Men's Basketball Plays at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday and Sunday

Central tips off on Saturday night against Vermont at 7:30 p.m. following the Rider/Columbia matchup.

November 21, 2019

Central Connecticut is back in action this weekend, playing in the Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament presented by Citi. The games will be played at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Central tips off on Saturday night against Vermont at 7:30 p.m. following the Rider/Columbia matchup.

Tickets for the games can be purchased online by clicking HERE.

2019-20 NCAA Men's Basketball Weekly Whistle #2

Central Connecticut will be looking for its first win of the season, while playing its second straight America East opponent. UVM was picked as the preseason favorite in the league and is off to a 4-1 start.

Following tonight's game CCSU will face either Rider or Columbia on Sunday. The winners will play in the Springfield Bracket Championship Game at 8:30 p.m., while the losers play in the consolation game at 6:00 p.m. ESPN3 will carry the games live from Mohegan Sun Arena.

SERIES HISTORY • CCSU trails Vermont in the all-time series, 3-13. The Catamounts have won the last nine meetings, including the last meeting on Dec. 30, 2007... Central has lost six straight meetings to Rider and trails the all-time series, 1-8...CCSU leads the all-time series against Columbia, 2-1.

Opening Notes

• Central Connecticut heads to the Mohegan Sun Arena for a pair of Tip-Off Tournament games on Nov. 23-24. The Blue Devils play Vermont on Saturday night and will then play either Rider or Columbia on Sunday.

• CCSU will have played road/neutral site games in five of its first seven games.

WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...

• CCSU would earn its first win of the year and avoid starting 0-6 for the first time since 2015-16 (0-8).

• Central is playing at Mohegan Sun for the first time since 11/11/11 (vs. Yale, 69-73, CT6) and has not won here since 11/13/10 (64-62 vs. Yale, CT6).

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 playing 20+ minutes are in their first year at CCSU, led by Jamir Reed and Greg Outlaw (28.4 mpg).

• Central's top three scorers are all newcomers, with freshman Greg Outlaw averaging a team-leading 9.6 ppg. The 10 newcomers have contributed 78.9% (214-of-271) of the Blue Devils' scoring through five games.

CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look

• CCSU is one of 14 schools nationally with 7 or more freshmen on the roster.

• 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.

• Central has started three-first year players in each of the first five 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.

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.

Coleman Leads the Returnees

• Jamir Coleman is one of two starters from 2018-19 to return for CCSU. He had a season-high 12 points and 7 rebounds on Tuesday against New Hampshire.

• The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds per game last season with four 20-point games and five double-doubles, including grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds three times (last at LIU Brooklyn, 2/28).

• In league play, Coleman scored 13.4 points per game, while ranking 8th with 6.6 rebounds per game.

CCSU Posts Marks Among Program's Best in 2018-19

• In 2018-19, CCSU achieved a number of team and individual marks that rank among the program's best.

• CCSU set a single-season Northeast Conference record making 78.2% of free throws (previously 77.2% - Wagner, 2010-11). The mark ranked 5th in the NCAA.

• Central tied the 4th-best single-game mark in program history by hitting 13 three-pointers at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 10, 2019. Central would end the season with 201 three-pointers on the year to post the 6th-best single-season total.

• CCSU blocked 110 shots, the 9th-most in program-history and most since 2013-14 (146).

• Individually, Ian Krishnan made 71 three-pointers - the 9th-most in a season - including 7 in a win at Fairleigh Dickinson, which is the 10th most in a game in CCSU history.

Working Overtime

• The Blue Devils are 5-4 under Donyell Marshall in overtime games. CCSU was 2-0 in OT last season.

• CCSU defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in 2ot (1/10/19) - the 7th multi-overtime in program history since going D1 in 1986-87.

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.

Second City Duo shining for central

• Greg Outlaw and Myles Baker come to CCSU from Chicago. The duo lead the team in scoring at 9.6 and 9.0, respectively.

• Baker had a team-high 16 points against New Hampshire, while Outlaw leads the team in steals and assists thus far.

Central and the Three-Point Shot

• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 134 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.

• Trey Tennyson ranks 2nd in the NEC, hitting 55.6% from the arc, while Zach Newkirk is 4th at 50%.

• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 5th, making 32.6% of their shots from three-point range. Central hit a season-high 9 treys on Tuesday against UNH.

Blue Devils vs. Postseason Participants

• In 2019-20, CCSU will face seven teams that played in the postseason last year. Fairleigh Dickinson, St. John's, Arizona St., Vermont (NCAA); Saint Francis U (NIT); Robert Morris and St. Francis Brooklyn (CIT) all made postseason trips last year.

• In 2018-19, the Blue Devils went 1-10 against eight teams that played in the postseason the previous year.

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.