The Central Connecticut men's basketball team hosts Merrimack on Monday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium in a matchup of the only two unbeaten teams in Northeast Conference play. The game is a Pom Pom Giveaway presented by Achieve Financial. The 4:00 p.m. game will stream on NECFrontRow.
CCSU GAME NOTES | HOME GAME PROGRAM LINKS | MERRIMACK GAME NOTES
GAMECAST | WATCH (NEC FrontRow) | AUDIO | TICKETS
The Blue Devils and Warriors are meeting for the first time this season. CCSU leads the all-time series, 14-11, but Merrimack has won the last two meetings.
OPENING NOTES
• Central Connecticut welcomes Merrimack for its Northeast Conference home-opener on Monday in a matchup of two unbeaten teams in the league. CCSU enters with a 4-game win streak, while Merrimack has won 3 in a row.
• Head coach Patrick Sellers is in his third season at the helm of his alma mater and has improved the team's win total over the previous season in each campaign.
• Central will host Le Moyne for a Friday night contest.
WITH A CCSU WIN ...
• Central would open Northeast Conference play 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12 (5-0).
• The Blue Devils would be the lone remaining unbeaten team in conference play.
• CCSU would win its NEC home-opener for the 2nd straight season.
• CCSU would be above .500 through 16 games for the first time since 2010-11 (10-6).
• The Blue Devils would have a 5-game win streak for the first time since Nov 17-Dec. 2, 2017.
• Central would win its second straight home game.
NOTABLES
•
Allan Jeanne-Rose is shooting 60.0% from the field - 1st in the NEC (32nd nationally). He leads the Blue Devils and is 3rd in the Northeast Conference in scoring (15.9 ppg), while adding 4.6 rpg.
• Jeanne-Rose is scoring a league-high 22.3 ppg in NEC play, while shooting .586 from the field.
• A 6-7 forward, Jeanne-Rose had his first career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds at Boston College.
• He has scored 20+ points five times, including a 25-point effort against Manhattan when he shot 11-of-15 from the field.
• In a meeting of two unbeatens in league play, Monday's game naturally features 2 of the top teams in numerous statistical categories in conference play. Here's a look at how they compare:
Category CCSU (Rank) Merrimack (Rank)
Scoring Offense 74.5 (2nd) 69.3 (3rd)
Scoring Defense 60.0 (2nd) 58.7 (1st)
Scoring Margin +14.5 (1st) +10.7 (2nd)
Field Goal Pct. .462 (3rd) .468 (2nd)
FG Pct. Defense .402 (3rd) .358 (1st)
Blocked Shots 5.5 (1st) 4.0 (4th)
Steals 9.5 (3rd) 10.0 (t-1st)
TO Margin +5.0 (2nd) +4.7 (3rd)
• The matchup also features the top two scorers in the NEC in CCSU's
Allan Jeanne-Rose (23.0, 1st) and MC's Jordan Derkack (22.3, 2nd).
• It also includes the four most-accurate shooters in NEC play. CCSU has
Jayden Brown (.750, 1st) and Jeanne-Rose (.586, 2nd), while MC has Jacob O'Connell (.643, 2nd) and Derkack (.605, 3rd).
• Over 9 games from Nov. 20-Dec. 30, the Blue Devils surged 63 spots in the KenPom rankings and are currently ranked 247.
• In the NCAA NET Rankings as of Jan. 8, Central Connecticut is ranked 225, trailing only Merrimack (193) in the Northeast Conference.