Men's Basketball Prepares to Face UMass on Saturday
The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. from the Mullins Center and be broadcast live on ESPN+.
November 15, 2019
Central Connecticut continues play in the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament presented by Citi with a game Saturday at UMass. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. from the Mullins Center and be broadcast live on ESPN+. Adam Frenier (play-by-play) and Frank Sullivan (analyst) will call the action.
Central Connecticut, which will be playing its second game in three days while going back-and-forth across two time zones, slipped to 0-3 on Thursday after falling at Arizona State. CCSU is 0-3 for the fifth time since 2013-14 and has not been 0-4 since 2015-16. UMass was picked 11th in the A-10 preseason poll, but is 3-0 for the first time since 2015-16.
SERIES HISTORY • The teams have met going back to 1948-49, with CCSU holding a 7-6 edge. UMass won the last meeting on Dec. 30, 2011, 65-97, at the Mullins Center
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut returns to the east coast to face UMass as part of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament presented by Citi.
• CCSU returns home to host New Hampshire (Nov. 19) before playing two neutral site Tip-Off Tournament games at Mohegan Sun Arena on Nov. 23-24.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• CCSU would earn its first win of the year (1-3) and its first win on the road (1-2).
• Central would earn its first win at the Mullins Center (0-3)and its first win over Umass since hosting the Minutemen on Jan. 3, 2011.
CENTRAL NEWCOMERS LEAD THE WAY
• With a roster featuring 10 players in their first year with the program, the Blue Devils have relied on their newcomers through to begin the season.
• All five players who average 20+ minutes are in their first year at CCSU, led by sophomore Zach Newkirk (29.7 mpg).
• Centrals top four scorers are all newcomers, with freshman Greg Outlaw averaging a team-leading 11.0 ppg. The 10 newcomers have contributed 78.2% of the Blue Devils' scoring through three games.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• Central Connecticut has one of the youngest rosters in the nation in 2019-20 with 11 underclassmen and a total of 10 players in their first year with the program.
• CCSU is one of seven schools nationallly with 7 or more freshmen on the roster. Navy has a high with 11 freshmen on its roster.
• Central has started three-first year players in each of the first three games, including three freshmen against Hartford.
• The Blue Devils also feature two junior college transfers (Ayungma, Newkirk) and a senior transfer (Rowe) who are in their first season of eligibility with the program.
Marshall Among Former NBA Players Coaching
• CCSU head coach Donyell Marshall enjoyed a 15-year career in the NBA playing with eight teams.
• Marshall, who was the 4th overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, is one of six former Top-10 picks currently coaching.
• Marshall was UConn's first consensus First-Team All-American as a junior in 1994. He is one of eight former consesus First-Team All-Americans now coaching Division I.
An International Roster
• The Blue Devils' program has student-athletes from four countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 student-athletes representing nine states and England (Thai Segwai), Cameroon (Stephane Ayungma) and Nigeria (Ola Olamuyiwa).
• Central is among a group of 46 schools with student-athletes representing three or more foreign countries.
Central and the Three-Point Shot
• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 132 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• Ian Krishnan had a team-high 71 three-pointers and ranked 6th in the NEC with 2.3 per game as a rookie in 2018-19.
• The Blue Devils made a season-high 13 treys in the win at Fairleigh Dickinson, the third game it made 12+ in a contest. In 2017-18, CCSU did not make more than 11 in a game.
Senator Olamuyiwa
• Freshman Ola Olamuyiwa was sworn in as a student body senator on the CCSU SGA Student Senate on Oct. 9.
• Olamuyiwa was also student government president at The Patrick School prior to coming to Central.
• Olamuyiwa and his teammates had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) when he visited the CCSU campus earlier in the fall.
• The SGA Student Senate meets weekly on Wednesdays and is seen as a "voice" for the undergraduate student body.
Blue Devils Welcome Alex Inyatkin
• CCSU teamed with Team IMPACT to bring 12-year-old Alex Inyatkin into the men's basketball program.
• The Blue Devils held a signing ceremony on April 24 in the Athletic Department that included Alex and his family.
• Inyatkin will be with the team for the season and attend games, practices and other team functions.
• Team IMPACT connects children facing serious and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes.
84 YEARS OF CCSU BASKETBALL
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,112-956 all-time (.538).
• Bill Detrick is the school's all-time winningest coach, having won 468 games in 29 seasons as head coach.
• CCSU's first year of competition was in 1934-35 under coach Harrison J. Kaiser, the athletic building's namesake.
"All In, ball out": year 2
• The NEC's "All In, Ball Out" branding campaign was launched in 2018-19 and captures the essence and attitude of the NEC's basketball-centric nature, and conveys a host of traits common to student-athletes, teams and the NEC.
• A series of hoops theme nights were announced to take place during league play and enhance the fan experience through coordinated marketing efforts within the conference.