season_2024-25
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Table of Contents
2024-25 Season
The 2024-25 UMass Minutemen men's basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts, the flagship campus in Amherst. The Head Coach is Frank Martin.
The season represents the 116th season of basketball in the school's history.
This is UM's last season in the Atlantic 10 Conference, as they will move to the MAC for the 2025-26 season.
- Final Overall Record: 12-20
- Final Conference Record: 7-11 (Tied for 10th place, 11th after tiebreakers, out of 15)
| Record | Overall | A-10 |
|---|---|---|
| All games | 12-20 | 7-11 |
| Home | 8-8 | 4-5 |
| Away | 4-7 | 3-6 |
| Neutral | 0-5 | 0-0 |
| Overtime | 1-1 | 1-0 |
Scoreboard
| Game | Record | Rank | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Game Results | UM High Scorer | UM High Rebounder | Overall | A10 | UM | Opp | |
| 10/26 | at Providence | L 63-54 | Curry (13) | Abdelgowad (11) | – | – | – | – | Exhibition, playing 16-minute halves.1) UM leads 41-40, but gives up the deciding run. UM cold shooting: 28% FG overall, 23% in H2, 0-12 from 3 in the game. Malek a double-double with 11 & 11. Diggins 8-1-3 in 16 min, Worthy 7 & 1, Watson 6 & 3. |
| 11/4 | New Hampshire | W 103-74 | Diggins (26) | Abdelgowad (12) | 1-0 | – | – | – | UM starts with an 18-2 lead and isn't threatened. Diggins hits 8 threes, tying UM's single game record, and sets his new career high with 26 points. UM hoists 35 3FGAs, most in the Martin era. Double-double for Malek with 12 & 12, Watson 14 pts in 14 min, DHS 10 pts, Curry 9-6-12 (12 assists career high). |
| 11/8 | at West Virginia | L 75-69 | Diggins (19) | Hankins-Sanford (11) | 1-1 | – | – | – | UM falls behind by 17 at the break, with 12 TOs and WV converts into 17 pts. Better in H2 but not enough to come back. Curry 13 pts in H1, 0 in H2. Diggins 2 in H1, 17 H2. Rivera 14 & 9, DHS 13 pts. |
| 11/13 | vs Louisiana Tech | L 76-66 | Curry (14) | Rivera (9) | 1-2 | – | – | – | “Icons of the Game” event, Uniondale NY. UM falls behind big again (19 in early H2) and can't claw back. Diggins struggles (2-12). UM shoots 23% from 3, 52% from stripe. |
| 11/16 | Hofstra | L 75-71 (OT) | Curry (22) | Curry, Diggins, Ndjigue (6 each) | 1-3 | – | – | – | UM falls into another double-digit deficit (13), trailed for 41:58 of the 45 minutes. 10-20 at the line kills us. Curry 22-6-6, Diggins 16-6-3, DHS 12 & 5. |
| 11/23 | vs Temple | L 87-80 | Curry (17) | Hankins-Sanford (10) | 1-4 | – | – | – | Hall of Fame Tip-Off, at Mohegan Sun Arena. UM again falls behind big (15). Second unit gets us back in it, but we can't get the critical stops. Curry 4-16 FGs, Diggins 1-8 and 2 pts. UM -7 on the glass and shoots 22% from 3. |
| 11/24 | vs Florida State | L 92-59 | Curry (17) | Hankins-Sanford (13) | 1-5 | – | – | – | Hall of Fame Tip-Off, at Mohegan Sun Arena. FSU shoots 70%, scores 55 in H2 to blow it open. UM almost equally bad on offense, 31% FG for the game, 3-24 (13%) from 3. Another bad game from Diggins (2-13 FG and 4 pts). Rivera 12 & 6 but on 4-12 shooting. |
| 11/27 | at Harvard | W 62-54 | Diggins and Hankins-Sanford (14 each) | Ndjigue (11) | 2-5 | – | – | – | UM wins down low as 3pt game struggles (1-16). UM scores 52 points in the paint, and dominates the glass (51 total, +23, 21 offensive). DHS 10 boards, Curry 10-9-6, Rivera 12 & 8. |
| 12/1 | NJIT | W 80-68 | Rivera (16) | Rivera (11) | 3-5 | – | – | – | UM builds a 20 pt lead in H1, gets a little lazy in H2, but NJIT can't recover. Rivera's best game at UM so far with season highs and his first UM double-double. Worthy 12 pts, UM career high, and a team best +16. |
