Sacred Heart Set to Face #20 Ohio State
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball travels to Columbus, Ohio for a non-conference matchup with the 20th ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State on Sunday night at 7 pm.
Last Time Out... An Evan Kelley running three point jumper at the buzzer would not fall, as the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team fell in its home opener to UMass Lowell, 57-54, at the William H. Pitt Center on Thursday night. The loss drops the Pioneers to 1-1 on the year, while the River Hawks pick up their first win to improve to 1-2.Trailing by four with just under a minute to play, Kelley made two free throws to cut the deficit to two for the first time since 17:20 remaining in the second half. On the ensuing River Hawk possession, the Pioneers forced a shot clock violation, one of just six turnovers for UMass Lowell on the night. The River Hawks responded by coming up with a steal with seven seconds remaining to send Chad Holley to the line with a chance to push the lead to four points. After making the first free throw, he would miss the second to set up the potential game-tying basket. After shooting 58.8 percent in their season opening victory, the Pioneers could not overcome a 35.3 percent shooting night. Kelley was the only Pioneer to score in double figures as he finished with ten points. Steve Glowiak added nine, while De'von Barnett and Phil Gaetano each chipped in with eight. Cane Broome scored eight points to go along with five assists and five rebounds in his first ever game on Dave Bike Court.
Series History... The two teams will be meeting for the first time ever on Sunday night.
All-Time vs. Big Ten... This will only be the Pioneers fourth ever matchup with a Big Ten Opponent, and first since November 25, 2009, when Sacred Heart fell to Penn State, 87-75. SHU is 0-3 against Penn State and 0-1 against Minnesota. SHU has also lost to Rutgers twice, before the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten.
January 4, 2003: Lost at Minnesota, 79-46
November 27, 2004: Lost at Penn State, 69-61
December 23, 2008: Lost at Penn State, 73-65
November 25, 2009: Lost at Penn State, 87-75
All-Time vs. Ranked Opponents... Sunday will be the twelfth time Sacred Heart has matched up with a ranked opponent. The Pioneers are 0-11 all-time vs. ranked opponents, including 0-5 vs. in-state foe Connecticut. SHU has not faced a ranked opponent since facing #20 Connecticut on November 29, 2006.
January 3, 2000: Lost at #2 Connecticut, 86-55
November 18, 2000: Lost at #15 Notre Dame, 104-58
December 18, 2000: Lost vs. #3 Stanford (Neutral), 94-52
December 3, 2002: Lost to #11 Connecticut, 116-78
November 22, 2003: Lost to #1 Connecticut, 111-64
December 29, 2003: Lost at #23 Marquette, 77-72
December 22, 2004: Lost at #12 Washington, 114-53
December 28, 2004: Lost to #11 Connecticut, 73-55
December 12, 2005: Lost to #8 Boston College, 77-66
November 14, 2006: Lost to #2 UNC, 103-81
November 29, 2006: Lost at #20 Connecticut, 89-46
Scouting Ohio State... The 20th ranked Buckeyes come into the contest having won their first two games of the season, defeating UMass Lowell 92-55, and Marquette 74-63. They are shooting 63.3 percent from the field, including 45.9 percent from three, while dishing out 21.5 assists per game to average 83 points. Defensively they hold opponents to 59 points on 44.3 percent shooting and outrebound the opposition by 7 per game. Ohio State spreads out its scoring as seven players average at least 7.5 points per game, led by Kam Williams at 13.5. Sam Thomson and Marc Loving add 12 points per game, while D'Angelo Russell chips in 11. Trey Mitchell leads the Buckeyes in rebounding at 5.5 per contest, despite only playing 11.5 minutes per game. Shannon Scott is averaging 12.5 assists per contest to lead the Buckeyes, while also scoring 8.5 points.
Common Opponent... Both Sacred Heart and Ohio State have played UMass Lowell this season. The Buckeyes were victorious 92-55, while the Pioneers fell 57-54.
50th Season... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team is playing its 50th season in 2014-15. The program's first season came in 1965-66. All-time, Sacred Heart is 776-636 (.550).
Continuing to Lose Close... With the three-point loss to UMass Lowell, 12 of the last 16 losses for the Pioneers have come by single digits. In their last 22 games decided by single digits, the Pioneers are now 2-20.
Hot and Cold... Sacred Heart shot 58.8 percent (30-51) from the field in its opening night 71-53 victory over Hartford, only to follow that up with a 35.3 percent shooting performance in the home opening loss to UMass Lowell on Thursday. Despite that, they are still first in the NEC in FG percentage at 47.1 percent. In 2013-14, they shot 41.3 percent to finish ninth in the conference.
Defensive Mindset... After finishing in seventh in the Northeast Conference in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense in 2013-14, the Sacred Heart defense has held both opponents to under 39 percent shooting this year. The Pioneers currently rank first in the NEC in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense holding opponents to just 55 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting.
Allowing Less Than 60... The 57-54 loss to the River Hawks on Thursday night was the first time that the Pioneers have lost when allowing less than sixty points since February 23, 2012. That night SHU fell to Robert Morris 55-53.
Crashing the Boards... The Pioneers currently rank first in the conference in both rebounding defense and rebounding margin. They are outrebounding the opposition by an average of nine boards per game, while limiting them to just 29.5 per contest.
Finding the Range... After making 6.35 three-pointers per game in 2013-14, the Pioneers have struggled from beyond the arch making just five in the first two contests, while shooting 20.8 percent. They are last in the conference in both three point baskets made and three point percentage.
