University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
George Mason
Men's Hoops Heads To George Mason On Wednesday
February 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Minutemen and Patriots set for 7 PM tip on ESPN+.
| University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 25 | Massachusetts (9-15, 2-9 A-10) at George Mason (14-10, 8-3 A-10) |
| Date // Time | Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019 // 7:00 PM (ET) |
| Location | Fairfax, Va. // Eaglebank Arena |
| Live Statistics | Sidearm Live Stats |
| Game Notes | vs. George Mason (PDF) |
| Watch | TV: None // Digital: ESPN+ |
| Listen | 105.5 FM WEEI, 830 AM WCRN, Tune-In App |
| @UMassAthletics // @UMassBasketball | |
| UMass Basketball | |
| UMass Basketball | |
| UMass Home Tickets | 866-UMASS-TIX // Single Game, Season Ticket, Mini-Plan, Parquet Pass Info |
| University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball - George Mason Preview |
• Coming off a thrilling 54-51 win over league-leader Davidson last Saturday, the UMass basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night with a trip to George Mason as the only game of the week. The Minutemen will have a bye weekend before resuming action in a week at George Washington.
• Wednesday's game will be streamed digitally via on ESPN+ for desktop and mobile devices.
• 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. New Voice of the Minutemen Jay Burnham will be joined courtside by Adam Frenier.
• George Mason leads the all-time series 7-3 including a 68-63 victory nearly a month ago in the Mullins Center. The Patriots won all three meetings last year taking both regular-season meetings in overtime and defeating the Minutemen in the A-10 Tournament. The series has been a relatively close one with seven of the last eight meetings having been decided by six-or-fewer points, though the two overtime games last year were the first games not decided in regulation.
• The Minutemen have played in a number of close games this year with 12 games being decided by seven-or-fewer points. The Minutemen are 5-7 in those contests. Four of UMass' 10 league games were decided by five-or-fewer points with the Minutemen in position to tie or go ahead late in each of the loses.
• UMass is led again this season by Pipkins who is the top returning scorer in the Atlantic 10 after notching 21.2 points per game last year. He was named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team after a breakout sophomore campaign. He is one of just six players in program history to average over 21 points a game in a single-season joining the likes of Julius Erving and Marcus Camby. He also became the 51st player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points for his career.
• With 1,384 career points, Pipkins needs four more points to pass Marcus Camby (14th, 1,387 pts, 1993-96) on the all-time scoring list at UMass. If Pipkins maintains his current scoring average, he could finish among UMass' top-10 all-time scorers as a junior.
• Pipkins also ranks 14th in career scoring average (15.9 pts), 5th for career three-pointers (222), 14th in assists (322), and 10th in steals (139).
• On the year, UMass has the sixth best scoring average (70.6 pts) in the Atlantic 10, ranks fifth in field goal percentage (43.8) and is fourth in three point field goal percentage (34.3). Defensively, UMass is 12th in the league giving up 71.8 points per night - though in league play that number has fallen to 67.0 points allowed which ranks 7th overall. While the defense has improved during league play, the offense has averaged just 60.4 points in nine games which ranks 14th.
• Individually, Rashaan Holloway leads the A-10 for field goal percentage (71.6) while Pipkins ranks fourth in the league for points per game (16.8) and third in assists per game (5.3). Jonathan Laurent remains the top three-point shooter in the A-10, connecting on 45.3 percent of his attempts from range while Carl Pierre is 3rd (39.6 percent).
• On the season, Pipkins' 16.8 points per night leads the Minutemen. Pierre ranks second with an 10.7 point per game average, while Holloway rounds out the top scorers with a 9.4 point average. Laurent and Curtis Cobb are just shy of double figures as well averaging 8.5 and 8.4 points, respectively, per night.
• Pierre has been the hot hand over the last two games averaging 21.0 points on 15-of-23 shooting that includes 10 three pointers. His 23 points against Davidson was a season-high and just two shy of his career high.
• Unique McLean has played well over the last two games averaging 27.7 minutes, 6.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the last two games.
• Djery Baptiste, who joined the Minutemen in December prior to the Georgia game and will also be eligible in 2019-20, has made an instant impact on the defensive side for UMass with 16 blocked shots in his first 12 games. He had a career-high five blocks against La Salle. His 16 blocks are 2nd-best on the team and already account for just over 1/5th of UMass' swats this season.
