The Minutemen’s trip to the Barclays Center for the A10 Tournament did not end well, as they were crushed 38-71 by the Richmond Spiders. UMass opened the game, winning the tip-off, and scoring the first two baskets. However, Richmond quickly stepped up their game, backed by forward Tyler Burton, who ended up with 28 points, and forward Matt Grace with 13 points.

For UMass, a low shooting percentage, constant breakdowns in defense, and not being able to counter Richmond’s quick offense were among the factors that caused the game to spiral out of control. But that wasn’t all, the Spiders’ tight defense caused turnover after turnover, and its quick, hard-to-defend offense made it very difficult to make any counters. When the first half ended, it was the Minutemen 18, and the Spiders 31. The defending A10 champions looked unbeatable.

The Minutemen tried to play on, but continued to struggle. Players who performed well during the season, such as guard RJ Luis, center Wildens Leveque, and guard TJ Weeks, combined for only 22 out of the 38 total points. Richmond extended their large lead, having more points in the second half than UMass scored all game.

The clock hit zero at 1:25 pm on Tuesday and the Minutemen officially failed to advance to the second round of the A10 tournament. Their hopes to make it to the NCAA tournament were shot down.