Opponent: La Salle Explorers
League: Atlantic 10 Conference

Record: 8-12 (2-5)

Notable Wins: Saint Louis (10-10), Temple (10-9), Pennsylvania (12-6)
Other Wins: Fordham, Holy Cross, Mercer, South Alabama, Saint Peters

Notable Losses: Drexel (7-14), Richmond 6-13)
Other Losses: Villanova, Miami, URI, Boston College, VCU, Northwestern, Duquesne, UMass, Towson, Bucknell

Team Stats:                         UMass                                     La Salle:
Points Per Game               69.7 (281st)                             68.1 (305th)
Rebounds Per Game        34.1 (261st)                             30.3 (344th)
Assists Per Game             15.0 (Tied-96th)                      15.0 (Tied-96th)
Points Allowed                 70.3 (Tied-132nd)                    3.8 (Tied-224th)

Starting 5:

B.J. Johnson: #20 Guard, 6’7, 200 lbs
20.9 PPG    8.5 RPG    .8 APG    1.5 SPG    .4 BPG    .333 3P%

Pookie Powell: #0 Guard, 6’0, 180 lbs
18.6 PPG    4.1 RPG    3.6 APG    .8 SPG    .347 3P%

Isiah Deas: #10 Guard, 6’6, 185 lbs
11.2 PPG    4.5 RPG    1.1 APG    1.2 SPG    .4 BPG    .340 3P%

Amar Stukes: #2 Guard, 6’2, 190 lbs
8.0 PPG    2.9 RPG    3.1 APG    1.2 SPG

Tony Washington: #5 Center, 6’10, 230 lb
7.0 PPG    6.0 RPG    .6 APG    .3 SPG    .7 BPG    .600 FG%

Key Role Player:

Saul Phiri: #13 Guard, 6’4, 210 lbs
5.2 PPG    4.8 RPG    1.5 APG    1.1 SPG    .4 BPG

Highlights from Previous Matchup: (1/10/18)

Prediction:

70-62 La Salle

The Minutemen received some bad news earlier this week when Rashaan Holloway was declared academically ineligible and officially shut down for the remainder of the season. Still, without him the Minutemen were able to rally for a comeback win nearly two weeks ago against La Salle and look to sweep the season series and end their two game skid. The last time these two teams met, La Salle was without their leading scorer and best player B.J Johnson, but they were still able to establish a comfortable lead before Luwane Pipkins lost his mind and stole the show with a school record 44 points. This matchup will be far more difficult for the Minutemen and they will need a big performance from Pipkins once again. With Holloway out, Malik Hines will continue to play big minutes and be counted on to establish energy on the glass and defensive end. UMass must focus on boxing out and gang-rebounding because they struggled mightily to grab defensive rebounds against Saint Louis and can not afford to lose this battle if they hope to come out victorious.