SHU Returns Home to Host Fairleigh Dickinson for 7 pm Tip on ESPN 3
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 20: Sacred Heart (7-12, 1-5 NEC) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (7-10, 2-4 NEC)
January 22, 2015 7:03 pm - William H. Pitt Center (2,067) - Fairfield, Conn.
Setting the Scene... In a matchup of two teams currently in the midst of four game losing streaks, Sacred Heart returns home to hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in the William H. Pitt Center for a 7 pm tip to be broadcast on ESPN 3.
Early NEC Standings... SHU is off to a 1-5 start in the NEC and currently sits in ninth place, while the Knights are tied for seventh at 2-4.
2014-15 Preseason NEC Poll... The game will be a matchup of the two teams that were slated to finish at the bottom of the Northeast Conference. The Pioneers were selected to finish tenth, while the Knights were chosen ninth.
1. St. Francis Brooklyn (6) 6. Bryant
2. CCSU (3) 7. Wagner
3 Robert Morris 8. LIU Brooklyn
4. Saint Francis U (1) 9. Fairleigh Dickinson
5. Mount St. Mary's 10. Sacred Heart
Series History... Fairleigh Dickinson is one of two Northeast Conference teams that Sacred Heart has a winning record against, the other being Bryant. SHU, which leads 13-11 after winning three of the past four, holds the edge both at home and on the road against the notes, each by one game. The two teams first met in in Sacred Heart's first season as a Division I school in 2000, with all meeting being as members of the NEC. At the William H. Pitt Center, the Pioneers are 7-6 all-time, including having won four of six and two straight to regain the series advantage at home. In Teaneck, SHU has also won four of the past six, although FDU did win last season. Both teams have won four unanswered in the series. SHU did so from 2001-03 and the Knights accomplished it from 2005-07.
Last Meeting...Fairleigh Dickinson had five players score in double digits on February 22, 2014, on its way to a 73-66 win over Sacred Heart at Stratis Arena. For the second consecutive game, Louis Montes (Brockton, MA) led the way for SHU, scoring a game-high 19 points, on 5-of-12 shooting.Freshman De'von Barnett scored 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while senior Mostafa Abdel Latif (Alexandria, Egypt) grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with four points.Each member of FDU's starting lineup scored in double digits, with Mathias Seilund pouring in a team-high 13 points. Sidney Sanders Jr. dished out seven assists to go along with his 11 points.
Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson... After winning their first two conference games, the Knights are losers of four straight to fall to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in NEC play. All four of those defeats have come by at least nine points, including a, 82-68, defeat at home to Wagner last Saturday. However, Fairleigh Dickinson is 2-1 on the road so far in conference play, defeating Central Connecticut State and LIU Brooklyn. The Knights lead the conference in turnover margin, forcing 2.9 more turnovers than they record in large part to recording an average of 8.7 steals, ranking second in the league. They are also one of the better three point shooting teams, ranking in the top three in the NEC with both a 34.4 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arch en route to making 7 per contest. FDU struggles on the glass, only averaging 30.4 rebounds each time out, leading to a -7.7 rebounding margin, which both rank last in the league. The Knights are led by Mustafaa Jones, who leads the team and ranks ninth in the Northeast Conference averaging 13.7 points. Jones also leads the league in free throw percentage (.875), ranks second in three pointers made per game (2.65), third in steals (1.71), sixth in three point percentage (.391), and averages 2.1 assists which is good for 16th best in the league. The only other double figure scorer is Darian Anderson, who averages 10.6 points and a team leading 2.4 assists, which ranks 16th and 13th in the NEC respectively. Matt MacDonald contributes 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, while Xavier Harris leads FDU pulling down 5.9 rebounds per contest, 11th best in the conference. Marques Townes and Harris shoot 52.7 and 51.0 percent, which rank fourth and eighth in the NEC, respectively. Townes also averages 1.47 steals per game ranking fifth in the conference.
Career Numbers vs. Fairleigh Dickinson...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Phil Gaetano (4-4) 5.3 2.8 6.3 33.5
Steve Glowiak (4-3) 9.3 1.5 1.5 27.8
Evan Kelley (4-3) 10.0 3.2 0.8 30.3
Tevin Falzon (3-0) 4.7 5.3 1.7 14.7
Barnett (2-2) 14.0 6.5 1.7 34.0
High Scoring Affair...Tonight's matchup will feature two of the bottom three teams in the Northeast Conference in opponent's points per game, as Sacred Heart ranks ninth allowing 73.4, and FDU is eighth, allowing 71.7.
Edge on the Glass?... The Pioneers rank third in the league in both rebounds (37.3) and rebounding margin (-0.1). They will look to control the glass against FDU, who are last in the league in both rebounding (30.4) and rebounding margin (-7.7).
Three Point Disparity.... The Knights are one of the better NEC teams from beyond the arch, ranking in the top three in the conference making seven trifectas per game on 34.4 percent three point shooting. SHU however ranks ninth in both three pointers made per game and percentage, averaging 4.7 on 30.3 percent shooting.
Losers of Eight of Nine... Since beginning the 2014-15 campaign 6-4 after a victory over New Hampshire on December 20, Sacred Heart has lost eights of its last nine games to drop to 7-12. The lone win in that stretch was over Central Connecticut State on January 5.
Happy to Be Home?... After its first four-game home winning streak since January 3, 2013 to February 7, 2013 earlier in the season, Sacred Heart has now lost three of its past four in the Pitt to drop to 5-4 at home this season. Before the four game home winning streak, the Pioneers were 1-15 in their previous 16 games in the William H. Pitt Center. Last year, SHU was 1-10 at home with the lone win coming on January 11, as they defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 71-67
NEC Struggles, Except Against FDU... With the 1-5 start in conference play this season, SHU is 4-26 in their past 30 NEC games. Two of those four wins are over the Knights for a 2-1 record.
Rare NEC Lopsided Loss... SHU lost by 20 to Robert Morris on Sunday. It's last five losses in NEC play had been by a combined 21 points, including two losses by one point and one loss by two points to start this conference campaign.
