Who's Playing
Massachusetts Minutemen @ Portland Pilots
Current Records: Massachusetts 6-3, Portland 6-7
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 23, 2023 at 1 a.m. ET
- Where: SimpliFI Arena at Stan Sheriff Center -- Honolulu, Hawaii
- TV: ESPN2
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
The Portland Pilots' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Massachusetts Minutemen at 1:00 a.m. ET on December 23rd at SimpliFI Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
It's hard to win when you don't work as a unit and post ten fewer assists than your opponent, a fact Portland found out the hard way on Thursday. They fell 69-56 to the Warriors. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Portland has scored all season.
Despite the defeat, Portland got a solid performance out of Vukasin Masic, who scored 18 points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Portland struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but the Minutemen had to settle for a 73-70 defeat against the Yellow Jackets on Thursday.
Despite their defeat, Massachusetts saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Matt Cross, who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and four steals, was perhaps the best of all. Jayden Ndjigue was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five steals.
The Pilots have been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-7 record this season. As for the Minutemen, their loss dropped their record down to 6-3.
Fans should be in for an exciting game on Saturday as the pair are among the highest scoring teams in the league right now. Portland hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 75.4 points per game. However, it's not like Massachusetts struggles in that department as they've been averaging 82.6 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
