2019–20 UMass Minutemen basketball team

The 2019–20 UMass Minutemen basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen are led by third-year head coach Matt McCall and play their home games at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in eighth place. Their season ended with the A-10 tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

2019–20 UMass Minutemen basketball
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record14–17 (8–10 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMullins Center
Seasons
2019–20 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Dayton 18 0   1.000 29 2   .935
Richmond 14 4   .778 24 7   .774
Rhode Island 13 5   .722 21 9   .700
Saint Louis 12 6   .667 23 8   .742
St. Bonaventure 11 7   .611 19 12   .613
Duquesne 11 7   .611 21 9   .700
Davidson 10 8   .556 16 14   .533
Massachusetts 8 10   .444 14 17   .452
VCU 8 10   .444 18 13   .581
La Salle 6 12   .333 15 15   .500
George Washington 6 12   .333 12 20   .375
George Mason 5 13   .278 17 15   .531
Saint Joseph's 2 16   .111 6 26   .188
Fordham 2 16   .111 9 22   .290
Note: The 2020 A-10 tournament was canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season edit

The Minutemen finished the 2018–19 season 11–21, 4–14 in A-10 play to finish in 13th place. They lost to George Washington in the first round of the A-10 tournament.

Departures edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Tre Wood 0 G 6' 1“ 165 Freshman Upper Marlboro, MD Transferred to LIU Brooklyn
Luwane Pipkins 2 G 5' 11“ 185 Senior Chicago, IL Graduate transferred to Providence
Kieran Hayward 3 G 6'4" 195 Junior Sydney, Australia Transferred to Vanguard University (CA)
Unique McLean 4 G 6'2“ 175 Senior Brooklyn, NY Graduate transferred to St. Francis Brooklyn
Jonathan Laurent 11 F 6'6“ 216 Junior Orlando, FL Transferred to Oklahoma State
Jaylen Franklin 13 G 6'0“ 175 Junior Springfield, MA Transferred to The College of Wooster (OH)
Khalea Turner-Morris 14 C 6' 9“ 265 Junior New Orleans, LA lingering injuries forced him to stop playing, prior to the season starting
Curtis Cobb 33 G 6'4“ 175 Senior Fall River, MA Graduate transferred to Wagner
Aidan Byrne 41 F 6'6" 215 Junior Niskayuna, NY walk-on from 2018 to 2019 no longer listed on the roster
Rashaan Holloway 45 C 6'11" 310 Senior Elmer, NJ Graduated

Incoming transfers edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Dibaji Walker F 6'7" 190 Sophomore Columbus, OH Transferred from Cleveland State. Inactive. NCAA transfer rules mandate he sits out in 2019–20, but he has applied for a special exemption. His exemption has been approved.

2019 recruiting class edit

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tre Mitchell
#33 C
Pittsburgh, PA Woodstock Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Mar 29, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
John Buggs
#0 G
Homer, LA Putnam Science Academy
Summerfield High School
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Nov 20, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Sean East
#10 G
Louisville, KY Combine Academy
New Albany High School
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 28, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
C.J. Jackson
#3 F
Atlanta, GA Athens Prep
Greenforest High School
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 15, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Kolton Mitchell
#13 G
Fort Myers, FL Victory Rock Prep 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) May 30, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Preston Santos
#2 G/F
Providence, RI Woodstock Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 15, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
T.J. Weeks
#23 G
Warwick, RI Woodstock Academy
Bishop Hendricken High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Mar 24, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.

