Men's Basketball Plays at Fairleigh Dickinson on MLK Day
CCSU wraps up a three-game road swing in NEC play.
January 19, 2020
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team concludes its three-game Northeast Conference road swing with a game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday. The game is part of an MLK Day doubleheader. The CCSU and FDU women's teams tip off prior to the men's game. The game is being streamed live on www.NECFrontRow.com.
Central fell at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday and are searching for its first league win, while dropping the first two games of a three-game road swing. Fairleigh Dickinson was off on Saturday, but will be looking to snap a three-game skid in league play.
The Blue Devils return home on Thursday, Jan. 23, to host Sacred Heart.
SERIES HISTORY • The Knights lead the all-time series, 25-18, but the Blue Devils have split the last four meetings with the Knights, including a 103-96 win in 2ot at the Rothman Center last season.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut wraps up a three-game road swing against Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday as part of an MLK Day doubleheader with the women's game tipping off the day.
• CCSU fell at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday and the game at FDU marks the third straight against a team coming off a bye as the Knights last played on Jan. 15.
• Central will return home to host Sacred Heart on Jan. 23 in its next home game.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• Central Connecticut would pick up its first road win and first NEC win of the season.
• The Blue Devils ave split the last four meetings with the Knights, including a 103-96 win in 2ot at the Rothman Center last season.
• The win would mark CCSU's first against a Division I school. Central is one of two schools (Mississippi Valley) without a D-I win.
Quick Hitting Notes
• Central was 17-of-21 (.810) at the line at Mount St. Mary's and is leading the Northeast Conference in league play, shooting .773 at the line.
• Ian Krishnan was 5-for-5 at the foul line at Mount. He has made 10 straight across the past five games and is converting .920 from the stripe in league play.
• Xavier Wilson tied a career-high with 3 blocked shots and is the team-leader with 15 on the year. He also grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds.
Central Newcomers Lead the Way
• With a roster featuring 10 players in their first year with the program, the Blue Devils have relied on one of the country's youngest rosters this season.
• Six of 8 players playing 20+ minutes are in their first year at CCSU.
• In CCSU's first 12 games, the 10 newcomers contributed 80.9% (550-of-680) of the offense. On the year, the newcomers have accounted for 73.0% of points.
• In the final 4:45 vs. Maine, CCSU used a lineup of 5 newcomers, outscoring Maine 12-5 the rest of the way to nearly erase a 16-point deficit.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• CCSU is one of only 14 schools nationally with 7 or more freshmen on the roster and per KenPom, the Blue Devils are the 4th-youngest in terms of D1 experience.
• The Blue Devils also feature two junior college transfers (Ayangma, Newkirk) and a senior transfer (Rowe) who are in their first season of eligibility with the program.
• Central Connecticut has 11 underclassmen, including 10 players in their first year with the program. CCSU started at least 3 first-year players in the first 14 games of the year, including three freshmen in the opener against Hartford.
Taking Advantage of Free Throws
• In Northeast Conference play, Central is converting a league-best .773 at the foul line.
• The Blue Devils have converted at least 71% at the line in all six games, while reaching that mark twice in the first 13 games.
• Ian Krishnan is 3rd in the NEC, shooting .920 (23-25) at the stripe and converting 15 straight.
Coleman Posts Double-Double
• Jamir Coleman posted his 1st of the year, with 17 points, 12 rebounds (a career-high) at LIU on Thursday - it also marked his 2nd straight double-double against the Sharks.
• Coleman scored 10+ in 4 straight games (Nov. 23-Dec. 7) and shot .600 (24-of-40) from the field in that span. He had a season-high 27 points (12-16 fg) at UMass Lowell.
Krishnan Hits the Court Scoring in Return
• Ian Krishnan scored 20+ points in his first two games back for the Blue Devils after missing the first semester.
• In his first action of the year he had 23 points with 5 three-pointers vs. Conn College. Krishnan followed that with 20 points against Robert Morris in the NEC opener.
• Krishnan, an NEC All-Rookie Teamer last year, leads CCSU in scoring and is shooting 25-of-27 (.926) at the foul line.
Reed & Baker Big Off The Bench
• Jamir Reed and Myles Baker both play 20+ minutes and average 7.3 and 7.0 ppg, respectively, while coming off the bench.
• Reed has six double-digit scoring games, while Baker has five including three straight from Dec. 29-Jan. 4.
• Baker had 15 points vs. Maine, scoring 13 points after halftime. He poured in 11 points in the final 4:59 and got Central within 65-64 with :12 to play.
Outlaw Named NEC Rookie of the Week
• Greg Outlaw was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2 following his play at UMass Lowell.
• He had a career-high 16 points on 7-12 shooting. He scored 5 straight to spark a 9-3 run and give CCSU a late 71-70 lead.
• Outlaw 10+ in a team-best 10 games and is 2nd among NEC freshmen in scoring.
Where's Wallace?
• Karrington Wallace missed nine games due to injury and left hole in the Blue Devils' interior.
• Wallace leads CCSU in field goal percentage (.463) and is per-40 averages are 13.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.3 blocks.
Reed Named All-Tournament
• Jamir Reed was named to the Hall of Fame Tip-Off All-Tournament Team for the Springfield Bracket.
• In two games at Mohegan Sun, he averaged 12.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg. He had a career-high 14 points vs. Columbia.
Central and the Three-Point Shot
• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 148 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 5th in the NEC (.336) in three-point accuracy and made 12 vs. Conn College.
Central Comes Up Just Short
• Central's back-to-back two-point losses at UMass Lowell and vs. Maine was the first time since Jan. 21 (at Sacred Heart, 61-62) and Jan. 26, 2012 (Monmouth, 56-58 ot) that CCSU had consecutive losses by two-or-fewer points.
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.
• CCSU is 0-5 against postseason participants from last year. In 2018-19, the Blue Devils went 1-10 against 8 teams that played in the postseason the previous year.
Working Overtime
• The Blue Devils are 5-4 under Donyell Marshall in overtime games. CCSU was 2-0 in OT during the 2018-19 season.
• CCSU defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in 2OT (1/10/19) - the 7th multi-OT game in the program's D-1 history (1986-87).
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.
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' roster has student-athletes from 4 countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 players from 9 states and England (Thai Segwai), Cameroon (Stephane Ayungma) and Nigeria (Ola Olamuyiwa).
• Central is among a group of 46 schools with student-athletes representing 3 or more foreign countries.
Blue Devils Welcome Alex Inyatkin
• CCSU teamed with Team IMPACT to welcome 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 with life-changing outcomes.
"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.
84 Years of CCSU Basketball
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,113-971 all-time (.534).
• 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.
• CCSU has competed as an NCAA Division I program from 1986 to present.
Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
• Central was picked 10th in the preseason coaches poll at NEC Social Media Day in Brooklyn, NY, at Barclay's Center on Oct. 23. Complete poll (first place votes):
• The Preseason All-NEC Team included Saint Francis U senior Keith Braxton, the 2018-19 NEC Player of the Year, was a unanimous selection, along with Raiquan Clark (Sr., LIU) and Jahlil Jenkins (Jr., Fairleigh Dickinson). E.J. Anosike (Jr., Sacred Heart) and Adam Grant (Sr., Bryant) rounded out the preseason selections.