NJIT, still in search for its first win of the 2017 season, will host visiting LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday at the Wellness and Events Center. Tip is slated for 7pm on ESPN3.
The WEC is a three story, 220,000-square-foot building that cost $102 M; and the 3,500 seat basketball arena will compare favorably with many Division-I mid-major facilities throughout the country.
The game can be seen on ESPN3 (all home NJIT basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, http://www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page NJIT TV section, click Upcoming Events for a list of scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the right of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN3 portal where you can access the desired program.
Michael Ventola, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on play-by-play with expert analysis from
Dave Calloway.
All-Time Series
NJIT leads the all-time series, 3-1. The Highlanders have won the previous two meetings between the two schools, most recently last season, 50-48, at the TD Bank Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Vermont.
Tracey Brereton broke a 45-45 tie on a layup with 1:01 left in the game and scored the final eight points for NJIT, as the Highlanders defeated LIU Brooklyn, 50-48, in the consolation game of the TD Bank Classic.
The Blackbirds last won on December 11, 2014 in Newark, 57-48.
A Look at LIU Brooklyn
LIU Brooklyn started off the season with a 2-1 mark, with wins over Saint Peter's and UMBC. The Blackbirds have lost its last two against Army West Point and Lafayette.
The two teams have two common opponents in Saint Peter's and Army West Point.
NJIT, which led by as many as eight in the third quarter, dropped a 59-52 decision at home to the Peacocks.
The Highlanders, down by four at the half against Army West Point, 39-35, the Black Knights combined for 40 second-half points, keeping the game out of reach.
LIU is coming off a 69-53 loss at Lafayette, despite having three players reach double figures in scoring. Freshman Jeydah Johnson paced the Blackbirds for the second straight game, scoring a game-high 18 points and knocking down half LIU's eight
three-pointers.
The Blackbirds have two players averaging double-digits, led by Denish Petty-Evans (15.8) and Johnson (15.6). Point guard Drew Winter has dished out a team-best 24 assists. Forward Deangelique Waithe tops the team on the boards, averaging 7.8 rpg.
Northeast Conference Preseason Poll
LIU Brooklyn was selected to finish ninth overall in the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' poll out of 10 teams. Third-year head coach
Stephanie Del Preore will bring six returners and six newcomers into this year's campaign as the Blackbirds look to bounce back from last season's 6-23 overall record and ninth place mark in the NEC (5-13).
A Look at NJIT
NJIT is coming off an 81-50 loss at Dartmouth on Sunday, paced by redshirt junior
Tatianna Torres, who just missed notching a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, including four assists.
Sophomore point guard
Amber Morgan netted a career-best 10 points, after only playing in eight games last season due to a season-ending knee injury. Morgan ranks second on the team with 11 assists.
Torres is the lone Highlander averaging double-digit (11.2) and ranks fourth on the boards (4.0). Her 19 assists and 10 steals paces the Highlanders.
Senior forward
Taj Lewis is averaging 8.8 ppg followed by freshman
Ellyn Stoll at 7.8 ppg. Stoll paces the Highlanders with nine three-point field goals made.
Sophomore
Tracey Brereton ranks in the top three in the ASUN Conference in three-point field goal percentage (50 percent), shooting 7-for-14 from beyond the arc.
Wellness and Events Center
NJIT celebrated a Ribbon Cutting ceremony on November 10, 2017 to open the new state-of-the-art Wellness and Events Center nicknamed the "WEC" – which will feature a 3,500-seat basketball arena and compare favorably with many Division I mid-major facilities throughout the country, allowing NJIT to continue to grow their men's and women's basketball programs.
The WEC will be three stories high and its north side will be all windows, through which natural light will flood into the building. The tall windows will overlook the new athletic field, which will open in Fall 2018.
ASUN Conference
The Highlanders, who became the eighth full member of the A-Sun effective July 1, 2015, will begin its third season in the ASUN Conference, will have 15 games, home-and-away, against the other seven conference teams, three of which played in the 2017 post-season.
NJIT was selected sixth in the 2017 Preseason ASUN Conference poll, combining for 21 points ahead of USC Upstate (19 points) and Lipscomb (14 points).
After winning last year's ASUN Conference women's basketball championship title, FGCU was picked to repeat by the league's head coaches in the 2017-18. The Eagles garnered six first-place votes among the head coaches in the league, while also being selected first in the media poll.
Next Up
NJIT will take to the road and play its next three games on the road, first visiting Morgan State on Saturday at 2:30pm in Baltimore, MD.
