NJIT Men's Basketball Gameday Information
 

Game 6	NJIT  (3-2) at UAlbany (2-3)
Date/Time	Friday, November 27, 2015/ 7 pm
Location/Venue	Albany, NY/ SEFCU Arena (5,000)
Live Video/Audio	Live streaming video: AmericaEast.TV (www.ualbanysports.com)  Live audio: www.njithighlanders.com Matt Provence (play-by-play)
Live Stats	UAlbany
Social Media	@njithighlanders
All-Time Series	UAlbany leads 4-0 (last: UAlbany 65, NJIT 59; Feb. 13, 2015)
Game Notes	NJIT notes / UAlbany notes

 
The game is being streamed live on AmericaEast.TV at UAlbany's athletics website www.ualbanysports.com.
 
A courtesy link can also be found on the www.njithighlanders.com home page. Click "Upcoming Events" in the gray bar in the middle of the home page; then find the Men's Basketball at UAlbany line and click the red camera icon to the right of the game listing.
 
Matt Provence, voice of the Highlanders, has the audio play-by-play call on www.njithighlanders.com. The link is on the same line as the video at the red speaker icon to the left of the camera icon.
 
HIGHLANDERS WRAP BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME CLASSIC AT UALBANY FRIDAY NIGHT
Friday's game between NJIT and UAlbany is the fourth and final competition in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic for both teams.
 
The Classic schedule is set up in group play with NJIT, UAlbany, Kentucky, South Florida, and Boston University playing each other at various times from the start of the season to the end of November. Most of the games are played at campus sites, while Kentucky and USF will meet as part of a doubleheader Friday at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
 
NJIT and UAlbany each have one home game and three away games in the Classic. The Highlanders played at #2 Kentucky (lost 87-57 on November 14), at USF (won 60-57), and home vs. Boston U (won 90-76).
 
UAlbany played at Kentucky a night before NJIT did (lost 78-65), at Boston U (lost 69-64), and at USF (lost 63-61).
 
GAME AT UALBANY PITS NJIT AGAINST ANOTHER TOP OPPONENT
The Highlanders have opened the 2015-16 season with a series of difficult games, none more difficult than the opener at then-#2, now-#1 Kentucky.
 
The slate continued at South Florida of the high-major American Athletic Conference and continued with the home opener November 19 against strong Patriot League contender Boston University before continuing last weekend with a home game vs. defending Patriot League champion Lafayette.
 
After losing at Kentucky, the Highlanders reeled off three impressive wins in a row over USF, BU, and Lafayette before going to play at unbeaten BIG EAST Conference contender Providence, where they lost a hard-fought 83-76 decision Monday night.
 
UAlbany has built something of a dynasty in the America East Conference, taking the AE title in each of the past three seasons. Last year, the Great Danes went 15-1 in regular season conference play before taking the America East Tournament crown, which included wins by a combined three points between the semifinals and the championship game. They fell vs. Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 24-9 overall record.
 
THE SERIES
The schools never played in men's basketball before the start of the 2013-14 season, but they have met four times, with two contests (home-and-home) in both 2013-14 and 2014-15.
 
Albany has won all four games against NJIT, defeating the Highlanders, 71-65 (UAlbany home opener) and 66-55 (at NJIT) the first year and in 2014-15, 65-48 (UAlbany home opener) and 65-59 (at NJIT last February 13).
 
The most recent game was significant because it was one of just two losses in 17 home games for NJIT in 2014-15 and it was also the last defeat for the Highlanders before they fell in the semifinals of the postseason CIT.com Tournament at Northern Arizona. 
 
NJIT was a Division I Independent both seasons they've faced the Great Danes, but with the Highlanders having become members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Friday's game is the only one scheduled between the two programs in 2015-16.
 
A LOOK AT UALBANY (2-3)
After losing their first two games in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic (at #2 Kentucky and at Boston U), the Great Danes rebounded with home wins over upstate New York opponents Division I Colgate and Division III SUNY Oneonta. Returning to play in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Tuesday night, they lost in Tampa at USF, 63-61.
 
Head Coach Will Brown, the longest-tenured coach in the America East with 14 seasons under his belt at UAlbany, has guided his team to five AEC Tournament titles, all of which came with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Great Danes, in recent years, have been a team that features a deep lineup with numerous players who can do damage, but none with splash eye-catching individual stats. For example, the highest scoring average on last season's 24-win team was 13.9 points per game, but there were two other players who averaged 13 ppg and 13.7 ppg, respectively. In fact, the highest scoring average on any of UAlbany's last three America East champions was 15.5 ppg by Peter Hooley, then a sophomore, in 2013-14.
 
The Great Danes have also been strong on defense, holding opponents to about 60 points per game last season. In four games against UAlbany the last two years, NJIT has averaged 56.8 points scored. Meanwhile, NJIT's scoring average in its other 58 games the same two seasons was 73.3 ppg, some 16.5 points per game higher than vs. the Great Danes.
 
UAlbany team stats and leaders:
Scoring (team 74 ppg; +8.8 ppg): Evan Singletary (6-1, Sr; 13.8 ppg); Peter Hooley (6-4, Sr; 12.8 ppg); Ray Sanders (6-4, Sr; 8.8 ppg)
Rebounding (team 35.8 rpg; +1.2 rpg): Mike Rowley (6-8, Jr; 6.6 rpg); Sanders (5.6 rpg); Greig Stire (6-7, So; 5.2 rpg)
Assists: Singletary (15); Sanders (13); Hooley (11)
Blocks: Richard Peters (6-11, Jr; 3)
Steals: Sanders (10); Singletary (7)
3-pt FGM: Sanders (8)
 
A LOOK AT NJIT
The Highlanders, coming off a 21-win season that featured a win at #17/#16 Michigan, wins over teams from nine different Division I conferences, and a postseason national run to the semifinals of the 2015 CIT, have fared well early in the new season.
 
They opened with a loss at then- #2. now-#1 Kentucky, but followed with a road win at USF and then two home wins over Boston U and Lafayette, two contenders in the Patriot League. Most recently, NJIT came up 7 points short Monday night at unbeaten BIG EAST contender Providence.
 
NJIT saw all five of its starters, Tim Coleman, Ky Howard, Damon Lynn, Terrence Smith, and Winfield Willis reach double-digit points in each of consecutive wins vs. Boston U and Lafayette. All five starters average at least 8.6 ppg. In addition, sixth man Rob Ukawuba came off the NJIT bench for a career-best 20 points against Providence.
 
Since being badly rebounded by then-#2 Kentucky (54-23), NJIT has more than held its own on the boards. The Highlanders were -4 against tall, long, and athletic USF, a high-major team; they were +9 and +8 against BU and Lafayette, respectively; and they outrebounded high-major Providence of the BIG EAST and its tall lineup, 38-34.
 
NJIT team stats and leaders:
Scoring (team 72.6 ppg; -1.2 ppg): Damon Lynn (5-11 Jr; 19.6 ppg); Ky Howard (6-4, Sr; 14 ppg); Tim Coleman (6-5, Jr; 10.8 ppg)
Rebounding (team 35 rpg; -2.8 rpg): Coleman (7 rpg); Howard (6.2 rpg);
Assists: Howard (18); Winfield Willis (6-0, Sr; 15); Lynn (14)
Blocks: Vlad Shustov (6-9, So; 4)
Steals: Coleman (10); Howard (6); Willis (6)
3-pt FGM: Lynn (17; 126; 2nd in the nation in 2014-15)