AMHERST, Mass. -- UMass has gotten back into it, getting within ten on two occasions, including right before the timeout. With 7:56 left, the Musketeers lead 58-48, with UMass having the ball at mid-court.

The crowd has re-awakened and has a little more life. Carmelo Travieso, a member of the Final Four team in 1996, was just introduced as being in attendance, and he got a rousing ovation with fans standing for him.

The band has been bearing down on me all day as my seat is right in front of them, but at halftime it was nice to hear a few tunes from them that had a jazzy feel to them (not the kind of tunes you would typically hear at a basketball game).