Having only eight players on scholarship automatically puts the Massachusetts men’s basketball team in a weak position vs. most teams. With C.J. Anderson and Rashaan Holloway suspended and not making the trip up to Dayton, UMass coach Matt McCall was left with six scholarship players to take on the Flyers.

With nearly identical numbers in almost every statistical category, it’s no surprise that the Massachusetts men’s basketball team and George Mason needed overtime to decide a winner. A back and forth second half was followed by a dominant Patriot overtime. At the center of it all in the game’s final five minutes — and the 40 minutes that proceeded it – was Otis Livingston II.

With the early college football signing period closing on Friday, Dec. 22, the Massachusetts football program has signed 12 recruits. Nine defensive players and four offensive players–including two quarterbacks–made up the 12 players that coach Mark Whipple and his staff received National Letters of Intent from on Wednesday.

As of late the Massachusetts men’s basketball team has been unstoppable from beyond the 3-point line. But Wednesday night against Georgia State, the fire that has been blazing from the Minutemen’s hands was slightly tamed. In many cases, especially given the defense UMass played, 63 points would be enough to eek out a win.

After cutting ties with coach Ed Matz following the Massachusetts women’s soccer team’s sixth straight losing season, UMass has finally found a new coach for the Minutewomen. The UMass athletic department announced Tuesday morning that Jason Dowiak has been hired to serve as the Minutewomen’s sixth head coach.

It’s only appropriate that during finals week, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team will be faced with one of its biggest tests all year. The Minutemen have played once-ranked Minnesota, New England rival Providence and a Final Four team in South Carolina. But with three non-conference games remaining on the schedule, the Minutemen (5-5) will face Georgia (7-1), another Southeastern Conference team.

In the week prior to the Massachusetts men’s basketball team’s game against Holy Cross, UMass coach Matt McCall hinted that he wouldn’t be afraid to shake up the starting lineup to put an end to the consistently bad starts the Minutemen have experienced. A change came in the form of starting Luwane Pipkins, Rayshawn Miller, Carl Pierre, C.J.

Six weeks into the Massachusetts football team’s season, it appeared that UMass coach Mark Whipple’s time in Amherst was over. The team was 0-6 and, given the strength of its remaining schedule, looked destined for another two-win season at best. But the Minutemen turned it around, winning four of their last six to finish the season 4-8, the most wins they’ve had since becoming an FBS team.

The Massachusetts men’s basketball team’s decent start has quickly slid to the 3-5 record that it sits at now after a 76-70 loss to South Carolina. But for a while it seemed that the Minutemen’s luck had changed. a Final Four team last March—at the half 35-34, and were tied with just over 10 minutes to go.

While conferences around the country wrap up their seasons with championship games, the independent Massachusetts football team will travel south to Miami, Florida, where it will conclude its season with Florida International. FIU has served as a win on the Minutemen’s (4-7) schedule each of the last two seasons; however, this Panthers team is different from those of the past.

While students went home for the week to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Massachusetts men’s and women’s basketball teams and hockey team continued its seasons. After starting the Barclays Center Classic with two wins over Niagara and Western Carolina in Amherst, the Minutemen traveled to Brooklyn to play No. 14 Minnesota and Brigham Young University.

BROOKLYN – Things unraveled quickly for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team in its final game of the Barclays Center classic against Brigham Young, Saturday. The final two minutes consisted of back and forth lead changes that ended in a UMass defensive breakdown with four seconds left where Jashire Hardnett found Yoeli Childs, undetected beneath the basket, for what proved to be a game winning dunk.

BROOKLYN – On the 24th anniversary of the Massachusetts basketball team’s win over No. 1 North Carolina, the Minutemen could not find that same luck against No. 14 Minnesota. In fact, it was quite the opposite, the Golden Gophers beat the Minutemen handily 69-51. A 6-6 tie in the beginning of the first half was the closest the Minutemen (3-2) came to shocking the top 25 Gophers (6-0).

Luwane Pipkins hit one 3-pointer, then another, then another and eventually ended the Massachusetts men’s basketball team’s 101-76 win over Niagara with seven makes from beyond the arc, good for a career-high 34 points. Despite not making his first 3-pointer until only 3:10 was left in the first half, Pipkins’ hot hand was felt by all the UMass shooters.

The theme of the last seven months has been change. Whether that be at the head coaching position, team personnel or with the players, change can be seen everywhere. The firing of coach Derek Kellogg following the Massachusetts men’s basketball team’s elimination in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament had a snowball effect on the program.

Carl Pierre didn’t want to go to prep school but he was prepared to nonetheless. Having not gained much interest from colleges, it seemed like the most logical route at the time. That was until Matt McCall and Massachusetts called. McCall, recently hired as the head coach of the Minutemen, brought Pierre in for a visit.