The high-flying Minutemen will be without freshmen center Cady Lalanne for four to six weeks, after he injured the same foot that he fractured before the season began. Lalanne, who is averaging 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game, has decided against undergoing season-ending surgery.
"He's not going to do surgery. It's going to have to heal on its own to see if it can heal a little quicker," Derek Kellogg told Matt Vatour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. "We're going to give it a prayer and hope he comes back healthy. It's disappointing for Cady, who doesn't deserve this. He's a nice kid and works hard on and off the floor. He was just starting to figure the college game out. He was really settling into his role. It's going to be a blow. Other guys are going to have to step up and pick up some of the slack."
The freshmen suffered the injury late in Friday's win over Central Connecticut State. Without Lalanne, UMass has just eight active players. Forward Sampson Carter is already out for the season with a hip injury and senior forward Matt Hill has been out with a knee sprain.