Men's Basketball Returns To Action Tuesday At Richmond

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 12	Massachusetts (7-4, 6-2 Atlantic 10) at Richmond (12-5, 5-3 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Tuesday, February 23, 2021 \| 6 p.m.
Location	Richmond, Va. \| Robins Center
Watch	ESPN+ \| NBC Sports Washington
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	Live Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts Notes \| 2020-21 Prospectus \| 2020-21 Yearbook
Vote For Tre	Vote Tre Mitchell For The Karl Malone Award
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassBasketball
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. -- Currently tied for first in the A-10 standings and winners of five of its last six games, the UMass men's basketball team returns to the court for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday night when the Minutemen travel to Richmond for a 6 p.m. tip on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Washington.

Stops and starts
On November 17, the Massachusetts men's basketball team paused all team activities following a positive COVID-19 test result among the program's Tier 1 personnel, which consists of coaches, student-athletes, team managers and support staff. Results were detected during COVID-19 surveillance testing, which is conducted three times a week in accordance with NCAA guidelines.

Due to a pause in team activities, UMass did not participate in the Multiple Team Event at Mohegan Sun previously scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend. UMass returned to practice on December 5.

The Dec. 11 game vs. Northeastern marked the latest the team started a season since 1947-48, when the team's first game was on December 12, 1947.

Tuesday's game at Richmond will mark the fifth time this season that the Minutemen have gone at least one week between playing this season.

Crunch time
With only two games remaining in the regular season, Massachusetts is currently tied for first in the league standings by winning percentage with St. Bonaventure and VCU.

Seeding for the championship tournament will be as follows: teams above 60 percent of the median number of conference games played by all 14 teams will be seeded by conference winning percentage. Teams below that 60 percent threshold will be seeded using the NCAA NET ranking, relative to all A-10 teams. Additionally, teams below the 60 percent threshold will not be eligible for the regular season title.

The current medium number of conference games is 12, with the Minutemen above the 60% threshold of 7.2.

Streaking
Despite only having taken the floor a handful of times since Jan. 1, the Minutemen are winners of five of their last six games. In those games, UMass is holding opponents to an average of 62.8 points per game and forcing them into 15 turnovers per game while six players are averaging better than 9.0 points per game on the offensive end of the floor.

Mitchell named to Malone Award Top Ten
Massachusetts men's basketball sophomore Tre Mitchell has been named a Top 10 candidate for the 2021 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Jan. 28.

Despite a small sample size in 2020-21, Mitchell has proven to be one of the top players in the Atlantic 10 and the nation this season. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native is 28th in the NCAA and tops in the Atlantic 10 averaging 20.0 points per game this season, one of just seven underclassmen in the top-30.

The series with Richmond
Richmond leads the all-time series against UMass 14-7, including wins in six of the last seven meetings.

On the road again
The Minutemen are back on the road for the final two games of the regular season, where they are 3-1 on the season. In those games, UMass is shooting 42% from the floor and averaging 75.0 points/game. Five players are averaging better than nine points per game on the road, with Tre Mitchell averaging 23.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg.

A win on Tuesday would give the Minutemen four conference road wins in a season for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

High octane offense
The Minutemen have had no problem putting the ball in the basket this season, and currently rank 49th in the nation and second in the Atlantic 10 with 77.9 points per game. That's due in part to UMass averaging 76.9 possessions per game, the 15th most in the nation and second in the league.

UMass started the year with at least three players in double-figures in its first seven games this season, and scored 75+ points in each of its those seven games for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

A-10 relocates conference championship
The Atlantic 10 Conference adjusted the dates of the 2021 Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, moving the majority of the men's championship a week earlier to March 3-6 and the entire women's championship a week later to March 10-14. The men's championship final, which will air on CBS Sports on Sunday, March 14 at 1:00 pm, will be hosted by the University of Dayton.

Richmond and VCU remain as co-hosts of the men's championship preliminary rounds, but due to facility scheduling, the first round and semifinals will now be played at VCU's Siegel Center. Both the Siegel Center and Richmond's Robins Center will host second round and quarterfinal games as previously announced. The women's championship site remains unchanged, with all games played in Richmond, Va.

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