Men's Basketball Tips at UMass on Wednesday Afternoon

November 21, 2023

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team will play one more game before the holiday when it travels to UMass on Wednesday. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff and will be streamed on ESPN+, while airing live on NESN.

The teams are meeting for the 16th time, while UMass has won the last three matchups and leads the all-time series, 8-7.

OPENING NOTES
•    Central Connecticut begins a stretch of playing five of its next six on the road with a contest at UMass on Wednesday afternoon.
•    Head coach Patrick Sellers is in his third season at the helm of his alma mater.
•    The Blue Devils and Rams are meeting for the first time, while CCSU is playing a non-D-I foe for the first time since Dec. 29, 2019 when it defeated Connecticut College, 89-55.
•    CCSU will have a week off until it travels to Army West Point on Nov. 29. Central will then be home on Dec. 2 against Holy Cross.

WITH A CCSU WIN ...
•    Central would collect its first road win of the season.
•    The Blue Devils would end a three-game skid in the series and go to 8-8 vs. UMass all-time.
•    CCSU would end a 4-game road losing skid (Feb. 11, 2023 at FDU, 77-73).
•    CCSU would defeat an A10 opponent for the first time since Nov. 18, 2012 (81-74 at La Salle).

NOTABLES
•    246 straight games with a three-pointer. The last game CCSU had without a made 3-pointer: Jan. 31, 2015 at Wagner (0-for-6).
•    Central has posted 2 of its top 10 single-season three-point totals in the first two seasons under coach Sellers, including 204 in 2022-23.
•    At Wagner on Jan. 20, 2023, Central had one three-pointer for the first time since going 1-for-8 on Jan. 7, 2017 vs. Mount St. Mary's.

•    CCSU posted noteworthy totals in the Nov. 13 win over Framingham St.
   - 2nd largest margin of victory (57) in program history
   - Lowest FG Pct. allowed (.234) since Jan. 6, 2012 (.234 vs. SFBK)
   - 50+ rebounds (53) for the first time since Dec. 31, 2016
   - Forced 20+ turnovers (20) for the first time since Jan. 4, 2020
   - 6 players scored 10+ points for the first time since Dec. 16, 2020
   - 20+ assists (20) for the first time since Dec. 22, 2022
   - Fewest points allowed (42) since Jan. 22, 2023 (42 at LIU)

•    Allan Jeanne-Rose has started the season shooting a blistering 76.2% from the field (32-of-42) and 4-of-8 (.500) from 3-point range.
•    Jeanne-Rose is leading the Northeast Conference in scoring at 19.0 ppg through 4 games, while adding 3.3 rpg and 1.8 apg.
•    He has 20+ points in two games, including a 25-point effort against Manhattan when he shot 11-of-15 from the field.

•    Jordan Jones earned his first start of the year against Framingham State. He scored 13 points with 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
•    He played 29 minutes off the bench at Quinnipiac and contributed 13 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
•    He leads the team with 8 steals overall, averaging 2.0 per game.
•    In 2022-23, he ranked 3rd nationally in D-II in steals (2.59) and 6th in assists (6.5) at Coker (SC) University.

•    The Blue Devils lead the Northeast Conference with 5.5 blocked shots per game. Jayden Brown (1.5) ranks 2nd in the in blocks per game, while Abdul Momoh (1.3) and Kellen Amos (1.0) rank 6th & 8th, respectively.
•    Central had 8 rejections against Framingham State, matching its season-high total from last season.
•    The Blue Devils recorded 7 blocked shots in the opener at URI, including three in the opening four minutes.
•    CCSU rejected 122 shots as a team last season, the 7th best single-season mark in program history.

• Central is 31-18 in overtime in its D1 history (since 1986-87).
• CCSU has played 9 multi-OT games in its D1 history since 1986-87. Central played a 4OT game vs. La Salle on Dec. 18, 2005 (L, 107-106).

• Joe Ostrowsky has started the past 3 games and has a solid 3.3 assist-turnover ratio, while adding 5.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg on the year.
• He matched a career-high with 8 rebounds at Quinnipiac and then had 7p, 4r, 3a and 3 stl against Framingham State.