Game 17, 2023-24: at Loyola Chicago (1/17)

[Ajmal]

I'm not saying that I'd have stood in and taken that charge on/been hospitalized by Alston on that last play – he was totally reckless - but that'd have been a heck of a play. Business decision was made.

[LS71]

That sucked…initiate contact but no whistle.

Call a blocking foul on UMass with free throws; not let em play.

UMass got robbed tonight!

[inthescoop]

That sucked…initiate contact but no whistle.

Call a blocking foul on UMasss with free throws; not let em play.

UMass got robbed tonight!

Maybe I’m in the minority but I thought that the refs were solid tonight.

[kd68]

You are in the minority.

[CrazyLegs]

How can a D1 guard shoot 48% from the line?

That's just pathetic.

[Floyd]

I have to go vomit now. Let that one slip away

[Sheck]

Despite the shortcomings at the line they hung in there without Cross and the team played hard. Deserved a better outcome.

[Upstate10]

there is no god

[Floridafan71]

I love our team. For such a mostly young group they play so hard and to the best of their ability.My favorite Umass basketball team in years. One very tough loss.

[Jackson96]

Not even taking that insane ending into account, that was a game they should have won but deserved to lose. Turned the ball over and didn’t play much defense in the first half. Defensive rebounding was dogshit all game long. Missed 4 free throws in the last 90 seconds and that allowed the door to stay open. Starting backcourt scores 13 points on 5-17 shooting with 6 turnovers and 5 assists.

Think we would have at least split and maybe swept the last couple of games with Cross but the dude gets beat up as hard as he plays. Availability is an important attribute.

Regardless our starting guards are not getting it done right now as we’ve hit this little skid. Last 4 games:

Keon: 7 for 28 (1-7 from 3)
Diggins: 17 for 48 (6-27 from 3)

Hard to win when your guards cannot shoot.

Cohen scored a bunch. Curry showed more moxie. We did well on the offensive glass. We stuck around and played hard. So there some positives. Yes we are young, but fuck we need to figure out how to win instead finding a way to lose.

[DanaDingle3]

I feel like I wanna kill myself, jump in the cold and die of frostbite

[Sheck]

^
It's going to get better. We need everyone to stick around. Team needs our support.

[Upstate10]

Keon played way too much tonight. Curry and Davis work really well together. We are the second best team in the league with Matt Cross. It is time to stop losing these fucking close games and get a double bye. The talent is there and the A10 is a bad conference (again).

Nut up or shut up

[Floridafan71]

I think some of these posts are to critical. The team is not perfect but played tough and well against a good Loyola squad. We need do better with our free throws but we try to the end.And I think A10 is better this year than 2023.

[WillHerndonFan]

I don’t won’t absolve UMass from losing the game tonight because only two players showed up from beginning to end (Cohen & Curry). However, the officiating at the college level is truly terrible as we have seen a few games at home where officials are just making shit up or just completely ignore what happens. Loyola’s Alston, who played a great game, was the recipient of three gifts at the end of the game: 1) the “The No Charge Charge” on Cohen - as any other player would have been called for charging, 2). “The Flop” by Alston that was called a foul on Ndjigue from the ref who can’t actually see the foul, and 3) “The No Call Call” where the refs now feel that a call needs to be made with seconds left when all the players are fouling each other in that moment. Refs have no sense of the moment as let the “players” decide the game and not the “refs” and especially when you have rewarded one particular player in Alston 2x prior to that and they know it. That being said, UMass lost the game because they couldn’t finish it off. Here is my player summary and grades:

Cohen: A+: Where we would be without him the last two games as he kept us in the URI game and again tonight.. Some people said he couldn’t play against A10 teams, but he is proving that he knows how to adjust.
Curry: A+: Like Cohen, he has carried this team with Cohen without Cross in the lineup and it is amazing how both Cohen and Curry went through a rough patch and have shown the grit to rebound and play better than ever.
Ndjigue: C: Probably his worst game as he couldn’t cover Alston, wasn’t his usual effective self and probably should have played less and Hankins more especially with Alston having his way all game.
Thompson: C-: Another rough performance even though he played better in the second half. Without penetrating, Thompson becomes less effective.
Diggins: C-: Disappointing of late as his game is definitely off as the shots he made before are not falling and his poor 3 point shooting is making hard for us to get and build a lead.
Hankins: C-: I have been disappointed the last two games with Hankins because he has had an opportunity to play more minutes and show his true potential. Difference between him and Alston is that Alston plays with an edge and Hankins needs to find his.
Davis: C+: Not a great game for him, but I like the fact he was shooting to get out of his shooting slump.
Worthy: Inc.: Barely noticed him out there tonight,
Mason: Inc.: Not enough time to make a call on his performance.