After a whirlwind tour of the East Coast, the UMass basketball team hosts three of its final four regular-season games at the Mullins Center. That run starts with a visit from the second-place Charlotte 49ers this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game against the A-10 newcomer is just the third-ever match-up between the teams. The game will also mark the first time the UMass men's team will play at the Mullins Center before the newly-installed video scoreboards.

• The Minutemen (11-12, 6-6) come into the game after a 72-64 win at St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon. UMass dominated in the post, outrebounding the Bonnies, 54-33 led by junior Rashaun Freeman (season-high 25 points and career-high 19 rebounds) and junior Stephane Lasme(11 points and career-high 15 rebounds). The duo combined to outrebound the entire Bonnies team, 34-33. With 19 rebounds, Freeman nearly became the first UMass player with 20 or more rebounds in nearly 30 years as Jim Town had 27 on Dec. 12, 1976. He had 11 offensive rebounds, the first double-figure mark off the offensive boards since Ajmal Basit in 1996. The win for UMass, was just their second on the road this season after five losses by just one possession away from home.
In their first season in the A-10, Charlotte has won five straight conference games and is 9-3 in the league. They are 16-9 overall winning five of their last six games -- with a narrow loss to ACC foe Wake Forest, 59-56 on Feb. 11. The 49ers feature the league's top rebounder in Curtis Withers (15.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg) and perhaps the league's top newcomer in transfer De'Angelo Alexander, who is scoring a team-high 16.4 points per game.

• UMassAthletics.com will carrying streaming video of the game. The game will be carried on the UMass Sports Network on 100.9 FM in Western Massachusetts and 830 AM and 95.9 FM in the Eastern portion of the state. Bob Behler and Kevin Kennedy call the action for UMass. Gametracker will be available on UMassAthletics.com and Charlotte49ers.com.

The Series With Charlotte
• UMass and Charlotte play for just the third time in history and first as members of the Atlantic 10. They have split the last two games both played on neutral courts.

• UMass won the last meeting on Jan. 15, 1998 as part of the Atlantic 10/Conference USA Challenge held at the Providence Civic Center, winning 68-62 in overtime. In that game, Lari Ketner and Charlton Clarke scored 15 points each, Tyrone Weeks had 15 rebounds and 9 points.Monty Mack had 12 points. UMass won despite shooting 38 percent from the floor. UMass had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Mack's tough angle shot missed. In the extra session, the Minutemen were efficient. Mack finished a fast break on a pass from Charlton Clarke to give UMass a 54-52 lead that it would never relinquish. Future NBA first-rounder DeMarco Johnson was held to 10 points for the Charlotte. Kelvin Price led the 49ers with 16 points.

• The first meeting came in 1974 at the Hall of Fame Tournament at the Springfield Civic Center with the 49ers beating UMass, 85-57.

• UMass head coach Travis Ford will be facing the 49ers for the first time in his coaching career. Charlotte's Bobby Lutz will be coaching against UMass for the first time as a head coach.

Home Sweet Home At Mullins
• UMass saw its 12-game home win streak at the Mullins Center end on Feb. 8. The Minutemen had not lost a home game in more than a year, last falling to Richmond on Jan. 29, 2005. When the streak was broken only 11 teams had longer home wins streaks in the nation. UMass had the longest home win streak in the A-10. That honor now belongs to George Washington which has won 13 in a row after their win over UMass on Feb. 15.

• UMass is now 8-1 at home this season. After the three-game road swing, UMass hosts three of its final four games at home, starting with the Feb. 22 game vs. Charlotte.

• The win streak stands as the second-longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center. The longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center came from the building's opening, as the Minutemen reeled off 27 wins starting with the debut game, a 64-59 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 1993. The streak lasted until late in the 1994-95 season when George Washington beat the Minutemen on Feb. 14, 1995.

• Those 27 games came after six wins in a row to close the Curry Hicks Cage, setting the overall UMass record for 33 home wins a row.

• UMass won 11 in a row after George Washington ended the record streak, giving UMass 38 wins in the arena's first 39 games. The Minutemen also won 10 in a row from Feb. 6, 1997 to Feb. 1, 1998. That streak was ended by Temple with a 61-47 win on Feb. 3, 1998.

• UMass is in its 14th season of play at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center, and has posted an all-time record of 124-48 (.723) in the building with a 8-1 mark this season. Last year, UMass was 12-5 at the Mullins Center as they hosted a school-record 17 games. The 12 home wins last season was the second-best total at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen were 14-0 in 1993-94 and 11-1 in 1994-95.

• With the addition of last year's 12-5 home record, UMass has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-93. In fact, UMass has gone 22 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. The Minutemen also own a 71-31 (.696) all-time record in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 3-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests.

Ford-Tough At Home
• UMass head coach Travis Ford has been strong at home over the last two years winning 20 of the last 22 games he has coached at his home arena. He posted a 12-1 record at Eastern Kentucky's McBrayer Arena prior to this year's 8-1 start at the Mullins Center. Ford led his teams to 14 home wins with EKU closing the 2004-05 season with seven wins a row at home on their way to the NCAA Tournament. He has added seven more this season at UMass. Staff members Tim Maloney, Steve Middleton, James Altman and Austin Newton were all with EKU as well.

UMass Names Team Captains
• On Jan. 16, head coach Travis Ford announced the selections of team captains for the remainder of the season. Senior Jeff Viaggiano along with juniors Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme were named team captains this season. Ford said, after the rough BC loss, these three players have taken on responsibility and leadership roles earning the right to be named captains.