Men's Hoops Heads To Brooklyn To Open A-10 Championship Tournament

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 32	No. 13 seed Massachusetts (11-20, 4-14 A-10) vs. No. 12 seed George Washington (8-23, 4-14 A-10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, March 13, 2019 // 1:00 PM (ET)
Location	Brooklyn, N.Y. // Barclays Center
Live Statistics	A-10 Championship Central
Game Notes	vs. Rhode Island (PDF)
Watch	TV: N/A // 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 - Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament

• After a tough end to the regular-season, the UMass basketball team looks to start a new season with the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament beginning Wednesday. The 13th-seeded Minutemen will take on 12th-seeded George Washington in the opening round on Wednesday afternoon at the Barclays Center. The winner will advance to take on 5th-seeded George Mason on Thursday at 2:30 PM on NBC Sports.

• 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. The Voice of the UMass, Jay Burnham, will call the action and be joined courtside by former Minuteman Tim Collins.

• George Washington leads the all-time series 42-29 including a 79-67 win in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. The Colonials have won six straight in the series. This will mark the 10th meeting between the two teams in the A-10 Tournament with the Colonials holding a slight 5-4 edge. The last postseason meeting was in 2004 in Brooklyn which saw George Washington pull off an 85-77 win in the quarterfinals.

• In the earlier meeting this year, George Washington used an 18-to-4 run in the first half en route to a 79-67 win at the Smith Center. Carl Pierre led UMass with 14 points highlighted by four three-pointers, while Luwane Pipkins scored 13 points in his first game back from an injury. GW was led by 20 points for Maceo Jack and 19 points from Armel Potter. DJ Williams and Justin Mazulla each scored double-figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

• The Minutemen have played in a number of close games this year with 15 games being decided by seven-or-fewer points. The Minutemen are 6-9 in those contests. Six of UMass' 17 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 1,416 career points, Pipkins needs 13 more points to pass Horace Neysmith (12th, 1,428 pts, 1981-85) on the all-time scoring list at UMass. He needs 22 points to pass Chaz Williams (2011-14, 1,437 pts) for 11th all-time.

• Pipkins also ranks 15th in career scoring average (15.7 pts), 5th for career three-pointers (226), 12th in assists (334), and is tied for 7th in steals (142).

• On the year, UMass has the sixth best scoring average (70.9 pts) in the Atlantic 10, ranks fifth in field goal percentage (44.4) and is second in three point field goal percentage (35.2). Defensively, UMass is 14th in the league giving up 73.7 points per night. In league play, defense ranks 11th allowing 72.2 points, while the offense ranks 12 averaging 64.9 points.

• Individually, Rashaan Holloway leads the A-10 for field goal percentage (69.7) while Pipkins is tied for sixth in points per game (16.0) and third in assists per game (5.2). Jonathan Laurent remains the top three-point shooter in the A-10, connecting on 48.6 percent of his attempts from range while Pierre is third (39.3 percent).

• On the season, Pipkins' 16.0 points per night leads the Minutemen. Pierre ranks second with an 11.8 point per game average, while Laurent and Holloway round out the top scorers with 9.7 and 9.8 point averages, respectively. Curtis Cobb is just shy of double figures as well averaging 8.4 points per night. Laurent has played well over the last five games averaging 17.2 points, while Cobb has missed the last seven games. Holloway has double-doubles in two of the last three games averaging 15.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in that stretch.

• Pierre has been the hot hand over the last nine games averaging 16.6 points on 52-of-116 shooting that includes 34 three pointers. He has scored 20-plus points in the four of those games with a career-best 26 points in the overtime loss at George Mason and the game-winner against Saint Joseph's with 2.3 seconds left in regulation.

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