A-10 Battle In Nation's Capital As Men's Hoops Faces George Washington

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 26	Massachusetts (9-16, 2-10 A-10) at George Washington (7-18, 3-9 A-10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 // 7:00 PM (ET)
Location	Washington, D.C. // Smith Center
Live Statistics	Sidearm Live Stats
Game Notes	vs. George Washington (PDF)
Watch	TV: None // Digital: ESPN+
Listen	105.5 FM WEEI, 830 AM WCRN, Tune-In App
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassBasketball
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball
UMass Home Tickets	866-UMASS-TIX // Single Game, Season Ticket, Mini-Plan, Parquet Pass Info

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball - George Washington Preview

• Coming off a bye weekend, the UMass basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night with a return trip to the Washington, D.C. area to take on George Washington with a 7 PM tip-off. The Minutemen are coming off a narrow 80-75 overtime loss at George Mason last Wednesday despite a career-high 26 points from Carl Pierre..

• 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 former player Tim Collins.

• George Washington leads the all-time series 41-29 including an 83-67 win in Washington, D.C., two years ago. The Colonials have won five straight in the series including last season's 83-72 win in Amherst. George Washington holds a 22-9 record at home against UMass with the Minutemen last winning at the Smith Center on Feb. 15, 2014 (W, 67-61) which was also the most recent Massachusetts win in the series overall.

• The Minutemen have played in a number of close games this year with 13 games being decided by seven-or-fewer points. The Minutemen are 5-8 in those contests. Five of UMass' 11 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 fifth best scoring average (70.8 pts) in the Atlantic 10, ranks fifth in field goal percentage (44.0) and is second in three point field goal percentage (34.8). Defensively, UMass is 12th in the league giving up 72.1 points per night - though in league play that number has fallen to 68.1 points allowed which ranks 7th overall. While the defense has improved during league play, the offense has averaged just 61.6 points which ranks 14th.

• Individually, Rashaan Holloway leads the A-10 for field goal percentage (71.4) 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 (40.4 percent).

• On the season, Pipkins' 16.8 points per night leads the Minutemen. Pierre ranks second with an 11.3 point per game average, while Holloway rounds out the top scorers with a 9.4 point average. Curtis Cobb and Laurent are just shy of double figures as well averaging 8.4 and 8.2 points, respectively, per night.

• Pierre has been the hot hand over the last three games averaging 22.7 points on 25-of-43 shooting that includes 16 three pointers. He has scored 20-plus points in the last two games with a career-best 26 points in the overtime loss at George Mason.

• Unique McLean has played well over the last three games as well averaging 32.7 minutes, 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

• 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 17 blocks are 2nd-best on the team and already account for just under 1/4th of UMass' swats this season.

Scoreboard