February 22, 2022
The Minutemen battle the Flyers at UD Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team hits the road for a Wednesday night matchup at Dayton. The Minutemen take on the Flyers from UD Arena at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Balanced Effort
Five Minutemen finished in double figures in the win over La Salle on Saturday, led by 18 points from C.J. Kelly to go along with 17 from Rich Kelly. Michael Steadman added 12 points and seven boards while Noah Fernandes and Greg Jones each finished with 10.
Minutemen From Range
UMass ranks seventh in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at .391 and sits 11th nationally in 3-point field goals per game with 10.2. The Minutemen also rank 26th in total 3-pointers made and lead the Atlantic 10 in all three categories. UMass has three active players shooting 40-percent or better from deep, led by Rich Kelly’s .492 mark on the year. Kelly is the A-10’s most accurate shooter from range by a five-percent margin over the next best.
Jones’ Boost
Greg Jones gave the UMass offense a boost off the bench with eight straight points after La Salle came back to tie Wednesday’s game. The forward put in back-to-back 3-pointers after the Explorers tied at 51-51 midway through the second half and followed with a layup too make it a 59-51 game.
Helping Hand
Fernandes ranks 19th in the nation in assists per game with 5.7 and ranks 39th in assist to turnover ratio at 2.4. The junior also leads the Minutemen in scoring has posted scoring outputs of 18 or more in seven games and finished in double figures in 18-of-21 contests. Fernandes set a new career-high in assists with 12 at St. Bonaventure (2/16) and added 14 points to post his second career double-double.
Buttrick’s Boards
Graduate forward Trent Buttrick tied his career-high with 11 rebounds at St. Bonaventure (2/16) to give him his second double-digit rebound game in the last four contests. Buttrick is averaging 8.5 rebounds to go along with 10.3 points per game over the last four and leads the Minutemen with 6.0 per game on the year.
Exclusive Company
Rich Kelly became the 11th active DI player with 1,500 or more career points and 500 or more career assists as he recorded his 500th career assist in the home win over the Billikens. Kelly ranks 28th in career assists among active leaders and has made the 31st-most 3-point field goals with 287 in his career.
3-Point Barrage
The first six UMass made field goals came from 3-point range while nine of the first 10 were from behind the arc as the Minutemen knocked down 16 (16-33) 3-pointers on the road at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. T.J. Weeks led the way with a 5-of-9 performance from range while Rich Kelly made four of his even attempts.
COURTESY UMASS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
