Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into conference play

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Tre Mitchell Massachusetts Minutemen (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Tre Mitchell Massachusetts Minutemen (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

10. UMass Minutemen

  • 2020-21 record: 2-3 overall, 1-1 A-10
  • Previous ranking: 13th

The Minutemen had not yet played a game by the time last December’s rankings were released, and – now that they have played – they could be described as an “enigma.”  UMass opened the season with a 15-point loss against Northeastern – then lost to Northeastern by three just two days later.

UMass began A-10 play by dismantling La Salle by 19, before dropping back-to-back games to Bryant – the preseason favorites in the NEC – and George Mason in a double-overtime thriller – in a game where the Minutemen led by three with eight seconds left in regulation, led by three with seven seconds left in overtime, and fouled on a GMU offensive rebound with one second left in a tied game in double-overtime.

Luckily for the Minutemen, Tre Mitchell, entering the season as the lone non-senior Preseason All-Conference First Team selection, has been even better than expected.  The sophomore post leads the A-10 in scoring (22.6 ppg) on 59.1% FG and 50.0% 3PT clips while hauling down a team-best 7.0 boards per game.  His supporting cast has been solid too, with four other players averaging double-figures, including Carl Pierre (15.2), who poured in 19 points in 46 minutes against GMU.

UMass is average on offense (34.1% on 3PT and 50.3% on 2PT) while playing the 27th-fastest tempo in Div. I – but have been abysmal on the defensive end.  While forcing teams to take a shot within 15.3 seconds – the 10th-highest mark in college basketball – the Minutemen are allowing teams to shoot 40.0% (320th) from beyond the arc and 54.1% (273rd) inside.

The Minutemen, however, have a valuable opportunity to scoop up some A-10 wins in their next outings, taking on George Washington, La Salle, and Fordham – before hosting Saint Louis on January 20th.

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