MHERST — The University of Massachusetts will face the Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament without Micah Brand, its 6-foot-11 freshman center.

Brand contracted a bacterial infection that led to pneumonia last week, and did not make the trip to St. Bonaventure, where the Minutemen lost 86-69 Saturday.

UMass coach Bruiser Flint expects Brand to join the team in Philadelphia, where the Minutemen meet Duquesne in tomorrow's first-round game at the First Union Spectrum. But Brand won't play this week, no matter how far UMass advances.

"He's improving, but he was having trouble even walking in the hospital without getting tired," Flint said.

A question of whether Brand, a slender player at 243 pounds, had lost any weight drew a small chuckle from Flint. "With him, it's hard to tell," the coach said.

Brand averaged 13.3 minutes, 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for UMass (15-14, 9-7 Atlantic 10). He played three minutes in the Minutemen's 84-75 win at Duquesne Jan. 27, scoring two points with two rebounds.

But his value extends beyond numbers. Without him, the only true center on the UMass bench is 6-foot-10, 285-pound Anthony Oates, who played one minute as starter Kitwana Rhymer's backup at St. Bonaventure, but left after committing two quick fouls.

Rhymer tied his career high with 38 minutes Saturday. With the prospect of as many as four games in four days, UMass could also use 6-9, 205-pound forward Ronell Blizzard at center.

Blizzard scored five points in six minutes at St. Bonaventure, and has more athleticism and offensive skill than Oates. But the Minutemen sacrifice size and strength if he plays the middle, where he hasn't played often.

That could be a factor against Duquesne, whose post players include 6-10, 265-pound Simon Ogunlesi, a physical player who gave UMass trouble while at Villanova last year.

Ogunlesi scored a career-high 21 points and had seven rebounds Saturday, when Duquesne lost 67-58 to La Salle.

UMass is 10-2 when it outrebounds its opponents, and owned a 44-38 edge in the January victory over Duquesne. But the Minutemen have also been beaten 17 times on the boards this season, and lost 12 of those games.

Brand could still play in the NIT if UMass is selected Sunday. His illness caught the team by surprise, since he seemed healthy as late as last Thursday. It does not appear to be as severe a case of pneumonia as that which sidelined La Salle guard Donnie Carr for five games this season and affected him in several others.

Yesterday, UMass guard Monty Mack was named Atlantic 10 player of the week. The league's second-leading scorer with 19.7 ppg., the 6-3 senior scored 50 points in two games last week and moved into sixth place all-time at UMass with 1,537 points.