Minutemen Challenge Marshall in 2025-26 Season Opener

of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs Marshall
Date \| Times	Monday, Nov. 3 \| 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen open the 2025-26 campaign against Marshall on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
This week for the Minutemen

The Matchup

Monday's matchup marks the 7th meeting between the two programs with UMass holding an even 3-3 record all-time.
The Minutemen will face Marshall for the first time after claiming an 83-65 win on Dec. 20, 2003
This is Massachusetts first matchup as part of the MAC-SBC challenge with the return game being played on Feb. 7 with time and opponents TBD.

Last Time out

Massachusetts saw four players score in double digits en route to a 109-78 win against Rhode Island College at the Mullins Center last Saturday.
The Minutemen were led by senior Daniel Hankins Sanford who recorded his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds on 28 minutes of action.
Leonardo Bettiol also tallied a team-high 22 points, going 7-8 from the field with three rebounds.
Dimitri Clerc totaled a season high 14 points with three rebounds and an assist over nearly 19 minutes of gameplay. Uni

Scouting the THundering Herd

Marshall comes into Monday's season opener off back-to-back exhibition wins against Alice Lloyd College (123-63) and Davis & Elkins (90-62).
Marshall is led by second-year Head Coach Cornelius 'Corny' Jackson who led the Thundering Herd to a 20-13 in his first season.
Guard Jalen Speer was picked to the preseason all-conference first-team with 7'4" newcomer Matt Van Komen earning a third-team nod.
Van Komen averaged 18.0 points and 12.5 rebounds across the team's exhibitions against Alice Lloyd and Davis & Elkins.

Year Four Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts basketball enters its fourth season under head coach Frank Martin in 2025-26.
Martin and the Minutemen finished the 2024-25 season with 12 wins, including seven in conference play. Under Martin's tutelage guard Rahsool Diggins had a breakout senior season, averaging a team-high 16.8 points on his way to earning All-Atlantic 10 Third Team honors.
In 2023-24 Martin led the Minutemen to their best season since 2014, finishing with a 20-11 overall record and securing a top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
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 334-245 (.577) 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 take on UAlbany on Saturday, Nov. 8 with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Mullins Center The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Leonardo Bettiol

Dimitri Clerc

Rahsool Diggins