University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen to Face Wake Forest in Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in December
May 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball
AMHERST, Mass. – The Massachusetts men's basketball team will face Wake Forest on Sunday, Dec. 6 down the road in Springfield as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, as announced on Thursday. This will mark the second straight season that the Minutemen will face an ACC opponent as part of the Hall of Fame Classic, after beating in-state rival Boston College 76-74 this past season.
"Once again, we are extremely excited about participating in a Hall of Fame event in Springfield, Massachusetts," said head coach Frank Martin. "Competing against Wake Forest, a great member of the ACC, will be something that will empower our team to grow and give us great visibility."
The Minutemen are 1-1 all-time against the Demon Deacons, and will face Wake Forest for the first time since the 1996-97 season, a 71-47 loss on the road. UMass and Wake Forest met the year prior, 60-46, during the Minutemen's Final Four season.
Wake Forest finished 18-17 last season, including 7-11 in the ACC and advanced to the second round of the ACC Tournament and second round of the ACC Tournament. Two seasons ago, the Demon Deacons eclipsed 20 wins.
UMass returns five rotational players from last season, led by returning starters Danny Carbuccia and Jayden Ndjigue. Carbuccia averaged 6.8 points per game, while adding 207 assists, good for eighth in program history. Ndjigue started all 33 games, averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per contests. Dwayne Wimbley Jr. returns after playing in all 33 games, with two starts. Dimitri Clerc and Luka Damjanac also saw key minutes in the rotation as well.
Those five will team with three transfers (Abdullah Ahmed from BYU, Jordan Clayton from Northwestern and Junjie Wang from San Francisco) along with five incoming freshmen (Cam Hailey, Heimir Helgason, Christian Martin, Cheick Sylla and Noah Zemljic) for the 2026-27 season.
For more information on the Hall of Fame Classic, and UMass men's basketball, check back to UMassAthletics.com and UMass Men's Basketball on social media.
"Once again, we are extremely excited about participating in a Hall of Fame event in Springfield, Massachusetts," said head coach Frank Martin. "Competing against Wake Forest, a great member of the ACC, will be something that will empower our team to grow and give us great visibility."
The Minutemen are 1-1 all-time against the Demon Deacons, and will face Wake Forest for the first time since the 1996-97 season, a 71-47 loss on the road. UMass and Wake Forest met the year prior, 60-46, during the Minutemen's Final Four season.
Wake Forest finished 18-17 last season, including 7-11 in the ACC and advanced to the second round of the ACC Tournament and second round of the ACC Tournament. Two seasons ago, the Demon Deacons eclipsed 20 wins.
UMass returns five rotational players from last season, led by returning starters Danny Carbuccia and Jayden Ndjigue. Carbuccia averaged 6.8 points per game, while adding 207 assists, good for eighth in program history. Ndjigue started all 33 games, averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per contests. Dwayne Wimbley Jr. returns after playing in all 33 games, with two starts. Dimitri Clerc and Luka Damjanac also saw key minutes in the rotation as well.
Those five will team with three transfers (Abdullah Ahmed from BYU, Jordan Clayton from Northwestern and Junjie Wang from San Francisco) along with five incoming freshmen (Cam Hailey, Heimir Helgason, Christian Martin, Cheick Sylla and Noah Zemljic) for the 2026-27 season.
For more information on the Hall of Fame Classic, and UMass men's basketball, check back to UMassAthletics.com and UMass Men's Basketball on social media.
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