THE BASICS

WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: The Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass.

ON THE AIR: Rider radio: 107.7 FM, GoBroncs.com (Daryl Fein, Steve Rudenstein); TV: Live feed available at UMassathletics.com.

RECORDS: Season opener for both teams.

SERIES: UMass leads 7-0

LAST MEETING: UMass won 73-63 on Dec. 23, 2004 in Amherst.

SCOUTING RIDER

The Broncs return seven of their top eight scorers from last year, but not Ryan Thompson, who led the team in points and minutes and tied for the lead in assists. ... Justin Robinson (13.3 points, 45 percent 3-point shooting) is their leading returning scorer. After sharing ball-handling duties with Thompson over the past two seasons, he'll be back to being the full-time point guard, a role he played during his freshman season in 2007-08. ... Mike Ringgold (11 points, 7 rebounds per game last year) joined Robinson as a preseason second-team all-MAAC pick. He'll likely be joined in the starting frontcourt by Brandon Penn (4.2 points, 39 percent 3-point shooting last year) and freshman Danny Stewart. ... Sophomore Jon Thompson (2.4 points in 16.9 minutes last year) will likely start alongside Robinson in the backcourt, with freshman Anthony Myles (16 points in Sunday's exhibition win over TCNJ) and Novar Gadson (11.2 points, team-high 7.5 rebounds last year) coming off the bench.

SCOUTING UMASS

The Minutemen, under third-year head coach Derek Kellogg, were picked 11th out of 14 teams in the preseason Atlantic 10 media poll. ... Leading scorer Ricky Harris (19.8 points per game last year) is gone, now playing professionally in Lithuania, but the rest of the core of last year's team is back, led by 6-3 senior guard Anthony Gurley. Gurley, who played one season at Wake Forest before transferring, averaged 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds last year. He needs 30 points to reach 1,000 for his career. ... Six-7 forward Terrell Vinson (9.6 points, 5.4 rebounds last year) will be a handful for Ringgold and Stewart in the low post, as will 6-9 junior center (7.1 rebounds, team-best 1.3 blocks). ... Vinson had 21 points and nine rebounds last year in a win over Memphis. ... Six-10 senior Hashim Bailey, who played his first two seasons at Memphis, averaged 4.7 rebounds last year off the bench. ... Six-5 sophomores Freddie Riley (9.3 points, 35 percent 3-point shooting) and Javorn Farell (38 percent from 3) are threats from the perimeter. ... Highly regarded freshman Daryl Traynham, a 5-9 point guard, will share ball-handling duties with Gurley.