Three Stars: UMass-St. Bonaventure

Like last year, for every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out
three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping
track of who earns the most three-start points over the course of the
season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1
star is worth five points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth
two.

Three Stars from UMass vs. George Washington

No. 1 - Jesse Morgan - He's been overshadowed this year by Williams and Putney, but he's starting to raise his game to another level.

No. 2 - Chaz Williams - The sophomore point guard had another strong game.

No. 3 -Terrell Vinson - Thought about Esho here, but Vinson always seems to make a big play when the game gets tough for the Minutemen. His hook shot kicked off UMass' second second half run that put the game away. 

Season to date points:

Chaz Williams - 49
Terrell Vinson - 39
Raphiael Putney 29
Jesse Morgan 25
Sean Carter - 18

Freddie Riley - 16
Cady Lalanne -13
Javorn Farrell - 9
Maxie Esho -7
Sampson Carter -4

Which Putney dunk was better?

Raphiael Putney added another highlight film finish Wednesday. This one made No. 3 SportsCenter's top 10. Was it better than his dunk against Saint Joseph's? You decide. 

UMass-St. Bonaventure

Greetings from the Mullins Center

Refresh for game updates

__

Morris to Yale?

Coachingsearch.com which has become one of the most reliable sources of coaching information reported that former UMass coach Kevin Morris is headed to Yale as the offensive coordinator uner new coach Tony Reno. 

Footballscoop.com, not Coachingsearch.com, originally had Morris headed for the O.C. role at Florida International, but that didn't happen.

This is kind of a combination of the two UMass-related coaching hires that didn't happen coming together. Originally Don Brown appeared headed to Yale. I'm not sure how the relationship between Brown and Morris has evolved since Brown left UMass, but it seemed possible that Morris could rejoin Brown at Yale if Brown was hired there.

But Brown didn't take the Yale gig, but Morris ended up there anyway. An odd coincidence I guess.

UMass' quest to make the Hockey East Tournament

Just over two weeks ago, it seemed like the Minutemen were playing well enough that they might land a decent seed.

But back-to-back bad weekends have left UMass gasping for air as missing the Hockey East Tournament all together seems like a realistic fear.

It's mathmatically possible for UMass to finish higher than sixth and it's possible Vermont could make the playoffs. But both of those are long shots. I'm going to deal with teams six through nine.

UMass
HE Games Left: 8
Home: 1 vs. Providence, 2 vs. New Hampshire, 1 vs. Merrimack
Road: 1 vs. BU, 2 At Maine, 1 at Merrimack
Combine Hockey East record of remaining games*: 81-62-14

Northeastern
HE Games Left: 7
Home: 2 vs. PC, 2 vs. Maine, 1 vs. BU

Road: 1 vs. UNH, 1 vs. BU
Combine Hockey East record of remaining games*: 72-57-10

New Hampshire
HE Games Left: 7

Home: 1 vs. Northeastern, 2 vs. Vermont

Road: 1 vs. Merrimack, 2 vs. UMass, 1 vs. Maine

Combine Hockey East record of remaining games*: 43-77-17

Providence
HE Games Left: 8

Home:
1 vs. Maine, 1 vs. BC, 1 vs. Lowell
Road: 1 vs. UMass, 2 vs. Northeastern, 1 vs. BC, 1 vs. Lowell

Combine Hockey East record of remaining games*: 80-65-12

* If someone is playing one opponent twice, the record is counted twice

New Hampshire's two games vs. Vermont gives it a big edge if it can win or even take three points from those two games.