Before exiting its latest pause last week, the UMass men’s basketball team had only faced one team that finished in the top four of the final Atlantic 10 standings.
The Minutemen lost that Jan. 24 game against Davidson, which finished third. They also lost Monday against fourth-seeded Saint Louis, but UMass coach Matt McCall said he finds value in being able to play teams of that caliber before the A-10 Championships, which tip off this week in Richmond, Va.
“We needed games like this. We needed to play against teams like this going into the tournament,” he said. “You’re going to have to beat teams like this if you’re going to advance.”
The Minutemen (7-6, 6-4) earned the No. 5 seed — their best since 2008, despite only playing 10 conference games and 13 total contests. That’s tied for the second fewest league games with the Billikens. Only George Washington played fewer (eight).
Of UMass’ six league wins, two came against last-place Fordham, two against No. 12 La Salle and two were over No. 10 Rhode Island.
“I don’t know if we looked at (Monday’s regular season finale) like a playoff game, but obviously it was a big game. Our guys were excited for the opportunity and we did not play well,” McCall said. “When you play against a team like that who’s got seniors, you’ve got to go out there and execute. Hopefully we can learn from this. We needed this to happen. We’ve got a few days to do that.”
The Minutemen left Saint Louis on Tuesday morning and traveled to Richmond to begin the A-10 tournament testing protocols. They won’t play until 1 p.m. Thursday when they face either La Salle or No. 13 Saint Joseph’s, who will open the tournament at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
UMass hasn’t won an A-10 tournament game since 2018 (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and hasn’t reached the quarterfinals since 2016.
“It’s a one-game season,” McCall said. “I think we’ve showed at times what we’re capable as a team this year and there’s time we haven’t.”
A BLUEPRINT FOR MITCHELL? – Saint Louis held UMass sophomore center Tre Mitchell to a season low shooting percentage (28.6). It was his worst showing from the floor since going 5-for-21 at Fordham last February. The Billikens ran multiple big bodies at Mitchell all game ranging from 6-foot-7 forward Hasahn French to 6-8 forward Marten Linssen and 6-10 forward Jimmy Bell Jr. They regularly double teamed him.
Mitchell put French and Love in foul trouble with two each in the first half, but Linssen prove a crafty post defender.
“Tre’s terrific and teams are throwing two guys at him every time when he gets it down there (the post),” McCall said. “If they’re not throwing two guys at him they’re shrinking the floor around him and making it hard for him to operate.”
Mitchell finished with two turnovers but also contributed five rebounds, a season-high four assists and three blocks.
“I thought he threw some great passes out of double teams,” McCall said. “We’ve got to make the game easier for him and open up the floor and find some ways to make it hard to double team him.”
NOT THE PLAN – UMass only attempted 10 free throws, the second fewest all season. The Minutemen also only scored 18 points in the paint compared to Saint Louis’ 40.
“Understanding one, offensively what we’re looking for, what we need to run, execute… I thought we had some good possessions on offense. I thought we had some really bad possessions on offense,” McCall said. “We’ve got to put more pressure on the basket, shoot more free throws. Things like that.”
GARCIA KEEPS PLACE – Freshman guard Javohn Garcia started his fourth straight game even as sophomore Noah Fernandes returned to the starting lineup. McCall wanted Garcia’s athleticism and physicality to match up with Jordan Goodwin, who’s leading the A-10 in rebounding as a 6-foot-3 guard.
Garcia picked up two fouls in five seconds early in the first half and only played four minutes. He finished with six points and two assists in 20 minutes.
Goodwin had 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists with two blocks.
OPENING ROUND PREVIEW – La Salle and Saint Joseph’s split two high-scoring games this season. The Explorers prevailed 90-83 at Tom Gola Arena in January, then the Hawks won 91-82 in overtime at Hagan Arena in February.
Saint Joe’s (4-14, 3-9) is riding a three-game winning streak, including victories over Richmond and Dayton. The Hawks haven’t lost since Jan. 30 with COVID postponements. Junior Taylor Funk was named the A-10 Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season after averaging 29 points and six rebounds per game.
La Salle (9-15, 6-11) fell against George Mason to end the regular season. No Explorer averages double-digit scoring, but eight score at least six points per game.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.