| 12/4 | Central CT | L 73-69 | Rivera (19) | Rivera (10) | 3-6 | – | – | – | Trailing for 31 minutes, UM fails to adjust and make the critical plays. DHS out with hand injury and UM gets no consistency at the 5. Curry & Diggins combine for 8-28 (.286). |
| 12/7 | UMass Lowell | L 96-83 | Curry & Ndjigue (17 each) | Ndjigue (8) | 3-7 | – | – | – | DHS remains out, Lowell scores 12 over their season average and UM surrenders their highest point total at home since 2010. Ndjigue and Worthy (15) set new career highs but little else to celebrate. |
| 12/14 | UMass Boston | W 86-52 | Abdelgowad (26) | Abdelgowad (14) | 4-7 | – | – | – | UM beats up on D3 Beacons with a +31 rebound margin and 57 total boards. Malek sets new UM & D-I highs. Rivera 11 & 10, Curry 10 pts, Diggins & Worthy 7 assists each, Akil 9 & 9. |
| 12/18 | Northeastern | W 77-72 | Curry (24) | Abdelgowad (11) | 5-7 | – | – | – | UM goes up 11 with 6:47 to play, NU ties it up at 70, but Huskies go 0-4 on their last shots. UM survives giving up 50 total rebounds and a -12 margin. Curry sets new career high in scoring, and steals 5. Rivera 12 & 10, plus a career high 8 blocks. Malek double-double with 12 pts. |
| 12/21 | vs Arizona State | L 78-62 | Diggins (24) | Rivera (9) | 5-8 | – | – | – | At Springfield MA. Still without DHS, UM playing well and owning a 46-41 lead with 12:58 to play, when ASU wakes up and outscores UM 37-16 the rest of the way. UM hits no FGs over the final 6:52. Diggins' best game since the opener, but Curry (1-6, 2 pts) has his worst game of the season. |
| 12/31 | at Saint Joseph's | L 81-72 | Diggins (33) | Rivera (9) | 5-9 | 0-1 | – | – | Diggins sets a new career high, back in his hometown, and Rivera sets a new UMass high with 23 pts, but UM goes -14 on the glass and shoots cold (33% FG, 19% 3FG). DHS returns, comes off the bench, 7 & 2 in 18 min. Curry struggles again (1-12 FG) but 6 assists and 0 turnovers. |
| 1/4 | Richmond | L 72-64 | Curry (18) | Curry (8) | 5-10 | 0-2 | – | – | UM drops another home game in which they came in favored. M'men score 22 in the first 7 minutes but only 42 in the final 33, dish a season-low 7 assists and turn the ball over a season-high 17 times. |
| 1/8 | Dayton | W 76-72 | Rivera (23) | Rivera (12) | 6-10 | 1-2 | – | – | Things finally click where they haven't been, and UM wins as a 10½ point dog. UM shoots 19-20 from the stripe, and wins the glass by 12. Worthy new career high 18 pts. Diggins 18 pts. |
| 1/11 | at George Mason | L 77-70 | Diggins (21) | Abdelgowad (6) | 6-11 | 1-3 | – | – | Mason's tight D holds UM to 36% shooting, UM -17 on the glass. Curry 15 pts, Worthy 13. |
| 1/15 | at Fordham | W 120-118 (3OT) | Diggins (46) | Rivera (12) | 7-11 | 2-3 | – | – | Diggins wills UMass to an extremely hard fought win in front of a raucous Rose Hill crowd, vomiting during the game but finds the strength to set a new program single game scoring record. Rivera adds 29 points. UM's first 3OT game in 20 years. |
| 1/19 | La Salle | W 82-60 | Curry (22) | Ndjigue (13) | 8-11 | 3-3 | – | – | Tied at 57, La Salle collapses and UM finds success. Curry nearly matches career high, plus 7 assists and 0 TOs. Career high boards from Ndjigue. Diggins 17 pts, DHS 10 & 9, Malek 10 & 8. |
| 1/22 | George Washington | W 74-61 | Curry and Diggins (19 each) | Abdelgowad (11) | 9-11 | 4-3 | – | – | UM's D holds GW to their lowest (tie) point total on the season, second-lowest FG% (.355). UM shoots 46% (6-13) from 3, their best in a down year from deep. DHS 10 pts, 7 boards. |
