SHU Back on the Road at Hartford on Monday
12/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sacred Heart (1-7, 0-0 NEC) at Hartford (3-7, 0-0 A. East)
Monday, December 14, 2015 - 8:30 pm - ChaseFamily Arena (4,017) - Hartford, Conn.
Video | | Live Stats | Game Notes | Audio
Just two days after ending a program Division I record six-game road trip with its home opener on Saturday, the Sacred Heart men's basketball will return to the road for the beginning of a five-game road trip with an 8:30 pm tip at Hartford on Monday night.
Scouting Hartford... The Hawks are in the midst of a five game losing streak to drop to 3-8 overall after most recently falling 90-68 at Holy Cross on Saturday night. Ranking last in the America East in rebounds per game, rebounding margin and assists per game, and in the bottom three in points per game, opponents points per game, and field goal percentage, the Hawks rely on taking care of the ball and the three-point shot. They are in the top three of the league committing just 12.3 turnovers with a + 0.7 turnover margin, and led by George Blagojevic's team-leading 1.6 three pointers made per game and 48.5 three point percentage, they make an average of 8.2 three-pointers per game on 33.6 percent shooting. Pancake Thomas leads the team in in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Blagojevic chips in 12.3 and John Carroll and Justin Graham add 11.2 and 10.8, respectively. Graham leads the team averaging 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 32.5 minutes.
Common Opponents.... Sacred Heart and Hartford and have played two common opponents in Holy Cross and Quinnipiac.
Sacred Heart Opponent Hartford
W, 76-64 Quinnipiac L, 68-66
L, 69-60 Holy Cross L, 90-68
Series History... After Sacred Heart's 71-53 season opening victory over the Hawks in 2014-15, Hartford leads the all-time Division I series against the Pioneers 6-4. The first meeting came in SHU's first ever game as a Division I program in 1999, with Hartford winning that game 96-93 in 2OT. The two teams met again in 2000 before a seven-year hiatus until 2007, and have met every year since. Prior to the win last year, Sacred Heart's three wins came in three successive years from 2009-2011, including a 70-50 in the 2011 Connecticut 6 hosted by Hartford. Before SHU's move to Division I in 1999, the two teams met 11 times as Division II foes, with the Pioneers winning nine of the meetings, including winning eight in a row from 1977-83.
Last Meeting… For the third time in four seasons the Sacred Heart opened the season with a victory in the 2014 Connecticut 6, defeating the Hartford 71-53 at TD Bank Center in Hamden, Conn. The Pioneers shot 58.8 percent from the field in the win and out rebounded the Hawks 35-23. De'von Barnett led three Pioneers in double figures, with 18 points on 8-11 shooting and also finished with a game-high seven rebounds. Yolonzo Moore II scored a game-high 22 points, shooting 8-13, for Hartford, and was joined in double-figures by Mark Nwakamma who scored 15 before fouling out of the game.
Six for Six... This will be Sacred Heart's fifth and final non-conference contest against a Connecticut opponent. For the first time in program history, the Pioneers will play each of the six other Division I programs in the state of Connecticut. They are currently 1-3 against Connecticut schools, opening the season with a win over Quinnipiac before losing to Yale, Fairfield and UConn. SHU will complete the in-state schedule with two Northeast Conference matchups with Central Connecticut State.
Connecticut 6 Preseason Poll... Sacred Heart was tabbed fourth in the Preseason Connecticut 6 Coaches' Poll released ahead of the classic, while Hartford was the chosen fourth. The Pioneers defeated second ranked Quinnipiac in the season opener before losing to Yale and Fairfield.
1. Yale
2. Quinnipiac
3. Fairfield
4. Hartford
5. Sacred Heart
6. Central Connecticut
SHU vs. the America East... Since moving to Division I in 1999, Sacred Heart is 18-26 against teams that are currently in the America East after its loss at UMass Lowell on November 18. The only team that SHU has not faced in the Division I era is Binghamton.
Vermont 0-2 UMBC 2-8
Albany 3-3 UMass Lowell 0-2
Hartford 4-6 Stony Brook 5-2
Maine 0-3 New Hampshire 4-0
Pioneer Points…
- After averaging just 8.5 points in his previous two games, East Hartford native Cane Broome scored a team-high 20 against Lafayette on Saturday. He is second in the Northeast Conference scoring an average of 19.1 points per game
- Quincy McKnight ] stuffed the stat sheet on Saturday afternoon against Lafayette, approaching triple double territory with 13 points and career and game-highs of nine rebounds and six assists to go along with three steals
- -After a season-low three points at Holy Cross on November 25, Jordan Allen has averaged a team-best 15.0 points over the last three games
- Combining to score just five point in his previous three games, Matej Buovac outscored his output of 11 total points this season with 18 on Saturday against Lafayette. He made 7-11 from the field and a SHU season best 4-8 from beyond the arch
- Scoring just four points in his previous three games, Chris Robinson was one point shy of a career-high with 15 points on a career-best 4-6 from the line on Saturday against Lafayette
