December 30 at Wisconsin (4 p.m.)
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Radio
River Hawk Radio Network: (980AM WCAP)
Talent: Nick Anastos (Play-by-Play), Matt Langone (Analyst)
TV
Big Ten Network
Talent: Cory Provus (Play-by-Play), Andy Katz (Analyst)
Twitter: @RiverHawkMBB | @RiverHawkNation
LOWELL, Mass. - Following the holiday break, the River Hawks are in Wisconsin to close out their 2017-18 non-conference slate against the Badgers on Saturday afternoon.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Saturday would mark the River Hawks' first ever victory against a Big Ten opponent. It would also give the team its most non-conference wins at the Division I level (7), as the previous mark was six set in 2014-15. Lastly, a win would snap an 11-game road losing streak that dates back to Jan. 8, 2017.
LAST TIME OUT
In a game that was tied on 12 occasions, including inside of the final five minutes, UMass Lowell fell, 76-73, against Central Connecticut State on Dec. 23. Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas posted a team-high 21 points in the outing. Freshman
Obadiah Noel added to the offense with a personal-best 19 points, while sophomore
Rinardo Perry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points. Redshirt-junior
Josh Gantz and sophomore
Stefan Borovac finished with career highs of eight assists and four steals, respectively, as well.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 12 games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. He also boasts a team-best mark for steals (17).
Matt Harris (14.0),
Ryan Jones (11.3) and
Rinardo Perry (10.7) round out the team's scorers in double-digits.
Josh Gantz, who is shooting 47.7 (31-65) from the field, is first with 13 blocks, while junior
Shawn Jones is leading the squad with 33 assists. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 45.1 percent (220-710) from the field, 35.7 percent (89-249) from long range and 73.5 percent (225-306) from the foul line.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Badgers, who are currently 7-7 on the season, head into Saturday's game having won their three most recent outings. Earlier this week on Dec. 27, Wisconsin defeated Chicago State, 82-70. Ethan Happ boasts team-best averages for points (16.3) and rebounds (8.5), in addition to dishing out a team-high 49 assists so far. Brad Davison, who leads the squad with 22 steals, has added to the offense with 12.1 points per game. Three different Badgers have logged 11 blocks this season. As a team, Wisconsin is shooting 46.1 percent (350-759) from the field, 34.6 percent (97-280) from long range and 68.5 percent (174-254) from the foul line.
COACHING MILESTONE
Head Coach
Pat Duquette, who boasted double-digit wins in each of his first four seasons at the helm, recorded his 50th career win on Dec. 13 against Boston University.
JOINING THE CLUB
Entering the Dec. 13 game with 977 points,
Matt Harris put together a 27-point performance against Boston University to become the 41st player in the school's history to join the prestigious 1,000 Point Club. His milestone tally came on a free throw at 7:38 in the second half.
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SWEET SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked 40th in the nation for free throws made (225). The team is shooting 73.5 percent on free throws through 12 games, good for fourth in the America East. Individually,
Matt Harris is 33rd in the nation with an 89.8 percent clip (44-49) from the line, while Harris (vs. BU, 12.13) and
Obadiah Noel (at Wagner, 12.5) have each drained a season-high 11 free throws in a single game.
OFFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The River Hawks continue to boast a powerful offense, as they are second in the conference right now with an average of 79.5 points per game and sixth with a +1.9 scoring margin.
UNDER CONTROL
With just 14.1 turnovers per game, the River Hawks have been taking care of the ball this season. The team is first in the league with a +1.92 turnover margin.
STEALING THE SHOW
On Dec. 13,
Rinardo Perry became the first River Hawk to log five steals in a game since
Mark Cornelius did so on Nov. 18, 2015. As a team, the River Hawks, who totaled 11 takeaways in the Nov. 19 win against Cornell, rank second in the league in steals per game (7.08).
A DIFFERENCE ON DEFENSE
UMass Lowell has made defense its top priority in 2017-18 and the difference is clear. The team set a new program Division I record with 56 rebounds, in addition to tying the record for blocks with eight against UMass Boston on Nov. 12. Against Cornell on Nov. 19, the team forced a season-high 22 turnovers. The River Hawks are currently ranked second in the America East and 57th in the nation with 16.0 turnovers forced per game.
BLOCK PARTY
The River Hawks are currently averaging their most blocks per game (3.25) since 2012-13 (3.4). They are also third in the America East right now, led by
Josh Gantz with 1.1 per game.
GOING STREAKING
The team's five-game win streak from Nov. 12-26 was the program's longest since 2014-15 (6 games). The streak also gave the team its best home court start since 2009-10 (6-0). Current active streaks for the team include having registered a three-point field goal in the last 110 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 1, 2014. Individually,
Jahad Thomas has scored at least 10 points in every game he's appeared in since Jan. 22, 2017 for a double-digit active scoring streak of 20 games.
HELPING HANDS
One key to the River Hawks' balanced scoring has always been their ability to share the basketball, as witnessed by the team's season-high 20 helpers dished out against CCSU on Dec. 23. The squad is fourth in the America East rankings with 14.75 assists per game.
STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION
Obadiah Noel was named America East Rookie of the Week for the second time on Dec. 26 after posting a personal-best 19 points with 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc against CCSU. He also earned the first AE Rookie of the Week title of the season on Nov. 13. He became just the second River Hawk to garner AE Rookie of the Week honors following their collegiate debut after
Jahad Thomas did so back in 2014. The guard averaged 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds with three assists in a 1-1 opening week for the River Hawks.
LEADING THE WAY
Jahad Thomas, who was named America East Player of the Week on both Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, ranks among the America East's active career leaders for several categories. He is currently first in the league for career steals (133), second for points (1467) and assists (309), and third for rebounds (714). Classmate Mat Harris has also jumped onto the active leaders list, as he now ranks seventh for career points (1004).
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