| 1/29 | at Rhode Island | L 88-82 | Diggins (27) | Rivera (7) | 9-12 | 4-4 | – | – | Rhody goes on a 28-7 run across the half, UM claws back but falls short. M'men win the glass (+5) but go 6-22 (27%) from three. Curry 15 pts, Rivera 13, DHS 12. |
| 2/1 | at Duquesne | W 62-53 | Diggins (32) | Hankins-Sanford (12) | 10-12 | 5-4 | – | – | UM trails by 3 with 9 minutes left in an offensive slog, but Diggins goes on fire with 22 points in the final stretch. DHS adds 12 pts, rest of M'men only combine for 18. |
| 2/4 | Saint Louis | L 73-71 | Curry (16) | Rivera (14) | 10-13 | 5-5 | – | – | Choke. UM had SLU's Avila fouled out, and led 71-66 with 49 seconds left, but collapses with turnover, missed front end of 1 & 1, and allowed second-chance points. Rivera 14 & 14, DHS 14 & 7. Diggins out of gas, 2-15 FG, 5 pts. |
| 2/9 | at La Salle | W 78-55 | Diggins (34) | Hankins-Sanford (12) | 11-13 | 6-5 | – | – | UM blows it open with a 43-24 second half. Diggins (7 3s) rebounds from struggle vs SLU with his 4th 30+ game in the last six weeks. DHS 10 & 12, Curry 13-6-2-2, Shahid 8 & 5. |
| 2/12 | Davidson | L 77-68 | Curry (14) | Abdelgowad (7) | 11-14 | 6-6 | – | – | UM's usual strength (rebounding) was a weakness: 32 total (-8.6 below avg) and -9 vs Cats. Curry (5-16) and Diggins (4-19) held in check. DC's Bailey (A10's leading scorer) gets his with 21 & 10. |
| 2/15 | St. Bonaventure | L 73-59 | Foster (14) | Rivera (7) | 11-15 | 6-7 | – | – | UM struggles with flu running thru the team, Curry and Ndjigue both DNP. Diggins struggles (5-16), UM collectively shoots 35%, 18% from 3, -6 on glass. Foster career highs in points and minutes. |
| 2/19 | at VCU | L 80-51 | Rivera (15) | Hankins-Sanford (10) | 11-16 | 6-8 | – | – | Curry and Watson both out with injuries, and UM still looks like a team dealing with illness. 51 points a low since 2023, 0-10 from 3, first game without a 3 since 2022, 5 assists a low since 2019. Diggins 3-15 FG. |
| 2/22 | at George Washington | L 74-52 | Diggins, DHS, Worthy (12 each) | Hankins-Sanford (11) | 11-17 | 6-9 | – | – | Offense stalls again, Curry and Watson still out, and Rivera leaves early in H2 with injury. Third straight game in the 50s. UM shoots .339 from the floor, .188 from three. |
| 3/1 | Rhode Island | W 91-88 | Diggins (29) | Hankins-Sanford (12) | 12-17 | 7-9 | – | – | Rhody shoots 58% and scores 56 in the first, but UM switches D and comes back after being down 12. Diggins joins the UM 1K point club. DHS scores a new career high 19. Curry returns from injury shooting 8-16, scores 22. |
| 3/5 | at St. Bonaventure | L 73-72 | Hankins-Sanford (22) | Hankins-Sanford (11) | 12-18 | 7-10 | – | – | A chance to get the W slips away as UM misses 3 shots in the final minute. Diggins 18 & 4, Curry 16-4-3. |
| 3/8 | Loyola Chicago | L 74-51 | Hankins-Sanford (22) | Hankins-Sanford (11) | 12-19 | 7-11 | – | – | DHS notches a double-double by halftime and is the only M'man who showed up. UM shoots a dreadful .266 overall, 1-21 (.048) from three. Curry 11 pts on 4-16 FG. Diggins overthinks it on Senior Day, 3-17 FG. |
| 3/12 | vs La Salle | L 78-71 | Rivera (22) | Rivera (12) | 12-20 | – | – | – | A10 Tournament First Round, at Capital One Arena, Washington DC. UM leads 67-66 with 2:58 left when DHS fouls out, Diggins fouls out with 1:42 to play, and the season and UM's time in the A10 comes to a disappointing close. Curry 18, Diggins 12. |
UM also played a pre-season secret scrimmage against Iona, results not disclosed.2)
Schedule
All times Eastern. Boldface opponents indicates an Atlantic 10 Conference game.
