The Minutemen have lost only once at the Mullins Center, but lost to Duquesne on the road Jan. 18, 80-69.
Massachusetts' Chaz Williams, left, leads UMass against Duquesne Tuesday nigh.AMHERST - Sean Carter is too busy to worry about posterity.
"I'm just thinking about winning this game, going to Atlantic City and trying to win a championship,'' said the University of Massachusetts men's basketball senior center, who may play his final game on the Mullins Center floor Tuesday night.
The Minutemen will play Duquesne in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. After this round, the event shifts to Boardwalk Hall, with an automatic NCAA tournament berth to the winner.
Game time is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 and available at the door.
They are not part of the season ticket package.
UMass is the No. 8 seed. If the Minutemen oust No. 9-seeded Duquesne, they will play No. 1 seed Temple on Friday night.
Don't tell the Minutemen they can't pull it off.
"We have to play our game, and play at a high energy,'' sophomore guard Jesse Morgan said.
"Our game - we just have to play UMass basketball,'' echoed point guard Chaz Williams, the A-10 assist leader with 6.4 per game and an all-Atlantic 10 first team pick.
UMass' game is to press and run. The Minutemen also need to shore up their defense, which has allowed 83 points a game in its last three outings.
They shot 14-for-30 on 3-pointers in Saturday's 89-83 win over Rhode Island, but coach Derek Kellogg does not want 3-point shooting to be the lifeblood of this team.
If homecourt advantage matters, though, UMass has a good chance to reach Atlantic City. And it's mattered all year.
The Minutemen are 14-1 at home. If they do not win the A-10 tournament, they might have more home games in the NIT or College Basketball Invitational.
The 80-69 loss at Duquesne on Jan. 18 was in Pittsburgh, where the Minutemen buried themselves with 29 turnovers.
That nullified a 48-32 rebounding edge for UMass, which ranks 12th in the nation and first in the A-10 in rebounding with 39.5 per game.
Duquesne was 13th in rebounding. The Dukes were fourth in A-10 scoring (72.3 points per game), but UMass was second at 76.1.
UMass finished a 20-10 regular season with a 9-7 Atlantic 10 record, good for a four-way tie for fifth.
By losing the head-to-head tiebreakers, UMass wound up with the lowest seed among the tied teams at No. 8.
"I like the sound of being tied for fifth better,'' Kellogg said.
Duquesne's 16-14 record included a 7-9 league mark. The Dukes were 4-8 in true road games. where their offensive sometimes abandoned them.
They can still cause problems with forward B.J. Monteiro (15 points per game) and guards Sean Johnson (13.5)and T.J. McConnell (11.4).
Those three combined for 58 points against UMass in January, with Monteiro scoring 23 and Johnson 20.
Even so, this matchup looks favorable to UMass. The teams have similar styles, which means UMass will have to execute its game plan but probably not need to alter it.