Men's Basketball Takes on #13/12 Virginia Tech on Saturday

The Blue Devils and Hokies are meeting for the first time.

November 30, 2018

The Central Connecticut men's basketball returns to action on Saturday night when it faces #13/12 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. The game will be on the ACC Network Extra at 5:00 p.m. The Blue Devils will be looking to bounce back after falling at North Carolina A&T on Thursday, while the Hokies fell at Penn State in their last game on Tuesday.

Junior Joe Hugley had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 72-60 loss against the Aggies on Thursday. Freshman Ian Krishnan added 14 points, while the Blue Devils were held to a season-low 31.0 percent shooting in the game.

The Hokies are ranked #13 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and #12 in this week's USA Today Coaches poll. Virginia Tech dropped its first game of the season in its most recent contest, falling 63-62 at Penn State on Tuesday night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker leads four in double-figures at 18.5 points per game. He adds a team-leading 5.2 rebounds per game.

GAME NOTES | 2018-19 RECORD BOOK

NCAA WEEKLY WHISTLE

SERIES HISTORY • CCSU and Virginia Tech are meeting for the first time.

HUGLEY AT HOME COMING OFF THE BENCH • Joe Hugley has come off the bench to score in double-figures in each of the last 5 games. He is averaging 11.9 ppg, while shooting 45.7% from the field and 39.6% from the arc. Hugley had a double-double at NC A&T (18pts, 11reb) and scored a season-high 21 points at Loyola Marymount when he hit 6-of-7 shots, including 4-of-5 three-pointers. He has come off the bench to score 10+ points 16 times in his career. He had a career-high 33 at Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 4, 2018) when he shot 10-20 from the field and had 5-11 from the arc.

BUTE IS CLOSE TO AUTOMATIC • Deion Bute has opened the season shooting .667 (24-36) from the field, which leads the NEC, and he is averaging 8.6 ppg. Bute opened the year by posting his second career double-double with 15 points (6-8 fg) and 11 rebounds at Hartford. In 21 career non-conference games, Bute is shooting .645 from the field (78-121).

A NOTE ON THE NCAA NET • Central Connecticut was the highest-ranked NEC team at #161 in the latest NET rankings including games through Nov. 28. The NCAA is using the tool to replace the RPI to evaluate teams. The formula accounts for factors such as location, margin of victory and offensive/defensive efficiencies of teams.

UP NEXT • Central is off until Dec. 8 when it returns to Detrick Gymnasium to host Penn State Wilkes-Barre at 1:00 p.m.