December 30, 2019
Men's Basketball Hosts Robert Morris in Conference Opener Thursday
CCSU will play three of their first four NEC games at home.
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team begins Northeast Conference play against Robert Morris on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The contest follows the women's game. CCSU will play three of their first four NEC games at home. 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 Blue Devils home games.
Central closed out its non-conference slate with an 89-55 win over Connecticut College on Sunday. Robert Morris is 4-9 on the year and is coming off an 81-69 loss at UNLV on Dec. 21. The Colonials were picked fifth in the preseason NEC coaches poll.
The Blue Devils host Saint Francis U on Saturday in the second game of a basketball doubleheader.
SERIES HISTORY • RMU leads the all-time series, 24-18. The teams split last season's meetings with CCSU winning 77-68 on Feb. 9, 2019.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut opens conference play against Robert Morris on Thursday night.
• The Blue Devils host Saint Francis U on Saturday as part of a doubleheader. The women's game precedes the men beginning at 1:00 p.m.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• CCSU would have its first win streak of the season and win its 2nd straight over Robert Morris (77-68, Feb. 9, 2019).
• Central would win a league-opener for the 2nd time in 3 years. CCSU dropped 5 straight NEC openers from 2013-17.
Central Newcomers Lead the Way
• With a roster featuring 10 players in their first year with the program, the Blue Devils have relied on one of the country's youngest rosters this season.
• Six of 8 players playing 20+ minutes are in their first year at CCSU.
• In the first 12 games, the 10 newcomers contributed 80.9% (550-of-680) of the CCSU's scoring. On the year, the newcomers have accounted for 78.5% of points.
• In the final 4:45 vs. Maine, CCSU used a lineup of 5 newcomers, outscoring Maine 12-5 the rest of the way to comeback and nearly erase a 16-point deficit.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• CCSU is one of 14 schools nationally with 7 or more freshmen on the roster and per KenPom, the Blue Devils are the 4th-youngest in terms of D1 experience.
• 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. • Central Connecticut has 11 underclassmen and a total of 10 players in their first year with the program. CCSU has started at least 3 first-year players in every game, including three freshmen in the opener against Hartford.
Krishnan Returns In a Scoring Burst
• Ian Krishnan saw his first action of the year and had 23 points on 5 three-pointers vs. Conn College. He scored 16 points (6-7 fg) in 9 minutes after the half.
• Krishnan earned Northeast Conference All-Rookie Team and was 2nd among NEC freshmen in scoring (12.0 ppg).
Baker Heats Up Off The Bench
• Myles Baker has scored 8.4 ppg coming off the bench.
• He had 10 points (4-6 fg, 2-3 3fg) in 12 minutes in the first half against Connecticut College.
• Baker had 15 points vs. Maine, scoring 13 points after halftime. He poured in 11 points in the final 4:59 and got Central within 65-64 with :12 to play.
Outlaw Named NEC Rookie of the Week
• Greg Outlaw was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2 following his play at UMass Lowell.
• He had a then 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.
• He is 2nd among NEC freshman in scoring.
Coleman Hitting His Stride
• Jamir Coleman scored 10+ in 4 straight games (Nov. 23-Dec. 7) and shot .600 (24-of-40) from the field in that span. He had a season-high 27 points (12-16 fg) at UMass Lowell.
• 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 has a positive turnover margin in 5 of the last 7 games and has only committed more than 15 turnovers once in the last 9 games.
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 Players 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 142 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 3rd in the NEC (.349) in three-point accuracy and made 12 vs. Conn. College.
Central Comes Up Just Short
• Central's back-to-back two-point losses at UMass Lowell and vs. Maine was the first time since Jan. 21 (at Sacred Heart, 61-62) and Jan. 26, 2012 (Monmouth, 56-58 ot) that CCSU had consecutive losses by two-or-fewer points.
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 1,113-965 all-time (.536).
• 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.
