Massachusetts Hosts Richmond For A-10 Home Opener

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Richmond
Date \| Times	Jan. 4 \| 12 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen host Richmond for their A-10 home opener on Satuday, Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The game will be broadcast on NESN with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

This week for the Minutemen

The Matchup

Saturday's Atlantic 10 home opening matchup marks the 27th meeting between the two programs with UMass holding a 9-17 record all-time.
The Minutemen hold a 2-1 record versus the Spiders under head coach Frank Martin.
Massachusetts is 17-20 in A-10 play and 25-12 at home with Coach Martin at the helm..

Last Time out

The Minutemen dropped a 72-81 game to Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Hagan Arena. The Minutemen battled defensively, forcing 17 turnovers but could not close the deficit in the Atlantic 10 conference opener.
Rahsool Diggins poured in a career-high 33 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native added three rebounds and three assists in the homecoming matchup.
Daniel Rivera scored a season-high 23 points, shooting a career-high 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Rivera finished with nine rebounds and a pair of assists on the afternoon.
With their performances Diggins and Rivera became the first Massachusetts duo to record 20-plus points in a single game since Rich Kelly (25) & Noah Fernandes (24) at Northeastern on Dec. 7, 2021.
Massachusetts turned the ball over just four times, marking the first time a Minuteman squad had less than five turnovers in a game since Nov. 8, 2023 vs. UAlbany.

Scouting the Spiders

Richmond comes to Amherst after overcoming a 13-point deficit with nine minutes remaining to defeat George Washington, 66-61, in its A-10 opener.
Richmond returns eight players from last year's regular season championship winning squad. That matches UR's second-fewest returners ever during Chris Mooney's tenure (7 in 2006-07).
Dusan Neskovic has emerged as of late, averaging 19.6 points per game over his last five games.
Senior DeLonnie Hunt is the lone returning start for the Spiders, currently averaging 17.6 points on 44% shooting through 14 games this season.
The 2024-25 season is Chris Mooney's 20th at Richmond, making him the third-longest tenured coach in Atlantic 10 history behind John Chaney (24 seasons at Temple) and Phil Martelli (24 seasons at Saint Joseph's).

Last Season: By THE NUMBers

1 - The Minutemen featured the A-10's no. 1 offense leading the conference in scoring for the entirety of the conference schedule.
2 - UMass coached it's first duo to All-Conference First Team recognition since Stephane Lasme and Rashuan Freeman during the 2006-07 season.
4 - UMass earned its first top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship since the 2007-08 season.
9 - The Minutemen averaged an NCAA best 9.0 points per game off post-ups. first time.
9 - UMass won 9 or more non-conference games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
11 - Massachusetts won 11 conference games, marking the first season with 11 or more such victories since 2006-07.
20 - The Minutemen secured the programs first 20-win season since 2013-14.

Athletes Incoming

The Minutemen welcome 10 newcomers, four of which enter as transfers.
Massachusetts enters 2024-25 campaign with the A-10's no. 4 ranked incoming class according to 247sports, bringing in a host of impressive athletes across multiple positions including Shahid Muhammad, Daniel Rivera, Malek Abdelgowad, Nate Guerengomba, Lewis Walker and Amadou Doumbia.
College of Southern Idaho transfer Shahid Muhammad boasts a 47 inch vertical and 7-4 wingspan while swatting 106 shots over 30 games for the Golden Eagles.
Rivera comes from Bryant University where he averaged 2.2 blocks per game, ranking third in Bulldog program history with 73 in a single season.
The two transfers combined for 179 blocks and 434 rebounds a season ago.
Murray State transfer Malek Abdelgowad makes it a trio of versatile additions in the front court, averaging 3.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 11.2 minutes per game last season.

CURRY COMING BACK FOR YEAR 2

Jaylen Curry returns to Amherst after a freshman campaign which saw him earn A-10 All-Rookie honors while averaging 7.6 points and 2.1 assists per game.
The sophomore played in all 30 games for the Minutemen as a freshman.
Curry recorded double-digit scoring performances in nine conference games a season ago, including a career-high 18 points and four made three-pointers at Loyola Chicago (1/17/24).
Curry looks poised to take over full-time point guard duties in year two, looking to build off multiple explosive offensive moments as a freshman.
A high-level recruit Curry was rated as a top-20 point guard nationally and the no. 12-ranked recruit in Florida by 247Sports out of high school.

Year Three Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts basketball enters its third season under head coach Frank Martin in 2024-25.
Under Martin's leadership the Minutemen enjoyed their best campaign since 2014 last year, finishing with a 20-11 overall record and securing a top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Martin ranks third in program history with a 35-27 record through his first two seasons with the Minutemen, sitting just below Bruiser Flint and Travis Ford.
Coach Martin started his time in Amherst by leading the Minutemen to their best record under a first-year head coach since 1996 and the Myrtle Beach Invitational title during the 2022-23 campaign.
Martin holds a 328-237 (.581) collegiate coaching mark, picking up 171 of his wins in 10 seasons at South Carolina while recording 117 wins in five seasons at Kansas State.
Head coach Frank Martin picked up his 300th collegiate coaching win on Jan. 25, 2023 with a 85-76 win over Richmond.

On The Bench

Head coach Frank Martin boasts a talented staff full of experienced assistants featuring three former head coaches, two former McDonald's All-Americans and a former NBA lottery pick.
Associate Head Coach Allen Edwards was the head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys from 2016-20. Edwards' teams recorded 60 wins over four seasons, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns.
Assistant Coach Matt Figger spent the last three seasons at UT Rio Grande Valley after four seasons leading Austin Peay.
Assistant Coach Brian Steele enters his second second UMass after spending time on head coach Frank Martin's staff at South Carolina. Steele was a three-year letter winner at South Carolina as a student-athlete and served as a student assistant during the 2015-16 season in addition to the 2016-17 Final Four campaign.
Director of Player Development Anthony Evans spent five seasons as the head coach at FIU following six years as the head coach at Norfolk State. At FIU, Evans' teams ranked in the top-10 percent nationally from 2015-17 in the NCAA Academic Progress Report and coached multiple Conference USA all-league and all-defensive players.
Director of Player Personnel Doug Edwards ed the Seminoles to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1990-93. The Miami, Fla. Native scored 1,604 points in his career and is the only player at FSU to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons. Edwards earned All-SEC Second-Team honors as a senior before being drafted with the 15th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1993 NBA Draft.
Coaches Allen Edwards, Matt Figger and Anthony Evans combined hold 360 wins and two coach of the year awards at the division I level.
Head Coach Frank Martin coached now associate head coach Allen Edwards and director of player personnel Doug Edwards at Miami Senior High School.

Up Next

The Minutemen perennial A-10 favorite Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The game will be broadcast on Peacock with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Noah Fernandes

Nate Guerengomba

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Lewis Walker