Defense Continues To Plague UMass
UMass head coach Frank Martin pointed to a familiar and obvious problem following his team's 94-91 loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
Frank Martin did not try to paint UMass’ 94–91 triple-overtime loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday as anything other than a familiar disappointment, pointing repeatedly to missed opportunities and an inability to defend as the difference in a game the Minutemen had chances to win.
“You go 11 for 23 from the free throw line, you’re not going to win close games,” Martin said. “We got nothing. Our front line today gave us nothing. Nothing.”
Martin framed the loss as another example of a recurring issue, particularly on the defensive end.
“It was a real physical game,” he said. “The recurring theme, we can’t defend. It just, it is what it is. You got plenty of opportunities to win the game.”
The UMass head coach pointed to a K’Jei Parker missed free throw with 23 seconds to play in the first overtime that would have made it a four-point game instead of allowing Coastal Carolina’s AJ Dancler to send it to a second overtime with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
“All you’ve got to do is get a stop,” Martin said. “We jump out on a shot fake, get out of the way, give him a three.”
Martin’s blunt assessment extended to the Minutemen’s interior production, specifically Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Leonardo Bettiol, despite the numbers in the box score.
“If you look at stats, you go home and say, ‘Wow, he played really well,’” Martin said of Bettiol, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“He didn’t help us today. It is what it is. He’s been good for a while. He didn’t play well today.”
Hankins-Sanford finished with 20 rebounds and 10 points of his own, but Martin said efficiency around the basket was the issue.
“His energy was good,” Martin said. “I ain’t mad at him. His energy was good, but him and Leo combined to go 10 for 30 with 80 percent of those shots five feet and in. You got to score. You got to score.”
Parker’s career-high 31 points off the bench stood out, particularly early, as Coastal Carolina played a drop coverage against ball screens.
“They were playing that drop ball-screen coverage and he’s a good shooter,” Martin said. “And we set some good screens and he made some shots. It’s what he does well.”
Even there, Martin circled back to defense.
“Take your pick on our team,” he said. “We don’t have a guard that defends anybody. So that’s why every guard we play has career-highs.”
Martin acknowledged Marcus Banks Jr.’s late-game shot making, including the three that sent the game to a third overtime and another that tied it in the final session.
“That’s what he does,” Martin said. “Give him credit for lifting up and making some shots.”
But Martin returned to a refrain that has been familiar all season, offense was and is not the core problem.
“We got guys that can score,” he said. “That’s not the issue with our team…Our fours and fives today, they didn’t score for us. If they would’ve scored, we win the game easy. They didn’t score. We miss free throws.
“Our problem is not the ability to put points on the board. Our problem is we are inept at defending anybody.”
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