Men's Basketball Travels to Rutgers Sunday

The Blue Devils take on the Scarlet Knights in a game to be shown on BTN Plus.

November 11, 2017

Central Connecticut men's basketball is back in action on Sunday afternoon with a trip to Rutgers. Tipoff at The RAC is set for 2:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network Plus. The teams are meeting for the third straight season. CCSU is coming off an 85-84 loss in overtime at Hartford, while Rutgers won its opener, 94-38, over CCNY.

Rutgers, which is coached by former CCSU assistant Steve Pikiell, has won the first two meetings of the series, both held at The RAC.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION | The RAC (Piscataway, NJ)

GAME NOTES

OPENING NOTES • Central is facing Rutgers for the third straight season. RU head coach Steve Pikiell was a CCSU assistant from 1997-2001. The Blue Devils are in the midst of a stretch of playing three games in five days to open the season. CCSU will play four games in the first week of the year - all on the road. Following today's game, Central will stay in the tri-state area and travel to St. John's for a Tuesday night tilt.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS • Tyler Kohl scored a team-high 21 points with eight rebounds in the opener at Hartford, his first game for CCSU. Kohl finished 7-of-15 from the floor and added three assists. Kohl scored nine points in the final 3:47 of regulation, including five straight at one point. Deion Bute had nine points, five rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots in 27 minutes at Hartford to help provide CCSU with an imposing inside presence. Joe Hugley came off the bench to score 10 points against the Hawks. He hit a trio of three-pointers in the first half to help Central overcome a sluggish start and take a lead at halftime. Shakaris Laney came of the bench for 17 minutes in his first action since 2015-16. He had two points and two rebounds.

WORKING OVERTIME • Central fell in overtime at Hartford, 85-84, on Friday. It was the second time in three season-openers that CCSU has played an overtime game - both losses versus Hartford. The Blue Devils have gone 0-3 in overtime games in season-openers. CCSU lost 92-83 to Hartford on Nov. 13, 2015 in double overtime, and fell to Fairfield, 64-63, in overtime on Nov. 10, 2012.

NEHLS SHOOTS INTO THE RECORD BOOK • Junior Austin Nehls needed just 40 games to make 100 career three-pointers. He ranks 8th all-time at CCSU with 144 career three-pointers, just behind Ken Horton with 158. Nehls ranked 2nd in the NEC in 2016-17 with 2.34 three-pointers per game and ranked 10th shooting .370 from the arc. The 6-3 guard led the NEC with 36.1 minutes per game last year. He played 37 minutes in the opener and hit 5-of-8 shots from the arc. Nehls had a career-high 26 points (8-14 fg, 5-10 3fg, 5-5 ft) in 40 minutes at Fordham on Dec. 21. He had four 20-point games last season.

2017-18 NCAA Rules Review Video

UP NEXT • The Blue Devils travel to St. John's for a game on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The 6:30 p.m. game will be broadcast on FS2. Central will play its first four games on the road before hosting Coppin State on Nov. 21.