December 6, 2019
Men's Basketball Returns Home to Host Maine on Saturday
Blue Devils host the Black Bears at 1:00 p.m.
Central Connecticut men's basketball returns to action following nearly a week off and returns home to host Maine on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. from Detrick Gymnasium. Saturday's 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.
Central Connecticut is back home at Detrick Gymnasium to host Maine on Saturday afternoon. Central is playing just its second home game of the season, while in search of its first win after falling at UMass Lowell, 73-71, on Sunday. Maine, which is in the midst of a four-game road swing, was picked 8th in the America East preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY • Maine leads the all-time series, 10-6, but the Blue Devils have won the last three meetings in the series. Central won last season's meeting, 93-90, in double-overtime on Dec. 22, 2018. CCSU topped the Black Bears in the last meeting at Detrick Gym, 84-57, on Dec. 20, 2017. Maine's last win in the series was on Nov. 29, 2015.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut returns home for the first time since Nov. 19 when it hosts Maine on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
• The Blue Devils will be looking to pick up their first win of the campaign before heading on the road for three straight games.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• CCSU would get its first win and avoid its first 0-9 start since going D1.
• Central would post its fourth straight win in the series against Maine.
• CCSU would improve to 1-4 against America East opponents in 2019-20.
Central Newcomers Lead The Way
• With a roster featuring 10 players in their first year with the program, the Blue Devils have relied on their newcomers through to begin the season.
• Six of seven players playing 20+ minutes are in their first year at CCSU, led by Jamir Reed (29.6 mpg) and Greg Outlaw (28.6 mpg).
• Four of CCSU's top-5 scorers are all newcomers, with freshman Greg Outlaw averaging a team-leading 10.1 ppg. The 10 newcomers have contributed 77.7% (344-of-443) of the Blue Devils' scoring through eight games.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• CCSU is one of 14 schools nationally with 7 or more freshmen on the roster.
• 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.
• Central has started 3 first-year players in each of the first seven games, including three freshmen against Hartford.
• 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.
Outlaw Named NEC Rookie of the Week
• Greg Outlaw was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2.
• 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.
Coleman Hitting His Stride
• Jamir Coleman has scored 10+ in 3 straight games and had a season-high 27 points (12-16 fg) at UMass Lowell. In that span he's shot .556 (20-of-36) from the field.
• He is CCSU's leading returnee with 12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds per game last season. He had 4 20-point games and 5 double-doubles.
Blue Devils Taking Care of the Ball
• Since committing a season-high 24 turnovers at UMass, Central gave it away a season-low in three straight games.
• CCSU turned the ball over just 8 times against Columbia, while forcing the Lions into 11 turnovers.
• On the season, CCSU is averaging 16.8 turnovers per game.
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.
An International Roster
• The Blue Devils' program has student-athletes from 4 countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 student-athletes representing 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+ foreign countries.
Marshall Among Former NBA PlayersNow 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.
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 0-3 against postseason participants from last year. In 2018-19, the Blue Devils went 1-10 against eight 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-overtime in program history since going D1 in 1986-87.
Central and the Three-Point Shot
• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 137 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 6th, making 32.6% of their three-point shots. CCSU hit a season-high 9 against UNH.
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.
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.
CCSU Posts Marks Among Program's Best in 2018-19
• In 2018-19, CCSU set a single-season Northeast Conference record making 78.2% of free throws (previously 77.2% - Wagner, 2010-11). The mark ranked 5th in the NCAA.
• 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.
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.
84 YEARS OF CCSU BASKETBALL
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,112-960 all-time (.537).
• 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.
"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.
