November 4, 2019
Men's Basketball Hosts Hartford to Open Season Tuesday
CCSU tips off the season against the Hawks at Detrick Gym on Tuesday.
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team opens the 2019-20 season against Hartford on Tuesday night at Detrick Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. 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 the Blue Devils.
Central Connecticut and Hartford are opening the season against each other for the fifth straight season. CCSU is opening at home for the first time since 2016-17. Hartford was picked sixth in the AE preseason poll and have eight newcomers after going 18-15 last season.
SERIES HISTORY • CCSU leads the all-time seriess, 30-18...The Blue Devils won last season's matchup, 75-68, in the season-opener...Central won the last meeting of the teams at Detrick Gymnasium, 75-60, on Nov. 11, 2016...Hartford's last win against CCSU came on Nov. 10, 2017, 85-84 in overtime.
OPENING NOTES
• Central Connecticut and Hartford are opening the season against each other for the fifth straight season. CCSU is opening at home for the first time since 2016-17.
• Following today's game, Central will play three straight on the road beginning with Saturday's game at St. John's. CCSU will return home on Nov. 19 against New Hampshire.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• Central Connecticut would improve to 1-0 overall and 1-0 at home.
• Central would win its second straight season opener.
• The Blue Devils would post a win over Hartford for the third time in four seasons under head coach Donyell Marshall.
Coleman Leads The Returnees
• Jamir Coleman scored a career-high 27 points (10-19 fg) vs. Robert Morris (Jan. 21) and averaged 12.3 points per game last season, while adding 6.1 rebounds.
• The 6-foot-7 forward had four 20-point games and five double-doubles, including grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds three times (last at LIU Brooklyn, 2/28).
• Coleman scored 13.4 points per game and shot 41.9% from the field in NEC play, while ranking 8th with 6.6 rebounds per game.
• In Northeast Conference play, Coleman scored in double-digits 11 times with four double-doubles, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds three times.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• Central Connecticut has one of the youngest rosters in the nation in 2019-20 with 11 underclassmen and a total of 10 players in their first year with the program.
• CCSU is one of seven schools with 7 or more freshmen on the roster. Navy has 11 freshmen on its roster.
• The Blue Devils also feature two junior college transfers (Ayungma, Newkirk) and a senior transfer (Rowe) who are in their first season of eligibility with the program.
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):
1. LIU (5)
2. Sacred Heart (3)
3. Saint Francis U (1)
4. Fairleigh Dickinson (2)
5. Robert Morris
6. Bryant
7. Mount St. Mary's
8. St. Francis Brooklyn
9. Wagner
10. Central Connecticut
11. Merrimack
• 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.
CCSU Foul Shooting Sets NEC Single-Season Best
• Central Connecticut set a single-season Northeast Conference record for team free throw shooting at 78.2%, besting the previous mark of 77.2% (Wagner, 2010-11).
• The Blue Devils' foul shooting was among the best in the nation, ranking 5th in the NCAA.
• Joe Hugley (.856, 3rd), Tyler Kohl (.848, 4th) and Jamir Coleman (.843, 6th) ranked among the NEC's best at the line.
• CCSU made 31-of-35 (.886) at the foul line at Maine (Dec. 22, 2018) for its most foul shots made in a game since going 30-of-34 vs. Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 18, 2016.
• Central made its first 5 foul shots vs. Bryant (Feb. 2) after making its last 18 straight against St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 31) for a streak of 23 straight foul shots over two games.
• CCSU was 12-for-12 against LIU (Jan. 26), its first perfect game at the line since Dec. 6, 2017 at DePaul (6-for-6).
Blue Devils Post Marks Among Program's Best
• In 2018-19, CCSU achieved a number of team and individual marks that rank among the program's best.
• Central tied the 4th-best single-game mark in program history by hitting 13 three-pointers at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 10, 2019. Central would end the season with 201 three-pointers on the year to post the 6th-best single-season total.
• CCSU blocked 110 shots, the 9th-most in program-history and most since 2013-14 (146).
• Individually, Ian Krishnan made 71 three-pointers - the 9th-most in a season - including 7 in a win at Fairleigh Dickinson, which is the 10th most in a game in CCSU history.
• Tyler Kohl made 139 foul shots, the 6th-highest single-season total at Central.
An International Roster
• The Blue Devils' program has student-athletes from four countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 student-athletes representing nine states and England (Thai Segwai), Cameroon (Stephane Ayungma) and Nigeria (Ola Olamuyiwa).
• Central is among a group of 46 schools with student-athletes representing three or more foreign countries.
84 Years of CCSU Basketball
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,112-953 all-time (.538).
• 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.
Senator Olamuyiwa
• Freshman Ola Olamuyiwa was sworn in as a 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.
Blue Devils Welcome Alex Inyatkin
• CCSU teamed with Team IMPACT to bring 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 and life-changing outcomes.
