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Monday, March 17, 2014
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16 YEARS IN THE MAKING
TAYLOR C. SNOW/COLLEGIAN
The UMass men’s basketball team. after a 16-year absence from the NCAA Tournament, celebrates Sunday night at Amherst Brewing Company in Amherst after hearing its name being called. The Minutemen will take on the winner of the play-in game between No. 11 seeds Iowa and Tennessee on Friday afternoon at 2:45 p.m.
After long drought, UMass finally Minutemen officially back after years of back in the NCAA Tournament struggles, rebuilding
By Patrick Strohecker Collegian Staff
It doesn’t matter that the Massachusetts men’s basketball team got put in Raleigh, N.C. It doesn’t matter that it is the No. 6 seed, or that it doesn’t quite know its opponent for Friday’s second-round matchup. All that matters is that UMass is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years. “That was an emotional, great feeling,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “To see UMass pop up on the screen, it’s just a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication from our coaching staff and families. … It’s been an emotional time and we’re excited to be where we are.” Since the Minutemen were eliminated from the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Friday night, they’ve been projected to be about an eight or nine seed. But, to be a No. 6 seed shows that UMass earned the respect that it sought from Day 1. “We felt that (the committee) hasn’t been respecting us all year,” senior Chaz Williams said. “For them to give us a six seed, we felt like, ‘Wow, now they’re showing us a little bit of respect.’ But still, we have work to go out there and do.” Despite entering Friday’s game
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TAYLOR C. SNOW/COLLEGIAN
From left to right, Raphiael Putney, Sampson Carter and Cady Lalanne celebrate UMass’ selection into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Amherst Brewing Company. as the higher seed, UMass is faced with one of the tougher challenges in the tournament: not knowing its first opponent. The Minutemen will play the winner of the first-round game between Iowa and Tennessee, meaning that, unlike the majority of the teams in the field, they will only have two days to prepare for their second-round foe. “We already had talked about
SECOND ROUND March 19
THIRD ROUND March 21
#6 UMass PNC ARENA Raleigh, N.C.
CBS 12:15 p.m. #11 Iowa/Tennessee #3 Duke CBS 2:30 p.m. #14 Mercer
CBS TBD
who was going to scout each game,” Kellogg said. “Now we have an extra game to scout, or an extra team.” As for the three seniors — Williams, Raphiael Putney and Sampson Carter — this is what they’ve worked for their entire career at UMass. So many notable players before them failed to end the Minutemen’s drought, but this see
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GO TO DAILYCOLLEGIAN.COM for NCAA Tournament coverage all week long. including stories, photos and much more. Be sure to also follow our beat writers on Twitter for up-to-theminute coverage from Raleigh, N.C., where UMass will play the winner of Iowa/Tennessee this Friday at 2:45 p.m. Mark Chiarelli: @Mark_Chiarelli Pat Strohecker: @P_Strohecker
he fans squeezed in bunches, craning their necks and maneuvering into position to peer through the glass windows into the dimly lit private event room at the Amherst Brewing Company. Inside sat the Massachusetts men’s basketball team, seated in two rows in front of a television and anxiously awaiting its name to be asked to dance by Mark the NCAA Tournament Chiarelli selection committee. Front and center sat UMass coach Derek Kellogg, donning a maroon polo amid a sea of gray “The UMass Way” Adidas T-shirts sported by each player. The mood was jovial, the expectations high. It was the perfect summation of the current state of the now-sixth seeded Minutemen and the program. Within the walls of the program, there’s a prevailing sense of pride. For over two years, UMass flirted with the idea of truly delving into the national college basketball landscape. But only now – 16 years after the last Minutemen team to play in the NCAA Tournament – are they finally back. Each player surrounding Kellogg came to the Amherst area with a story.
It’s an eclectic mix, ranging from traditionally recruited freshmen to players who never latched on to their original commitment to guard Chaz Williams, a Hofstra-turned-UMass product in his final season who sat directly beside Kellogg. There’s Sampson Carter and Raphiael Putney, a pair of redshirt seniors in their final crack at postseason redemption. But wedged in the middle sat Kellogg, the true architect of the program. A former player under John Calipari and local product, Kellogg’s finally tasting the fruition of six years of labor. He swayed all of those players to Amherst. And while the younger players came to the area eying a program with a foundation in place, the veterans entered campus saddled with the responsibility of rebuilding a once-proud program. “I felt good for our guys,” Kellogg said. “They put a lot of hard work and faith into this program and to have the opportunity to go and compete in what I think is the greatest sporting event on Earth in your college career is important.” The hard work and faith have been tested over the last two to three seasons. There have been the close calls; UMass narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth a season ago. The Minutemen lost players to injury – Carter missed most of 2011-12 with see
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