Minutemen Return to Amherst to Host Saint Louis

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs Saint Louis
Date \| Times	Feb. 4 \| 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen return home for a clash with Saint Louis on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at 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

Tuesday's matchup marks the 27th meeting between the two programs with UMass holding a 9-17 record all-time.
Massachusetts is now 22-23 in A-10 play and 28-13 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.

Last Time out

Massachusetts basketball claimed a gritty 62-53 win over Duquesne on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Senior Rahsool Diggins scored 27 of Massachusetts 37 second half points to ice the road win.
Massachusetts ended the game on a 19-7 run, with Diggins scoring 15 points in the game's most pivotal stretch. The senior went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range over the final six minutes of the game. Diggins' 27 second half points makes him the first Minuteman to score 25-plus points in a single half since Tre Mitchell score 25 on Dec. 16, 2020 at La Salle.
Diggins finished the game with 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. The performance marks his third game with 30-plus points and 11th straight with in double digits.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford played both ends of the floor recording his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds on the afternoon. The Charlotte, North Carolina native added three steals while shooting 6-of-12 from the field.
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Scouting the BilLikens

Saint Louis comes into Tuesday off a narrow loss to A-10 rival Dayton (L, 63-71) on Friday, Jan. 31 at Chaifetz Arena.
Gibson Jimerson leads the Billikens and is fourth in the A-10 in scoring with 17.8 ppg. He is second in the league and 30th nationally with 3.05 3-pointers made per game.
Robbie Avila scores 17.2 ppg. His 4.2 assists (sixth in the A-10) and 1.6 3-pointers made per game lead all centers in NCAA Division I.
With the scoring trio of Avila, Jimerson and Isaiah Swope (16.4), the Billikens are the only program in the country with three active players averaging 16.3 ppg or more.
Saint Louis is 2-5 on the road this season and 9-21 (.428) away from Chaifetz Arena over the last three seasons.

Rahsool Showing Out

Rahsool Diggins has started A-10 play averaging 25.4 points on 44.7% shooting from the field over nine A-10 games. The Senior currently ranks first in 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.
Diggins has continued to turn up the intensity in homecoming games now averaging 16.1 points and 2.9 assists on 41.2% shooting on seven games versus schools from his home city of Philadelphia.
The senior guard has now scored in double figures in eleven consecutive games dating back to Dec. 18 vs. Northeastern.

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 333-240 (.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 head to Philadelphia for a matchup against La Salle on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. at the John Glaser Arena. The game will be broadcast on USA network with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Nate Guerengomba

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Lewis Walker