UMass Heads to Ball State for Tuesday Tilt

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts at Ball State
Date \| Times	Tuesday, February 24 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Muncie, Ind. \| Worthen Arena
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - The Minutemen head to Ball State on Tuesday to face the Cardinals for a 7 p.m. opening tipoff. 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

.The all-time series is tied at 1-1 after UMass' 79-71 win on Jan. 10.
It marked the first-ever MAC victory for the Minutemen.
Graduate student Leonardo Bettiol went 7-for-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe to put up a team-leading 20 points.
Ball State won the only other meeting, 89-86, on Nov. 21, 2021 in the Jersey Mike's Classic in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Last Time out

Massachusetts dropped a narrow 86-82 contest against Buffalo Saturday evening. The Minutemen controlled the first half, leading for much of the early stages, going up by as much as 12 midway through the first, but were unable to secure the victory.
In a halftime ceremony, Massachusetts basketball recognized members from the 1996 Final Four team, including 1996 Naismith Player of the Year Marcus Camby.
The Minutemen were led by Marcus Banks Jr. with 24 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Banks Jr. recorded six three-pointers over the evening.
Leonardo Bettiol followed with 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford scored 13 points, going 6-of-11 from the field. The senior also pulled down six rebounds and three assists. K'Jei Parker contributed 12 points, three assists and a steal.

Scouting the CARDINALS

Ball State stands 8-19 on the season, 3-11 in the MAC following a 78-65 loss to Akron.
The Cardinals have lost four straight overall and six of their last seven.
Davion Hill leads Ball State in scoring (12.9 points per game), followed closely by Armoni Zeigler (12.0).
Zeigler leads the Cardinals in both rebounding (4.9) and assists (76 through 27 games).

Year Four Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts basketball enters its fourth season under head coach Frank Martin in 2024-25.
Under Martin's leadership the Minutemen enjoyed their best campaign since 2014 last year, finishing the 2023-24 season with a 20-11 overall record and securing a top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship
Martin ended the 2023-24 campaign ranked 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 350-260 (.576) 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.
Martin picked up his 350th collegiate coaching win on Feb. 3, 2026 with a 95-89 win over Central Michigan.

TIP-OFF TIDBITS

Massachusetts' 15 MAC games have been decided by a combined 67 points or 4.5 points per contest, with each finishing with single-digit margins.
Eight of UMass' 15 MAC games have been decided by three points or less (UMass is 4-4 in those eight games).
On the season, UMass has played 10 games that have been decided by three points or fewer (5-5 in those 10 games), including the triple overtime thriller at Coastal Carolina (L, 94-91).
The Minutemen have now played in three overtime games this season, most recently falling to Buffalo at home, 86-82.
Marcus Banks Jr. and Leonardo Bettiol each eclipsed 20 points against Buffalo, scoring 24 and 21, respectively, the first time two UMass players have eclipsed 20 in game since K'Jei Parker had 31 and Banks scored 21 at Coastal Carolina.
The Minutemen are averaging 10.2 made threes over their last five games.
In the game at Coastal, Daniel Hankins-Sanford pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds - the most rebounds in a game for a Minuteman since Jim Town had 27 against Boston College on Dec. 12, 1976.
It marked the 10th triple overtime game in program history and the first since last season's 120-118 win at Fordham (Jan. 15, 2025).
UMass head coach Frank Martin, who is in his fourth season at UMass and 19th overall as a head coach, has 350 career wins (including stints at Kansas State, South Carolina and UMass).
UMass' +5.3 rebounding margin ranks second in the MAC.
Massachusetts also ranks third in the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (11.96) and rebounds per game (37.25).
The Minutemen rank second in the MAC and 23rd nationally by averaging 17.6 assists per game.
UMass has held opponents to a 32.9 shooting percentage from three, ranking fourth in the conference.
UMass features four players averaging double figures in points per game, including Leonardo Bettiol (17.8), Marcus Banks Jr. (16.9), K'Jei Parker (11.6) and Daniel Hankins-Sanford (11.6).
Bettiol and Banks Jr., rank sixth and eighth, respectively, in points per game in the MAC.
Bettiol is also shooting 59.7 percent from the field to rank first in the league and 27th nationally.
Bettiol is also averaging 7.8 rebounds per game to rank third in the MAC, while Hankins-Sanford ranks seventh (7.2).
In MAC games, Parker has hit 25 of 27 free throw attempts to rank first in the league (.926) if he had enough attempts to qualify. Hankins-Sanford (9) and Bettiol (6) each have multiple double-doubles this season.
Hankins-Sanford's nine double-doubles are the third most in the MAC.

Up Next

The Minutemen head to Ball State on Saturday for their final regular season road game. Opening tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 28 is set for 2 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

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

K'Jei Parker