The second game of the Luke Murray era will put Boston College on the big stage.
Following a 76-50 win over Wagner in their Tuesday debut under the new coach, the Eagles (1-0) will take the floor against UMass (1-0) to kick off a Hall of Fame Series doubleheader on Friday afternoon in Boston. It’s the opening act for the highly anticipated rematch of the 2026 national championship game between No. 4 UConn and No. 16 Michigan.
“I’m obviously grateful that we got the win, but I’m thinking about the next one,” Murray said.
Despite Montana transfer Money Williams (22 points, five rebounds, four assists) leading three double-figure scorers and a defensive effort that limited Wagner to 30.4% shooting, Murray’s high expectations for his team were clear.
Notably, the Eagles — who have 11 transfers and return only one scholarship player from last season — outrebounded Wagner only by two (36-34) and had six fewer offensive boards (13-7).
“Any time you get a win, you have to be somewhat pleased with that. But … I don’t think the team that was on the floor (Tuesday) resembled the team that I’ve been coaching for the last five or six months. Our execution across the board … left a lot to be desired,” Murray said. “We have to improve a great deal (before Friday).”
UMass will look to ride the momentum of a 71-60 road victory Monday at two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy. It was the Minutemen’s 16th season-opening win in the past 17.
With top returning rebounder Jayden Ndjigue still sidelined with a hand injury, San Francisco transfer Junjie Wang stepped up for an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double, and ex-BYU big man Abdullah Ahmed had seven of the team’s 10 blocks. Jordan Clayton, who returned to his home state from Northwestern, added 16 points and six boards.
“We didn’t have guys playing hero basketball,” UMass coach Frank Martin said. “We kept our composure, we defended, we did really good things on offense.”
The Minutemen climbed out of an early 18-8 hole that included nine Troy points off turnovers before a 25-point lead was cut to as few as nine in the second half.
“Outside of the last nine minutes of the game, I was really happy with how we played,” Martin said.
–Field Level Media
