and participated in 2 NITs (reaching Final Four in 2012) and 2014 NCAA tourney.
• The Minutemen return seven letterwinners, including starters Maxie Esho and Cady Lalanne, from last season that went 24-9 overall and 10-6 in Atlantic 10 play en route to it's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years (1998). The team also returned to the national rankings for the first time since 1998- 99, climbing as high as No. 12 in late January.
SERIES HISTORY WITH GEORGE MASON
• UMass and George Mason are meeting for the third time in hoops. The teams split their home-and-home series last season, with each team winning on the opponent’s home floor.
• IN FAIRFAX: UMass claimed a thrilling 88-87 victory in the first-ever meeting on Jan. 15, 2014. The Minutemen trailed by five with 41.3 seconds left but forced a pair of turnovers and made quick scores by getting to the rim and free throw line with Chaz Williams’ lightning-quick ball-handling. Trailing by one with 17.7 on the clock, Williams stole the ball from Sherrod Wright when he tried to split a double team. Williams’ initial shot in the lane was short. Maxie Esho’s put back bounced off Johnny Williams’ head and right to Derrick Gordon, who laid it in for the 88-87 lead. The win was Derek Kellogg’s 100th career head coaching victory. Williams finished with 26 points, eight assists and five steals. Cady Lalanne had 19 and nine boards with two blocks.
• IN AMHERST: Mason used a 13-to-2 run late in the 1st half to claim a 42-32 lead at halftime en route to a 91-80 win in Amherst on Feb. 12, 2014. The lead balooned to 17 before some late UMass runs got it to single digits down the stretch. UMass was led by Trey Davis who had 20 points and four assists. Sampson Carter added 16, while Lalanne and Maxie Esho each scored 11. Lalanne also had a double-double with 10 rebounds.
• Derek Kellogg and Paul Hewitt are meeting for the third time in their careers as head coaches. Hewitt also coached against UMass when he was the head coach at Siena. His final Saints team defeated the Minutemen, 66-65, in the 2000 NIT First Round in Albany.
• MINUTEMEN AGAINST THE PATRIOTS: While it is just a two-game sample size, there are a few Minutemen who have compiled some nice numbers against the Patriots. Cady Lalanne averaged 15 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3 blocks last year, posting a double-double in Amherst and missing one in Fairfax by one rebound. Trey Davis was 4-of-9 from outside in the two games, averaging 12 points, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals.
LA SALLE LEFTOVERS
• UMass won its third-consecutive over La Salle on Wednesday night while securing its first road win of the season in five tries.
• The win marked the first time in series history that UMass won back-to-back games at La Salle since the Explorers joined the Atlantic 10 in 1995-96.
• UMass shot .519 (27-of-52) from the floor, its second-best effort this season (.529 vs. Northeastern).
• The Minutemen also connected on their best percentage from outside this season - .462 on 6-of-13. The bench group of CJ. Anderson, Zach Coleman, Demetrius Dyson and Jabarie Hinds were 4-of-8 with Coleman hitting 2-of-3.
• UMass handed out 15 assists on 27 field goals. The 15 assists were the most on the road this season (previous best of 14 came at BYU).
• UMass forced four turnovers from its full-court press and scored five points off those. It was the most turnovers it had forced since a season-high five against Northeastern.
• Maxie Esho registered his second-career double-double with 19 points - one 8-of-10 shooting - and a career-high 12 rebounds.
ROAD TROUBLES
• UMass is now 1-4 on the road this season following Wednesday’s 71-65 win at La Salle. The Minutemen had previously dropped games at Harvard (by 2 points), at LSU, Providence and BYU (by 6 in overtime).
• The last road victory had been at Duquesne last season (78-74 on March 5, 2014).
• UMass is 33-46 on the road in six-plus seasons under Derek Kellogg. A year ago the Minutemen were 7-4 on the road and 4-4 in A-10 road contests.
• UMass has shot the ball well in the last two road games - at BYU and La Salle - combining for 49 pct., while holding the home team to just 39 pct. in each contest and a combined 23 pct. (7-for-31) from outside.
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