Notes
- Arizona State (Neutral, 12/21) - We'll be playing the Sun Devils in Springfield, as part of the Hall of Fame Classic. (UMass participated in the HOF Classic in 2023, which was the win over West Virginia.) UM will visit ASU in a subsequent season, presumably in 2025-26.
- New Hampshire (Home, 11/4) - UM will host the Wildcats for the season opener, in only the schools' second matchup in the last 30 years.11) No indication of a multi-game series.
- UMass Boston (Home, 12/14) - This will be UM's first regular season game against a non-Division I opponent since 2010 against AIC, but that was part of a multi-team event. This will be UM's first regular season game against a non-D-I opponent by choice since a November 1991 home game against Keene State.
- West Virginia (Away, 11/8) - UM will visit Morgantown, in a return game from the game in Springfield in December 2023.13)14)15)16)
- Providence - UMass was supposed to play the Friars at Mohegan Sun on 11/23, but the Friars backed out for another MTE.17) An unconfirmed report said Providence will play us in a subsequent season as a make-up. (Boston College also pulled out of the Mohegan event, but they were not necessarily slated to play us, so there is no indication that they will offer us a similar make-up game like Providence is.) It has since been reported that UM and PC will meet in a charity exhibition game this October.18)
- The Atlantic 10 Tournament returns to the five consecutive day format, and abandons the Friday off-day that they used in 2023 and 2024.19)
Roster
| # | Name | Height | Weight | Class | Pos. | Hometown / HS / Prep / College Transfer | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 25 | Abdelgowad, Malek | 6-10 | 220 | Sr. | F/C | Cairo Egypt / South Plains CC / Murray State | Active |
 | 35 | Brigham, John | 6-9 | 213 | Fr. | F | Franklin MA / Dexter Southfield | Inactive. Presumed to be redshirting this season, but no official confirmation of that. |
 | 44 | Castineyra, Rollie | 6-1 | 187 | So. | G | Marblehead MA / Phillips Exeter Academy | Active |
 | 0 | Curry, Jaylen | 6-0 | 168 | So. | G | Charlotte NC / Cavalry Christian Academy | Active |
 | 13 | Damjanac, Luka | 6-10 | 260 | Fr. | F | Bosnia & Herzegovina / Wilbraham & Monson | Active |
 | 7 | Diggins, Rahsool | 6-2 | 190 | Sr. | G | Philadelphia PA / Archbishop Wood / UConn | Active |
 | 14 | Doumbia, Amadou | 6-11 | 215 | Fr. | F | Bamako, Mali / Putnam Science Academy | Active |
 | 9 | Engel, Josh | 6-0 | 169 | Fr. | G | Manalapan NJ / Ranney School | Inactive. Presumed to be redshirting this season, but no official confirmation of that. |
 | 12 | Foster, Tarique | 6-8 | 185 | So. | F | Bronx NY / Cardinal Hayes | Active |
 | 2 | Guerengomba, Nate | 6-4 | 216 | Fr. | G | South Kent | Active |
 | 1 | Hankins-Sanford, Daniel | 6-8 | 236 | Jr. | F | Charlotte NC / Julius L. Chambers / South Carolina | Active |
 | 4 | Muhammad, Shahid | 6-10 | 205 | Jr. | F/C | Queens NY / Academy of the New Church / College of Southern Idaho | Active |
 | 11 | Ndjigue, Jayden | 6-4 | 206 | So. | G | Ayer MA / The Rivers School | Active |
 | 5 | Rivera, Daniel | 6-6 | 215 | Sr. | F | San Juan PR / James Monroe / Our Savior Lutheran NY / Bryant | Active |
 | 8 | Walker, Lewis | 6-6 | 227 | Fr. | F | Winston-Salem NC / Winston-Salem Christian School | Inactive. Presumed to be redshirting this season, but no official confirmation of that. |
 | 23 | Watson, Akil | 6-9 | 185 | So. | F | Middletown NY / Roselle Catholic / Arizona State | Inactive. Out since the St. Bona (2/15) game with a knee injury.20)21) |
 | 3 | Worthy, Marqui | 6-3 | 216 | So. | G | Anaheim CA / Veritas Academy | Active |
With the June commitment of Shahid Muhammad, it appears that we might be over-signed, which also happened in 2023-24, and Sawyer Mayhugh ultimately left the team after his initial signing. No immediate word on the impact of Muhammad's commitment on the rest of the roster.
