The winter weather has cooled off the Massachusetts men’s basketball offense as of late, an offense that got off to a blistering start in the first month of the season.
After scoring 66 points in each of their first eight games, the Minutemen (9-5, 1-0 Atlantic 10) topped that mark only three times in the past seven contests, five of which were losses.
As a team, UMass is shooting 40.7 percent from the field this season, ranking them 11th in the conference. When the Minutemen step back behind the 3-point line, their numbers drop significantly to 27.9 percent, placing them dead last in the A-10.
In their five losses, UMass is shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 21.3 percent from long range.
Ironically, the Minutemen earned arguably their most important win of the season in their opening game of A-10 play against Dayton with their worst shooting performance.
Both offenses struggled mightily, as UMass shot 27.3 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point land, while the Flyers converted 28.6 percent of their shots, including 19.2 percent from deep.
The Minutemen were able to grind out the victory on the strength of a 41-31 rebounding edge and 29 made free throws. Nevertheless, UMass coach Derek Kellogg reiterated that the offense had to be more patient and take better shots.
“We needed to have a little more stability on the offensive end of the floor where we’re not turning the ball over and worse than that, taking shots within the first four seconds,” Kellogg said.
While the offense has struggled, guard Anthony Gurley is helping to keep the Minutemen afloat as the leading scorer in his senior season. Gurley is averaging 20.0 points per game, joining Andrew Nicholson of Saint Bonaventure and Tu Holloway of Xavier as the only players in the league in the 20-point club.
The shooting struggles of the team haven’t seemed to affect Gurley, who is stroking the net at a 40.4 percent rate from behind the arc and 49.3 percent from the field, both career highs.
After Gurley however, the Minutemen have no scorer who averages double digits. Furthermore, only three UMass players (Terrell Vinson, Sean Carter and Hashim Bailey) are shooting above 40 percent from the field, while guard Gary Correia is the only other Minuteman who owns a 3-point percentage over 30.
Along with the shooting difficulties, the offense has been more reliant on individual efforts, as illustrated by their low assist numbers.
UMass has 155 assists over 14 games for an average of 11.1 helpers per contest. That mark is the lowest in any one season over the past decade for the Minutemen. Comparatively, Duquesne has 268 assists in the same amount of games for an average of 19.1 to lead the A-10.
The assist numbers are low enough to the point where despite ranking third in the conference in turnover margin at plus 3.14, UMass’ assist to turnover ratio of 0.8 is tied for last in the A-10 along with Saint Bonaventure and Charlotte.
The ball movement for the Minutemen reached a low-point in their loss against Central Connecticut, when they distributed a total of two assists for the entire contest.
“That’s a little frustrating when you were a point guard or a guy who took care of the basketball and then your team doesn’t exactly play the way you play at times,” Kellogg said after the loss about the stagnant ball movement. “That’s me. I have to make sure I’m spending time with the guards on how to get open and how to be tougher. I think that’s a work-in-progress by any stretch of the imagination and something that’s going to take a little time.”
As UMass gets deeper into its conference schedule and plays stronger programs, it will look to be more consistent on the offensive end to make a case for the postseason.
Jay Asser can be reached at [email protected].
