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It’s a contest between a pair of mid-major programs on a neutral floor when the Atlantic 10 clashes with Conference USA in the birthplace of basketball. The UMass Minutemen are the “road” team as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green Saturday afternoon. UMass comes in off a 71-56 victory over Hofstra on a neutral floor at the Barclays Center Sunday in their previous contest, covering the two-point line in the game. North Texas edged Grand Canyon 60-58 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix in their previous game last Saturday, though they failed to cover the 3.5-point line. In the all-time series between the programs, the Mean Green have won both meetings, including a 66-57 neutral floor win on December 11, 2021 in the most recent matchup.
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UMass bounced back from a loss to UMass Lowell as they took down Hofstra at the Barclays Center in their previous contest. The Minutemen improved to 8-2 on the year and look to maintain their early season momentum in this game. Against Hofstra, UMass was even at the half and trailed by one with 14:04 to play before going on a 22-2 run that gave them complete control and a 62-43 lead with 5:28 remaining. That sent them on to victory in the contest. UMass shot 45.5% from the field, including five of 14 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 44-32 to offset a six of 14 showing at the charity stripe. Tafara Garape led the Minutemen with 13 points in the win.
On the season, the Minutemen are 173rd in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 72.8 points per game on the year. UMass is collecting 37.9 boards a night while they stand 95th in assists by dishing out 15 dimes per contest. The Minutemen are above average defensively as they are 128th in scoring defense by allowing 66.9 points per game. Noah Fernandes leads the Minutemen as he averages 11.4 points plus 3.4 assists per game on the year. Matt Cross (10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds) and T.J. Weeks (9.5 points, 4.5 boards) are good secondary scoring options. RJ Luis, Dyondre Dominguez, Isaac Kante, Keon Thompson, Wildens Leveque, Tafara Garape, Rahsool Diggins and Brandon Martin provide quality depth for coach Frank Martin. UMass shoots 44.2% from the field this season as a team. The Minutemen splash 6.1 triples per night while shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc. UMass is below average at the charity stripe, converting a mediocre 66.5% of their chances this season. Fernandes has missed the last three games and is doubtful here for undisclosed reasons: watch for any update in his status.