{"id":638165,"date":"2026-03-04T05:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T05:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/638165\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T05:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T05:03:52","slug":"umass-mens-basketball-minutemen-clinch-mac-tourney-berth-in-94-82-win-over-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/638165\/","title":{"rendered":"UMass men\u2019s basketball: Minutemen clinch MAC Tourney berth in 94-82 win over Ohio"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

AMHERST \u2014 By the skin of its teeth, the UMass men\u2019s basketball qualified for the MAC Tournament.<\/p>\n

The Minutemen clinched a spot in Cleveland after beating Ohio, 94-82, in their regular-season finale on Tuesday at the Mullins Center, combined with Central Michigan losing to Akron, 77-64. UMass will likely be the eighth seed in the MAC postseason tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur offense today, I thought, was really good,\u201d Minutemen head coach Frank Martin said. \u201cOur spacing, our passing, our ball movement. Obviously, when Marcus [Banks Jr.] jumps up and starts making jump shots, it makes everything easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks Jr. poured in a game-high 31 points for UMass, shooting 6-for-12 from beyond the arc and 9-for-9 from the foul line. The graduate transfer broke a cold spell of two-straight games of 10 points or less in the Minutemen\u2019s season-extending victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight was just one of them nights where the hole was wide and everything was falling,\u201d Banks Jr. said. \u201cIt felt good. Just keep coming with the approach of pure confidence and trust and my teammates and their trust in me, to give me that confidence, has been the focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"UMass guard Marcus Banks Jr. (24) dribbles around Ohio guard Ajay Sheldon (0) during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo<\/p>\n

Banks Jr. caught fire in the second half against the Bobcats, knocking down 5-of-7 long balls, plus all nine of his attempts from the charity stripe, for 26 points after the break.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s tilt was essentially a must-win game for UMass and Banks Jr. admitted the team played with an extra sense of urgency in order to keep its season going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was just the mindset, especially after halftime,\u201d Banks Jr. said. \u201cIt was too close and we weren\u2019t playing to the standard that we set for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trailing 39-37 after 20 minutes of action, scoring alternated until about the six minute mark in the second half when Luka Damjanac made a layup to put the Minutemen ahead, 74-73.<\/p>\n

UMass proceeded to outscore Ohio, 20-9, to close out the contest, highlighted by consistent contributions from Banks Jr. and Danny Carbuccia (13 points).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had ideas today on opportunities where Danny would be able to drive the ball against them,\u201d Martin said. \u201cDanny\u2019s grown up. Danny\u2019s a really good player. He\u2019s got to get better offensively, not passing the ball. He\u2019s competitive as heck defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carbuccia converted on three consecutive layups in about a minute, 20 second span to help kick-start UMass\u2019 end-of-game run that closed out the win.<\/p>\n

Outside of Banks Jr. and Carbuccia, Leonardo Bettiol (17 points) and Jayden Ndjigue (10 points) propped up the Minutemen\u2019s offense, which hadn\u2019t score 90 or more points since their 99-92 loss to Akron on Feb. 13.<\/p>\n

\"\"UMass guard Jayden Ndjigue controls the ball during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo<\/p>\n

Defensively, switching to a zone seemed to stunt the Bobcats and their leading scorer, Jackson Paveletzke, in particular, as the guard went from 15 points in the first half, to nine points on 1-for-8 shots, during the second frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat slowed him down from getting into that mid-range, where he was getting most of his points in the first half, so that kind of prevented him from attacking,\u201d Banks Jr. said. \u201cWe were all talking on defense, we were together and it was like we were moving on a string out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Javan Simmons was Ohio\u2019s next best scorer in the loss, collecting 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 makes on free throws.<\/p>\n

The Bobcats weren\u2019t proficient from 3-point land, only hitting 18% of their 3s. UMass shot 32% from deep.<\/p>\n

The Minutemen will have a week to rest up and prepare for the MAC Tournament as the quarterfinals are set to being on Thursday, March 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive them credit, they wanted to be in Cleveland,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that we can beat whoever, we\u2019ve shown over the last 18 games that we\u2019re good enough to beat anybody in this league. Now, anybody in this league can also beat us, the record shows that, but why not? Why not go in there and give it a go and be fearless and hopefully this gives us a little confidence, the way we finished this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"UMass forward Charles Outlaw (22) guards Ohio forward Aidan Hadaway (10) during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass forward Dwayne Wimbley Jr. (2) attempts to rebound the ball over Ohio guard Dior Conners (3) during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass head coach Frank Martin, right, yells at guard Isaiah Placide, left, during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Marcus Banks Jr. attempts a shot during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Jayden Ndjigue (11) controls the ball during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"A member of the UMass Amherst Dance Team kicks their leg up during the NCAA basketball game between Ohio and UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Danny Carbuccia is swarmed by Ohio defenders during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass forward Leonardo Bettiol (3) attempts a layup during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio head coach Jeff Boals yells at a referee during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Isaiah Placide, right, controls the ball during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Danny Carbuccia (0) attempts a shot during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard K\u2019Jei Parker attempts a shot during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio head coach Jeff Boals, left, talks to a referee during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass forward Leonardo Bettiol (3) attempts a layup past Ohio forward Kiir Kuany, right, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Marcus Banks Jr. (24) attempts to dribble around Ohio forward Jalen Breath, right, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Marcus Banks Jr. (24) attempts to dribble around Ohio forward Jalen Breath (22) during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass forward Leonardo Bettiol attempts a layup during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Marcus Banks Jr. (24) attempts a layup during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Isaiah Placide (4) attempts a three-point shot during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio forward Aidan Hadaway looks back at a referee after a foul is called on Ohio during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass forward Dwayne Wimbley Jr. (2) takes the ball down the court during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard K\u2019Jei Parker, left, controls the ball during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass head coach Frank Martin yells at his players during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Isaiah Placide, right, dribbles around Ohio forward Kiir Kuany, left, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Jayden Ndjigue controls the ball during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"A member of the UMass Amherst Dance Team performs during the NCAA basketball game between Ohio and UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio forward Javan Simmons (1) reacts after talking to a referee during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio guard Ajay Sheldon (0) celebrates after scoring a three-point shot during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Jayden Ndjigue (11) and Ohio forward Javan Simmons (1) watch a free throw attempt during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Danny Carbuccia (0) dribbles around Ohio guard Jackson Paveletzke, right, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio forward Kiir Kuany places his hands over his mouth after a foul is called on Ohio during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Danny Carbuccia, right, dribbles around Ohio guard Ajay Sheldon, left, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Isaiah Placide (4) attempts a three-point shot during the NCAA basketball game against Ohio in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"UMass guard Isaiah Placide (4) looks to pass the ball around Ohio forward Javan Simmons, right, during the NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo\"\"Ohio forward Aidan Hadaway looks at the scoreboard during the NCAA basketball game against UMass in Amherst, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II \/ Staff Photo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AMHERST \u2014 By the skin of its teeth, the UMass men\u2019s basketball qualified for the MAC Tournament. 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