UMassHoops.com

Floyd wrote: Thu Dec 04, 2025 2:45 pm Get the team ready in practice. He's paid well to win games & promote the program

Love his radio commercial - holy robot


Come down

to the Mullins

We look forward

to seeing you....


Just dripping with excitement and sincerity.....

eldonabe wrote: Thu Dec 04, 2025 10:14 am ... I just cannot go any higher than 18 total wins....I am going to go with 12-6 in MAC play and I think that will slot us in between 3rd and 5th depending on how bad the bottom of the league is.

I checked out two sites I like to look at, Warren Nolan and Bart Torvik: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/ ... team=UMass, https://barttorvik.com/teamcast.php?&te ... &year=2026

Nolan has us at 19-10 overall, 13-5 in conference. He doesn't count the UMass Boston game (I don't either), so overall would go to 20-10 if you count that one. Torvik has us at 18-12 (UM Boston included) and 10-8 in conference.

Put 'em together and what do you get? 19-11 overall and 11.5-6.5 in conference, just about the same as what you're predicting.

Analytics predictions update:

Warren Nolan has us going 20-9 and 12-6 in the MAC (I would absolutely take that at this point), while Bart Torvik has us going 18-12, 9-9 in the MAC.

https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/ ... team=UMass
https://barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Ma ... &year=2026

Juice Stand wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 8:36 am Analytics predictions update:

Warren Nolan has us going 20-9 and 12-6 in the MAC (I would absolutely take that at this point), while Bart Torvik has us going 18-12, 9-9 in the MAC.

https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/ ... team=UMass
https://barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Ma ... &year=2026

Massey by Change of winning come up 12-6 with Miami at home being a toss up (51% chance to win) ALSO no games project more than an 8 point margin (W or L). Lots of final minute finishes.

After yesterday's home loss vs Bowling Green, both Warren Nolan and Bart Torvik now have UMass predicted to finish at 18-12 overall and 9-9 in conference, putting them at either the 7 or 8 seed in the conference tourney. Any more "unexpected" or "bad" losses (and I say that because it seems like we shouldn't expect wins at this point) and we'll be in real danger of missing the conference tournament.

If we finish 7th or 8th in the MAC, everyone should be fired. Of course they won't be.

Let's face it, the word is out in the MAC BB community on how to beat UMass.

1. Be physical
2. Drive to the basket on just about every possession and you will either get a basket or get fouled.
3. Guard Banks and Parker at the 3 point line and let anybody else take threes.

While there were a number of things that caused us to lose yesterday (poor defense, 2 turnovers when they pressed us at the end of the game, etc.) we lost due to 1 play. However, if we fixed those other things, it wouldn't have come down to that 1 dumb foul. For us to have any success going forward, we need to fix the defense. We can't count on going 11/22 form three every game.

69MG wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 12:46 pm Let's face it, the word is out in the MAC BB community on how to beat UMass.

1. Be physical
2. Drive to the basket on just about every possession and you will either get a basket or get fouled.
3. Guard Banks and Parker at the 3 point line and let anybody else take threes.

While there were a number of things that caused us to lose yesterday (poor defense, 2 turnovers when they pressed us at the end of the game, etc.) we lost due to 1 play. However, if we fixed those other things, it wouldn't have come down to that 1 dumb foul. For us to have any success going forward, we need to fix the defense. We can't count on going 11/22 form three every game.

Spot on assessment 69

69MG wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 12:46 pm Let's face it, the word is out in the MAC BB community on how to beat UMass.

1. Be physical
2. Drive to the basket on just about every possession and you will either get a basket or get fouled.
3. Guard Banks and Parker at the 3 point line and let anybody else take threes.

While there were a number of things that caused us to lose yesterday (poor defense, 2 turnovers when they pressed us at the end of the game, etc.) we lost due to 1 play. However, if we fixed those other things, it wouldn't have come down to that 1 dumb foul. For us to have any success going forward, we need to fix the defense. We can't count on going 11/22 form three every game.

And yet, zero adjustments except for “they need to figure it out”. Why the fuck we paying $2M for a coach then?

+1 scoop

I realize that what I'm about to say (about the schedule) is absurd, but I keep telling myself that we have talent and maybe there's a chance we can turn this around. We've discussed the flaws (players and coaching) and we know what needs to be done. The issue is, can we fix things?

The next 5 games are winnable, although 3 are on the road. None of them are at the top of the MAC as far as power ratings go. What if we won them all and sat 5-3 in the MAC? Not likely, but not impossible.

Tue, Jan 6
@ Ohio
6:00 PM

Sat, Jan 10
vs Ball State
3:30 PM

Tue, Jan 13
@ Western Michigan
7:00 PM

Sat, Jan 17
@ Northern Illinois
3:00 PM

Tue, Jan 20
vs Toledo
6:00 PM

BPI: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... _/group/14

Net:

The net basketball rankings as of today for these opponents are

Ohio 196
Ball State 332
Western Michigan 282
NIU 314
Toledo 167

(WE are at 192)

Should absolutely win at least 4 of these.

Matt Figger Named To 100 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistants List
https://umassathletics.com/news/2026/1/ ... tants-list

Congrats! I'm also legit curious to know why. There's so much we don't know about how Frank's assistants contribute. I'd love to know more about that.

Just peeked at the full list...
https://www.silverwavesmedia.com/2026-1 ... stants/gms
Adrian Wojnarowski was first, as it's alphabetical. That one I totally get.

Our old point guard Chris Lowe is there.
Two former SJU Hawks also there: Dwayne Lee and Ryan Daly

I’m not looking to pile on blame toward Frank or any of the players. The reality is that we’ve been a mostly struggling program for a very long time. We dropped to a lower conference and, even there, we’re not exactly a top-tier team. So the bigger question for me is: where do we go from here?

We’ve cycled through several coaches and endured a lot of tough seasons. To be fair, there have been some good moments along the way, but just about every long-term hoops fan I know feels a real sadness about the overall decline of the program. No one is expecting a return to the magic of the 1990s. I graduated high school in 1991 and remember those years fondly too. But the college basketball landscape has changed dramatically since then. Financial realities have altered the sport in ways that make it hard for many programs to compete at all, not just UMass. Even March Madness feels a bit fragile long-term, with Cinderella stories becoming rarer and the tournament losing some of the magic it once had.

I don’t follow the program the way I used to, or even the way I did five or ten years ago. That’s not out of spite or retaliation toward UMass—it’s more that the space UMass hoops used to occupy in my life has slowly been filled by other things. The sustained losing has taken a toll. I honestly don’t know what kind of turnaround is realistic for the program. I understand the football-first mentality, but MAC basketball matchups don’t really excite me, and the travel distances make it harder to stay connected. I wish we played more New England opponents. I’m not even sure what level of success would fully re-engage me again, though I do believe that level exists. It’s just been a really rough ride.

I don’t think the UMass decision-makers wanted or expected things to end up this way. Like I said, I’m not interested in playing the blame game—that’s water under the bridge. I just wonder whether, ten years from now, we’ll still be having the same conversation. It feels like we need a new plan or strategy, but it’s hard to tell what’s realistic versus what’s just wishful thinking.

I don’t mean this to come across as overly negative. It’s just that what I’ve seen has gone from frustrating to genuinely worrying, especially when thinking about the long-term viability of the program itself—and, honestly, of many programs across the country.

UMass is 6th-worst in D-I in personal fouls per game
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/se ... stats.html