Blue Devils Travel to Maryland

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team travels to Maryland on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. to face the Terrapins live on ESPN3.  The Blue Devils and Terps have never have never met on the basketball floor.

Today
The Blue Devils will be on the road at Maryland tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN3.  Central will play its first eight games away from home before hosting UMBC on Dec. 10 in New Britain.  Following the trip to Maryland the Blue Devils will travel to Monmouth for a weekend tournament on Nov. 21-23, also playing Towson and Bethune-Cookman.  Tonight is the first game of the NABC College Basketball Experience.  The three games at Monmouth will complete the tournament.

Last Time Out
Sophomore Matt Mobley scored a career-high 30 points, including 11-of-12 from the line, but the Blue Devils dropped a 71-63 decision to Fairfield in the season opener at the Connecticut 6 Classic on Friday afternoon.  Mobley hit 8-of-17 from the field in 40 minutes on his way to besting his previous career-high of 22 points set last season.  The Blue Devils opened the 2014-15 season at the Connecticut 6 Classic for the sixth straight season.  Central is now 1-5 in the six CT6 Classics, falling to Fairfield three times, beating Hartford and then losing to Yale twice.

Season Openers
Central Connecticut is now 9-10 in season openers under head coach Howie Dickenman.  All-time in Division I the Blue Devils are 13-16 in season openers.  

Series History - First Meeting
The Blue Devils and Terrapins are meeting for the first time on the basketball court.  

McMillan and Drakeford Named Captains
Seniors Malcolm McMillan and Faronte Drakeford have been named captains for the 2014-15 season by head coach Howie Dickenman.  Drakeford was an All-Conference selection a year ago, and started all 30 games last season.  McMillan started 27 games last year and has made 85 career starts for the Blue Devils in his first three seasons.

McMillan's Assists
Senior captain Malcolm McMillan enters tonight's game with 325 career assists, good for eighth all-time in CCSU history.  He is four assists away from matching Rich Leonard (329) for seventh all-time on the list.

Peel's Blocks
Junior Brandon Peel led the team in blocks with 61 last season, the sixth-highest single season total in school history.  In his first two seasons Peel has blocked 79 shots, putting him just out of the top-10 in CCSU history.  He now has 80 blocks in his career.

Drakeford Third Team
Senior captain Faronte Drakeford was named to the Northeast Conference Third Team a year ago after averaging 13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 30 games played.  He started and played in every game in his first season with the Blue Devils.  Drakeford averaged 14.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in league play, averaging 26.9 minutes played per game.

On the Road
The Blue Devils will play their first eight games away from Detrick Gym this season, prior to opening the home portion of their schedule on Dec. 10 vs. UMBC.  Following a trip to Rider on Dec. 3, Central will play its next eight games in the state of Connecticut, including five home games and games at Hartford, UConn and Sacred Heart, on Jan. 5.

16 Straight NEC Tourneys
The Blue Devils have qualified for 16 straight Northeast Conference men's basketball tournaments.  That is the longest active streak in the conference.  Central did not qualify for the tournament in its first year of membership, but has qualified each year since.  

Dickenman in Overtime
The Blue Devils played the 30th overtime game under head coach Howie Dickenman at LIU Brooklyn on Feb. 27, 2014, and won for the 21st time (86-82).  In his 18 seasons Dickenman is 21-9 in overtime games.

Central Connecticut in the Northeast Conference
Central Connecticut has posted a 141-93 record (.602) in NEC regular season play over the last 12 seasons (19-1 in 2001-02, 12-6 in 02-03, 9-9 in 03-04, 8-10 in 04-05, 13-5 in 05-06, 16-2 in 06-07, 10-8 in 07-08, 8-10 in 08-09, 9-9 in 09-10, 11-7 in 2010-11, 10-8 in 2011-12, 9-9 in 2012-13, and 7-9 in 2013-14).  They are 79-38 (.685) at home and 62-55 (.529) on the road.

History - 1,069 Wins
This season marks the 78th season of Blue Devil basketball.  Central's first year of competition was the 1934-35 season under coach Harrison J. Kaiser, whom the athletic building is named after.  Central carries an overall record of 1,069 wins and 838 losses for a .560 winning percentage. 

Central and the Three-Point Shot - 530 Straight
Entering today's game, the Blue Devils have hit a three-point shot in 530 consecutive games (a school record).  The last time CCSU did not hit a three-point shot was February 29, 1996 at the University of Missouri-KC in a 76-69 loss.