Minutemen Conclude Non-conference Slate at Akron Monday Night

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 13	Massachusetts (6-6) at Akron (9-3)
Date \| Time	Monday, December 30, 2019 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Akron, Ohio \| Rhodes Arena
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
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. – Heading on the road for four of its next five games, the UMass men's basketball team concludes nonconference action on Monday night when the Minutemen travel to Akron for a 7 p.m. tip at Rhodes Arena on ESPN+.

The series with Akron
The Minutemen and Zips are meeting for just the second time in series history, and first time since the 2007-08 season. Massachusetts leads the series, 1-0, with a victory on March 22, 2008 in the second round of the 2008 NIT.

In that game, UMass advanced past the second round of the NIT for the first time since 1991 with a hard-fought 68-63 win over Akron at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen rallied from down 12 (58-46) from 8:30 left in the game to outscored Akron, 22-5 to end the game. Ricky Harris led UMass with 20 points and Chris Lowe had 17, including the go-ahead free throws late in the game. A-10 Player of the Year Gary Forbes scored in double-figures for the 37th game in a row with 11.

Mitchell named A-10 Rookie of the Week
After a 23-point night against Maine last weekend, UMass men's basketball center Tre Mitchell has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the conference announced on Dec. 23.

Mitchell's selection marks the Minutemen's third Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honor this season, joining T.J. Weeks and Sean East II, who earned the honor in the first two weeks of the season, respectively. It marks the first time since the 2003-04 season that three different Minutemen have been named the conference's rookie of the week.

Chart topper
On Dec. 11 vs. Yale, junior Carl Pierre tied the school record with a career-high eight three pointers. It marked the 11th time in team history, and made Pierre the eighth player in program history to hit eight threes in a game:

Milestone watch
Pierre's big night against Yale, and 14-point performance last week against Maine, also inched him closer to another feat. The Boston native currently sits at 947 career points, and is closing in on becoming the 52nd player in team history to reach 1000 career points.

3J Weeks
Freshman T.J. Weeks is 10th in the NCAA, and first among rookies, in three-point shooting percentage (32-of-66; 48.5%), and his 32 made three-pointers are tied for seventh in the country among freshmen.

As a team, UMass is shooting better than 36% beyond the arc (95-of-263), and its 106 made threes are fourth in the Atlantic 10.

Lending a helping hand
Rookie Sean East II is tied for seventh in the nation among freshmen, and tied for 67th overall, in total assists with 61 through 12 games, including a season-high nine against Yale on Dec. 11.

Protecting the ball
UMass turned the ball over just seven times against Northeastern on Nov. 12, the fewest for the Minutemen since Feb. 24, 2018 at George Mason.

On the flip side, the Minutemen are averaging 7.2 steals per game, including a season-high 13 against Maine, the fourth time this season and fifth time in the Matt McCall era that a UMass team had at least 10 steals in a game.

UMass tops Maine, 74-53
Freshman Tre Mitchell had 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead four Minutemen in double-figures as the UMass men's basketball team (6-6) built on a nine-point halftime lead to pull away from Maine (3-9) on Dec. 20 at the Mullins Center, 74-53.

Mitchell scored from all over the floor on the night, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and adding seven rebounds. C.J. Jackson added a career-high 10 points off the bench to go along with a team-high three steals, while Carl Pierre (14 points, four assists) and Sean East II (12 points, five rebounds, six assists) also reached double-digits. Keon Clergeot had a game-high seven assists and two steals.

Scoreboard

Minutemen Conclude Non-conference Slate at Akron Monday Night

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Players Mentioned

Keon Clergeot

Sean East II

C.J. Jackson

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics