Massachusetts @ St. John's preview

Massachusetts entered its Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament game with No. 6 Virginia shooting 43 percent beyond the arc - good for 10th in the nation. However, like most offenses the Cavaliers come in contact with, the Minutemen were totally shut down, and they will look to regroup against St. John's in the consolation game Sunday in Uncasville, Conn.

UMass shot 30 percent for the game and was 5-of-26 from the arc which resulted in just four assists for the game. "Tonight, we just weren't hitting our shots, that's all it is," said Carl Pierre, who led the Minutemen with 14 points but was just 2-of-10 from 3-point range. "We hit those shots, I think it's an interesting game. I definitely think we could have come out on top, too." St. John's led Arizona State by nine at halftime in the other semifinal matchup, but Sun Devils guard Remy Martin scored 13 straight points during an early 20-6 second-half surge that ended up blowing away the Red Storm. St. John's shot made only nine of its 29 shots in the second half and committed 12 of its 16 turnovers.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS (5-1): Freshman T.J. Weeks, a 6-4 freshman who entered averaging 14.8 points and shooting 17-of-27 from long range, scored 12 points off the bench and made 3-of-7 beyond the arc, but his teammates combined to go 2-of-19 from 3-point range. The Minutemen's early success has been remarkable considering four of their top six scorers are freshman and all average double figures. Sean East II averages 11.5 points and 5.8 assists against 1.3 turnovers, while fellow rookie, 6-9 Tre Mitchell, chips in 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (4-2): Junior LJ Figueroa had 17 points and six rebounds, while freshman Julian Champagnie added 15 points, seven boards and three steals for the Red Storm, who entered shooting 38 percent beyond the arc but connected on just 3-of-16. Senior guard Mustapha Heron, who entered the contest leading the team in scoring (17.8 points) while draining 13-of-20 shots from the arc, finished with five points on 1-of-8 shooting and missed both 3-pointers. Rasheem Dunn scored 14 points off the bench for his third double-digit scoring game since gaining his eligibility.

TIP-INS

1. The Minutemen had scored at least 80 points in the past three games and entered the Virginia game averaging 78.4 points.

2. St. John's ranks 20th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (37.5), led by reserve Marcellus Earlington (17.8), Josh Roberts (14.1) and Champagnie (7.6).

3. According to KenPom, the Minutemen rank 342nd in experience coming into the season at an average of 0.92 years.

PREDICTION: St. John's 87, Massachusetts 84