Game 13	NJIT (3-9) at UConn (8-3
Date | Time	Sunday, December 29, 2019 | 1pm
Location | Arena	Hartford, CT | XL Center
Live Video	ESPN3 / SNY (NYC area)
Live Stats	In-game statistics
All-time series	first-ever meeting
Game Notes	NJIT Notes (PDF) | UConn Notes

NEWARK, NJ-- The NJIT men's basketball team wraps up its non-conference slate on Sunday when it travels to Hartford for a 1pm contest against host UConn at the XL Center. 

LAST TIME OUT
NJIT snapped its seven-game losing streak with a 74-46 victory over visiting Kean on Sunday afternoon at the Wellness at Events Center.

With the win, the Highlanders (3-9) remained perfect in 30 contests against non-Division I opponents since their move to the NCAA's top level and are now 23-0 vs. Division III squads. Sunday's win marked the third-straight year that NJIT was victorious over Kean (2-9).

"It's always hard to come off of final examination week," explained Head Coach Brian Kennedy. "Our guys went through a lot this past week, but credit to them for coming out and performing today."

Zach Cooks finished with a game-high 20 points for his 11th 20+-point effort through 12 games this season and Souleymane Diakite recorded his second-straight double-double, tallying career-highs in both points (13) and rebounds (18) to pace the Highlanders, who led for more than 36 minutes in Sunday's game.

Cooks Off to a Hot Start
Junior captain Zach Cooks was a unanimous selection to the preseason All-ASUN Team and is proving voters right. Cooks has scored 20+ points in 11 of 12 games this season and is averaging 23.1 ppg, the most in the league and sixth most in the nation. Prior to the December 11 contest against UMass Lowell, Cooks was honored for his 1,000th-career point, which came earlier this season at Brown. 

A Homecoming
NJIT guard/forward Byron Breland III will play in his home state of Connecticut for the first time in his collegiate career on Sunday. The New Haven native started the last three games for the Highlanders, grabbing nine rebounds at St. Francis and tallying nine points vs. Kean.

Scouting the Huskies
UConn enters Sunday's game with an 8-3 overall record and with a 6-1 mark at home. The Huskies losses have come against St. Joseph's, Xavier and Indiana, while they've picked up wins against Florida, Miami and a host of mid- and low-major squads. 

The Huskies have used the same starting five for all 11 games so far this season, and four of those players are averaing betwwe 10.0 and 13.5 ppg, led by Christian Vital's 13.5 ppg mark. Vital also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 7.6 per game, while Josh Carlton is right behind him at 7.2 rpg. Alterique Gilbert is the team's primary ballhandler and averages just under 5.0 assists per contest.

NJIT vs. the AAC
NJIT is 1-3 all-time against the American Athletic Conference, with its lone win coming in 2015-16 at USF in Tampa.

The Highlanders overcame a three-point halftime deficit to feat the Bulls 60-57 as Damon Lynn led the way with 27 points.

Current NJIT Head Coach Brian Kennedy was an assistant coach on that team, while current graduate student Reilly Walsh was a freshman, but did not see any court time.

Earlier this season, the Highlanders traveled to Orlando to take on UCF and were defeated 78-65.

Up Next
Both teams open up conference play later this week as the Huskies will head to Ohio for a New Year's Day matchup with Cincinnati and NJIT hosts Liberty on Saturday in Newark.