Massachusetts Men's Basketball Hosts Ball State On Saturday

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Ball State
Date \| Times	Saturday, Jan. 10 \| 3:30 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen host Ball State on Saturday, January 10 for a 3:30 p.m., contest at the Mullins Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

This week for the Minutemen

The Matchup

Massachusetts has faced Ball State once in program history.
The singular matchup between the Minutemen and the Cardinals came on November 21, 2021, in the Jersey Mike's Classic in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Massachusetts narrowly dropped an 89-86 decision.
Trent Buttrick, C.J. Kelly and T.J. Weeks Jr., led the Minutemen by scoring 19 points apiece.

Last Time out

Massachusetts moved to 0-4 in the MAC after dropping an 86-83 decision to Ohio on the road.
The Minutemen put together a second half comeback that included an 11-0 run, but it was not enough as Ohio outlasted UMass down the stretch.
Senior forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Banks Jr., followed with 14 points, while Danny Carbuccia put up 13.
Carbuccia added a team-high eight assists.
Isaiah Placide was 2-for-4 from three with his makes coming during the 11-0 run in the second half.

Scouting the CArdinalS

Ball State are coming off a 74-52 loss to Eastern Michigan last Tuesday heading into Saturday's matchup with the Minutemen.
Cardinals Head Coach Michael Lewis is in his fourth season at Ball State, accumulating a 53-56 (25-32 MAC) overall record during his time in Muncie, Indiana.
Davion Hill and Armoni Zeigler lead the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 10.9 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
Mason Jones (4.9) and Zeigler (4.8) lead the way in rebound averages.
The Cardinals are 4-11 overall and 0-3 in the MAC.

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 344-255 (.575) 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.

TIP-OFF TIDBITS

UMass has held opponents to a 27.7 shooting percentage from three, ranking first in the conference and ninth in the country.
? UMass +7.0 rebounding margin ranks first in the MAC and 43rd in the NCAA.
? Massachusetts ranks first in the MAC in rebounds per game (38.94) and second in offensive rebounds per game (12.56).
? The Minutemen rank second in the MAC and 30th nationally by averaging 18.1 assists per game.
? UMass features four players averaging double figures in points including Leonardo Bettiol (16.1), Marcus Banks Jr. (15.8), Daniel Hankins-Sanford (12.7) and K'Jei Parker (11.2).
? Bettiol and Banks Jr., rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in points per game in the MAC.
? Bettiol is also shooting 60.3 percent from the field to rank first in the league (29th nationally).
? Bettiol is also averaging 7.4 rebounds per game to rank sixth in the MAC.
? Among MAC players, Banks Jr. ranks first in three-point attempts (126), second in three pointers made per game (2.88), total threes made (46) and third in three-point percentage (36.5).
? Danny Carbuccia's 5.8 assists per game rank second in the MAC and 32nd in the country, while his 3.17 assist/turnover ratio is second in the league and 37th in the country.
? Hankins-Sanford (5) and Bettiol (3) each have multiple double-doubles this season.
? Hankins-Sanford's five double-doubles are the second most in the MAC.

Up Next

The Minutemen continue conference play on the road at Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 13, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

K'Jei Parker

Isaiah Placide

T.J. Weeks Jr.