University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen Ready to Face #20 Miami (OH) in MAC Quarterfinals Thursday
March 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball
| University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Notes & Information | |
| Matchup | Massachusetts vs. Miami (OH) |
| Date | Times | Thursday, March 12 | 11:00 a.m. EST |
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio | Rocket Arena |
| @UMassMBB | |
| @umassbasketball | |
| UMass Men's Basketball | |
AMHERST, MASS. - The Massachusetts men's basketball team heads to Cleveland, Ohio and face top-seeded Miami (OH) in the MAC quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. Opening tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at Rocket Arena. 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
- Thursday's matchup marks the fourth meeting all time, with the series tied at two.
- The teams last faced each other on Feb. 17, with the RedHawks taking an 86-77 victory. The score was tied at 68, but Miami ended the game on an 18-9 run.
Last Time out
- Massachusetts men's basketball earned a 94-82 win against Ohio last Tuesday. After exchanging leads eight times to begin the second half, the Minutemen pulled away, ending the game on a 22-9 run over the final six minutes.
- The Minutemen were led by Marcus Banks Jr. with 31 points, a rebound, two assists and a steal. He finished 6-of-12 from three-point range to reach 107 made threes on the season. That tied the program record for three-pointers in a season. Banks Jr. also went 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
- Leonardo Bettiol followed with 17 points, 13 coming in the first half, finishing 7-of-9 from the field with three rebounds, an assist and steal.
- Danny Carbuccia contributed 13 points over the evening with a pair of rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- Jayden Ndjigue went 3-of-4 from the field with six rebounds and two assists.
SCOUTING THE Redhawks
- The RedHawks come off a 31-0 regular season, the first team to go undefeated in a full regular season since Kentucky in 2014-15.
- Miami comes in at No. 20 in Monday's AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.
- Peter Suder leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 per game. Suder ranks 12th in the MAC with his average. Brant Byers follows with 14.1 points per game. Seven in total are averaging double figures per game.
- Eian Elmer (6.1 per game) and Antwome Woolfolk (5.5 per game) lead the team in rebounding, with Elmer sitting 10th and Woolfolk ranking 17th.
- Elmer was named MAC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.0 steals and 0.5 assists over two games last week.
- Luke Skaljac paces the team in assists, dishing out 4.7 per game.
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 351-263 (.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
- Marcus Banks Jr. has scored exactly 26 second-half points in each of UMass' last two wins (over Central Michigan and Ohio at home). He finished with 30+ in each game, scoring 37 against Central Michigan and 26 vs. Ohio.
- Banks Jr. is up to 107 made threes to tie the program record of 107 set by Luwane Pipkins in 2017-18.
- Massachusetts turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point win against the Bobcats by ending the game on a 22-9 run. It also marked the team's third win when trailing at the half this season (compared to eight defeats).
- With his four assists against Ohio, Danny Carbuccia moved two spots on the program's all-times assists list in a season. He jumped Chris Lowe (2008-09) who had 193 and Carl Smith (1985-86) with 191. Carbuccia now owns 194 helpers this year to stand eighth.
- The last time UMass was on the road, 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.
- Massachusetts' 18 MAC games have been decided by a combined 99 points or 5.5 points per contest, with all but two finishing with single-digit margins.
- Nine of UMass' 18 MAC games have been decided by three points or less (UMass is 4-5 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 351 career wins (including stints at Kansas State, South Carolina and UMass).
- UMass' +5.0 rebounding margin ranks third in the MAC.
- Massachusetts also ranks second in the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (11.94) and third in rebounds per game (37.35).
- The Minutemen rank second in the MAC and 23rd nationally by averaging 17.4 assists per game.
- UMass features four players averaging double figures in points per game, including Leonardo Bettiol (17.8), Marcus Banks Jr. (16.9), Daniel Hankins-Sanford (11.6) and K'Jei Parker (11.2).
- Bettiol and Banks Jr., rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in points per game in the MAC.
- Bettiol is also shooting 60.6 percent from the field to rank third in the league and 22nd nationally.
- Bettiol is also averaging 7.9 rebounds per game to rank third in the MAC, while Hankins-Sanford ranks eighth (7.2).
- In MAC 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 face Toledo or Bowling Green in the semifinal round of the MAC tournament on Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m EST at Rocket Arena. The game would be broadcast on CBSSN with live updates and links available on umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
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/ Men's BasketballUMass MBB | Broadcast Highlights vs Miami (OH) | MAC Tournament Quarterfinal | 03.12.26
Thursday, March 12
UMass MBB | Post Game Press Conference vs Ohio | 03.03.26
Tuesday, March 03
UMass MBB | Coach Frank Martin Post Game Press Conference vs Ohio | 03.03.26
Tuesday, March 03
UMass MBB | Broadcast Highlights vs Ohio | 03.03.26
Tuesday, March 03