Season On The Line For UMass Today In Cleveland
The Minutemen's season will come to a close unless they can knock off unbeaten Miami-Ohio in the MAC Tournament.
UMass’ season will continue Thursday morning in Cleveland, but the task in front of the Minutemen could hardly be more daunting…and, if they aren’t up for it, their season will end Thursday afternoon.
UMass will face top-seeded Miami-Ohio in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals at Rocket Arena, with tipoff set for 11 a.m. on ESPN+.
The RedHawks enter the postseason as the nation’s only remaining undefeated team after finishing the regular season 31-0 and 18-0 in MAC play. Miami is ranked No. 20 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll and became the first team to complete an undefeated regular season since Kentucky in 2014-15.
Despite that spotless record, UMass has already shown it can compete with the RedHawks.
The Minutemen pushed Miami to the brink in both regular-season meetings. The first matchup in Oxford ended in an 86-84 Miami win, while the second game in Amherst was tied at 68 late before the RedHawks closed on an 18-9 run to secure an 86-77 victory.
UMass head coach Frank Martin believes those games proved his squad can play with the league’s best team.
“When they came and played us here, they didn’t take anything for granted,” Martin said. “They played really well and so did we. We’re in a tie game at 68 late in the game and we couldn’t figure out a way to close it.”
Now, the Minutemen will get another opportunity with their season on the line.
“Everyone has a greater sense of urgency at this time of year,” Martin said. “Because it’s over for everybody as we move through this week and next week. It’s over for everybody except…68 teams.”
UMass arrives in Cleveland after a season that showed flashes of promise but ultimately fell short of expectations. The Minutemen finished the regular season 16-15 overall and 7-11 in MAC play, needing a win in their final regular-season game against Ohio just to secure a spot in the conference tournament field.
That victory came in impressive fashion.
Marcus Banks Jr. scored 31 points to lead UMass to a 94-82 win over the Bobcats, tying the program record for made three-pointers in a season with his 107th. Leonardo Bettiol added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Danny Carbuccia finished with 13 points and four assists.
Banks has been especially dangerous late in games, scoring exactly 26 second-half points in each of UMass’ last two wins.
For the season, the Minutemen feature four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Bettiol’s 17.8 points per game and Banks’ 16.9. Bettiol also ranks among the MAC’s most efficient players, shooting 60.6 percent from the field while averaging 7.9 rebounds per game.
Miami counters with a balanced attack that has powered its undefeated run.
Peter Suder leads the RedHawks with 14.8 points per game, while Brant Byers averages 14.1. Seven different Miami players average double figures, reflecting the depth that has made the RedHawks one of the nation’s most consistent teams.
Eian Elmer and Antwome Woolfolk anchor Miami on the glass, with Elmer coming off a MAC Player of the Week performance after averaging 20 points and eight rebounds last week.
Still, Martin believes the opportunity in front of his team is clear.
“There’s a confidence with our guys that we’re good enough to beat whoever’s in front of us,” Martin said. “Now we just have to be a little better at what we do.”
A win Thursday would keep UMass’ season alive and send the Minutemen into Friday’s semifinals against either Toledo or Bowling Green.
But before that can happen, they’ll need to do something no other team has accomplished all season, hand Miami its first loss.
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