Opponent: Saint Joseph Hawks
League: Atlantic 10 Conference

Record: 7-8 (2-2)

Notable Wins:
St. Bonaventure (12-4), VCU (11-6), Princeton (7-8)
Other Wins: Bucknell, UIC, Maine, Sacramento State

Notable Losses: Harvard (6-10), Toledo (10-6)
Other Losses: Villanova, Washington State, St. Johns, Temple, George Washington, George Mason,

Team Stats:                          UMass                                  Saint Josephs
Points Per Game                71.9 (Tied-237th)                75.6 (149th)
Rebounds Per Game         34.6 (Tied-249th)                37.9 (92nd)
Assists Per Game               15.5 (Tied-85th)                  13.5  (206th)
Points Allowed                   70.5 (Tied-134th)                76.7 (Tied-278th)

Starting 5:

Shavar Newkirk: #1 Guard, 6’0, 185 lbs
17.6 PPG    4.1 RPG    3.5 APG    1.6 SPG    .366 FG%

James Demery: #25 Forward, 6’6, 200 lbs
17.3 PPG    5.4 RPG    1.0 APG    1.4 SPG    .5 BPG    .467 FG%

Taylor Funk: #33 Forward, 6’9, 225 lbs
13.6 PPG    4.5 RPG    1.6 APG    .4 SPG    .4 BPG    .443 3P%

Chris Clover: #15 Guard, 6’3, 210 lbs
8.2 PPG    3.3 RPG    1.0 APG    .9 SPG

Pierfrancesco Olivia: #24 Forward, 6’8, 210 lbs
6.6 PPG    7.5 RPG    3.2 APG    .8 SPG    .7 BPG

Key Role Players:

Nick Robinson: #5 Guard, 6’6, 195 lbs
5.4 PPG    4.5 RPG    1.9 APG    .8 SPG    .3 BPG

Anthony Longpre: #12 Forward, 6’10, 240 lbs
4.1 PPG    3.1 RPG    1.0 APG    .4 SPG    .4 BPG

Prediction:

68-65 UMass

Saint Joe’s brings Philadelphia toughness and grit that sets the tone for their physical style of play. Coming into the season, they had expectations of winning the league, but a key injury to point guard Lavar Kimble dashed those chances. Still, they bring in a very talented duo of Shavar Newkirk and James Demery who both have valuable NCAA tournament experience. Over the first few conference games, it has become evident that their is very little talent disparity between most teams in the league and anybody can win a game on any given night. This being said, UMass must continue to get scoring production from Luwane Pipkins and Carl Pierre if they want to keep winning games. C.J Anderson has been fantastic with his playmaking ability this season, but has struggled from the field mightily. Very few players on the Minutemen roster are capable of going off for double digit scoring, so it is pivotal for players to sink into their roles and do their jobs, whether it be bringing defensive intensity or rebounding. This should be an extremely scrappy game and a great opportunity for UMass to win their third conference game in a row, but they must be extremely efficient if they hope to do so. Rashaan Holloway’s status has not been updated and he is set to miss his third straight game for the Minutemen.