January 16, 2020
Men's Basketball Returns to the Road at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team continues its three-game Northeast Conference road swing with a trip to Mount St. Mary's for Saturday afternoon. Central is in the midst of playing three road games in six days. The game is being streamed live on www.NECFrontRow.com.
Central is in search of its first win in conference play after falling at Sacred Heart on Thursday night. Mount St. Mary's has alternated wins and losses in its last six games, but is coming off a two-point win against Bryant last Saturday.
CCSU wraps up its three-game road swing with a game at Fairleigh Dickinson as part of an MLK Day doubleheader. The CCSU and FDU women's teams tip off prior to the men's game.
SERIES HISTORY • The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 37-29, but Sacred Heart has won the last eight meetings. CCSU's last win in the seriees was on Feb. 21, 2015, 76-73.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut is in the midst of a three-game road swing and plays at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon. Central fell at SHU, while Mount was off on Thursday.
• CCSU wraps up its three-game road swing with a game at Fairleigh Dickinson as part of an MLK Day doubleheader. The CCSU and FDU women's teams tip off prior to the men's game.
• Central will return home to host Sacred Heart on Jan. 23 in its next home game.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• Central Connecticut would pick up its first road win and first NEC win of the season.
• The Blue Devils would win their second straight at Knott Arena and third in four trips.
• The win would mark CCSU's first against a Division I school. Central is one of three schools (Mississippi Valley, Delaware State) without a D-I win.
Quick Hitting Notes
• In the last 5 games (conference play), CCSU is shooting .763 at the foul line, which ranks 2nd in the leaague.
• Ian Krishnan ranks second in conference play, converting .900 from the foul line. He has made 10 straight across the past four games.
• Karrington Wallace scored a season-high 8 points at Sacred Heart in 20 minutes. He currently is shooting a team-best .472 from the field in all games.
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 CCSU's first 12 games, the 10 newcomers contributed 80.9% (550-of-680) of the offense. On the year, the newcomers have accounted for 73.4% 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 nearly erase a 16-point deficit.
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• CCSU is one of only 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, including 10 players in their first year with the program. CCSU started at least 3 first-year players in the first 14 games of the year, including three freshmen in the opener against Hartford.
Coleman Posts Double-Double
• Jamir Coleman posted his 1st of the year, with 17 points, 12 rebounds (a career-high) at LIU on Thursday - it also marked his 2nd straight double-double against the Sharks.
• 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.
CCSU Turning Over Opponents
• The Blue Devils currently rank 4th in the NEC with 14.1 turnovers forced per game and 5th with 6.8 steals.
• Central has collected at least seven steals in nine games this year, with a high of 12 against Conn College.
• CCSU has forced 15+ turnovers in eight games this year.
Krishnan Hits the Court Scoring in Return
• Ian Krishnan scored 20+ points in his first two games back for the Blue Devils after missing the first semester.
• In his first action of the year he had 23 points with 5 three-pointers vs. Conn College. Krishnan followed that with 20 points against Robert Morris in the NEC opener.
• Krishnan, an NEC All-Rookie Teamer last year, leads CCSU in scoring and is shooting 20-of-22 (.909) at the foul line.
Baker Heats Up Off The Bench
• Myles Baker averages 8.1 ppg coming off the bench.
• He has five double-digit scoring games this season, including three straight from Dec. 29-Jan. 4.
• 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 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.
• Outlaw 10+ in a team-best 10 games and is 2nd among NEC freshmen in scoring.
Blue Devils Taking Care of the Ball
• Since getting into league play the Blue Devils have ranked 6th with a -1.0 turnover margin.
• CCSU has a positive turnover margin in 7 of the last 12 games and has committed 15+ turnovers just twice in 14 games.
• Central has forced opponents into 20+ turnovers twice this season, including a season-high 26 vs. Conn College.
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.
Central and the Three-Point Shot
• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 147 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• As a team, the Blue Devils rank 4th in the NEC (.336) 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.
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 0-5 against postseason participants from last year. In 2018-19, the Blue Devils went 1-10 against 8 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-OT game in the program's D-1 history (1986-87).
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.
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.
An International Roster
• The Blue Devils' roster has student-athletes from 4 countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 players from 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 or more foreign countries.
Blue Devils Welcome Alex Inyatkin
• CCSU teamed with Team IMPACT to welcome 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 with life-changing outcomes.
"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.
84 Years of CCSU Basketball
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,113-970 all-time (.534).
• 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.
• CCSU has competed as an NCAA Division I program from 1986 to present.
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.
