In a season that is not living up to last year’s success, Saturday’s win against Division III UMass Boston might be the step in the right direction for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team to get its season back on track.
The 86-52 victory put the Minutemen (4-7) back in the win column after a two-game losing streak where the energy on the court lacked and team morale took a hit in games where many fans expected UMass to come away with wins.
However, on Saturday afternoon, everything went right for the Minutemen. They showed grit and toughness when battling for loose balls and at the rim for rebounds. They had rhythm in their passing, were efficient in shooting and it seemed that everyone was on the same page.
All of these aspects were a change of pace from what we’ve normally seen out of UMass this season. The Minutemen, who have been no strangers to playing from behind, led against the Beacons (5-3) for the entire 40 minutes.
Against a Division III school though, this performance was expected out of UMass and there was no doubt that this game was going to go any other way. But, the outcome was a good change of pace as an engaged crowd at the Mullins Center and an energized bench fueled the victory.
One of the most noticeable changes from this game was the positive energy the Minutemen had, whether on the court or the bench.
Loud cheers were heard from UMass’ bench as dunks went down. Freshman Amadou Doumbia played his first minutes since Florida State and scored, resulting in his teammates to celebrate by jumping off the bench and waving towels around.
At the helm of it all was sophomore Jayden Ndjigue who became a vocal leader. His leadership on the court stuck out as he made sure everyone was set on defense, shared words of encouragement and cheered to support his teammates.
A common topic from head coach Frank Martin in his press conferences this season has been the lack of energy on the team, especially when negative energy takes over.
“When some of that [negative] moment started to take place, we had some guys own the moment. Some guys didn’t like those other guys owning the moment, but no one focused in on the negativity,” Martin said. “On the contrary, the rest of the guys were excited… they were engaged for the next play and to celebrate their teammate that was doing something the right way.”
The Minutemen needed someone to step up into the leadership role on the court, and on Saturday it was Ndjigue.
Although it was not a perfect game, UMass showed glimpses of the team we saw in the home opener against New Hampshire.
There are two non-conference games left on the schedule in Northeastern and Arizona State, before the Minutemen head into Atlantic 10 play. The A-10 is having a historic year, one of its most competitive ones yet with 12 schools over the .500 mark, and UMass will be put to the test.
Getting back into its typical Division I matchups, it is crucial for the Minutemen to continue to bring this positive energy into its future games as the season continues.
But one thing for sure is that UMass was in desperate need of a momentum builder to revamp its confidence and now we will see if this win was the exact spark the Minutemen needed.
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @samantha_sands_.
