Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
UMass will try to get back to the .500 mark in Atlantic 10 play when it travels to VCU on Tuesday night. The Minutemen snapped their two-game losing streak with a 75-65 win against Rhode Island on Saturday. VCU has won eight of its last nine games and is riding a three-game winning streak coming into this matchup.
UMass got off to a hot start this season, winning seven of its first eight games. The Minutemen have struggled with consistency since then, going 4-5 in their last nine contests. They lost back-to-back games against George Washington and La Salle before beating Rhode Island on Saturday. UMass was a 1.5-point favorite against the Colonials and was a 9-point favorite against the Explorers, so those were two brutal losses. The Minutemen were 5-point favorites against Rhode Island, covering the spread in a 75-65 final. Junior forward Matt Cross led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds in the win over the Rams.
?? #Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/vRKyWS9q4V
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 16, 2023
The Minutemen have struggled on the offensive end of the court, ranked No. 296 in effective field goal percentage (47.4) and No. 264 in turnover rate. They are shooting just 45.2% from 2-point range and are knocking down less than 69% of their attempts from the charity stripe. UMass has been outstanding on the offensive glass, ranked No. 33 in offensive rebounding rate. The Minutemen are facing a VCU defense whose weakness has been rebounding, but the Rams have the fifth-best turnover rate and are No. 41 in overall efficiency. Senior guard Noah Fernandes, who leads UMass with 13.4 points per game, missed the last contest with an ankle injury and is questionable for this game.