UMass senior guard C.J. Anderson runs up against pressure friom Greg King of Niagara in the first half of the Minutemen's 101-76 win over the Purple Eagles in non-conference play at the Mullins Center in Amherst on Sunday, November 19, 2017.
@MattVautourDHG
C.J. Anderson suspension is over. Rashaan Holloway’s status remains unchanged.
The two veterans on the UMass men’s basketball team who both missed Saturday’s upset win over Dayton, were both at practice Monday. Anderson participated. Holloway did not.
Coach Matt McCall won’t be available to media until Tuesday, but he addressed the situation on his Monday radio show.
“C.J. and Rashaan are great kids. There were two separate incidents. There’s a certain standard for the way we’re going to do things. We have to always put our program first,” McCall said. “C.J. will be in the lineup against La Salle. We’ll get him back in there. ... Rashaan, we have to continue to evaluate.”
UMass hosts La Salle, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
MY TOP 10 — 1. West Virginia, 2. Villanova, 3. Virginia, 4. Texas Tech, 5. Michigan State, 6. Oklahoma, 7. Wichita State, 8. Arizona State, 9. Duke, 10. Purdue.
For the rest of my Top 25, visit the College Hoop Week Guide on GazetteNET.com’s UMass Sports Blog.
GAMES OF THE WEEK:
No. 8 Texas Tech vs. — Every week in the Big 12 there’s going to be at least one team with a brutal week. The Red Raiders get the honors this week. They’re
at No. 9 Oklahoma, Tuesday, 7 ESPNU
home against No. 2 West Virginia, Saturday at 2 p.m. ESPN.
No. 10 Xavier at No. 1 Villanova, Wednesday 8 p.m. FS1 — The Wildcats’ newly recovered No. 1 ranking is on the line against the second best team in the Big East.
ATLANTIC 10 GAMES OF THE WEEK: Duquesne at VCU, Tuesday, 8 p.m. — The Dukes are the surprise team on the league so far at 3-0. They have as many league wins as St. Bonaventure, Dayton and Richmond combined.
If they can win on the road at one of the league’s toughest locations, it might be time to drastically raise expectations for Coach Keith Dambrot’s squad.
St. Bonaventure at Rhode Island, Saturday, 11 a.m. ESPNU — The Bonnies have hit a rough patch lately, but this showdown of the league’s best two teams in nonconference play still figures to impact the final standings.
SCHEDULING FORTUNE — The NFL did UMass and Saint Joseph’s fans a favor. The Minutemen and Hawks both play Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Patriots and Eagles, the preferred pro football teams of each of those fan bases, each have their respective playoff games on Saturday.
BUZZER BEATER — There are seven teams ranked in Monday’s top 25 that not only weren’t ranked in the preseason but didn’t receive a single vote — No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 19 Clemson, No. 23 Auburn, No. 24 Tennessee, No. 25 Creighton and Florida State.
Five teams in the preseason poll — No. 10 USC, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 16 Louisville, No. 19 Northwestern and No. 22 Saint Mary’s — currently aren’t receiving any votes.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage
