Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10 Basketball: Bonnies on top heading into conference tournament

By Benjamin Zacher

St. Bonaventure's Osun Osunniyi slams home a dunk in a 74-61 win over UMass at the Blue Cross Arena.Jg 011520 Bonnies 1
St. Bonaventure's Osun Osunniyi slams home a dunk in a 74-61 win over UMass at the Blue Cross Arena.Jg 011520 Bonnies 1 /
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St. Bonaventure’s Justin Winston (35) has his pass blocked by Tre Mitchell Atlantic 10 Basketball Jg 011520 Bonnies 14
St. Bonaventure’s Justin Winston (35) has his pass blocked by Tre Mitchell Atlantic 10 Basketball Jg 011520 Bonnies 14 /

8. UMass Minutemen

  • 2020-21 record: 7-6 overall, 6-4 A-10
  • Previous ranking: 6th

Just like Duquesne, the Minutemen have endured the wrong end of a COVID-19 pause.  After beginning the 2021 calendar year with five wins in six games – including a sweep of URI and a narrow loss to Davidson – UMass was forced to go on yet another pause, and have yet to enjoy the same success since returning.

After scooping up a 12-point win at URI on February 6th, the Minutemen did not line up against another foe until February 23rd, in a double-digit loss at Richmond.  Almost a full week later, UMass again suffered another road loss, falling by 21 to Saint Louis to close out the regular season.

The Minutemen struggled to get much consistent offensive production across both games, with three players scoring double-figures against Richmond – and a completely different three recording double-digits at Saint Louis.  If it is any consolation, both Noah Fernandes and Tre Mitchell – two of UMass’ three leading scorers – were two of the Minutemen’s double-digit scorers against Saint Louis, after coming off the bench against Richmond and scoring just 12 combined points in that tilt.

Despite the struggles, the Minutemen still earned a bye and the 5th seed in the A-10 Tournament, and will not see action until Thursday.  When they do, it will be either the ailing La Salle Explorers or the surging Saint Joseph’s Hawks – the former the Minutemen throttled twice, while the latter UMass has yet to see this season.

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