No Luck In Atlantic City, UMass Drops Both Games At Legends Classic

Paul Seaver — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:50:32 -0500

The Minutemen (2-4) have struggled to begin the season. Their trip to Atlantic City was no different.

As part of the Legends Classic, UMass served as a host for the opening rounds of the tournament and automatically qualified for the semi-finals and a trip to Atlantic City. The other qualifying hosts included Rutgers, Florida, and Michigan State.

After trailing by 19 points in the beginning stages of the second half, the Minutemen made things interesting down the stretch before eventually falling at the hands of Rutgers, 83-75.

Leading scorer, Ricky Harris, struggled in the first half scoring only two points, however, was the key part in the comeback attempt for UMass. Harris finished with a team-high 22 points despite the slow start offensively.

Anthony Gurley chipped in with 19 as well.

Rising sophomore Michael Rosario had another big game for Rutgers (3-2), tallying 22 points in the victory.

Although the excitement did not come the way of UMass in Atlantic City, the Florida Gators shocked No. 2 Michigan State in the other semi-final game providing UMass with what will probably be their toughest test of the season.

The Minutemen were steamrolled by the Spartans, 106-68. Michigan State used a 30-3 run in the first half to ensure a convincing victory.

Anthony Gurley led the way and tied a career-high with 24 points in the loss. Michigan State will likely fall in the polls come Monday, but certainly bounced back strong in the game over UMass, controlling nearly every aspect.

Despite the 2-4 start to the season, UMass has appeared to establish a solid one-two offensive punch in Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley. Both are threats to go for 20+ points on any given night, continuously proving that through the front six games of the year.

The Minutemen will try to get back on track on, but have a tough stretch of opponents looming in their near future. UMass will take on Quinnipiac, one of the tougher teams in the Northeast Conference this season, before heading to Holy Cross and a trip to New Jersey in preparation for a game with Seton Hall.

Head coach Derek Kellogg and his squad will need to figure out a way to ensure getting victories in the games they “should” win. At this point, early in the season, they cannot afford to dig themselves an even deeper hole.

Read more UMass Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Offensive Inconsistencies Highlight UMass' Start To The Season

Paul Seaver — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:33:43 -0500

The non-conference tests that the Minutemen face over the next few weeks may present a few problems for a team that has already opened up the season at 1-2.

After being completely outplayed in their first two contests of the season, UMass was able to pick up a win on Saturday night over Arkansas-Fort Smith, 94-68 as part of the Legends Classic.

The Minutemen had a pair of home games this past week while serving as one of the regional hosts for the Legends Classic. Despite losing at the hands of Cornell last Wednesday night, UMass automatically qualified for the trip to Atlantic City for the later rounds of the regular season tournament.

Match-ups with Rutgers and then potentially Florida or Michigan State have Coach Kellogg and his squad looking to solve their early season problems as quickly as possible.

In their front three games, UMass has had plenty of flaws exposed, the biggest of which certainly has to be their issues of consistency on offense.

Senior Ricky Harris was expected to be the leading scorer for the Minutemen this season, but what fans could not have expected is just how much of the scoring load he would have to take up in order for UMass to be successful.

Harris scored 15 points in the season-opening loss to Central Florida, followed by performances of 26 against Cornell and 18 against Arkansas-Fort Smith. However, at times, especially in the game against Cornell, UMass has seemed completely lost offensively and with a look that only Harris can put the ball in the basket.

Anthony Gurley, a former Wake Forest member, has shown flashes offensively of aiding Harris in scoring the ball. He has scored double digits in each of the first three contests, including 21 in Saturday’s win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.

In the match-up against Central Florida, the Minutemen set a school-record in attempting 38 three-pointers, making only 12 of them. In the Cornell loss, they shot only 25 percent from behind the arc, finishing 4 of 16 from 3-point land, a stat considerably lower following the school-record number of attempts against UCF.

The season is early and for UMass their offensive numbers do raise many questions for a team who is desperately searching for an identity. Coach Kellogg and his group have plenty of time to look to improve, however, with the schedule that is presented in front of them, the ability to find an offensive groove should be urgent.

The Minutemen (1-2) will welcome St. Francis (NY) to the Mullins Center, tomorrow night November 24th, in a game they must look to capture before heading to Atlantic City this upcoming weekend.

*Photo Credit: Masslive.com, Eric Gallant

Read more UMass Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Bleacher Report - UMass Basketball

No Luck In Atlantic City, UMass Drops Both Games At Legends Classic

Offensive Inconsistencies Highlight UMass' Start To The Season