SHU Hosts Mount St. Mary's at 2 pm Saturday in Annual 'Pack the Pitt' Game
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball hosts Mount St. Mary's in its annual "Pack the Pitt" game on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women, which begins at 11:30. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
NEC Standings... With each teams falling on Thursday night, Sacred Heart now sits in eighth place in the NEC standings with a 3-6 record, while the Mountaineers are in a three-way tied for fourth place at 5-4.
2014-15 Preseason NEC Poll... Mount, the defending NEC Tournament champion, was predicted to finish fifth before the season started. Sacred Heart was chosen to finish tenth.
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... The two teams first met in 1986, a neutral win by Mount St. Mary's. After that meeting, the series went on a hiatus until Sacred Heart joined the Northeast Conference in 1999-2000. The Mount has one 19 of those 27 contests in NEC play, including the first three, for a commanding 20-8 edge in the all-time series. Before SHU's win last year, the Mountaineers had won nine straight, including five straight in Emmitsburgh, where they are 11-3 all-time against the Pioneers. Mount St. Mary's also holds the advantage, 8-5, in the William H. Pitt Center, including winning the past four and five of the last six. Sacred Heart's most successful stretch in the series was three consecutive wins in 2002-03. The Mount has also won both postseason matchups, which came in consecutive years. They first defeated SHU in the 2008 NEC championship game and then again in the 2009 semifinals.
Last Meeting... EMMITSBURG, MD – In front of a contingency of friends and family, Maryland-native De'von Barnett (Waldorf, MD) scored a career-high 24 points as the Sacred Heart Pioneers defeated Mount St. Mary's, 71-65, on February 27, 2014 at Knott Arena. With the win, Sacred Heart snapped a 12 game losing streak.Barnett was an efficient 12-of-16 from the floor to go along with seven boards. Evan Kelley(Norwalk, CT) scored 14 points and also grabbed 7 rebounds, while Phil Gaetano (Wallingford, CT) chipped in with 11 points and dished out seven assists.As a team, Sacred Heart shot 58 percent (29-of-50) from the field, and outscored the Mountaineers 52-18 in the paint. Mount St. Mary's had four players in double digits, with Julian Norfleet leading the way with 17 points and eight assists. Rashad Whack and Gregory each chipped in with 11 points.
Scouting Mount St. Mary's... After a four game NEC winning streak, the Mount have lost two of its past three, including a, 73-67, overtime defeat at St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday night. Three of the four conference losses for the Mountaineers, who sit at 5-4 in league play and 9-11 overall, have come in overtime. Mount St. Mary's is getting it done with its defense, leading the NEC in both scoring defense, 58.1, and field goal percentage defense, .395, during conference play. Overall, the only other category in which the Mount ranks top three in the league aside from opposing points per game is three pointers made per contest, with an average of 7.0. They also rank fourth in turnovers, turnover margin, and blocks. The Mountaineers do not have a qualified individual player who is scoring in double figures. Gregory Graves averages 9.8 to lead the team, while Byron Ashe is right behind him with an average of 9.3. Graves also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.1 per game, which ranks fifth in the NEC. In addition, he leads the team in field goal percentage, steals, and minutes. Junior Robinson is the leading distributor, averaging 3.4 assists per contest.
Career Numbers vs. Mount St. Mary's...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Kelley (5-2) 5.4 5.2 1.2 28.2
Gaetano (4-4) 5.8 4.5 6.0 36.8
Steve Glowiak (4-2) 8.5 3.0 0.8 25.5
Tevin Falzon (3-0) 5.3 3.7 1.0 15.7
Barnett (2-2) 16.5 5.5 - 29.0
-Barnett scored a career high 24 points on 12-16 shooting in the last meeting between the two schools on February 27, 2014.
-Glowiak is averaging 10.7 points over the past three meetings, His career high in steals, 4, came against the Mount on February 2, 2013.
-Kelley registered 14 points and seven rebounds in the last meeting, while Gaetano added 11 points and 7 assists.
Battle of Tempo... The two teams rank drastically different in both points per game and scoring defense. SHU scores the most points in the league, averaging 73.3 per contest, while the Mountaineers are second to last with an average of 61.0. However, on the defensive side, the Mount is holding opponents to 65.7 points each time out, as opposed to the Pioneers who rank ninth giving up an average of 73.3.
Percentage Points... Sacred Heart ranks at the top of the league in both field goal percentage, 45.4 percent, and opponent field goal percentage, 42.6. Mount St. Mary's on the hand is eighth in league in both shooting percentage, 40.1, and opposing shooting percentage, 45.6.
Assist Disparity... The matchup features the team leading the conference in assists, Sacred Heart, which averages 14.2, against the team who ranks last, Mount St. Mary's, with an average of 10.7.
Edge on the Glass.... SHU will look for an advantage on the glass against the Mountaineers. The Pioneers are leading the league with an average of 38.1 rebounds per game and are one of three teams in the NEC with a positive rebounding margin, + 0.8. The Mount is in the bottom three of the conference in both rebounding average, 31.7, and rebounding margin, - 3.7.
Doubling Up... A win over the Mountaineers would double last year's win total for Sacred Heart. SHU, who comes in with a 9-13 record, won five games last season. A victory would also double conference victories for the Pioneers, who are 3-6 to start the NEC season after only winning two NEC games last campaign.
Surpassing Last Year's Northeast Conference Win Total... With its third conference win at Bryant, Sacred Heart surpassed its NEC win total from 2013-14.
Happy to be in the Pitt... The Pioneers, who play their next three in the William H. Pitt Center, have had much more success at home this season as opposed to on the road. The 6-4 home record in 2014-15 matches the home win total from the past two seasons combined. After the loss to Wagner, SHU is now 2-8 in road contests.
Record on ESPN 3... After the win against Fairleigh Dickinson two Thursdays ago, Sacred Heart is now 2-3 in ESPN 3 games dating back to the 2010-11 season.
