UMass gets return trip to Atlantic City
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team lost to Michigan State in the Legends Classic at Boardwalk Hall in November, coach Derek Kellogg said he hoped his team would play well enough to earn a trip back to Atlantic City in March.
The Minutemen needed back-to-back wins over Rhode Island and Charlotte - teams that had been on the NCAA Tournament bubble - but Kellogg's November wish is coming true.
The 11th-seeded Minutemen were the only road team to advance in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Tuesday with their 59-56 win. In the other first-round games, Dayton defeated George Washington 70-60, Rhode Island beat Saint Joseph's 87-76 and St. Bonaventure won over Duquesne 83-71.
UMass will face No. 3 Richmond at 9 p.m. Friday in Atlantic City. The quarterfinals will start with No. 8 St. Bonaventure playing No. 1 Temple at noon, followed by No. 5 Rhode Island against No. 4 Saint Louis at 2:30 p.m. No. 7 Dayton will take on No. 2 Xavier at 6:30 p.m.
The winners of the UMass-Richmond and Dayton-Xavier games will play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
"I thought it was another step forward for a young team," Kellogg said of Tuesday's win. "Ricky Harris is really leading us and playing like a senior should play in tournament play. He's been a great ambassador for the program."
Harris said feels like the momentum is building for UMass.
"Guys are playing together and playing hard. Everyone is playing their roles," he said. "We're starting to gel at a crucial point in the season."
BACK TO 2007-08 - Kellogg said he wasn't thinking about the 2007-08 NCAA Championship game when he elected to foul Dijuan Harris with four seconds left and UMass leading by three points Tuesday.
Kellogg was an assistant coach on the Memphis staff that didn't foul with a three-point lead against Kansas in the championship game. Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying 3-pointer and Memphis lost that game in overtime.
"With six seconds on the clock my philosophy is we're going to foul and not give them a chance to shoot the 3," Kellogg said. "Fortunately for us, it worked. I think the percentages are best when you do foul in that situation."
The Minutemen weren't thinking of that season either. But the win at least partially avenges Charlotte's 69-65 upset of UMass in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinal, ending any hope the Minutemen had of an NCAA at-large bid that year.
CONTAINING GREEN - When the 49ers beat the Minutemen 72-58 on Jan. 30, junior guard Derrio Green led Charlotte with 34 points, including eight 3-pointers. On Tuesday Green had just two points and was 1-for-7 from the field.
UMass shut down Charlotte leading scorer Shamari Spears in both games. He had eight points Tuesday after getting four in January.
MISCELLANEOUS - With Charlotte on spring break, the 49ers drew a season-low 1,941 fans.
The 24 points scored by Ricky Harris give him 1,941 in his career.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.
