NCAA basketball: UMass 96, Nebraska 90
Massachusetts' Maxie Esho, center, trips over the defense of Nebraska's against Deverell Biggs, at left, and Terran Petteway in the first half at the Charleston Classic NCAA college basketball tournament in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
(Associated Press)
By PAUL BOWKER
ATHENS, Ohio – When he was a player at the University of Massachusetts, Derek Kellogg played on a team that won four consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference championships. In four seasons, they won 111 games.
But the Minutemen never won 10 straight games to begin a season in those years.
They have now. Kellogg, a Springfield native who is now in his sixth year as UMass head coach, has watched the Minutemen win their first 10 games and grab a No. 22 national ranking entering Saturday's game against Florida State in Sunrise, Fla. Wednesday night in Athens, the win streak reached 10 with an 83-71 win over Ohio.
The whispers in the hallway are turning into loud conversations just about everywhere.
"With all the social media and all the stuff out there, I'm sure they (the players) understand what's going on," Kellogg said. "They seem pretty grounded and level headed. There's a lot of memorable stats, I guess, we're knocking down at UMass, which is great because I'm tired of looking at the old trophies from when I played and coach Cal was there."
Coach Cal is a reference to former UMass coach John Calipari, now the head coach of 19th-ranked Kentucky. The season after Kellogg graduated, Calipari's UMass team won its first 26 games and finished 35-2.
That was 18 years ago.
"Those (trophies) have dust on them," Kellogg said. "We're ready to hopefully put some new trophies in our case. It started in Charleston (three wins in November in the Charleston Classic). We're hoping to continue that and build our own kind of legacy and history, hopefully."
Chaz Williams, the Minutemen's senior point guard, is determined that the legacy includes the biggest prize college basketball has to offer.
"We are fighting for a national championship," he said. "The conference title first and then eventually a national championship. Everybody behind me and my whole team, the whole staff, everybody feels the same way."
Williams has been waiting for this since he transferred to UMass in 2010 after spending his freshman year at Hofstra University.
"I dreamed about it my first year," Williams said. "I don't know about my last year, my senior year. I thought I'd have it my first year.
Sometimes you've got to crawl before you can walk. That's what we had to do. We're finally walking. We have our chance."
Should the Minutemen actually play Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament three months from now, Williams knows exactly what he would say to Calipari. The thought of it brings a smile to is face.
"Thanks for teaching my coach all the things he knows," Williams said he'd say. "He (Kellogg) is definitely helping us out with it. Thanks.
I'd thank him a lot."
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Williams dominated yet another opponent Wednesday at Ohio, achieving his second double-double (11 points, 11 assists) in three games and his third double-double this season. His 7.9 assists per game not only lead the Atlantic 10, but it's almost double the number of any other point guard in the conference.
"He's not worrying about scoring," Kellogg said. "He's really worrying about trying to be as good as he can be for his team. The reality of it is he controls the game when he's on his game."
TEMPERATURE CHANGE: The temperature was in the 20s when the Minutemen arrived for their game in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday night. Their next stop is Sunrise, Fla., where it is forecast to be a mere 82 degrees Saturday when the Minutemen face Florida State in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The doubleheader at the BB&T Center, which is home to the NHL Florida Panthers, will also feature 16th-ranked Florida playing Fresno State. The UMass-FSU game will have a 2 p.m. tipoff.