AMHERST — UMass men’s basketball coach Matt McCall knows his team is short and short-handed. But despite all the absences, his team has played almost well enough, especially offensively, to win several Atlantic 10 games that it has come up on the short end of.
So, with three regular season games left, he’s hoping his team can tweak enough defensively to flip some results and give his team some momentum heading into next month’s conference tournament in Washington, D.C., beginning with Saturday’s 7 p.m. game at George Mason.
“In the last five games we’ve ranked in the top 50 in the country in offensive efficiency and eighth in assists and top 50 in points per game, but everyone wants to talk about what we don’t have,” McCall said. “That’s some impressive numbers for not having many guys. The problem is at the other end of the floor. If we could adjust a couple things and get a couple more fundamentals into the game defensively, the outcomes of some of these games could have been different. We’re right there. We have to break through. There’s a lot of ball to still be played.”
UMass freshman Khalea Turner-Morris will travel to George Mason, but McCall said his big man had a bit of a setback in his concussion recovery and is doubtful to play.
“I don’t think he’ll play. He had some setbacks (Wednesday) and didn’t practice today,” McCall said. “He’s got to be symptom free before he can practice. We’re hopeful, but I’d be shocked if he’s in the lineup.”
GMU is 13-15 (7-8 Atlantic 10) after beating Saint Joseph’s at the buzzer for the second time this season, Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The Patriots beat UMass, 80-72, in overtime on Jan. 3 behind 33 points and nine assists from Otis Livingston II. Luwane Pipkins was eagerly awaiting the rematch.
“He’s one of the best guards in the league. I’m looking forward to playing him again,” Pipkins said. “We have to go in and get this one. We can’t lose twice to them. We have to go win with an edge. It would be good for us to use these last thee games to build our confidence going into the tournament.”
SCOREBOARD WATCHING — The highest UMass (11-17, 4-11 A-10) can finish in the conference is sixth and that would require a lot of tiebreakers. Realistically the Minutemen will have a difficult time staying out of the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament that pits No. 14 vs. No. 11 and No. 13 vs. No. 12 on March 7 at Capitol One Arena in D.C.
If the season ended before Saturday’s games, UMass would finish last in the Atlantic 10. The Minutemen are tied for 13th with Fordham at 4-11, but the Rams won the head-to-head meeting and hold the tiebreaker if they finish in a two-way tie.
Fordham hosts La Salle and VCU, and travels to George Mason in its remaining games.
La Salle (5-10), George Washington (6-9) and Duquesne (6-9) are ahead of the Minutemen.
La Salle, which split with UMass, is at Fordham and Saint Joseph’s, and hosts Dayton.
GW is at Saint Louis and Dayton, and hosts Fordham.
After George Mason, UMass visits Richmond and hosts Duquesne. Duquesne hosts Davidson and Saint Louis before playing UMass.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage