UMass Faces Important Test Against Akron
UMass plays at Akron on Friday at 9 pm on CBS Sports Network.
UMass enters Friday night with clear urgency and real opportunity as the Minutemen head to Akron for a 9 p.m. tip on CBS Sports Network.
The MAC standings frame the stakes clearly.
Miami-Ohio sits alone at the top of the MAC at 11-0 in conference play and 24-0 overall. Akron follows at 10-1 and 19-5. Kent State is 9-3. UMass tied for 6th at 6-6 and 15-10, but part of a tightly packed middle tier that has them just one game out of fourth place.
With separation thin and the calendar turning toward March, every result shifts the balance, including tonight;s.
The Minutemen have played more close games than anyone in the conference. Their 12 MAC contests have been decided by a combined 47 points, an average margin of 3.92 points per game. Eight of those 12 were decided by three points or fewer. The Minutemen are 4-4 in those games.
Even their out of conference games are close, a pattern continued last weekend in a 94-91 triple overtime loss at Coastal Carolina in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
K’Jei Parker scored a career-high 31 points. Marcus Banks Jr. finished with 21, including a buzzer beater at the end of the second overtime to force a third extra period. Leonardo Bettiol added 17 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds, the most by a UMass player since Jim Town grabbed 27 against Boston College in 1976. Hankins-Sanford added 10 points for his ninth double-double of the season.
UMass continues to rely on balance.
Bettiol leads the team at 17.6 points per game and is shooting 59.2 percent from the field, first in the MAC and 31st nationally. Banks Jr. averages 16.8 points. Hankins-Sanford contributes 11.9 and Parker 11.6, giving the Minutemen four double-figure scorers.
On the glass, UMass ranks second in the MAC in rebounding margin at plus-5.5 and second in rebounds per game at 37.8. The Minutemen are third in the league in offensive rebounds at 12.48 per game. Defensively, they are holding opponents to 31.7 percent shooting from three, second in the conference.
Akron presents a different kind of challenge.
The Zips are 10-1 in conference play under ninth-year head coach John Groce, who has built a 187-93 record at Akron. Tavari Johnson leads the MAC in scoring at 20.4 points per game. Amani Lyles averages 7.5 rebounds per contest.
Akron fell 79-69 to Troy in the MAC-SBC Challenge last weekend but remains firmly in control of second place in the league race.
For UMass, the formula is familiar. Control the glass, share the ball and close. But most importantly defend.
The Minutemen have shown they can stay within reach of anyone. The next step is finishing on the road against one of the league’s best.
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