Men's Hoops Returns Home To Host VCU On Wednesday

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 28	Massachusetts (12-15, 6-8 Atlantic 10) vs. VCU (17-10, 7-7 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Wednesday, February 26, 2020 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Watch	NESN \| ESPN+ (Outside New England) \| MASN
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Live Stats
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. – Winners of two straight and three of its last four games, the UMass men's basketball team returns home on Wednesday night to host VCU. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on NESNplus and MASN.

Wednesday's promotions
Wednesday is Fan Appreciation Night at the Mullins Center! The Minutemen want to take the time to recognize and show their appreciation to everyone that supports the program in any way. UMass will have a variety of giveaway items for the first fans through the door. Also, all season ticket holders will be able to pick up their exclusive thank you gift as a token of our appreciation for the season long support!

In addition, fans can take advantage of a special ticket offer for the Rhode Island game on March 7. For just $18, fans can get two tickets in the value section to see the Minutemen take on the rival Rams on Senior Night at the Mullins Center. To purchase your tickets, click here.

The series with VCU
VCU leads the all-time series against UMass 7-2 having won the last four meetings. Both of UMass' wins have come at the Mullins Center, with the Rams holding serve on the road and at neutral sites.

Mitchell named A-10 Rookie of the Week… again
For the third straight week, and fourth time this season, Tre Mitchell is the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native averaged 19.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in two wins last week for the Minutemen.

Mitchell is fifth in the conference and sixth in the NCAA among freshmen averaging 16.8 points per game this season, while his 19.4 points per game in conference is second in the league behind only Dayton's Obi Toppin (19.6).

This is the seventh time this season that a Minuteman has been named the A-10 Rookie of the Week, the most for Massachusetts since the 2003-04 season. It's also the first time one player has earned three straight rookie of the week nods since Rhode Island's E.C. Matthews in 2013-14, and the first time a Minuteman has earned the honor four times in a season since Rashaun Freeman (2003-04).

Stiff competition
UMass has gone up against some of the nation's top teams, including 11 currently ranked in the top-100 of the NCAA NET Rankings: Dayton (4), Rutgers (34), URI (37), Virginia (51), Yale (60), South Carolina (63), St. John's (70), Saint Louis (72), Akron (75), Davidson (77), Duquesne (95).

Three of UMass' final four games are also against top-100 teams: vs. VCU (59), at Richmond (49) and vs. Rhode Island (37).

Home sweet home
The Minutemen are back in the Mullins Center for two of their final four games of the regular season, where they are 10-4 this season. UMass is shooting 47% from the floor and 36% from three (115-of-318) at home.

Tre Mitchell (17.4) and Carl Pierre (13.3) are both averaging better than 13 points per game at home, while the defense is forcing opponents into an average of 16.1 turnovers per game.

Getting defensive
UMass held Fordham to a 31% shooting performance from the field on Saturday, the lowest for a Minuteman opponent this season.

The Rams' 49 points last weekend marked the second time this season that the Minutemen have held an opponent to less than 50 points in a game (CCSU on Nov. 16), which hasn't happened since the 2006-07 season.

New look lineup
Freshmen Kolton Mitchell and Preston Santos have started each of the last eight games, including their first collegiate starts on Jan. 25 vs. Duquesne. Along with Tre Mitchell, it marked the first time the Minutemen had three freshmen start since Jan. 28, 2017 vs. George Mason.

Santos had a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting vs. George Mason on Feb. 9, and is second on the team averaging 9.4 ppg since being inserted into the starting five. He's also shooting 61% (31-of-51) and 38% from deep (8-of-21) with 4.3 rpg in that span.

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Players Mentioned

Kolton Mitchell

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

Preston Santos

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics