Since transitioning from Division II to Division I and joining the America East (AE) Conference in 2013-14, UMass Lowell has exceeded expectations.

The River Hawks were picked to finish last in their first two seasons in the AE, but finished fifth in their first year and sixth in their second. UML did it again last year, recording a 7-9 conference record and a fifth-place AE finish.

“We’ve never really been that concerned with other people’s expectations or where they have picked us,” said UMass Lowell head coach Pat Duquette. “So we’ll continue that approach [and] not let it impact our mindset.”

Duquette coached his squad to an 11-18 finish last season, leading the program to its first-ever win against an Ivy League opponent (Cornell) and an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent (Boston College). His teams have hit double-digit wins in each of his seasons as head coach. Prior to taking the helm in Lowell, Duquette served as associate head coach at Boston College for 13 seasons before joining Northeastern for three seasons.

“I think it helped our players knowing that they’ve had a coaching staff that’s been at the Division I level,” Duquette said. “Not just me — we have three former Division I players on my staff … and that gives our guys confidence.”

The River Hawks’ conference successes have not translated into postseason appearances. Because UML is still transitioning to the Division I level, it won’t be eligible for playoff action until the 2017-18 season.

“It hasn’t been difficult to motivate our guys at all,” Duquette said. “They’re the right type of players; they’re competitive, they take a lot of pride in what they do and they’ve played hard right from day one regardless of not being postseason eligible.”

UMass Lowell’s biggest strength this year is its high-powered offense. The River Hawks ranked first in the AE last season with 76.6 points per game. They also ranked second in field goal percentage, shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

“I think we need to continue to play the way we have offensively,” Duquette said. “Our guys understand how they need to play; they’ve got a great identity on offense and they play the right way, so we want to continue to do that.”

Leading the way for the River Hawks is redshirt junior forward Jahad Thomas, who led the team in points (14.2), assists (3.4) and rebounds (7.4) last season and shot a team-best 58 percent from the floor. In the AE, Thomas ranked third in both rebounds per game and field goal percentage, while finishing seventh in scoring.

Thomas’ versatility was key for UML last season. In addition to his offensive production, he made waves on the defense for the River Hawks, leading the team in steals with 1.3 per game. His 5.5 defensive boards per game were third best in the conference.

Thomas’ 2015-16 performance was good enough to earn him AE All-Conference Second team honors and land him on this year’s Preseason All-Conference team. He is the first River Hawk to earn either honor.

“If you are going to go through this huge transition process, as difficult as it is, you probably don’t want to start it with anybody other than Jahad Thomas,” Duquette said. “We’ve been through a lot of challenges early on and it’s been great to have a guy like [Thomas] providing that leadership for us.”
While Thomas is certain to be a potent offensive threat for UML, he is not alone in this endeavor. Last season, freshman guard Isaac White had a standout rookie year that earned him a spot on the AE All-Rookie team. White was second on the team in both scoring (11.5) and assists (2.4).

The one area in which the River Hawks need to improve is their defense. In 2015-16, they ranked eighth in the conference in scoring defense and seventh in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.

“Obviously the greatest area of our improvement is defending and rebounding and that’s really what we focused most of our preseason on — getting better in those two areas,” Duquette said.

This team will be a tough matchup for any AE foe simply because of the way it scores the basketball. Although they have been predicted to finish in the bottom half of the conference, the River Hawks have proven they should not be overlooked.

“It’d be nice to surpass the preseason expectations of where we are picked again,” Duquette said. “I’d love to do that like we’ve done each of our first three seasons.”

UMass Lowell’s season is scheduled to kick off on Nov. 11 with a game against UMass Amherst. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. from the William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.