This is the first season since 1956-57 that players can wear jerseys with numbers 6-9.22)
Team photo
Back row (L to R): Tarique Foster, John Brigham, Luka Damjanac, Shahid Muhammad, Daniel Rivera, Daniel Hankins-Sanford, Akil Watson, Amadou Doumbia, Malek Abdelgowad, Lewis Walker
Front row: Josh Engel, Marqui Worthy, Rahsool Diggins, Jaylen Curry, Jayden Ndjigue, Rollie Castineyra, Nate Guerengomba
2023-24 Departing players
| Name | Height | Weight | Pos. | Exp. | Status / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohen, Josh | 6-10 | 220 | F/C | 4 years | Entered transfer portal.23) Our consistent starter at Center, 15.9 and 6.8, A10 1st Team. Committed to Arkansas to play for coach Eric Musselman.24) Stuck with Musselman as he took the job at USC (Big Ten).25) |
| Cronin, Jackson | 6-1 | 185 | G | 3 years | Entered transfer portal.26) Walk on appeared in just 3 games over 2 seasons, missing some time due to a hip injury.27) Has since committed to Yeshiva (D-III).28) |
| Cross, Matt | 6-7 | 230 | F | 4 years | Entered transfer portal, as a Grad.29)30) Our consistent starter at Forward, 15.3 / 8.3 / 3.0, A10 1st Team. Has since committed to SMU (ACC).31) |
| Davis, Robert Jr. | 6-6 | 175 | G | 1 year | Entered transfer portal.32) Appeared in 30 games off the bench, 4.1 and 1.6 in 13.7 min. Has since committed to Old Dominion (Sun Belt).33) |
| Majok, Mathok | 7-3 | 210 | C | 1 year | Entered transfer portal.34) Logged 28 minutes across 8 games, totaling 6 points and 8 rebounds. Has since committed to Oral Roberts (Summit).35)36) |
| Marcus, Ryan | 6-3 | 185 | G | 4 years | Walk-on could have done a COVID-bonus season, but it appears that he will move on to the next phase of life. |
| Mason, Tyler | 6-10 | 225 | PF | 1 year | Entered transfer portal.37)38) Reserve front-court player logged 19 minutes across 8 games after joining the team mid-season. Has since committed to Bethune-Cookman (SWAC).39) |
| Thompson, Keon | 6-0 | 210 | G | 2 years | Entered transfer portal.40) Our consistent starter at PG, 9.3 / 3.8 / 3.0 per game this season. Has since committed to Stephen F. Austin (WAC).41) |
The Mass. Daily Collegian's Dean Wendel is also tracking off-season developments and roster projections. See his work in Google Sheets.
Coaching Staff
- Head Coach: Frank Martin
- Associate Head Coach: Allen Edwards42)
- Assistant Coach: Brian Steele
- Assistant Coach: Matt Figger43)
- Director of Player Development: Anthony Evans44)
- Director of Operations: Jake Hayden
- Assistant Video Coordinator: Dan Carey
- Sports Performance Coach: Tony Regueira
Changes from 2023-24:
- Brett Nelson, Assistant Coach 2023-24, left UMass for a role with NC State.47) Matt Figger, who worked for Frank Martin at both Kansas State and South Carolina, replaces Nelson.48)49)
A-10 Lists & Honors
Post-Season
Player of the Week
- Rahsool Diggins, week ending 1/19 (shared with Duquesne's Maximus Edwards)52)53) and week ending 2/2 (shared with SLU's Gibson Jimerson)54)55)
Pre-Season
UMass was picked to finish 9th out of the 15 teams in the A-10. Rahsool Diggins was named to the All-Conference Third Team.56)
5)
Hofstra vs Seton Hall after UM's game
8)
Tape delayed to 1/16 at noon
9)
Could be delayed if either of the first two games run long
16)
JBF Episode 28 https://youtu.be/YnjOr-ovDvQ?si=EBkACgYcKPyYf0Mg&t=3130
21)
Just Being Frank episode 2/28/2025 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E09hA0OOOdQMuPHlUrKTh?si=7uggRZoxTj6jO5eQEWfIfw
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