The Massachusetts basketball team has announced it will open its season at the Mohegan Sun Arena, in what will be known as “Bubbleville.” These games will start Nov. 25 and last until Dec. 2.
UMass will be one of over 30 Division I teams competing at Bubbleville. The tournament is set to be split into “pods” of scheduling. UMass will be in Pod Two along with Delaware and Siena.
Mohegan Sun has been chosen as the location for these games because they have ample amounts of hotels rooms, with teams having their own floors, while also being able to have access to food and everything else need without having to leave the area.
The Minutemen last faced Siena in the 2014-15 season opener, winning 95-87. Siena is coming off of a 20-10 season, while holding a 15-5 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Delaware is coming off of a 17-14, going 11-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
UMass comes off of a 14-17 season in which they went 8-10 in the Atlantic 10, but head coach Matt McCall has said in the past he feels his team could be different this year.
“The perception of UMass basketball has started to shift and change,” McCall said in September. “I think expectations are high. That’s what you want, you want to be in that position.”
How COVID-19 protocols will be handled in Bubbleville is still undecided, as teams come from multiple conferences that have different rules.
The Bubbleville games, along with Northeastern scheduled for Dec. 12, are the only games that have been officially scheduled for UMass at this time.
Joey Aliberti can be reached via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JosephAliberti1.
