Coming off an overtime loss to Hofstra, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team plays in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament against the Temple Owls and the Florida State Seminoles at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
Against the Pride, the Minutemen (1-3) battled back late in the second half and found themselves with their first lead of the game with under 30 seconds left in regulation. After Hofstra made a layup, Jaylen Curry found himself at the free throw line with two shots and down by one. After making the first, the sophomore missed the second, sending the game to overtime.
UMass started slow in OT, despite strong performances by Rahsool Diggins and Curry who each made a 3-pointer in the extra period, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Pride’s overtime lead.
On Saturday, the Minutemen get an opportunity to bounce back against Temple (3-1). The Owls started the season undefeated at 3-0 but lost their most recent matchup against Boston College.
UMass must have a gameplan for Temple’s top scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. as the graduate student is 11th in the country in points per game, averaging 23.5 through four games this season.
Mashburn transferred to the Owls this season from New Mexico and has proven himself as one of the best shooters in the country. The guard is shooting nearly 62 percent from 3 on over five attempts per game. He scored 23 points on four-of-seven shooting from deep during Temple’s win over the Eagles.
Mashburn pairs with Steve Settle III, a redshirt senior, as the top two scorers for the Owls. Settle is averaging 13.3 points per game so far this season while also grabbing a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game.
The last time the two teams faced off was in 2018 where Temple won a nailbiter 65-63.
Then on Sunday, the Minutemen play Florida State (4-1) whose most recent opponent was also Hofstra. Unlike UMass, the Seminoles handled the Pride, winning 79-61. Florida State never trailed in the game and scored 23 points off turnovers and 34 points in the paint.
The Seminoles are led by senior guard Jamir Watkins who averages a team-high 18.2 points per game. Unlike Mashburn for the Owls, Watkins often uses his six-foot-seven frame to take his defenders to the paint and finish inside.
Like Watkins, the entire Florida State starting lineup are tall and disruptive defenders, all standing at six-foot-five or taller. Malique Ewin and Taylor Bol Bowen are its big-men, standing at six-foot-11-inches and six-foot-10-inches, respectively.
The last time UMass faced the Seminoles was ten years ago, in the 2013-2014 season when it lost 60-55.
Against Temple, the Minutemen have to focus on defending Mashburn and his prolific shooting. They need their backcourt duo of Diggins and Curry to continue their hot start to the season to match Mashburn. The UMass guards are averaging a combined 31.3 points per game while Curry also leads the Atlantic-10 with 7.8 assists per game.
When playing Florida State, the Minutemen must turn their focus to the Seminoles’ size. With a much larger starting five and big men across the floor, Shahid Muhammad and Daniel Hankins-Sanford will be relied upon to grab rebounds and limit Florida State’s inside scoring.
Limiting turnovers and controlling the pace of play will be crucial as the Seminoles average 12 steals per game. As seen in the Hofstra game, Florida State looks to cause havoc with its strong defense and run the floor to counterattack.
The Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament features Vermont, Delaware, Yale, Fairfield, Florida State, Temple and UMass this year. The seven teams play two games each over the weekend, with the Owls and the Seminoles matching up to start the tournament off on Friday.
The Minutemen’s game against Temple on Saturday, Nov. 23 is at 5 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+ while their matchup with Florida State will be on ESPN2 on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3:30 p.m.
Maxwell Solomon can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Maxwell697909
