Massachusetts Heads South for Tilt Against VCU

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs VCU
Date \| Times	Feb. 19 \| 6 p.m.
Location	Richmond, VA \| Siegel Center
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen head to Richmond for a midweek tilt against VCU on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Siegel Center. The game will be broadcast on CBS network with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
This week for the Minutemen

The Matchup

Tuesday's matchup marks the 15th meeting between the two programs with UMass holding a 4-10 record all-time.
Massachusetts is now 23-24 in A-10 play and 10-18 on the road with Coach Martin at the helm.

Last Time out

Massachusetts basketball fell in a 73-59 game to St. Bonaventure at the Mullins Center on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Tarique Foster led the Minutemen setting multiple career highs on the afternoon. The sophomore recorded 14 points going 4-for-5 from the free throw line, while tacking on three steals.
Rahsool Diggins scored 13 points, marking his 19th game this season in double digits.
Daniel Rivera had an all-around performance scoring 11 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. The San Juan native also contributed a steal and a block.

Scouting the Rams

VCU comes in Wednesday on a four-game winning streak, taking down Richmond (90-49), La Salle (96-66), Dayton (73-68) and George Washington (80-72).
Graduate Student Joe Bamisile leads the Rams offensively, pouring in 15.8 points per game on 46.9% shooting from the field.
2023 First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection Max Shulga returned to lead the Rams from the point guard position, averaging 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists across 25 games.
As of Feb. 18, four Rams are currently averaging over 10.5 points per game as Bamisile (15.8), Max Shulga (15.1), Phillip Russell (11.6) and Zeb Jackson (10.7) each pour it in. No VCU team has boasted four players averaging 11.0 or more points per game in a season since the 1993-94 campaign
VCU is 12-0 at home this season and 40-9 (.816) at the Siegel Center over the last three seasons.

Rahsool Showing Out

Rahsool Diggins has flourished into one the Atlantic 10's top scorers averaging 22.5 points on 41.7% shooting from the field over 13 league games. The Senior currently leads the A-10 in points per game during conference play.
Diggins surpassed Luwan Pipkins, scoring a program record 46 points at Fordham, shooting 14-of-29 from the field and 8-of-13 from three-point range. The last UMass player to score 40-plus points was Pipkins program setting 44 points in an overtime victory over La Salle on Jan. 10, 2018.
With his 33 point performance at Saint Joseph's Diggins also became the first Minuteman to score 30-plus points in a game since Matt Cross tallied 31 against CCSU on Nov. 22, 2023.
The Philadelphia, Pa. native doubled down notching his fourth 30-plus point game this season and second in his home city with a 34-point performance at La Salle. Diggins shot 13-of-20 from the field, including a 7-of-13 display from deep.
Diggins has continued to turn up the intensity in homecoming games, now averaging 18.4 points and 2.6 assists on 45.2% shooting across eight games versus schools from his home city of Philadelphia.
The guard scored in double figures in 14 of the last 15 games since Dec. 18.

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.

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 334-243 (.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 venture to the nation's capitol for a game against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. in the Charles E. Smith Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Tarique Foster

Nate Guerengomba

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Lewis Walker