The University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team will play against Toledo in the semifinal round of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament on Friday, March 13. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tipoff at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
This matchup marks the sixth meeting between UMass and Toledo, with the Rockets holding a slight edge in their all-time series. The teams last met on January 20, when UMass secured an 84-82 victory at home. The Minutemen advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 20 Miami (OH), 87-83, overcoming two double-digit deficits to hand Miami its first loss of the season.
Leonardo Bettiol led UMass with 25 points and eight rebounds in that quarterfinal win, while Marcus Banks Jr. contributed 18 points and broke the program’s single-season record for three-pointers made with his first basket from beyond the arc. Daniel Hankins-Sanford returned from injury to add 11 points and eight rebounds, and Jayden Ndjigue scored a key and-one basket late in the game.
Toledo enters the semifinal following a narrow 77-76 win over Bowling Green. Sonny Wilson leads Toledo with averages of 17.2 points and 4.5 assists per game, ranking seventh in both categories within the conference. Sean Craig anchors their defense with an average of 7.2 rebounds per game, while Leroy Blyden Jr., who scored 23 points against Bowling Green, ranks third in free throw percentage among MAC players.
Under head coach Frank Martin, now in his fourth season at UMass, the Minutemen have enjoyed their best campaign since 2014. Last year they finished with a 20-11 overall record and earned a top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Martin recently achieved his milestone 350th collegiate coaching win earlier this February.
If UMass wins Friday’s contest against Toledo, they will advance to Saturday’s championship round of the MAC tournament at Rocket Arena.
