Matt Vautour: Tourney will turn on hit-or-miss teams

This tournament is going to be defined by its inconsistent teams. The field is loaded with teams that at their best are capable of beating anybody, but their best is an occasional occurrence at best.

Spiders strike early, end UMass season

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team ran out of magic Friday night. The Minutemen saw firsthand why Richmond is considered a lock for an NCAA Tournament berth as the Spiders made 11 3-pointers. A desperate late-game surge by UMass surge came up short as the Minutemen fell 77-72 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Boardwalk Hall. UMass finished its season at 12-20 -- its first 20-loss season since 1982-83.

Year to build on for Minutemen freshmen

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

The end of the 2009-10 season feels a lot different for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball program than it would have if it had ended six days earlier.

Richmond advances to face Xavier

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - With its win over the University of Massachusetts in the final Atlantic 10 quarterfinal Friday night, third-seeded Richmond (25-7) advances to face No. 2 Xavier in the semifinals Saturday.

The teams will play at 3:30 p.m.

Minutemen seek another upset in A-10

ATLANTIC CITy, N.J. - As senior guard Ricky Harris watched television coverage of higher seeds Syracuse and Villanova losing quarterfinal games in the Big East Tournament on Thursday, he got excited thinking about the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team playing tonight in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.

Harris puts team first at UMass

At some point Ricky Harris had to have been tempted to go it alone.

The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team was struggling. An NCAA Tournament bid or an Atlantic 10 championship were long shots and his young teammates were talented but inconsistent.

UMass shocks Charlotte in A-10 tourney

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The University of Massachusetts snapped its Atlantic 10 Tournament losing streak and popped what was left of Charlotte's NCAA bubble hopes all in one shot Tuesday night. Despite making just two of its last 19 shots, the No. 11-seeded Minutemen upset No. 6 Charlotte 59-56 in the first round of the tournament.
--Listen to Matt Vautour's assessment of UMass's upset win over Charlotte