GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | VIDEO (ESPN+) | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
BALTIMORE-- UMBC men's basketball will begin their path to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, hosting #6 UMass Lowell in the Hercules Tires #AEPlayoffs Semifinals. The Retrievers earned a share of the regular-season title and the number one seed with a split against Vermont in the regular-season series finale two weeks back.
UMass Lowell Game Info:
What: #1 UMBC Retrievers (14-5) vs. #6 UMass Lowell River Hawks (10-11)
Where: UMBC Event Center - Baltimore, Md.
When: Saturday, March 6 - 2:00 p.m.
How to Watch: Live stream on ESPN+, live stats at UMBCRetrievers.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, @AEHoopsNews, #RetrieverNation, #AEPlayoffs
Scouting the Retrievers:
-The Retrievers come into the semifinals after a pair of byes as the number one seed and co-regular season champs after a split with Vermont back on February 18-19. The Catamounts took down UMBC 80-71 despite 23 points from R.J. Eytle-Rock (London, England), but got their revenge in a 66-55 win in game two.
-Eytle-Rock leads the Retrievers averaging 14.1 ppg shooting 47 percent from the floor in 30 minutes per game. He has dished out 48 assists and is the top three-point shooter at 41 percent. Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) is the only other Retriever in double figures at 13.3 ppg and leads the team with 8.7 rpg.
Scouting the River Hawks:
-The River Hawks come to Baltimore after a pair of wins at the New Hampshire pod against Stony Brook (64-62) and New Hampshire (72-64) to advance to their first semifinal appearance in program history. Obadiah Noel had a pair of 20+ point performances in the wins.
-Noel is the team leader at 21.8 points per game and is top five nationally in scoring. He is shooting 49.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three with 54 assists and 21 steals. Connor Withers is the only other River Hawk in double figures at 10.6 ppg with a team-best 22 blocks.
All-Time Series:
-This will be the first meeting this year between the two and the 16th all-time meeting dating back to the 2013-14 season. The River Hawks lead the series 8-7, but the Retrievers have won seven of the last nine. Last year, the Retrievers and River Hawks split with each team winning on the road.
-In tournament games, UMBC won the only matchup back in 2018, 89-77 in the quarterfinals.
UMBC in the #AEPlayoffs:
-The Retrievers are 15-15 all-time in the #AEPlayoffs and have the third most titles of current members behind Vermont (7) and UAlbany (5). UMBC has won six of their last eight tournament games, with the losses coming in the 2019 title game and 2020 semifinals. Prior to the 2018 tournament, UMBC was 9-13 in the tournament dating back to 2004.
Top Dawgs:
-UMBC clinched at least a share of the regular-season title for the first time since the 2007-08 season, leading the head coach Ryan Odom to be named America East Coach of the Year. Junior Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) became the first Retrievers to be named America East Sixth Man of the Year.
-In total, six different Retrievers earned awards with Brandon Horvath and R.J. Eytle-Rock earning First Team honors with Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC) and Dimitrije Spasojevic (Vrsac, Serbia) earning All-Defensive and All-Academic Team awards.
Odom Climbing the Ranks:
-Head coach Ryan Odom is back for his fifth season at the helm of the Retrievers. Odom led the Dawgs to their third-straight America East Semifinal appearance, finishing fourth in the league at 8-8. He will be looking for his fourth 20-win season in five years and is the third-winningest coach in program history with 97 wins.
-He is now behind Tom Sullivan in second (106 wins) and Billy Jones (145 wins) in first. Sullivan hit his mark in nine seasons and Jones was on the sidelines for 12 years.
Horvath Chasing 1K:
-Senior Brandon Horvath played in his 100th career contest against Coppin State on December 13. He is also fast approaching 1,000 career points, just 22 points away from reaching the milestone, and will be the 24th Retriever all-time to hit the mark.
-Horvath is also currently 12th in career rebounds (573) and is approaching the top ten in career games played.
Facts and Figures:
-R.J. Eytle-Rock is currently on an 11-game double-digit scoring streak that dates back to the second game against Binghamton on December 28. Over that span, Eytle-Rock is averaging 16.7 ppg with a 27 point performance against New Hampshire.
-Since the 2016-17 season, UMBC has made three or fewer three-pointers 12 times in a game with four of those games coming this season, in which the Retrievers won all four.
-Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) is fifth in the nation in free throw percentage at 93.3 percent while the team is 10th nationally in field goal defense and 39th in scoring defense.
Up Next:
-The winner will take on the winner of No. 2 Vermont vs. No. 4 Hartford on Saturday, March 13 at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 at the home court of the higher seed.
