The Massachusetts Minutemen easily defeated the Western Connecticut State University Wolves (NCAA Division III Program) 85-41 on Wednesday night in an exhibition game. This gave Coach Frank Martin and his staff a chance to experiment with different lineups with taller and smaller lineups.
Take all of this information with a grain of salt as it was an exhibition game against a NCAA Division III school. We can’t take this exhibition game and compare it to the team from last season as Western Connecticut plays at a lower level in the NCAA. Wednesday night allowed fans to at least see what the team looks like from a competitive standpoint in person other than from the Puerto Rico trip the team took over the summer. Coach Martin and his staff can use Wednesday night’s game for what they can do to make the team better.
The Minutemen were without South Carolina transfer Daniel Hankins-Sanford, as he is still recovering from a stress reaction in one of his feet. “[Daniel] is supposed to practice tomorrow,” Martin said in an update on Hankins-Sanford’s recovery. “Tomorrow is going to be his first day [in full practice].” Based on this information Hankins-Sanford could be available for the season opener and could have a restriction of minutes just to monitor the stress reaction. Walk-ons Ryan Marcus and Jackson Cronin also were not available for tonight’s exhibition.
UMass had three players in double digits in scoring on the night. Robert “The Natural” Davis Jr. led the Minutemen in scoring with 20 points, Rahsool Diggins had 15 points, and Matt Cross had 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers. Mathok Majok, the 7’3” freshman from South Sudan, had an outstanding night with a game-high of 14 rebounds.
Josh Cohen was a starter for the Minutemen on Wednesday night. Cohen played for 13 minutes scoring 6 points and 4 rebounds. Josh did not play in the second half of the exhibition due to back pain, which gave Majok more minutes. Jayden Ndjigue played in 21 minutes providing 7 points and 6 assists for the Minutemen before leaving the game with 6 minutes left in the 2nd half due to having cramps in his legs.
UMass officially opens up the 2023-24 season with their home opener on Tuesday, November 7th at 7pm against the UAlbany Great Danes. This game will be the 2nd time in the program’s history playing against the Great Danes. UMass leads the all-time history meetings 1-0.
Featured Image: Chris Tucci, UMass Athletics
Kaily “KG” Godek is a current student at Western New England University (WNE). She has been a supporter of UMass Athletics for over 15 years. Kaily focuses on both UMass Basketball teams and occasionally on the other Women’s Basketball teams in the conference. While writing for A10 Talk, she works in the athletic department at WNE. When she graduates from WNE she wants to go into Sports Broadcasting and Journalism. You can follow Kaily on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kgumass23.
