The Massachusetts men’s basketball team beat the New Hampshire Wildcats 103-74 in its inaugural game of the 2024-25 season. The blowout victory for the Minutemen (1-0) was led by Rahsool Diggins. The senior guard put up a career-high 26 points while cashing eight shots from beyond the arc, the most in a game for his career. His eighth three tied the program record of made threes in a game, now a title held by five players.
The dominance of Diggins developed through the first five minutes of the game as he hit four shots from deep, the main force in an 18-0 UMass run. The offense was effective for the Minutemen throughout this run, but the defense was just as significant.
The UMass defense forced three turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, knocking New Hampshire (0-1) out of rhythm from the very beginning. The Minutemen’s strong perimeter defense and tenacious help defense inside forced the Wildcats to lean on a drive-and-kick play style, proving not to be their strong suit as the visitors hit just five of their 18 attempts from three in the first half. With shots not falling and turnovers happening frequently for the Wildcats, UMass took any opportunity they could to run in transition.
The biggest transition highlight came on a alley-oop from Jaylen Curry to Daniel Rivera that caused a sufficient uproar from the student section nearby. “It was amazing man, we work on that everyday,” Curry said. “Just to be able to complete that in a game, it made everything fantastic.”
This highlight play was just one of Curry’s 12 assists on the night, a career-high for the sophomore guard. Curry was a big beneficiary of Diggins’ stellar shooting performance, as four of his assists came from made threes by Diggins.
Another player who took advantage in transition was Akil Watson. The Arizona State transfer was an exemplary part of the Minutemen’s strong perimeter defense as he pressured ball handlers well beyond the arc, leading to steal-and-score opportunities for himself. The sophomore transfer from Arizona State finished with 14 points and four steals in just 14 minutes of action.
“When we had a chance to recruit him, that’s why I thought he’d be a great fit,” head coach Frank Martin said. “He’s long, he’s competitive getting in those passing lanes and just creating havoc there.”
New Hampshire’s shooting woes wore off in the second half as it used more on-ball screens, challenging UMass’ pick and roll defense. This showed a slash in the Minutemen’s armor and the visitors found their rhythm because of it, shooting 40 percent from three in the second half as UMass help defenders left shooters open.
“Ball screen defense wasn’t good, that’s something that has to get really, really cleaned up,” Martin said. “I’m going to take advantage of the day off tomorrow to spend some time with the guys on my staff and re-evaluate the thought process as to how to defend ball screens.”
Despite the defensive lapses, the Minutemen were able to keep the offensive pressure on by attacking the paint. The driving force of this paint push was Curry, but contributions from Daniel Hankins-Sanford, Malek Abdelgowad and Tarique Foster sustained a presence that UMass set when its outside shooting cooled down.
With Wildcat defenders crashing the paint, the Minutemen were given space for more perimeter shots. Diggins hit his record-tying eighth trifecta with nine minutes still to play. Jayden Ndjigue and Nate Guerengomba followed with threes of their own, putting the game out of reach for the New Hampshire.
In total, UMass went 12-of-35 from three, which is the most attempts and makes for them in the Frank Martin era.
Sami Pissis was the biggest contributor for the Wildcats, as he put together a 20-point performance on 53.8 percent shooting. The junior guard scored from all three levels and added six rebounds and two assists.
In addition to Diggins and Watson, two other Minutemen scored in double digits. Abdelgowad recorded his first double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Hankins-Sanford scored 10 points of 5-of-9 shooting.
UMass will go on the road next to face the West Virginia Mountaineers on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. That game is available to watch on ESPN+.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.
