After Monday’s game against Bryant, the UMass men’s basketball team isn’t scheduled to play again until the Minutemen host George Mason on Dec. 30. UMass coach Matt McCall said the team considered playing Saturday, but the travel challenges coming back from Philadelphia after beating La Salle changed their mind.
The Minutemen might play Wednesday before Christmas, but it would need to be a local opponent.
“We’ve been trying to get more games,” McCall said. “We’re not opposed to everyone taking a step back and catching our breath. When we hit Dec. 30 it’s going to be two games per week for the next two and a half months. It’s a grind. Sometimes this Christmas break is good for everyone to take a step back, take a breath.”
UMass won’t put restrictions on its players if they want to go home for the Christmas break. McCall and his staff have tried to educate their players about the state travel regulations and what would be required of them once they returned to Amherst.
“We don’t want them not to be able to go home and see their families, from a mental health standpoint that’s important,” he said. “We want our guys to be safe, stick to their homes, stay away from large crowds and gatherings. It’s a touchy thing. Our guys have been here since August 14. They haven’t seen their families in a very long time. We don’t want to take that away form them, but we want them to be safe.
HOTELS, BUSES AND UBERS — UMass dealt with adversity from more than La Salle’s press in Philadelphia. The Minutemen’s bus broke down going from their hotel to the arena, complicating their rapid COVID-19 testing plans.
The game was moved up an hour to give the Minutemen extra time to try and avoid Wednesday’s massive snowstorm, but UMass was delayed leaving the arena. The plan was to get to the interstate with hopefully clear roads. But after traveling 60 miles at 25 miles per hour, they stopped at a hotel in New Jersey for the night rather than brave the highway at night.
“We needed to make sure our players were safe,” McCall said.
The team left at 10 a.m. Thursday and headed back to Amherst on clear roads with no traffic.
“We had some interesting challenges, to say the least,” McCall said.
MITCHELL NOT DWELLING ON HISTORY — Tre Mitchell’s 37-point career night against La Salle tied for the eighth highest scoring game in UMass history. He shares a spot with Julius Erving and just below is Marcus Camby’s name.
“It’s a privilege to be in that position. Being in the same company as those guys is unreal. It’s not something I’m going to sit here and dwell on,” Mitchell said. “It’s probably something I’ll probably look at at the end of my career. Right now there’s more work to be done.”
Mitchell’s 26 points per game is tied with Alabama A&M’s Jalen Johnson for third in the nation. Iowa’s Luka Garza leads the country at 29.3 ppg. The UMass sophomore is shooting 64.4 percent from the field and has made 4 of 6 3-pointers. He’s been one of the most efficient high volume scorers in the country through an early, small sampling.
“Nothing but reps and hard work,” Mitchell said. “That’s all you can credit it to, the more you time put in, the more you’re going to get out.”
INJURY REPORT — McCall said senior center Mark Gasperini has been battling knee soreness, and that’s why the team has limited his minutes in the first few games. The Minutemen want to make sure he’s fully healthy when they enter conference play.