AMHERST – Wednesday’s box score listed Samba Diallo with just two rebounds.
What it won’t show is Diallo’s left arm poking away a rebound from a horde of four VCU defenders with 34.8 seconds left that ended up in Carl Pierre’s arms. Pierre was credited with the offensive rebound and made the subsequent free throws after being fouled to put UMass up by five, but the play that sealed the Minutemen’s 60-52 win over the Rams was only possible because of the hustle Diallo showcased.
“You look at the stat sheet and Samba doesn’t have huge numbers like he did against Fordham,” coach Matt McCall said after the game. “But that might have been the play of the game. That doesn’t go in here necessarily, but the effort on that play may have been the play of the game. That’s just one of those little things that we’re preaching and talking about because if you look at our numbers, we’re not great at anything … but our effort is winning us games. That play is a microcosm of that.”
McCall is correct that statistically UMass (13-15, 7-8 Atlantic 10) is not very good at anything. The Minutemen rank 189th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 169th in adjusted defensive efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy. Yet they head to Richmond (21-7, 11-4) on Saturday having won three straight, a streak that could have been at five had UMass found a way to close out Dayton at home two weeks ago.
The one thing that has changed for UMass since getting shellacked at Davidson to begin February is its effort levels. In the six games since being blown out by 35 points by the Wildcats, the Minutemen have won four times and hung with the top-two teams in the Atlantic 10 for 40 minutes. Nothing on the box scores from those six games looks impressive, but what has helped the Minutemen cannot be measured on a stat sheet.
“That’s been the difference in every game that we’ve won – our level of effort and intensity,” junior Carl Pierre said earlier this week. “We’ve got to try to do that for the next (three) games and beyond.”
The renewed effort and intensity is directly linked to McCall’s decision to insert freshmen Kolton Mitchell and Preston Santos into the starting lineup against Duquesne on Jan. 25. It was a choice that prioritized defense and energy over flashy offense, but one that led to UMass making more of the winning plays it wasn’t making before. The Minutemen started winning the rebounding battle more, committed fewer turnovers and more importantly, created more fastbreak offense for themselves.
It was evident against VCU as well as UMass’ defense was much better when it was aggressive and challenging the Rams in the second half compared to the conservative tact the Minutemen took in the first 20 minutes. Although the difference could be attributed to a change in defending pick-and-rolls, the change required far more intensity from the Minutemen, and they responded in kind.
“Effort has been a big piece, especially on the defensive end,” Santos said. “We all watch film and coach will break down what we need to do. Then at the end of film, he’ll show us all the efforts that we’ve been making. That’s what’s been helping us, those are the noticeable things. The ball doesn’t even have to go in the net, but those are the plays that people don’t see that get appreciated (in our locker room).”
MINUTEWOMEN MATH – UMass (18-10, 8-7 A10) host Rhode Island (13-14, 6-9) for senior day Saturday at noon with a chance to move as high as the No. 4 seed in next week’s conference tournament. The Minutewomen have already clinched a home game Tuesday night in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament – the first time UMass will have hosted a tournament game since 1998 – and can finish no worse than fifth in the league with a win over the Rams.
In order for UMass to move up to fourth, Dayton would have to beat Saint Louis and Davidson would have to best VCU on Saturday in addition to a win for the Minutewomen. UMass can finish as low as eighth place with a loss to Rhode Island, but can still finish fifth if Davidson, Duquesne and George Washington all lose Saturday.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.