AMHERST — Just over five miles separate the two venues and almost exactly 24 years separate the two games. On the anniversary of UMass’ memorable upset of North Carolina in the 1993 Preseason NIT, the Minutemen will go back to New York City trying to pull off an upset of a ranked program.
UMass will face No. 14 Minnesota at noon Friday in the Barclays Center Classic.
Beating the Gophers wouldn’t have the impact that the Carolina game did, but for a program that’s reshaping itself under McCall, it would certainly be noteworthy.
Friday’s games will actually be at LIU’s Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center instead of the Barclays Center because a conflict with the Brooklyn Nets. BYU and Alabama will play immediately after.
The event isn’t actually a tournament, as all the games are predetermined. UMass will play BYU, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. regardless of what happens on Friday. Saturday’s games move back to Barclays.
On paper, Minnesota is the toughest team UMass will face all year. The Gophers have raced out of the gate at 5-0, beating South Carolina Upstate, Providence, Niagara, Western Carolina and Alabama A&M.
Point guard Nate Mason has McCall’s attention. A first-team All Big Ten player as a junior last year, he’s averaging 13.6 points and 4.0 assists. Junior Jordan Murphy has been outstanding in the early going. The 6-foot-6 junior is averaging 23.8 points and 12.2 rebounds. He’s one of five players scoring in double figures for the Gophers, who are averaging 95.4 points per game, which is 11th in the nation. Senior center Reggie Lynch (6-foot-10) leads the nation in blocks at 5.2 per game to go with his 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds.
“We all have our work cut out for us Friday night. We’ve watched them twice on film. Top to bottom, you don’t see a lot of weaknesses,” he said. “They have a terrific point guard, maybe the best in the country. They have a terrific front court player, terrific wings. They bring depth off the bench. It’s going to present a lot of challenges for us.”
Minnesota coach Richard Pitino is the son of UMass alum and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. He and McCall developed a friendship through their shared work for former Florida coach Billy Donovan.
“Richard is a friend. I’ve known him for a long, long time,” McCall said. “When he was an assistant at Florida and I was at Florida Atlantic, we became even closer. I follow their program. When they’re on TV, I’ll watch them. I know what they’re going to do and how talented they are. We have two full days to get prepared.”
NOTES: The games will be streamed for free on Facebook Live by Stadium.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage