The message came 30 minutes before tipoff from the man with his name on the arena.
Richard Chaifetz went on X to tell fans he was on the way to the arena to see ºüÀêÊÓƵ University play Massachusetts. Then he added the kicker.
“A game we must win,†he wrote.
However, the story of the season of bad defense did not change. The same went for the outcome, which was an 84-73 win by the Minutemen.Â
The Billikens allowed more than 80 points in their third straight game for the first time in coach Travis Ford’s tenure and for the ninth time this season.
They fell to No. 325 in the country in adjusted defense with their fourth straight loss that dropped them to last place alone in the Atlantic 10. Ford was asked how he approaches discussions with his staff about trying to improve the defense at this point after weeks without progress.
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“It’s hard. You may not understand what we’re doing out there,†he said. “We change every game what we’re trying to do. We don’t leave and go home. We’ll be here until 2 in the morning trying to figure it out.
“We thought we were implementing things defensively today that were going to help our team one on one. Every game plan is a little different. We need to look at pressing or zoning … Our zone’s not very good. I can 100% assure you we’re trying to figure this out.â€
SLU was chasing UMass the entire second half in front of the season’s largest crowd of 7,423, threatening to catch the Minutemen but failing to get enough defensive stops to get closer than three points.
Since starting the season with four wins, SLU (8-12 overall, 1-6 A-10) has lost 12 of 16 games. UMass (13-7, 4-4) bounced back after losing two of its previous three games by one point.
The offense was effective in stretches, but it is becoming apparent that the Billikens will need to start racking up more points to compete on a regular basis. Increasing the tempo again is part of the plan.
“We tried a little bit tonight,†Ford said. “It’s hard when they’re scoring every possession. We can’t survive giving up more than 80 points a game at home or anywhere. Offensively we did some good things, but we had some guys not play well offensively.â€
Minutes were adjusted somewhat with some positive results. Freshman guard Djordje Curcic played well in the first half, scoring eight points, but didn’t return until late in the second half. Sincere Parker played only 14 minutes and had two points on free throws. And freshman center Stef van Bussel played eight minutes, getting more time than Bruce Zhang.
Regardless of the combinations, the Minutemen scored by driving on the Billikens repeatedly and getting the ball inside. It led to them scoring 40 points in the paint with 18 layups.
“We’ve had really good defenses here at times,†Ford said. “So, it’s not like we forgot how to teach defense overnight. This team we didn’t want to press because they score so many points. We didn’t want to get in a running game with them. But we do want to try to play faster offensively without pressing. Maybe we’ve got to get back to pressing a little or maybe a little zone. We’re up for everything at this point.â€
SLU raced out to an early lead on the strength of 3-pointers, an area where the Billikens struggled three days earlier. They made 4 of 26 against Davidson but hit 6 of 12 in the first 20 minutes and 11-for-24 overall.
UMass built its biggest lead at 64-53 with a 10-3 run and a whole lot of offensive rebounding that led to second-chance shots.
The Billikens’ attempt at a comeback was built on 3-point shooting as opportunities around the basket were increasingly hard to come by. For an eight-minute stretch of the second half, SLU’s only field goals were 3s with Larry Hughes II and Gibson Jimerson each hitting a pair. Jimerson scored 16 points and Hughes had a career-high 14.
“We saw glimpses of doing a few things better, but still need an understanding of the habits of doing what it takes to succeed,†Ford said. “We didn’t play very athletic at all. We couldn’t guard anybody. It wasn’t overly complicated. They just drove us.â€