NJIT Men's Basketball Gameday Information NEWARK, NJ—Two of Division I college basketball's hottest teams will collide Friday night in NJIT's Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center when the Highlander men entertain America East Conference-leading UAlbany in a 7 pm start.
NJIT has won 10 of its last 11 games, including the last five in a row. The 10-1 mark is the best 11-game segment for the Highlanders since the program began NCAA Division I competition in 2006-07. In fact, NJIT has not had a better 11-game stretch since 1994-95, when the program competed in Division III and won 22 consecutive games.
UAlbany, the two-time defending America East Conference champion, comes to town having won 12 games in a row and 15 of the last 16.
December 30, 2014 is a key date in the seasons of both teams.
Until that date, NJIT was 5-9, including 1-4 in the preceding five games. On December 30, the Highlanders hosted and beat a quality Saint Francis (PA) team, beginning NJIT's run of 10 wins in 11 games.
For UAlbany, December 30 marks the last time the Great Danes lost, as they dropped a non-conference contest at Niagara. Since then, it's been 12 up and 12 down, all in America East Conference play. With their 12-0 conference record, the Great Danes, who won the 2013 and 2014 AE Tournaments and the NCAA bids that went with them, have tied the America East record for best start in conference play, matching Vermont's start in 2004-05 (coincidentally, NJIT assistant coach
Jesse Agel was the top assistant at Vermont that season).
Not unlike NJIT, UAlbany's January through mid-February hot streak was preceded by a sputtering start. The Great Danes actually defeated the Highlanders (65-48) back on November 19 in Albany, but that was a relatively rare early bright spot. After the December 30 loss at Niagara, UAlbany's record was 5-7. Then came the 12-game winning streak the Great Danes will bring with them to Newark.
UAlbany leads the all-time series against NJIT 3-0 and all three games have been played in the last two seasons. The first meeting was on November 12, 2013 and it was the home opener for the Great Danes, who honored their 2013 America East champions in pregame ceremonies.
NJIT, which started three sophomores and two freshmen that night, nearly spoiled the festivities, leading with 2:14 remaining. However, championship-tested UAlbany survived to win, 71-65. The rematch in Newark a few weeks later was decided sooner, with the Great Danes going ahead to stay 14:35 left in a game they eventually won, 66-55.
This season, NJIT was again the guest for UAlbany's home opener and again, the game was preceded by a championship banner ceremony, this one of the 2014 America East title. There was no suspense in the game that followed on November 19, as the Highlanders trailed at the half, 36-17. They actually outscored UAlbany in the second half, but the result was sealed for UAlbany's 65-48 win.
Will Brown in his 14th season had the helm, has guided the Great Danes to America East championships in 2006, 2007, 2013, and 2014. They are ranked #20 in the latest
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, the program's highest-ever ranking that poll. NJIT is among "others receiving votes" in the same poll, the first time the Highlanders have been in the poll.
UAlbany team stats and leaders:Scoring (team 65.2 ppg, +4.8 ppg):
Peter Hooley (6-4, Jr; 14.5 ppg; has not played since Jan. 14 due to leave of absence);
Sam Rowley (6-6, Sr; 14.1 ppg);
Evan Singletary (6-1, Jr.; 13 ppg).
Rebounding (team 33.2 rpg,+4.4 rpg): Sam Rowley (7.4 rpg)
Assists: Singletary (70)
Blocks: Sam Rowley (17)
Steals: Ray Sanders (6-4, Jr; 32)
The two scoring average leaders,
Hooley and
Sam Rowley, hail from Australia, as do teammates
Mike Rowley (Sam's younger brother) and
Geremy McKay. … Starting guards
Ray Sanders and
Evan Singletary are both juniors in their first seasons with UAlbany after opening their careers at two-year colleges. Both are impact players. … Freshman guard
Wheeler Baker (6.2 ppg) did damage in his first game vs. the Highlanders, coming off the bench for a team-leading 15 points in just 19 minutes of play. He shot 6-for-10, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers.
NJIT, which already owns wins over the first-place teams in the Ivy League (Yale) and Northeast Conference (St. Francis Brooklyn) will try for its third win against a Division I conference leader. A win on Friday would be the sixth in a row for the Highlanders and that would match the longest victory streak in the Division I era (NJIT won six straight from February 5, 2011 through February 19 that year.
NJIT has three active players averaging double-figure scoring, with sophomore
Damon Lynn leading the way at 17.5 points per game. He has made 97 3-pointers on the season, the most in all of Division I He also leads the team in assists (93) and steals (42).
Junior
Winfield Willis is scoring 11.6 ppg and has made 42 threes, while shooting 82 percent the foul line, where he is 65-of-79.
Tim Coleman averages 11 points and has made 56 percent of his shots from the field, including 27-for-57 from 3-point distance. He also gets 4.6 rpg and has 31 blocked shots.
The injured
Ky Howard averages 11.8 points per game, but he has been out since playing a key role in the 78-71 win vs. Yale on January 9. Sophomore
Rob Ukawuba, already a prominent reserve before Howard's injury, has stepped up to average 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in the seven games since the injury.
Matt Provence will provide play-by-play on the here on
www.njjthighlanders.com. Programming is scheduled to begin at least 15 minutes before tipoff.
