Men's Basketbal Set to Face Merrimack in Matchup of NEC's Top Two on Saturday

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team travels to Merrimack on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Northeast Conference standings. The Blue Devils have won a league-best seven road games on the season and are 4-0 in league away games.

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The Blue Devils and Warriors are meeting for the second time this season. CCSU won the first contest, 75-70, on Jan. 15 in New Britain.

OPENING NOTES

•    Central Connecticut travels to Merrimack on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Northeast Conference table. John Avino and Jacob VanRyn will call the game for NESN+.
•    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.
•    The Blue Devils host Sacred Heart on Thursday. The game is being promoted as a "Blue Out" encouraging fans to wear CCSU Blue.

WITH A WIN TODAY ...
•    The Blue Devils would improve to 8-1 in NEC first time for the first time since 2006-07 (13-1).
•    CCSU would be 6 games above .500 through 22 games for the first time since 2010-11 (17-7).
•    Central would win its 14th game overall, its most since 2017-18 (14).
•    CCSU would win 5 straight NEC road games for the first time since Jan. 13-Feb. 15, 2007 (6).
•     The Blue Devils would win their 7th straight road game overall - their longest streak since Jan. 16-Feb. 20, 2003 (7).

LOOSE ENDS...
•    CCSU ranks 13th nationally, committing just 13.8 fouls per game.
•    Central has played back-to-back one-point games, winning both. Dating back to the 2021-22 season, CCSU has won 4 straight one-point games. Last loss: Jan. 21, 2022•67-68 at SFU
•    CCSU committed just 5 turnovers in the win against Wagner on Jan. 27. It was the fewest turnovers committed by the Blue Devils since Jan. 14, 2021 (4 at Sacred Heart).
•    Central has surpassed its previous season's win total in 3 straight season under head coach Patrick Sellers. In 10 seasons from the program's last winning season (2010-11, 19-12) until Sellers was named head coach, CCSU was just 86-207 (.294).
•    CCSU has won 4 straight overtime games dating back to Feb. 5, 2022.

NOTABLES

•    The Blue Devils have been the NEC's best road team in 2023-24 with 7 wins overall and a perfect 4-0 mark in league play in away games.
•    CCSU's current road game win streak (6) is tied with McNeese for the longest active streak in the country.
•    Central has won 7 road games for the first time since 2012-13.
•    CCSU is one of just 12 schools nationally with 7 road wins, and is tied for 3rd trailing only Western Carolina and UMass Lowell (8).

•    While opening Northeast Conference play 7-1, CCSU has posted markedly better numbers on the ROAD than at home. Have a look:
      Stat                      ROAD (4-0)    HOME (3-1)
      Scoring Offense        74.3                70.0
      Scoring Defense       60.8                68.8
      Margin                   +13.5                +1.2
      FG Pct.                    .468                .449
      Rebounding Margin   +7.3                +3.3

•    CCSU blocks 5.2 shots per game - 21st in the nation.  Jayden Brown (1.6) ranks 4th in the NEC, while Abdul Momoh (1.0), Kellen Amos (1.0) and Allan Jeanne-Rose (0.8) all rank among the top 10 shotblockers.
•    With 109 blocked shots on the season as a team, the Blue Devils have the 11th-best mark in program history.
•    The Blue Devils blocked 8 shots in the win over Saint Francis U on Thursday, including 4 by Jayden Brown - a career-high.
•    Central has recorded 5+ blocked shots in a game 12x this season, including a season-high 9 vs. Saint Elizabeth.