Good morning!
The jury — or this jury— is still out on Frank Martin’s UMass basketball team. Yes, they’re 10-4 and they beat Saint Louis, 90-81, in front 3,449 fans at the Mullins Center on Wednesday. That’s what happens when the basket looks as big as the campus pond, but how will Coach Martin adjust on nights they’re shooting bricks?

A year ago, coach Matt McCall’s Minutemen beat Saint Louis by a nearly identical 91-85 score, and three nights later they were skunked in St. Louis by 31 points.

UMass shot better from three-point range against the Billikens (10-for-21; 47.6 percent) than Utah State which leads the nation (43.4 percent).

A week ago at St. Bonaventure, the Minutemen made only five of 20 three-pointers, but that wasn’t the only reason they were walloped, 83-64. Their dysfunctional play also included five-second violations, charging calls and cross court passes that went through players’ hands and out of bounds. Tafara Gapare, the New Zealand freshman who’s being touted as the next Dr. J, had a 2-3-4 game; two turnovers, three fouls and four points.

“Boys against men,” said the ESPN-Plus broadcaster.

“We melted,” Martin said afterward. “We lost discipline. I did a really bad job of preparing us to play.”

Going into Wednesday’s game, UMass had fallen 32 spots from their high water mark in the Sagarin ratings, making it as close as a must-win as you can get for early January. Credibility was on the line and the mission was accomplished.

UMass will be favored to beat George Washington (7-8) today and La Salle (6-8) next week, and that has UMass fans overly optimistic. “This could be a Tournament team if they continue to play like this,” texted Marty Maroon.

Maybe, but where’s my money from last year’s bet?

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Fans who came to watch the Minutewomen (11-4) play URI (11-3) at 5 p.m. could stay for the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.

In a battle of two evenly matched opponents, coach Tory Verdi’s team simply couldn’t put together 40 minutes of good basketball. After falling behind on a plethora of turnovers and three-pointers by URI, UMass fought back to take a 48-46 in the third quarter but wilted down the stretch and lost 75-68.

Junior guard Ber’Nyah Mayo, senior Sydney Taylor and fifth year players Destiney Philoxey and Sam Breen combined for 49 points.

Breen played all 40 minutes and at halftime turned and encouraged every player and coach who was walking off the court.

About 1,000 fans cheered to the end, including several who booed the refs. “Watch the game, ref!” yelled one irate rooter. “Get off the court, ref! Get off the court!”

My grandson Chase accompanied me to the game. When I returned to my seat with the lineup sheets, he was beaming. “The mascot high-fived me!” he said.

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Kentucky Wildcat beat writer Ben Roberts researched John Calipari’s coaching tree and found that none of his nine assistants that went on to be head coaches have ever made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament. The list includes John Robic, Bruiser Flint, Derek Kellogg, Tony Barbee, Bill Bayno and Rod Strickland.

Strickland succeeded Kellogg at LIU and at this writing the Blackbirds are 2-12.

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The UMass hockey team coughed up a 3-0 lead and lost to Clarkson on Dec. 28 when Luke Pavicich gave up six unanswered goals in the final two periods. According to a reliable source, “Pavicich never practiced while he was away on Christmas break.”

Coach Greg Carvel started Henry Graham the next night against Lake Superior State and he made 31 saves in a 4-1 win.

Pavicich emerged from the doghouse on Tuesday by making 33 saves in a 3-0 win against Brown.

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Longtime NFL beat writer Peter King said he relied on Colrain native Mike Ryan as his source for the skinny on Damar Hamlin’s condition after the Buffalo safety’s collapse during Monday Night Football. Ryan was the Jaguars head trainer and, said King, currently works for the NFL as a medical expert.

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Remember when the sports page was where you turned to read the good news? The top six headlines on ESPN’s website last Saturday included two items about athletes who’d died, one about a player concussion and another about an NFL player who’d been arrested for fighting a cop. All of it turned out to be a precursor to what happened on Monday.

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In 1971, Detroit Lions receiver Chuck Hughes died during a game against the Chicago Bears. He was returning to the huddle and collapsed three plays after he’d caught a 32-yard pass, according to a story by news4jax.com which used The Sporting News as its source. The player who threw the pass was former UMass quarterback Greg Landry.

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COLLEGE BOWLS: There’s more on the line than prestige by getting into a bowl game. Teams can continue to practice, ostensibly for the next opponent but also for next year. UMass has never been to an FBS bowl game, and therefore never gets the opportunity to practice until springtime. It’s partly why the losing begets itself. …. Seven teams that beat UMass advanced to play in a bowl game which speaks well for the quality of their opponents, and Toledo, New Mexico State, Buffalo and Tulane were all winners. … UMass fans might remember Tyjae Spears, who scored four touchdowns and rushed for 205 yards during Tulane’s 46-45 win over USC in the Cotton Bowl. Spears began the season by scoring three TDs in Tulane’s 42-10 win against UMass.

SQUIBBERS: Frank Martin’s successor at South Carolina, Lamont Paris, is trying to get his team out of a 7-7 rut. “It’s foreign to me. We have some guys who don’t compete in tiddlywinks. We have to get the right guys on the floor that will compete.” …. Make plans to watch two games with one ticket next Saturday when the Minutewomen play St. Josephs at 2 p.m. and the men play URI at 4:30 p.m. … Tuesday was the 100th year anniversary of Babe Ruth’s sale by the Red Sox to the Yankees when owner Harry Frazee needed money to finance his Broadway play No No Nanette. … Tight end Hunter Long, late of Deerfield Academy and Boston College, got flattened by Pats defensive lineman Christian Barmore during Sunday’s win against the Dolphins. … Stubhub tickets cost $3,150 apiece to be in the Monster Seats for the NHL Winter Classic on Monday. It was a good game, but really? … The Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy reprised Jack Brohamer’s line about the 1970’s Red Sox — “25 guys, 25 cabs” — and updated it to next year’s roster composed of “25 guys, 25 one-year contracts.” … Deerfield native Jamin Hemenway caught a last-minute flight to Jacksonville to watch his alma mater Notre Dame beat South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. “What a nailbiter!” he emailed. “That said, for the life of me I can’t figure out why Jacksonville is a major city. I have absolutely no idea why it exists.” … Speaking of the Gator Bowl, South Carolina was flagged for having “two number zeroes on the field.”

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com

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