University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
VCU
Midweek Tilt As Men's Hoops Hosts VCU
February 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Minutemen and Rams to be televised by Eleven Sports, NESN Plus
AMHERST, Mass. -Â As the season draws down to its final two weeks, the UMass basketball team looks to get momentum going as the Atlantic 10 Tournament draws nearer. The Minutemen host VCU on Wednesday night (7 PM) at the Mullins Center looking to snap a three-game skid in its penultimate home contest.
The game will be televised on Eleven Sports and simulcast in New England on NESN Plus with Tim Neverett (play-by-play) and Frank Sullivan (analyst) calling the action. It will be streamed outside of the region on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network, while those in the mark can watch online via www.NESNGo.com or the NESN Go app. Â
On the radio airwaves, the game will be broadcast on the UMass Sports Network anchored by flagship station 105.5 FM WEEI and online via the TuneIn App. Voice of the Minutemen Josh Maurer will be joined courtside by former Minuteman Tim Collins.
UMass is currently tied with Fordham for 13th in the A-10 standings with a 4-10 league record. VCU enters the week tied with Saint Joseph's for fifth with a 7-7 league record.
VCU leads the all-time series 5-2 and has won the last two meetings. Both of UMass' wins have come at the Mullins Center, while the Rams have held serve in Richmond and on neutral courts.
Saturday's game saw UMass rally back late to cut a double-figure deficit to just four points in the final seconds at Davidson, however, the Wildcats hung on for an 83-78 win at Belk Arena. Luwane Pipkins scored 31 points and added nine assists, while Malik Hines was just shy of his career-high with 17 points. Carl Pierre added 15 points to round out UMass' top scorers.
Pipkins moved into ninth all-time for career three-pointers made (157) and up to eighth for single-season threes (86), while Pierre now ranks 15th with 76 three-pointers to extend his UMass freshman record.Â
On the season, UMass continues to be led by Pipkins who is averaging 20.9 points followed by Pierre who is posting 12.3 points in his rookie campaign. The lone senior on the roster, Anderson, has been one of the most well-rounded players on the squad with 9.2 points, 5.0 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. Over the last five games, Anderson has been scoring at a clip of 14.4 points while averaging 5a.2 assists and 6.5 rebounds.
After averaging 23.4 points per game in January, Pipkins leads the A-10 for scoring average this season and is 29th nationally. His 44 points against La Salle set a new UMass school record, a Mullins Center record, was the ninth-best performance in A-10 history and was the fourth-best individual performance in the NCAA this season. Defensively, the Chicago native is 6th overall in steals per game (1.59). Offensively, the guard has improved from 2016-17 to this season by +10.7 points per game - the best of any Minuteman this year. Pipkins is looking to become the sixth player in program history to average 20-plus points for a season - a list which includes Julius Erving, Jim McCoy and Marcus Camby.
Anderson ranks fifth among the league's best in assists as well with 5.0 per game while his 131 assists are third-most overall.
Pierre ranks second in the A-10 for three-point field goal percentage (47.2%) and is the nation's most accurate three-point shooting freshman through 27 games. Overall, the Boston native ranks 9th nationally in three-point field goal percentage. He currently holds the third-best single-season shooting percentage in school history from beyond the arc. With 76 made threes, he broke the previous UMass freshman record shared by Pipkins and Anthony Anderson (2001-02).
For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
