Atlantic 10 men’s basketball conference play continues in full force Wednesday as the UMass Minutemen host the La Salle Explorers at the Mullins Center. The action tips off at 7 p.m. EST on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App.
The Explorers and the Minutemen profile as two of the most evenly-matched teams in the Atlantic 10 at this point in the season. La Salle is 10-5 while UMass is 10-4, and both teams are 1-1 in the conference.
Both teams also boast proven head coaches in year two at their programs. La Salle alum Fran Dunphy, who became the winningest head coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history during tenures at Penn and Temple, is looking to build on his first season, when the Explorers reached the A-10 Championship quarterfinals. On the other side, UMass is led by Frank Martin, who led South Carolina to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2017 as part of his 10-year run with the Gamecocks.
The similarities between the teams are uncanny, and make for an intriguing battle of strengths. For one thing, both offenses are among the top in the A-10; UMass ranks second in the conference at 82.1 points per game, while La Salle is No. 4 at 77.0.
Those high-powered attacks are each led by a star duo. Guards senior Jhamir Brickus and junior Khalil Brantley account for 39% of La Salle’s total offensive production. Brickus, who is the second-leading assist man in the conference at 5.1 per game, is coming off Philadelphia Big 5 Co-Player of the Week honors.
For the Minutemen, senior forwards Josh Cohen and Matt Cross each average 16.6 points per game and rank in the top five of the A-10 in field goal percentage. Cross doubles as the second-leading rebounder in the conference at 8.6 per game.
The biggest clash of strengths that may determine this game is La Salle’s ball security vs. UMass’ defensive aggression. The Explorers have the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 1.6. They’ll be challenged by the Minutemen’s turnover-seeking unit, which leads the conference in steals per game (9.4). UMass turns those takeaways into quick points (14.4 fast-break points per game, first in the A-10), so the Explorers will have to take care of the ball and limit the Minutemen’s run-outs.
Full 2023-24 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Schedule on NBC Sports
How to Watch La Salle vs UMass College Basketball
- Date: Wednesday, January 10th
- Time: 7 p.m. EST
- Location: Mullins Center (Amherst, Massachusetts)
- Streaming: NBC Sports and the NBC Sports App. Stream link here
- Other CBB on Peacock Tuesday: Iowa vs Purdue at 8 p.m. EST (pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. EST)
Men’s College Basketball Schedule on Peacock
You can watch Big Ten basketball games by first subscribing to Peacock. Then, either go to PeacockTV.com/Sports in your web browser or download the Peacock app on your phone, tablet, or streaming device and navigate to the Sports section. Find the LIVE game you want to watch and start streaming.
Eligible students can sign-up for Peacock’s Student Discount offer, available for $1.99/month. For more information and to sign-up, click here. See below for full schedule for men’s college basketball on Peacock in 2024, and click here for the full women’s schedule.
