Men's Basketball Welcomes Wagner on Saturday
The men’s game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. following the women’s game.
January 24, 2020
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team hosts Wagner on Saturday at Detrick Gymnasium for a Northeast Conference contest. The men's game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. following the women's game. The game is being streamed live on www.NECFrontRow.com. Bruce Biel (play-by-play) and Marc Robbins (analyst) will call the action all season long for Blue Devils home games.
CCSU will be looking to gain a game on the Seahawks in the NEC standings. Wagner fell at Bryant on Thursday night.
Central Connecticut travels to Saint Francis U on Thursday. Central will be home again when it hosts LIU on Thursday, Feb. 13.
SERIES HISTORY • The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Wagner leads the all-time series, 29-19, and have won the last 10 meetings. Central's last win in the series came on Jan. 24, 2015, 53-50.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut hosts Wagner for a Northeast Conference game on Saturday. The men's game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. following the CCSU-Wagner women's game.
• CCSU and Wagner are meeting for the first time and will play again on Feb. 21.
• Central will hit the road for three games beginning with a trip to Saint Francis U on Thursday, Jan. 30.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• Central Connecticut would pick up its first NEC win of the season and avoid an 0-9 NEC start for the first time since 2015-16 (0-10).
• 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 had 8 steals against Sacred Heart and has 11 games of 7 or more this season.
• Xavier Wilson scored a career-high 13 points (3-8 fg, 7-11 ft) in 30 minutes against Sacred Heart. He also blocked a personal-best four shots in the game. Wilson was starting his first career Northeast Conference game.
• Ian Krishnan has made 15 straight foul shots and is 2nd in league play at .920. Myles Baker has converted .938 at the foul line in NEC play.
• Krishnan was 4-of-5 on three-pointers against the Pioneers.
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 72.8% 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.
Something To Start
• With Thursday's starting 5, CCSU has used 11 different starting lineups, with only one lineup being used in more than 3 games.
• Zach Newkirk is the only Blue Devil to start every game.
"X" Is On Target
• Xavier Wilson has scored in double-figures in each of the last two games, including a career-high 13 points against Sacred Heart.
• Wilson went 7-of-11 at the foul line agains the Pioneers in 30 minutes, while also blocking a career-high four shots.
• Wilson is averaging 5.0 ppg and 2.0 rpg on the season.
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 CCSU and is 3rd in the NEC in foul shooting (.920) in league play.
• 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.
Reed & Baker Big Off The Bench
• Jamir Reed and Myles Baker both play 20+ minutes and average 7.5 and 8.1 ppg, respectively, while coming off the bench.
• Reed has six double-digit scoring games, while Baker also has six 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.
Where's Wallace?
• Karrington Wallace has missed 10 games due to injury and left a hole in the Blue Devils' interior.
• Wallace leads CCSU in field goal percentage (.465) and is per-40 averages are 12.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 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 150 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 5th in the NEC (.332) 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 0-6 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 1,113-973 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.