SHU Welcomes In-State Rival CCSU on Monday Night
1/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 14: Sacred Heart (6-8, 0-1 NEC) vs. Central Connecticut State(2-12, 0-1 NEC)
January 5, 2015 7:30 pm - William H. Pitt Center (2,067) - Fairfield, Conn.
Setting the Scene... Sacred Heart looks to rebound from a Northeast Conference opening two point loss to preseason favorite St. Francis Brooklyn, as they host in-state foe Central Connecticut State at 7:30 pm on Monday night. The game will follow the Pioneer women's game, which starts at 5 pm. Both teams will be looking to end losing streaks, as the Pioneers have lost four straight and the Blue Devils have lost five in a row.
2014-15 Preseason NEC Poll... Sacred Heart was selected to finish tenth in the Preseason NEC Coaches poll, while Central Connecticut was chosen second, receiving three first place votes.
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
All-Time in NEC... 2014-15 marks the 16th season for Sacred Heart as a member of the Northeast Conference. SHU's all-time record in the conference is 165-287 (.365).
Series History... Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State have met 54 times dating back to 1971,which is the third highest meeting rivalry in SHU's history, behind Quinnipiac and Southern Connecticut State. The Blue Devils have a strong edge in the all-time series, leading 36-18. CCSU hold an edge in every aspect, leading 18-7 at home, 14-9 at SHU, 4-2 in the playoffs, and 26-9 in the Northeast Conference. Central Connecticut has also won four straight. The two teams faced off every year from 1971-1985, before a 13-year stretch until 1998 when they did not play each other. After taking another year off in 1998-99, the two teams renewed their in-state rivalry when Sacred Heart joined the Northeast Conference in 1999-2000. The Blue Devils enjoyed eight straight victories to begin the NEC-rivalry, and won 18 of the first 20. CCSU has won two straight in the William H. Pitt Center and three of four.
Last Meeting... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball dropped a hard-fought 73-70 decision to visiting Northeast Conference foe Central Connecticut State University in the final game of the 2013-14 season on March 1st. The loss ended the Pioneers season at 5-26 overall and 2-14 in the league, while the Blue Devils improved to 11-18 on the year and 7-9 in the NEC.De'von Barnett scored a team-best 18 points for Sacred Heart, shooting 7-17 from the field in 31 minutes of action. Evan Kelley scored 14 points, hitting 5-8 from the field and Steve Glowiak finished with 10 points. Phil Gaetano handed out six assists in the game for the Pioneers, scoring five points.The game featured eight ties and nine lead changes. The Pioneers led by four, 54-50, with 11:29 to play in the game. CCSU scored four straight over the next 67 seconds to tie the game, 54-54. Louis Montes knocked down a three to put the Pioneers back in front, 57-54, with 10:03 to play, but it would be the last lead of the game.Kyle Vinales, who scored a game-high 24 points, answered with a three pointer at the 9:38 mark, knotting the score 57-57 and starting an 8-0 Blue Devil run to take the lead for good. The Pioneers had a three pointer at the buzzer to tie, but it went wide.
Scouting CCSU... The Blue Devils began the season losing seven straight games, before winning two straight. They have since lost five in a row to begin the season 2-12. They are only scoring 58.4 points per game, while allowing 70.3. Additionally, opponents outshoot CCSU, 46.8-39.2 percent. Matt Mobley is one of three players that average double figures, averaging a team-high 18.4 points, including 2.3 three-pointers. Faronte Drakeford and Khalen Cumberlander are also averaging double figures, scoring 12.3 and 10.2 points per contest, respectively. Brandon Peel leads the Blue Devils on the boards, pulling down an average of 8.2 each time out, while Malcolm McMillan leads CCSU with 3.5 assists per game.
Common Opponent... Both teams have defeated Harford and lost to Brown.
SHU Opponent Colgate
W, 71-53 Hartford W, 56-47
L, 79-76 Brown W, 67-55
Career Numbers vs. CCSU...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Gaetano (6-5) 3.5 3.2 6.2 35
Glowiak(6-5) 13.7 3.8 1.2 27.7
Kelley (6-4) 9 3 2.7 26.5
Barnett (2-2) 16.5 2.5 - 33
Tevin Falzon (2-0) 8 6.5 - 19.5
Cole Walton (1-0) - 3 1 7
Scoring Disparity...The matchup will feature the highest scoring offense in the NEC vs. the second lowest scoring team. SHU ranks first scoring 70.8 points per game, while CCSU averages just 58.4 points.
Trouble From Outside... The two teams come into Monday night's contest in ninth and tenth place in the conference in three-pointers made per game.
0-2 NEC Start.... SHU has not started 0-2 in the NEC since 2010-11.
Continuing to Lose Close... With the two-point loss to St. Francis Brooklyn, 17 of the Pioneers' past 21 losses have been by single digits, including 11 of their last 15 losses in NEC play.
-SHUs last five losses in NEC play have come by seven points or less.
Four Game Losing Streak... With the current four game losing streak, SHU has now had at least a four game losing streak in each of the past four seasons.
Outshooting the Opponent... Sacred Heart has lost its last two games despite having a higher shooting percentage in both games. The last time SHU lost back to back games while outshooting the opponent was a pair of two point losses to Central Connecticut and Yale on December 3 and 5, 2011.
Leading at the Half... Saturday's loss was the first time this season that the Pioneers have lost when leading at the half. They are now 5-1 this season when leading heading into the locker room.
