After shaky stretch, UMass eyes prize
University of Massachusetts basketball coach Travis Ford trudged into the interview room at the low point of the season late on Valentine's Day. His team had just fallen at home to a Fordham club with a losing record in a game televised on ESPN2.
Ford looked weary. The Minutemen had just dropped their seventh game in their last 11, turning a glittering 11-2 start into a season that appeared to be heading south. At 15-9, and just 4-6 in the Atlantic 10, the team's prospects of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade looked dim.
"There is no at-large [invitation to the tournament]," Ford said. "There is none. That's done. That's probably pretty safe to say."
The coach then paused, swallowing the disappointment and summoning some measure of hope. "I don't know," he added. "If we win out, I think we'll be all right."
What seemed like media spinning on that night has turned into a bunch of winning ever since. With dramatically improved play from several players, the Minutemen have sprung off the canvas to win five straight, including road victories against teams with postseason aspirations of their own in Rhode Island and Richmond. On Wednesday night, they found a savage intensity in overwhelming La Salle, 100-63, a game highlighted by emphatic dunks, vicious blocked shots, and a blizzard of threes.
As a result, the Minutemen enter tonight's regular-season finale at George Washington with legitimate NCAA hopes after all. They are 20-9, tied with Saint Joseph's and Richmond for third in the 14-team A-10 with 9-6 league records. Their RPI is 37th out of 341 Division 1 teams, second best in the league. The dream is alive.
"We see the capabilities of the team," said senior Gary Forbes, the league's second-leading scorer (20.3 points per game) and fourth-leading rebounder (8.0 rpg). "We've seen it all year. Now we're trying just not to fall short of what we know we can accomplish."
Forbes acknowledged he is yearning for a bid to the NCAA tourney. "It would mean the world to me," he said. "I've never played in it before. It's something I've always watched on TV. I just want to be a part of that 'One Shining Moment' commercial."
Before that happens, there is work to be done. It begins tonight in the nation's capital against an underachieving George Washington team that had made it to the NCAA Tournament three straight years. This season, the Colonials have been Team Turmoil, with injuries and dissension dropping them to 9-16, 5-10 in the league. Recently, they seemed to find their stride with three straight wins. But GW followed a loss at first-place Xavier with a loss at Charlotte in the immediate aftermath of star guard Maureece Rice being dismissed from the squad for violating team rules.
This will be George Washington's senior day, the culmination of a turbulent season, and UMass knows it will have to be ready for a feisty team.
"We know they're going to be pumped up," said senior Dante Milligan, coming off a glittering 18-point game against La Salle. "We just have to stay composed."
The Colonials have pinned some excruciating losses on UMass over the years. In January 1989, in John Calipari's first season as UMass coach, the Colonials overwhelmed the Minutemen, 103-77, in their only win of a 1-27 campaign. In the mid-'90s, GW twice knocked off Calipari's UMass squads when they were ranked No. 1. The Minutemen came into one of those games with a 26-0 record.
Next week, UMass heads to Atlantic City for the Atlantic 10 tournament. With a win tonight, the Minutemen will secure one of four first-round byes. (They can also get one if they lose and Richmond loses at Xavier.) The A-10 tourney has been a disaster for the Minutemen. They have not won a game in it since 2002.
Ford said the path to the NCAA Tournament involves absolute focus. He believes the Valentine's night loss was a blessing. "We've done a good job of refocusing after that."
UMass-George Washington
What: Atlantic 10 regular-season finale
When: Tonight, 7:30
Where: Washington, D.C.
Radio: WCRN (830) 