by Chris Podymaitis and Marc Jean-Louis

After being bounced from the first round of the 2013 NIT Tournament by the Stony Brook Seawolves, talks of a return to the NCAA tournament had already begun with the UMass men’s basketball team.

“Hopefully some of the young guys have a taste in their mouth,” head coach Derek Kellogg said following the 2013 NIT tournament loss. “It (Selection Sunday) should be something to motivate you to work harder in the summer. To eat right, to train right, (and) to do things the right way. And I think these guys do have the desire.”

The offseason saw the departures of seniors Terrell Vinson and Freddie Riley. But with underclassmen Cady Lalanne and Western Kentucky transfer Derrick Gordon filling in the void, along with Chaz Williams returning for his senior season, the Minutemen went into the 2013-14 season with one goal in mind – to return to the NCAA tournament.

The Minutemen opened the season with one of their strongest starts in program history. Defeating high-name programs like Boston College, LSU, Nebraska, New Mexico and Clemson, UMass won the November Charleston Classic tournament and appeared in the AP Poll Top 25 for the first time since the 1998-99 season at No. 24. Subsequent wins over Eastern Michigan, BYU, Northern Illinois, and Ohio elevated the team’s record to 10-0.

The streak ended when UMass shot a season-low 33 percent in a 60-55 loss against the Florida State Seminoles, but the Minutemen looked undeterred winning their next six and averaging just under 76 points a game. Heading into a late-January matchup with the Richmond Spiders, UMass had a record of 16-1 and a No. 13 ranking in the AP Poll. Against Richmond, UMass again ran into problems. Shooting an anemic 28 percent from the field, the Minutemen were unable to complete a second-half rally en route to a 58-55 loss.

Following the loss against Richmond, the team took on a more “cardiac persona,” being down late in the second half before igniting a rally. Down the stretch, UMass found itself trailing late in seven of their last 12 games, only winning four of them. Following consecutive losses against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and the St. Joseph’s Hawks, UMass fell out of the rankings for the first time in eight weeks. A win in the regular-season finale against the No. 17 ranked Saint Louis Billikens would’ve given the Minutemen the fourth seed for the Atlantic 10 tournament and a bye in the first round. UMass lost 64-62 on a last-second layup and finished the regular season with a record of 23-7, earning them a No. 6 seed for the conference tournament.

It had been a while since the UMass men’s basketball team had made the NCAA tournament. Playing in March Madness was almost a certainty for the Minutemen in the 90s, especially when John Calipari was head coach. The team made the NCAA tournament in seven straight seasons from 1991-92 to 1997-98. Those teams were not just happy to be there either, they were very successful. The team made the second round in 1993 and 1994, the Sweet 16 in 1992, the Elite 8 in 1995, and the Final Four in 1996. Their first round exit in 1998 would be the last time that the men’s basketball team heard their name called on Selection Sunday. This season changed all of that.

Derek Kellogg, former point guard for some of those 90s UMass NCAA tournament teams, became coach of the Minutemen during the 2008-09 season.  The first three seasons were a little tough with the win total never getting above 15. The system Kellogg was building started to show dividends with a 25 win season in 2011-12 and a 21 win season in 2012-13. Both of those seasons resulted in NIT tournament bids. It was a step in the right direction but not the ultimate goal.

This was the season UMass would get back into the national spotlight. After a 24 win season, the Minutemen were awarded a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. The CBS cameras were on the team when they heard the news and the excitement was obvious. The goal entering this season was to make the NCAA tournament: mission accomplished. Derek Kellogg brought the team back to a level of play considered standard during his playing days.

UMass did not know who their opponent would be until late Wednesday night, as they would play the winner of the play-in game between Iowa and Tennessee. The game would go into overtime but the hot Tennessee Volunteers prevailed. The first round match-up was set.

Unfortunately, the first UMass NCAA tournament game in 16 years did not go so well for the Minutemen. They were down by 11 midway through the first half and trailed by 19 at halftime. UMass cut the lead to 10 with 13:50 left to go in the game but that was as close as they would get. Tennessee outplayed UMass and went on to a 86-67 win. It wasn’t the result UMass was hoping for, but that loss should not diminish what the team accomplished during the year. It was a step in the right direction and proved that basketball is alive and well in Amherst, Mass.

The team will lose three seniors this year, but the work they did for the program will not be forgotten. Chaz Williams, Sampson Carter, and Raphiael Putney have each left their mark in UMass basketball history. Now it’s time for the rest of the roster to build on this exceptional season. The bar has been set, and UMass basketball is back in business.

Chris Podymaitis can be reached at [email protected]

Marc Jean-Louis can be reached at [email protected]

Photo via Twitter/@Alberto_Liz