Roster edit

2019–20 UMass Minutemen men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 John Buggs 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Summerfield High School
Putnam Science Academy
Homer, LA
F 1 Sy Chatman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Cretin-Derham Hall HS Saint Paul, MN
G/F 2 Preston Santos 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Woodstock Academy Providence, RI
G/F 3 C.J. Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Greenforest HS Atlanta, GA
G 4 Keon Clergeot 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Auburndale HS
Memphis
Winter Haven, FL
F 5 Samba Diallo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Pope John XXIII Regional HS Rufisque, Senegal
G 10 Sean East 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr New Albany HS Louisville, KY
C 11 Djery Baptiste 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) GS Prestonwood Christian Academy Gonaives, Haiti
G 12 Carl Pierre 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Boston College HS Boston, MA
G 13 Kolton Mitchell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Victory Rock Prep Fort Myers, FL
G 20 Davonté Higginbottom (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Westwood HS Mattapan, MA
G 23 T.J. Weeks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Bishop Hendricken Catholic HS Warwick, RI
F 24 Dibaji Walker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Woodstock Academy
Cleveland State
Columbus, OH
F 31 Randall West 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Lawrenceville School Moorestown, NJ
C 33 Tre Mitchell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Woodstock Academy Pittsburgh, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2019*
7:00 pm
Western New England W 83–47 
Mullins Center 
Amherst, MA
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+
UMass Lowell W 79–64  1–0
Mullins Center (2,563)
Amherst, MA
November 9, 2019*
1:00 pm
at Fairfield W 62–60  2–0
Webster Bank Arena (1,087)
Bridgeport, CT
November 12, 2019*
7:00 pm, NESNplus/ESPN+
Northeastern W 80–71  3–0
Mullins Center (2,145)
Amherst, MA
November 16, 2019*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Central Connecticut
Hall of Fame Tip Off campus game
W 89–43  4–0
Mullins Center (2,873)
Amherst, MA
November 20, 2019*
7:00 pm, NESN
Rider
Hall of Fame Tip Off campus game
W 82–72  5–0
Mullins Center (2,378)
Amherst, MA
November 23, 2019*
12:00 pm, ESPNews
vs. No. 7 Virginia
Hall of Fame Tip Off semifinals
L 46–58  5–1
Mohegan Sun Arena (7,862)
Uncasville, CT
November 24, 2019*
3:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. St. John's
Hall of Fame Tip Off consolation
L 63–78  5–2
Mohegan Sun Arena (5,822)
Uncasville, CT
November 29, 2019*
2:00 pm, BTN Plus
at Rutgers L 57–82  5–3
Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,592)
Piscataway, NJ
December 4, 2019*
7:00 pm, CBSSN
South Carolina L 80–84  5–4
Mullins Center (3,043)
Amherst, MA
December 7, 2019*
1:00 pm, NESN
at Harvard L 55–89  5–5
Lavietes Pavilion (1,636)
Cambridge, MA
December 11, 2019*
7:00 pm, NESN
Yale L 80–83 OT 5–6
Mullins Center (2,212)
Amherst, MA
December 20, 2019*
7:00 pm, NESN
Maine W 74–53  6–6
Mullins Center (2,194)
Amherst, MA
December 30, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Akron L 79–85  6–7
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,375)
Akron, OH
A-10 regular season
January 5, 2020
4:00 pm, NBCSN
at Saint Louis L 80–83 OT 6–8
(0–1)
Chaifetz Arena (8,743)
St. Louis, MO
January 8, 2020
7:00 pm, NESN
La Salle W 77–69  7–8
(1–1)
Mullins Center (1,894)
Amherst, MA
January 11, 2020
12:30 pm, NBCSN
at No. 15 Dayton L 60–88  7–9
(1–2)
UD Arena (13,407)
Dayton, OH
January 15, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. St. Bonaventure
Roc City Hoops Classic
L 61–74  7–10
(1–3)
Blue Cross Arena (4,276)
Rochester, NY
January 18, 2020
4:30 pm, NBCSN
George Washington L 51–75  7–11
(1–4)
Mullins Center (3,323)
Amherst, MA
January 22, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at George Mason L 63–73  7–12
(1–5)
EagleBank Arena (2,652)
Fairfax, VA
January 25, 2020
2:00 pm, NESNplus
Duquesne W 73–64  8–12
(2–5)
Mullins Center (2,785)
Amherst, MA
January 29, 2020
7:00 pm, NESN
Saint Joseph's W 91–76  9–12
(3–5)
Mullins Center (2,024)
Amherst, MA
February 1, 2020
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Davidson L 50–85  9–13
(3–6)
John M. Belk Arena (3,832)
Davidson, NC
February 4, 2020
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at Rhode Island L 67–73  9–14
(3–7)
Ryan Center (6,328)
Kingston, RI
February 9, 2020
2:30 pm, NBCSN
George Mason W 69–67  10–14
(4–7)
Mullins Center (2,313)
Amherst, MA
February 15, 2020
12:30 pm, NBCSN
No. 6 Dayton L 63–71  10–15
(4–8)
Mullins Center (5,030)
Amherst, MA
February 18, 2020
7:00 pm, NESN
Saint Louis W 67–63  11–15
(5–8)
Mullins Center (2,185)
Amherst, MA
February 22, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Fordham W 57–49  12–15
(6–8)
Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,560)
Bronx, NY
February 26, 2020
7:00 pm, NESNplus
VCU W 60–52  13–15
(7–8)
Mullins Center (2,462)
Amherst, MA
February 29, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Richmond L 71–95  13–16
(7–9)
Robins Center (7,201)
Richmond, VA
March 4, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at La Salle W 75–64  14–16
(8–9)
Tom Gola Arena (1,352)
Philadelphia, PA
March 7, 2020
7:00 pm, NESNplus
Rhode Island L 63-64  14-17
(8-10)
Mullins Center (4,053)
Amherst, MA
A-10 tournament
March 12, 2020
12:00 pm, NBCSN
(8) vs. (9) VCU
Second round
A10 Tournament Canceled[1] Barclays Center 
Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship Cancelled". atlantic10.com. The Atlantic 10 Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. ^ "2019–20 Men's Basketball Schedule". UMass Minutemen Athletics.