Minutemen Open 2019-20 Campaign Vs. UMass Lowell On Tuesday

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

AMHERST, Mass. -- The 111th season of Massachusetts basketball kicks off on Tuesday night when the Minutemen host UMass Lowell. Tuesday's game will be televised live on NESN with Jay Burnham and Frank Sullivan on the call. Fans outside of New England can also stream the game on ESPN+. In addition, Tyler Murray and Jaime Snyder-Fair will have the call on 105.5 FM WEEI, 830 AM WCRN and via the Tune-In App.

Tuesday's promotions
New court. New jerseys. New student-athletes. New season. We will be celebrating our brand new court with a replica court rally towel giveaway on Tuesday against the River Hawks! Make sure to get there early to guarantee yourself a rally towel. Also, UMass Cheerleading and the UMass Dance Team will be putting on a special halftime spirit performance.

Minutemen in season openers
UMass has found success in season openers of late, going 11-1 in the opening game of the year dating back to 2003, including nine straight wins.

Overall, Massachusetts is 76-34 in season openers in the 110-year history of the program.

History in home openers
The Minutemen enter Tuesday's game with wins in each of their last 10 home openers at the Mullins Center. UMass hasn't lost its first game at home since 2008, and is 83-26 in its home openers on campus.

The series with UMass Lowell
Massachusetts and UMass Lowell will be meeting for the 10th time in series history, with the Minutemen leading 7-2. A series that dates back to 1906-07, Tuesday marks the fourth straight season that UMass and the River Hawks will meet in the season opener, with the Minutemen winning the last three.

The River Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the America East, their highest placement since joining the conference in 2013-14.

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.

In addition, 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.

Keep it in the family
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., who scored over 1,000 points for UMass from 1994-98 and played in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

On the bench
Head coach Matt McCall announced a staff reorganization during the offseason, including the hiring of assistant coaches Tony Bergeron and Tyson Wheeler.

"We have been very fortunate to add people like Tony Bergeron and Tyson Wheeler to our staff," said McCall. "They have tremendous basketball backgrounds and have been successful at every point in their careers. Both bring a passion for UMass that will help build and develop a new culture for our program."

In addition, Lucious Jordan was promoted to assistant coach.

"Lucious knows basketball and has a great ability to relate to and develop players," said McCall. "As a standout guard in his playing days, he can provide a wealth of knowledge throughout the course of their careers while also being a recruiter who understands all aspects of the process."

Former Dartmouth head coach Paul Cormier also joined the staff as the special assistant to the head coach/chief of staff, a non-coaching position

Organizationally, Brian Grossman takes over Jordan's former role as director of basketball operations, while Jacob Kurtz moves into the role of director of scouting/video.

Challenging the champs
This year's UMass non-conference slate features several challenges, including a matchup with defending national champion Virginia on Nov. 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It will mark the seventh time in team history that the Minutemen have played the defending NCAA champions, and first time since 2008 when UMass knocked off Kansas on the road, 61-60.

UMass is 5-1 all-time against the defending national champions.

The road ahead
The Minutemen will head to Fairfield on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip with the Stags before returning to the Mullins Center to host defending CAA champion Northeastern on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on NESNplus.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

Keon Clergeot

Carl Pierre

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics