UMass Set for Semifinal Showdown with Toledo

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Toledo
Date \| Times	Friday, March 13 \| 5:00 p.m. EST
Location	Cleveland, Ohio \| Rocket Arena
Twitter	@UMassMBB
Instagram	@umassbasketball
Facebook	UMass Men's Basketball

AMHERST, MASS. - Massachusetts men's basketball takes on Toledo in the semifinal round of the MAC tournament on Friday, March 13. Opening tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Rocket Arena. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

This week for the Minutemen

The Matchup

Friday's matchup marks the sixth meeting all time, with the Rockets holding a 3-2 advantage all time.
The teams last faced each other on Jan. 20, with the Minutemen taking a narrow 84-82 victory at home.

Last Time out

Massachusetts men's basketball outlasted No. 20 Miami (OH), 87-83, at Rocket Arena in the MAC Quarterfinals on Thursday. The Minutemen survived two double-digit deficits to knock off the last remaining undefeated team in Division I men's basketball and advance to the semifinals.
The Minutemen were led by Leonardo Bettiol with 25 points and eight rebounds on an efficient 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
Marcus Banks Jr. added 18 points and five rebounds, including two triples. With his first make from behind the arc, Banks Jr. broke the program single-season three-pointers made record with 108.
In his first game back from injury, Daniel Hankins-Sanford netted 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jayden Ndjigue tacked on 16 points and eight boards of his own, including an and-one to tie the game with 4:45 to play.
The Minutemen secured their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since taking down No. 19 New Mexico on Nov. 22, 2013 by an 81-65 final. UMass had lost 11 straight against ranked foes since (which included two this season to Miami (OH)).

SCOUTING THE Rockets

The Rockets are coming off a 77-76 win against Bowling Green in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.
Sonny Wilson leads the team in points, averaging 17.2 per game while dishing out 4.5 assists a game. Wilson ranks seventh in the MAC in both categories.
Sean Craig paces the defensive end for Toledo, pulling down an average of 7.2 boards a game. Craig sits eighth in the conference.
Leroy Blyden Jr. had a 23-point performance in the Rockets win against Bowling Green. The freshman also ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage shooting 85.1% from the stripe.

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 352-263 (.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

On Thursday, UMass defeated No. 20 Miami (OH), beating a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since topping No. 19 New Mexico on Nov. 22, 2013. The Minutemen broke an 11-game losing streak against ranked foes in the process.
Marcus Banks Jr. broke the program record for threes in a season on Thursday. With his two makes, he reached 109 in his career, breaking the previous record of 107.
Danny Carbuccia had eight assists against Miami (OH) on Thursday to reach 200 career helpers on the season. He became just the sixth different UMass player to reach that mark in a season. He stands eighth in program history for a season; Chaz Williams eclipsed 200 three times.
Jayden Ndjigue set a career high with seven made field goals against Miami (OH), finishing 7-of-10 from the floor. He scored 12 of the 16 in the second half.
The Minutemen erased as much as an 11-point deficit with 8:33 remaining. Trailing 69-58, UMass held a 29-14 edge the rest of the way. Over the last five games, UMass has erased a double-figure deficit, while also giving up three double-figure leads.
Marcus Banks Jr. has scored exactly 26 second-half points in each of UMass' last two regular season wins (over Central Michigan and Ohio at home). He finished with 30+ in each game, scoring 37 against Central Michigan and 26 vs. Ohio.
In the regular season finale, Massachusetts turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point win against Ohio by ending the game on a 22-9 run. UMass then erased another halftime deficit against Miami (OH) for its fourth win when trailing at the half this season (compared to eight defeats).
Leonardo Bettiol scored 24 points at Bowling Green on 9-of-12 shooting, while adding nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Over his two games against Bowling Green this season, Bettiol scored 56 points while adding 23 rebounds, shooting 20-of-25 from the floor.
With his 25 points against Miami (OH), Bettiol has eclipsed 20 points in 11 of the 19 games against MAC opponents (regular season and postseason).
Massachusetts' 19 MAC games (including one postseason) have been decided by a combined 99 points or 5.4 points per contest, with all but two finishing with single-digit margins.
10 of UMass' 19 MAC games have been decided by four points or less (UMass is 5-5 in those nine games).
On the season, UMass has played 11 games that have been decided by three points or fewer (5-6 in those 10 games), including the triple overtime thriller at Coastal Carolina (L, 94-91).
The Minutemen have now played in four overtime games this season, most recently falling to Ball State on the road, 74-73.
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 352 career wins (including stints at Kansas State, South Carolina and UMass).
UMass' +5.4 rebounding margin ranks second in the MAC.
Massachusetts also ranks second in the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (12.1) and third in rebounds per game (37.5).
The Minutemen rank second in the MAC and 23rd nationally by averaging 17.28 assists per game.
UMass features four players averaging double figures in points per game, including Leonardo Bettiol (18.0), Marcus Banks Jr. (16.9), Daniel Hankins-Sanford (11.6) and K'Jei Parker (10.9).
Bettiol and Banks Jr., rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in points per game in the MAC.
Bettiol is also shooting 60.9 percent from the field to rank first in the league (among those with enough attempts to qualify) and 22nd nationally.
Bettiol is also averaging 7.9 rebounds per game to rank third in the MAC, while Hankins-Sanford ranks seventh (7.3).
In MAC (regular season) games, Banks has hit 40 of 48 free throws to rank fourth in the league (.833).
Hankins-Sanford (9) and Bettiol (7) each have multiple double-doubles this season. Hankins-Sanford's nine double-doubles are the third most in the MAC while Bettiol's seven are fifth.

Up Next

A win for the Minutemen would see them advance to the championship round of the MAC tournament on Saturday, March 14 at 8 p.m at Rocket Arena. The game would be broadcast on ESPN2, with live updates and links available on umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

K'Jei Parker