UMass Kicks Off A-10 Play At SLU Sunday On NBCSN

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 14	Massachusetts (6-7, 0-0) at Saint Louis (11-3, 0-1)
Date \| Time	Sunday, January 5, 2020 \| 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	St. Louis, Mo. \| Chaifetz Arena
Watch	NBCSN
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. – Atlantic 10 action has arrived for the UMass men's basketball team, which will kick off its conference slate on Sunday afternoon at Saint Louis at 4 p.m. (ET) on NBCSN. The Minutemen are in search of their first victory against the Billikens since 2015 and looking to begin A-10 play with a victory for the first time since 2016.

Dibaji Walker receives waiver from NCAA
UMass announced on Monday that Dibaji Walker has received a waiver from the NCAA and is immediately eligible for competition. Walker transferred to UMass this fall after a season at Cleveland State, and made his Minuteman debut on Monday at Akron.

In his freshman year at Cleveland State, the Columbus, Ohio native posted five double-digit scoring efforts that included a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting against Wright State in January. The 6-foot-7-inch forward averaged 4.7 points per content on 42.3-percent shooting from the field.

Walker played a year of prep hoops at Woodstock Academy under current UMass assistant coach Tony Bergeron, where he helped guide the Centaurs to a 35-5 record and a No. 3 national ranking. The 14th-ranked recruit in the 2018 class of Conn. averaged 11 points per contest and added five boards, three assists and two steals at Woodstock.

The series with Saint Louis
The Minutemen will be looking to snap a four-game losing skid against the Billikens. Overall, Saint Louis holds a 13-5 all-time record in the series against UMass. The last win for the Minutemen came on Jan. 31, 2015 in St. Louis.

In last season's meeting, UMass put together a double-digit comeback in the second half to pull within a point twice in the final two minutes of play, but could not score the go-ahead field goal in the final minute of play as Saint Louis came away with a 65-62 win at Chaifetz Arena on Jan. 9, 2019.

UMass – Saint Louis connections
The game will also feature a pair of familiar faces for UMass fans. Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford coached at UMass from 2005-08 leading the Minutemen to a pair of 20-win seasons and an NIT runner-up finish in 2008.

On Ford's staff is former UMass standout point guard Chris Lowe, who is serving as a graduate student manager with the Billikens. From 2005-09, Lowe graduated as the school-record holder in career assists (678). That mark still stands as the sixth-best total in Atlantic 10 history. The Mount Vernon, New York, native played professionally for eight seasons in the NBA D-League and overseas in Lithuania, Slovakia, and Austria.

Milestone watch
Carl Pierre is inching his way closer to another feat. The Boston native currently sits at 970 career points, and is closing in on becoming the 52nd player in team history to reach 1000 career points.

He poured in 23 points and 10 rebounds on Monday at Akron for his first career double-double.

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.

Lending a helping hand
Rookie Sean East II is tied for sixth in the nation among freshmen, and t-67th overall, in total assists with 67 through 13 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 7.9 steals per game, good for 77th in the NCAA, 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.

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Players Mentioned

Sean East II

Carl Pierre

Dibaji Walker

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics