Minutemen Still Catching Up to Eagles
AMHERST, Mass. – UMass hasn’t closed the gap between them and Boston College just yet. In fact, if Saturday night’s 84-73 victory by Boston College, their seventh straight against the Minutemen, is any indication, there’s still a fair amount of ground to be covered.
This looked like as good a chance as any for the Minutemen to end the Eagles’ run against them. Many have touted them as a possible NCAA Tournament team, with the coaches in the Atlantic 10 picking them second in the preseason poll. Although head coach Travis Ford thinks they are being over-hyped with that selection, it’s not as though there’s no reason for it, as they return almost all of last season’s team and add three transfers who had to sit out last season and Tiki Mayben, who sat out due to academics. They entered Saturday’s game with a 6-1 record, losing only to Pittsburgh – no shame in that, especially on the Panthers’ home court.
Meanwhile, Boston College was off to a 3-2 start that included consecutive losses where they had not played well. Although they were fresh off a good victory against Michigan State on Wednesday, the Eagles looked vulnerable coming in, at least more than in previous years.
There was a buildup to this game, especially in light of the fact that the football team had a quarterfinal game just across the street in the afternoon. (The Minutemen beat New Hampshire to advance to the Division I-AA semifinals.) The game was sold out – the first one in five years – and the football public address announcer made such an announcement in the event fans hoped to buy a ticket right before the basketball game. Ford thought the buildup was a bit much, noting several times after the game that this was not a “make or break” game for the team, although it is one that can certainly help them going forward.
“I don’t know if any of these players have played in any big games while in college,” Ford reflected. “We need more of these experiences, and we’ve got a lot more coming, so this is a learning experience for us.”
Saturday night’s game wasn’t a manifestation of the high hopes or billing for the Minutemen. Although there were a couple of stretches where they looked like they had a chance, including one where they got within 46-41 in the second half, the Eagles had a clear edge for most of the game. They responded to the UMass run to get within five by going on a 20-3 run of their own to break the game open for good. The Minutemen came into the game holding opponents below 36 percent shooting; the Eagles shot 52 percent from the field.
“We can’t let a team come in here and shoot 52 percent,” junior guard Gary Forbes said.
Boston College only plays seven players, with eighth man Tyrelle Blair being forced to play some minutes in the middle last night due to foul trouble. The deeper Minutemen – or at least, thought to be deeper – got almost nothing off the bench in this one (four points, three coming on a three-pointer in the final minute), while the Eagles got a boost from freshman forward Shamari Spears. That hasn’t been an aberration; although UMass averages nearly 17 points off the bench each game, that number goes down drastically if you take out their win over Jacksonville State, where they got 40 points off the bench. While they won’t need much from forwards unless Rashaun Freeman or Stephan Lasme is in foul trouble, the guards need to contribute, especially with sophomore Chris Lowe, a starter much of last season, among the options.
“When the guards come in, they’ve got to make more of a positive impact immediately,” Ford said. “You can’t get in the game and immediately turn it over, or immediately run somebody over, or immediately let your man score. I’m not going to have a lot of patience for that. I told my coaches, maybe I need to give some of those guys a little more patience and give them a chance.”
The bench is not the only question mark going forward. Only Fordham turns the ball over more than UMass among Atlantic 10 teams, with Mayben being the only player having more assists than turnovers. Even Lowe, who progressed nicely in the latter part of last season, has not taken care of the ball as well as he needs to for this team. Several of the turnovers on Saturday were of the unforced variety, as were some of the other mistakes on offense.
The second half is a concern as well. The Minutemen came into Saturday scoring less and allowing more points in the second half than the first, and this was no different in the latter respect. Though they scored 46 points in the second half, Rashaun Freeman was a non-factor after sparking them in the first half with some nice post baskets. James Life and Gary Forbes couldn’t get much going from the perimeter all night, including the second half.
Ford thinks his team was fortunate to see Boston College early in the year since the Eagles have been through some adversity and have now responded in a fashion he would like to see his own team do.
“There’s going to be adversity,” said Ford, who noted that this subject was discussed as far back as their summer trip. “If we’re still talking about this in February or March, that’s not a good thing.”
They will have some good opportunities to show how they respond to this game. The Minutemen will not be at home again until after Christmas, with the road dates in that time including Louisville and Kentucky, while Miami comes to Amherst right after the new year. If they respond to this game in a manner similar to how their Saturday opponents responded to two poorly played games earlier this season, they could justify a lot of the preseason selections for this team.
