UMass87

Most of the games in those series pre-date the 1973 creation of DI DII and DIII.

Lari Ketner

"an historic" ... major pet peeve of mine. Does UMass have an history of success? Was yesterday almost an hiccup for them? Does a door swing on an hinge?

Makes no sense. Name one other word when you pronounce the H and put "an" before it. So why the special treatment for historic?

bdance

That will be my first look at this team. Wish they were playing BU in Boston, I love that arena. Don't think I've ever been in NU's. (I need to check BU's schedule to see if they're hosting any other A10 schools)

So, I should be looking for the guy with the oversized foam Cowboys Hat that's causing a ruckus by cheering for and against both teams, and then move as far away as possible?

UMass87

bdance - I will be there.

bdance

Hey, I'll buy you a beer, if they sell beer. (One reason I love BU. Okay, maybe the only one). I'll do my usual walk-up at the last minute so I have no idea where I'll be sitting. Mostly likely alone, and at least partly tanned, just back from a week in the Caymans. My wife will be working, while I go search for Mitt's money.

RF1

I agree that BU's Agganis Arena is top notch (basically a min-Boston Garden). Easily the nicest college venue in New England.

Have seen URI play at Northeastern's Matthews Arena. It does not have much in the way of amenities given it was opened in 1910. There really isn't even a concourse to move fans around the court. Basically what little concessions and bathrooms in the bulding are behind the baskets at each end. I almost walked in to the locker-room looking for a bathroom during half-time. The neat thing about Matthews is thinking about all the history that has taken place there. It was the original home to the Bruins, Celtics, all Boston area college hockey teams, and the Beanpot. Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, and Joe Lewis all boxed there.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthews_Arena

SDW

It's great that UMass pulled it out, that's all that matters in the short term - get the wins, get the SOS and RPI bump from playing NC State. Who knows, maybe those games will focus the team for a big effort and have NCSU take them a bit lightly.

Long term, however, it is disconcerting to see that UMass teams are still playing down to competition and looking ragged, even with a top-flight PG running the team. The change in offensive system and addition of Williams can account for the turnaround last season, but Kellogg really needs to be a better coach if UMass is to make any kinds of noise. He can't consistently get outclassed on the sidelines and expect to pull rabbits out of a hat in the final seconds. Won't happen against better teams. UMass has talent but the utilization of such remains a question mark, in my opinion.

I hope to see a really strong effort against NCSU. That game can make up for a lot of ATSF games.

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SpiderDave19

Again, I don't see it as Kellogg being outclassed. Was Majerus outclassed last year when Umass kicked the shit out of St Louis? No, Umass shot well and St Louis did not.

I thought Umass played very solid defense for most of the game last night, and got a lot of very good shots that they missed.

Kellogg can get better, like most coaches. They should be strong this year and next, and I don't want to see the type of players they'll get with a couple NCAA appearances under their belt. Talent acquisition is a very large part of college coaching success. Even if he's not Norman Dale with the X's and O's, they'll get talent. And x's and o's can get better.

uz2b-len

As far as Kellogg's intellect, that's a hard thing to judge, but I believe he was an academic all-conference player. Something Sean Carter couldn't get even with his 4.0 semester. Also, he deserves some kudos for building a team that doesn't give up and can make big plays when they have to. Also, I noticed last night that some of the players were doing stuff I thought had been lacking previously, which tells me that they had been coached up (Putney attacking the hoop more,Vinson posting up). So I think Kellogg gets something done in that department. I don't see that he's very good at making X/O adjustments during the games. Hopefully, that will come with more experience. In that department, also, we should probably really think of him as a second year head coach, because his first three years he was saddled with Vance Walberg and the dribble drive.