4-0 Minutemen Back At Mullins To Host Rider Wednesday

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 5	Massachusetts (4-0) vs. Rider (2-1)
Date \| Time	Wednesday, November 20, 2019 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Watch	NESN \| NESNgo \| ESPN+ (outside New England)
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Live Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts Notes \| 2019-20 Prospectus
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassBasketball
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball
UMass Home Tickets	Get Your 2019-20 Tickets Now! \| 2019-20 Promotional Calendar

AMHERST, Mass. -- The 4-0 UMass basketball team is back at the Mullins Center on Wednesday night when the Minutemen host Rider as part of the Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament. Massachusetts is one of 71 remaining unbeaten teams in the NCAA, one of 39 with a record of 4-0 or better, and is looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 2013-14.

Get your $10 tickets now!
From now until Thursday, Nov. 21, fans can purchase tickets in the value section to all remaining home games at the Mullins Center for just $10. Visit UMassAthletics.com/tickets, call 866-UMASS-TIX or visit the Mullins Center Box Office to purchase yours now.

Wednesday's promotions
Join UMass Basketball as the Minutemen look to give back to the UMass and Amherst community. UMass is asking all fans to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the UMass Food Pantry to help provide food security for UMass undergraduate and graduate students in need.

Best start since 2015
UMass enters Wednesday's game at 4-0 on the young season, the best start for the program since the 2015-16 season. The Minutemen are one of 71 remaining unbeaten teams in the NCAA, and one of 39 with a record of 4-0 or better.

So far this season, Massachusetts is averaging just 9.8 turnovers per game, tied for the 13th fewest in the NCAA, while the team's three-point shooting is good for a tie for 29th in the country and second in the A-10 (41.3%; 38-of-92).

A victory against Rider would again mark the best start since the 2013-14 team that reached the NCAA tournament. It would also mark the 15th time in school history that UMass has started 5-0, and make Matt McCall the eighth head coach in program history to lead a team to a 5-0 start:

Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament
The UMass-Rider game is the second of two home games that are part of the 2019 Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament.

The Minutemen will head to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. this weekend to play defending national champion Virginia on Saturday afternoon and either Arizona State or St. John's on Sunday.

The series with Rider
The Minutemen and Broncos are meeting for the 10th time in series history, and first time since 2016-17. UMass is 9-0 all-time against Rider, including a 78-67 win at the Mullins Center in the most recent meeting on Dec. 22, 2016.

Youth movement
It's a new look roster for the Minutemen in 2019-20 with nine newcomers, including seven freshmen. The seven rookies are the most for UMass since the 2007-08 season.

All seven freshmen (John Buggs III, Sean East II, C.J. Jackson, Kolton Mitchell, Tre Mitchell, Preston Santos, T.J. Weeks) have made their collegiate debuts, with Tre Mitchell and East II starting each of the first four games.

The rookies have combined for 60% (187-of-310) of the Minutemen's scoring so far this season.

Weeks and East II have each been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, marking the first time since the 2003-04 that UMass has collected consecutive conference rookie of the week honors.

Veteran leadership
UMass' four upperclassmen (Carl Pierre, Keon Clergeot, Djery Baptiste, Davonte Higginbottom) are tied with Central Connecticut, Lipscomb and Long Beach State for the third fewest juniors and seniors on an NCAA roster. Utah (two) and Florida (three) are the only schools in the country with fewer upperclassmen than the Minutemen.

Familiar faces
A trio of UMass freshmen (Tre Mitchell, Preston Santos, TJ Weeks), all played together in prep school at Woodstock Academy. In 2018-19, they led the team to a 38-2 record with a No. 2 national ranking for a team coached by new assistant coach Tony Bergeron.

Like father, like son
Freshman T.J. Weeks is no stranger to UMass Basketball. The Warwick. R.I. native is the son of former UMass great Tyrone Weeks Sr.

Weeks Sr. scored over 1,000 points for UMass from 1994-98 and played in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, averaging 8.1 points per game and 22.4 minutes per game in 125 career contests.

Protecting the ball
UMass turned the ball over just seven times against Northeastern last week, the fewest for the Minutemen since Feb. 24, 2018 at George Mason. Overall, UMass is tied for 13th in the NCAA in turnovers per game (9.8).

On the flip side, the Minutemen are averaging nine steals per game, including a season-high 13 against CCSU, the third time this season and fourth time in the Matt McCall era that a UMass team had at least 10 steals in a game.

From East II Western Mass.
Down 34-33 with 0.6 seconds remaining in the first half against Northeastern Nov. 12, freshman Sean East II launched a shot from more than 75-feet away that hit nothing but the bottom of the net, sending the Mullins Center into a frenzy.

The play went viral on social media and landed at No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays later that night.

According to basketballreference.com, since the 2009-10 NBA season only 2-of-583 shots from 70+ feet have been made (0.34%), and neither were from longer range than East II's:

Player (Date; Distance)
Vince Carter (Feb. 19, 2016; 72 feet)
Andre Drummond (Feb. 8, 2016; 71 feet)

UMass flies past CCSU
UMass shot 52.5% from the floor and held CCSU (0-4) to 16 made field goals and 33% shooting to blow by the Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center, 89-43, in the opening game of the Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament.

Ten of Massachusetts' 11 players who saw the floor found the scoresheet, led by Keon Clergeot's season-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Sean East II, the NCAA freshman leader in assist-turnover ratio, added 15 and a game-high six assists.

Samba Diallo also reached double figures for the third time in four games with 13 points and six boards, while Djery Baptiste contributed 12 rebounds, six points and three blocks off the bench.

How low can you go?
Saturday's defensive performance against CCSU was one for the ages for UMass. The Minutemen held the Blue Devils to just 48 points, the fewest points allowed since Jan. 21, 2006 against Temple.

UMass inks two during early NLI signing period
UMass officially added a pair of talented newcomers for next season as Javohn Garcia (Columbus, Ohio) and Cairo McCrory (Hartford, Conn.) signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday during the start of the early signing period.

Garcia, a 6-4, 175-pound guard, will arrive in Amherst from Brewster Academy, while McCrory is a 6-5, 185-pound guard from Woodstock Academy.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

John Buggs III

Keon Clergeot

Samba Diallo

Sean East II

C.J. Jackson

Kolton Mitchell

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

Preston Santos

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics