UMass isn’t going to strike fear into anyone, but they’re marginally better than their record. Five of their nine losses are by five points or less, and they have some decent players, particularly Pipkins. They had
Saint Louis beat on the road and imploded in the last minute. If Holloway didn’t have to suck oxygen every three minutes, they could cause some teams fits. I’d have taken a one-point win and been happy given the way they always play us.
I thought AG coached circles around McCall. McCall’s substitution patterns were odd, and he backed off that zone a little too quickly. It was giving us trouble. AG, I thought, made great use of his timeouts, and he told his players to foul with the game on the line, knowing we had some to spend. I think that last foul disrupted whatever UMass hoped to run, and Pipkins had to settle for that long missed three.
So no, this wasn’t the best team we’ll see this year, but I’m happy we were able to finish this with a W. Our pathetic work on the boards, though, is a legitimate gripe.
I’m also happy with our sophomore backcourt. Davis is now back up over 35% from three, and Crutcher — after two straight goose eggs from three — is back over 41%. And Josh? Shooting 50% percent from downtown, but don’t let it go to your head big fella.