NEW YORK – The UMass run in the NIT and season came to an end. On Tuesday, Stanford defeated the Minutemen 74-64 in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Stanford will face Minnesota, a 68-67 overtime winner over Washington, for the championship. The loss did not diminish the overall achievement of UMass’ 25-10 season.
The three points of emphasis:
1. Defense. UMass held Stanford to a 96 offensive efficiency and 36.9% shooting from the floor, On their end, the problem was Stanford was a bit better. The Cardinal limited the Minutemen to an 81 offensive efficiency and 33.8% shooting. A team that enjoys getting out in transition and shooting the three, UMass misfired from beyond the arc, hitting only 5 of 22 (22.7%). Credit the Cardinal defense as wide-open looks were not readily available.
1a. Defense on Chaz Williams. When a player earns game scoring honors (19 points) it may sound ludicrous to say you defended him well. In Williams’ situation, that was the case. The outstanding UMass sophomore guard was limited to 7 of 18 shooting from the floor. He was 0 for 2 from three, handed out 3 assists and committed 4 turnovers. “We focused our defense to limit his (Williams) penetration and try to keep him out of the paint,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. The Cardinal did the job and despite Williams’ scoring, did a solid job containing him.
2. Tempo. Coach Derek Kellogg wanted to get Stanford into a faster pace. The mission was accomplished as the game was played at a very brisk 78 possession pace. The opening sequence of each half saw Stanford set up a set resulting in a post move by Josh Owens. Dawkins felt establishing an inside game would be significant in establishing a half court tempo. The Minutemen were still able to force the tempo through full court pressure and forcing 17 Cardinal turnovers. The uptempo pace did not prove as effective for UMass due to the sub par shooting as noted and….
3. Rebounding. Both coaches mentioned the difference being Stanford’s ability to rebound on the offensive end. They pulled down 19 offensive rebounds en route to a 54-45 overall rebounding edge. Those offensive boards kept possessions alive for Stanford, as well as forcing UMass to send more to the boards, thus eliminating some potential transition opportunities.
Stanford was led by Anthony Brown’s 18 points. Four players were in double figures for the Pac-12 representatives. Owens was a force in the paint with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Beside Williams, the only other UMass player in double figures was Freddie Riley with 10 points.
The NIT run capped off a very satisfying season for Kellogg and company. “We were picked 12th (in the Atlantic 10),” he said. “I knew and our team knew we were better. We played this season as if we wanted to prove something.”
They did just that and in the final contest, left it all on the Garden floor.
