UMassHoops.com

Tuesday night game this week as SJU comes to town.
Get there if you can, NESN and ESPN+ have it if you can't.

No time to dig in myself. Links for ya:
https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball?path=mbball
https://bracketologists.com/matchup/NDAxNTk2ODU1

The interesting matchup is Josh against their 7'0, 285 center. He had 21 points and 12 rebounds in their last game (Duquesne), including 3/4 from 3.

With Cross back i feel good about this one and expect one of our 20-4 home court runs sometime late first half or early second half. I make a lot of bombastic (often ridiculous for fun predictions), but honestly feel as a seasoned sports observer for almost 50 years that this team looks like it is about to turn a corner and make a run. I wouldnt be surprised at all if we finish 9-3 or 10-2 down the stretch.

I'm not going to expect much from Cross tomorrow night. Yeah, the ankle is supposedly fine, but that dental work sounds like a nightmare. He had a metal plate installed in his jaw bone for crying out loud. I wouldn't be surprised if his minutes are limited due to conditioning and caution. The guy is a warrior, we all know that, but maybe he comes off the bench and plays limited minutes to get back into the flow.

On paper (like the NET rankings where Joe’s is 82 and UMass 86), and with the exception of Dayton, this is the best team UMass has faced this season. Common opponents:
Both lost at URI: Joe’s by 4; UMass by 12
Both beat Duquesne at home: Joe’s by 2; UMass by 19
Both lost to Loyola-Chi: Joe’s by 3 at home; UMass by 1 out there
Both beat La Salle at home: Joe’s by 20; UMass by 16.
Both have tough games upcoming, so tomorrow could be a big factor in end-of-year standings.
Both UMass losses were without Cross. Hoping he's 100% but it's his first game in a while.

Surprised to see that UMass are only 2.5 point favorites at home.

inthescoop wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:51 pm Surprised to see that UMass are only 2.5 point favorites at home.

They've played a much harder OOC schedule than we have. They lost to KY in overtime, they have beaten #18 Villanova and they gave 15-1 Princeton their only loss. They are miles ahead of GW.

St Joes will be a battle as they have proven they can beat some really good teams and we have proven we can play against anyone and are reslient. That being said. Umass will win if we play like we did against GW in the second half with tough defense. Hitting shots and passing the shit out of the ball. We are a good team with a good coach with some really good players and now is the time for us to play with one goal to win the A10 tournament, which guarantees us a NCAA tourney slot.! Getting a double bye means we only need to win only 3 games.

69MG wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 11:19 pm

inthescoop wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:51 pm Surprised to see that UMass are only 2.5 point favorites at home.

They've played a much harder OOC schedule than we have. They lost to KY in overtime, they have beaten #18 Villanova and they gave 15-1 Princeton their only loss. They are miles ahead of GW.

Fair point.

The little I've seen of St Joe's play, Erik Reynolds looks like a legit player. He's the kind of guy that can take over a game on his own and has a killer mentality. Their entire backcourt is really tough. I'll be interested to see how we defend their guards and if we can limit Reynolds. Does Keon get that assignment like he did with Bishop?

Also, it appears that their center is an NBA prospect, so Cohen should have his hands full tonight. Really tough matchup, should be a good one.

TV update: Looks like we've been relegated to NESN+
No change to the ESPN+ stream

This reminder that NESN+ is Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 84 or 894 (HD). Can't speak for other providers.

New episode of Commonwealth Conversations for Game Day with Dan Cutler:

https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/ ... 101/128570

DirSport wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 1:41 pm This reminder that NESN+ is Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 84 or 894 (HD). Can't speak for other providers.

Directv its 628-1 - you have to go to 628 then just hit the channel up button once - you cannot go directly to it

I’ve always enjoyed UMass-St. Joe’s games…great battles. I don’t hate them line I do GW or URIne. Tonight should be another. Looking for UMass to keep playing with an edge and knocking them off…them and that damn mascot of theirs.