When I settled in to look at the starting lineup for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team on Saturday, I – like most people – expected the game against St. Bonaventure to be a struggle for the Minutemen (11-15, 6-7 Atlantic 10). Jaylen Curry (wrist) and Jayden Ndjigue (illness) were both ruled out, putting Marqui Worthy and Tarique Foster into the starting lineup as a result.
The resounding nature of the team’s 73-59 loss stood out as a little surprising, but one glimpse at the box score shows how it got to that point. The Bonnies (18-9, 6-8 A-10) outrebounded UMass by six. Despite forcing 15 turnovers, the Minutemen coughed the ball up 15 times themselves. St. Bonaventure ran out for 17 fastbreak points, about six above its season average.
These are all areas of the game where Ndjigue thrives, and without him, UMass visibly struggled. Make no mistake about it: this team needs its sophomore wing if it wants any chance at success in March. Some players can have their contributions replaced by a committee, but Ndjigue is not one of them. His tenacity, rebounding and defense have given the Minutemen what they need to beat anybody in the A-10, and Saturday showed that his absence left an impact on the entire roster.
“We’ve reverted back to the habits that made us a yuck team back in November,” head coach Frank Martin said. “Not rebounding, [being] selfish on offense, not playing with a purpose offensively … and then not rebounding the basketball.”
“[Ndjigue] is our most consistent defensive player, most consistent offensive rebounder and he knows exactly what we’re trying to do offensively … not having that on the court … impacts our team.”
It’s not a quantifiable stat, but something about UMass’ effort didn’t feel right against the Bonnies. Of course, a roster-wide illness could have something to do with that. Even still, it’s uncharacteristic of any Martin-led team to go through the motions, and that’s what it looked like until a 20-point deficit had been established in players’ heads.
In the first half, St. Bonaventure did everything it could to give the home team a lead. The Bonnies were taking difficult shots, making bad reads and just not playing at the level expected after their hot start to the season.
Mark Schmidt’s squad still made it into the locker room with a 13-point halftime lead thanks to a Minutemen offense that looked sluggish at best. Plays broke down and players were left doing too much on their own, and it led to just eight made field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Ndjigue is not an offensive-minded player, but his grit and IQ have created energy for UMass on that end in the past. Without him, those attributes noticeably dipped across the board for Martin’s squad.
The Minutemen’s energy deficit extended over to the glass as well. Nobody outworks opponents for boards on this team more than Ndjigue, and that hustle has lifted the 6-foot-4 wing to be second on the team in offensive rebounds. On Saturday, UMass put up a season-low with just seven offensive rebounds while allowing nine to St. Bonaventure.
“We became the best rebounding team in the A-10,” Martin said. “[Saturday] we had one [offensive rebound] at halftime. That’s not who we’ve worked to become.”
On defense, Ndjigue likely would’ve drawn the assignment of Lajae Jones, a 6-foot-7 athletic guard who’s just as capable of making a three as he is putting his head down and driving to the rack. Foster held his own on Jones when he was put on him, but without one of the team’s best on-ball defenders, the junior drove past Minutemen and gave himself plenty of opportunities at the charity stripe. Jones finished with 14 points – second on the team – and four rebounds.
UMass’ poor offense also led to a plethora of transition opportunities for the Bonnies. Schmidt typically likes his offense to be slower, but long rebounds and players running down the floor provided looks that were too good to pass up. Ndjigue’s influence here is twofold: he could’ve stabilized his team’s offense enough to get better shots and limit St. Bonaventure runouts. On the occasions where the Bonnies still ran quick offense, his hustle could’ve affected a couple fastbreak shots.
There are plenty of glue guys in college basketball, and when the fate of a season hinges on 40 minutes of sound play in March, it’s those glue guys who are relied on just as much as a team’s top scorer. Ndjigue is this team’s glue guy, he is their heartbeat, and with five crucial regular season games ahead, he will lead the decision on whether UMass gets a top-six seed or a date in the opening round of the A-10 Tournament.
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1.
