The Massachusetts Minutemen (1-0, 0-0 A-10) opened up their season with a 92-71 win against the UAlbany Great Danes (0-1, 0-0 American East) on Tuesday night. UMass came out hot right from the start and never looked back. At one point the Great Danes had the lead down to only two points in the first half, but the game never got that close after that point.
With a bunch of fresh faces coming into UMass during the offseason, the Minutemen are seen as a wild card on where they could stand in the conference. Coach Frank Martin’s starting five for year two consisted of Rahsool Diggins, Keon Thompson, Jayden Ndjigue, Josh Cohen, and Matt Cross. UMass jumped out with a 12-0 start from their starting line-up. Throughout the entirety of the game, the Minutemen committed a total of five turnovers making it the lowest number in the Frank Martin era at UMass.
The Minutemen had all available players in the game for at least 3 minutes. Jackson Cronin and Mathok Majok both were unavailable for Tuesday night’s game. Majok has a three-game NCAA suspension which was first reported by Jeff Goodman on X on Monday morning. Not having Majok and Cronin did not even phase UMass at all. The Minutemen had four different players in double digits on the night. Cohen led the team with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals while going 2-2 from behind the arc. Daniel Hankins-Sanford had a career night with 14 points, 3 assists, and 3 blocks while joining Cohen for 2-2 from behind the arc on the night playing in 24 minutes. Diggins had 14 points and 3 steals, and Thompson had 13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
UMass will continue for their second game in a five-game home stand on Monday, November 13th against the Quinnipiac Bobcats(1-0, 0-0 MAAC) at 7pm. Monday night’s game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Minutemen and Bobcats. UMass leads the all-time series matchup 4-1.
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.
