The early read from head coach Frank Martin this preseason was that the Massachusetts men’s basketball team had its offense figured out. It would be a major change from the typical Martin squad, but in a new era of college basketball, the coach felt it was more important to build an offensive identity first and deal with the other side of the ball later.
Those statements meant that UMass’ (1-1) performance Saturday was a shock to some, as the team resembled the Martin squads of old in an 83-62 win over Albany. The Minutemen’s offense was no slouch, but their defense ramped up a couple notches in order to gain and maintain control of the game.
“For the last … probably 10 to 12 practices, we’ve really started to put our foot down in some of our defensive principles,” Martin said. “I wanted to go zone today for a little bit, but I thought our man [defense] was being so good.”
What wound up being a good defensive showing got off to a rocky start for UMass, as the Great Danes (0-2) opened the game shooting 7-of-16. The early returns from the unit showed little improvement off of the season-opening loss to Marshall: players still struggled to play ball screens well and their positioning on help defense left Albany players wide open on the perimeter. At the under-eight timeout in the first half, the game was tied at 21 and it was tough to foresee either team breaking out.
From there, the stats tell the story. Over the last 27 minutes and change, the Great Danes averaged just 0.85 points per possession, nearly two-tenths below the 1.04 they averaged last season. The Minutemen held them in check through total defensive buy-in, which allowed them to break the game open and cruise to a 21-point win.
Martin’s team reached that buy-in through a myriad of factors, but a main key was the improvement of their help defense. The defensive rotations that were half a step late early on in the game became on time, and Albany shooters struggled to generate good looks as a result.
Even when the Great Danes did convert, their made baskets didn’t come easy. The away team made two threes in the second half, and while both Zach Matulu and Jaden Kempson were open initially, late defensive effort on the perimeter made both of their threes somewhat contested. The dogged resolve from the Minutemen guards on those plays isn’t exactly uncommon, but it did show that the team was willing to fight to undo its initial defensive struggles.
UMass’ defense under Martin has been known to contain extremely active hands, and while some opposing teams can remain composed and draw fouls, Albany struggled to deal with the aggression. The passing lanes the Great Danes thought they had became less reliable as the game wore on, and their mental lapses with the ball turned into takeaways and the occasional made shot on the other end.
The desire to frustrate the opposing offense spread throughout the Minutemen lineup. Early in the second half, big man Dimitri Clerc poked the ball away from Okechukwu Okeke, taking Albany out of its action. A few minutes later, Marcus Banks Jr. jumped out in front of Okeke at the elbow, speeding up the forward’s decision making just enough to force an errant pass. While UMass finished the game with just seven steals, the peskiness of its defenders led to many more empty possessions.
“I think [Martin] does a great job challenging his guys and getting more and more from them, and eventually they just get you to break,” Great Danes head coach Dwayne Killings said. “They broke us probably in the last two or three minutes of the [first] half.”
Both the help defense and the increased aggression meant that some of Albany’s possessions meandered late in the contest, as the team saw its first couple actions break down. When time was ticking on the shot clock, the Minutemen didn’t let up, forcing either bad shots or turnovers that further buried the Great Danes offense.
One of UMass’ biggest stops of the night came off 27 seconds of engaged defense. Looking for the proverbial knockout blow up 14 with 6:20 to play, Minutemen defenders denied open passing lanes early, leaving just 12 seconds for Albany to run a new action. When they did, a help defender stepped up on a pass to Okeke and the forward was forced to make a high-low pass that K’Jei Parker deflected. Seven seconds and three dives for the ball later, a jump ball was called that went UMass’ way.
“I feel like we just came out with the right mentality [tonight],” Leonardo Bettiol said. “We worked really hard this week in practice … we [played] hard for 40 minutes.”
The Minutemen remain at home on Thursday, Nov. 13 when they take on Le Moyne. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1.