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Position atop the Great West Conference men's basketball standings is at stake, as two of the top three teams go head-to-head Thursday night (7:30 pm) when NJIT hosts North Dakota in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
The 12-game Great West schedule isn't yet half over, but none of the seven GWC squads are unbeaten in conference play, and NJIT and North Dakota, along with Utah Valley, are the only three with one loss to date.
Both teams are hot, having won 7 of their previous 9. North Dakota is 6-1 in the last 7 games and the one loss was a 4-overtime affair at home against Utah Valley on January 20.
NJIT and North Dakota never played before last February 20, but they would meet three times in a little more than two weeks and each game feature intense action. The first game, in North Dakota, went to the Fighting Sioux, 90-78, with UND's Patrick Mitchell scoring 33 points (11-15 shooting, including 10-13 on 3-pointers). Five days later in Newark, NJIT came out on top, 91-73. And the rubber game came in the first round of the Great West Tournament, with the Highlanders winning, 70-57.
North Dakota, 8-25 overall last year, was picked in a last-place tie in the GWC coaches' preseason poll, but the coaches didn't account for the emergence of young players on the Fighting Sioux, who start four freshmen along with the junior power forward Mitchell (10.5 ppg, 6 rpg). He is joined up front by redshirt freshman Brandon Brekke, a 6-8 center who averages 6.1 ppg and 3.9 rpg overall, but 14 ppg and 10 rpg in five conference games.
The Fighting Sioux have swingman Troy Huff, a true freshman averaging 11.2 ppg, along with true freshman point guard Jamal Webb (9 ppg), and redshirt freshman Josh Shuler (9.9 ppg) to round out a balanced starting lineup.
NJIT, which has won its last five home games and is 7-4 on Fleisher Family Court this year and 15-7 there the last two years, will counter with its own balanced lineup that finds the top three scorers on the team separated by four total points in the season totals.
All three were named to the preseason all-GWC team. Sophomore Chris Flores and junior Isaiah Wilkerson are tied atop the list at 275 points (13.1 ppg), while senior Jheryl Wilson checks in with 271 points (12.9 ppg).
Flores, with a team-high 19 points in last Saturday's 65-64 win over Longwood, has been in double-figures in 9 of the last 10 games and going back farther, 11 of 13 and 12 of 15. He tied the NJIT Division I record with six 3-pointers last year against the Fighting Sioux in North Dakota.
Wilkerson, who scored the game-winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining vs. Longwood, has eight straight double-figure scoring games and is averaging 19 points in the four conference games to date.
Wilson, 10th on the all-time NJIT career scoring list (1,248 points), is averaging 17 points over the last five games.
Wilkerson is NJIT's top rebounder (6.4 rpg), followed by Wilson (4.8 rpg). Meanwhile Flores leads in assists (61), just ahead of Wilson (59), and Flores lead in steals (29).
Fans unable to make the game can follow all the action live on www.njithighlanders.com, which will carry a webcast play-by-play and commentary from Matt Provence, as well as an in-game real-time stat feed. Audio coverage, which begins a few minutes before the 6 pm game between the NJIT and North Dakota women, will continue with full coverage of the men's game.
