The Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas will test the Minutemen.
Freddie Riley broke out of a shooting slump Monday, hitting 6-of-11 shots at Boston College. The Minutemen play Florida State on Thursday in the Bahamas, their first game ever outside U.S. boundaries that will count toward NCAA records.It is almost certain the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team will not return to the U.S. mainland with a perfect record.
It is much more possible the Minutemen will return with a better team.
"I'm looking forward to seeng how these guys respond,'' UMass coach Derek Kellogg said as his team approached the Battle 4 Atlantis, a three-game tournament in the Bahamas.
The games at Paradise Island begin on Thursday. UMass has a tall order in more ways than one, with Florida State providing the first opposition.
"They're huge. They go 7-foot, 6-9 and 6-8 on the front line, and their guards are big,'' Kellogg said.
Xavier Gibson, Bernard James and Okaro White form Florida State's towering front.
The guards are Michael Snaer and Luke Loucks, each 6-5. There is also height off the bench for a balanced team that has four players averaging between 10 and 12 points a game.
UMass is 4-0 and has already beaten one ACC team. Monday's 82-46 rout over Boston College relates to Thursday's matchup in only one way.
"It was good to get out on the road and play well,'' Kellogg said after UMass' first game away from home this season.
On Thursday, the UMass-Florida State winner will play the winner of the Harvard-Utah quarterfinal. The losing teams of those games will also meet.
The eight-game tournament also features Connecticut, North Carolina-Asheville, College of Charleston and Central Florida.
That makes a UMass-UConn championship game on Saturday possible. That's a little too far down the road to consider just yet, though.
"Playing a Top-25 team, an ACC team, will give us a good idea of where we're at,'' Kellogg said.
UMass took a preseason trip to the Bahamas in 2006, playing local club teams in exhibitions under coach Travis Ford.
Only assistant coach Adam Ginsberg remains from that team.
This is the first in-season tournament outside of U.S. boundaries since Christmas week of 1994.
That year, John Calipari's team played three games against pro teams in France. Those did not count in the team's record, but these will, making this the first out-of-U.S. games ever played by UMass that will count toward NCAA records.
In 1999, Bruiser Flint's team played a Christmas week tournament in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.
Florida State is 4-0. The Seminoles are a plus-9 per game on the boards, and are shooting 51.2 percent.
Three games in three days will test the Minutemen's depth.
"As a player, if I had a game and two days of practice, I want to play (three) games,'' he said.
UMass has ridden the talents of point guard Chaz Williams, who scored 16 points with five assists at Boston College.
"How many minutes will we play this weekend, 120? Chaz will play 119,'' Kellogg said.
"He's capable. He just hasn't done it in awhile.''
Kellogg was not exaggerating by much. Jesse Morgan is trying to learn the point, but the Minutemen don't have a natural backup.
Williams still had plenty of help at BC. Freddie Riley scored 14 points, with Morgan and Cady Lalanne scoring 11 each.
Riley and Morgan are two of the potentially most explosive scorers on the team. Riley had been 7-for-31 from the floor after three games, and Morgan 2-for-14.
They combined for 10-for-20 shooting Monday.
"It was good to get double-figure scoring from three new guys,'' Kellogg said.
"Cady still doesn't know the speed of the college game, or the shape you have to be in. But I think he's a player who will get better with each game.''