NEWARK, NJ-- After starting the season with eight of 10 on the road, NJIT will be back at the Wellness and Events Center to complete what projects to be a season-long four-game homestand this weekend vs. UMBC.
No Spectators Allowed at Wellness and Events Center
No spectators will not be permitted inside the Wellness and Events Center until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All NJIT games will be streamed on ESPN+ or ESPN3 this season.
A New Home for NJIT
The 2020-21 season will feature NJIT's first season as a member of the America East Conference. The Highlanders, who became the 10th full member of the America East effective July 1, 2020, will play a full basketball double round‐robin schedule of 18 conference games against the other nine schools. The schedule format consists of weekend series (Saturday and Sunday) where a team hosts the same opponent on back‐to‐back days for two games.
NJIT departs the ASUN Conference after five seasons as a member (first season 2015-16), which marked the first time that the Highlanders had been a full member of an automatic qualifying NCAA Division I multisport conference.
Last Time Out
The NJIT men's basketball team struggled to find offensive rhythm on Sunday, falling to Stony Brook 56-44 in the second of two games between the America East foes this weekend at the Wellness and Events Center.
After scoring 75 points in Saturday's win, NJIT (5-7, 4-6 America East) scored just 13 in the first half on Sunday, and trailed the Seawolves (7-7, 5-3 America East) by eight points at halftime.
Get to Know the Retrievers
UMBC currently sits in first place in the America East with a 6-2 record. The Retrievers were picked to finish second in the Preseason Poll.
Coach Ryan Odom's squad has swept AE series with Albany and UNH, while splitting two games with both Hartford and Binghamton.
Offensively, UMBC is led by Brandon Horvath and RJ Eytle-Rock, who are averaging 14.9 ppg and 12.9 ppg, respectively. Horvath also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 8.3 boards per game.
All-Time Series
This weekend's meetings with UMBC will be the third and fourth all-time, with the first two being won by Highlanders, most recently in and the most recently during the 2015-16 season. Sunday's match-up is the first-ever meeting as conference opponents.
All-Time Meetings:
1/2/16: NJIT 86, UMBC 83 -- Newark, NJ
1/2/15: NJIT 70, UMBC 55 -- Baltimore, MD
Wild Win at Vermont Gets NJIT on Sportscenter
NJIT's come-from-behind, 2OT thrilling win at Vermont in late December was featured on ESPN Sportscenter as
San Antonio Brinson's putback lifted the Highlanders to their first-ever America East victory.
The game was tied in the final seconds and although
Dylan O'Hearn slipped, he was able to get the ball to
Diego Willis who threw up a desperation shot. Luckily for NJIT, Brinson was in the right place to put the ball through the hoop with just one tenth of a second remaining to give the Highlanders the victory.
LOU HENSON AWARD WATCH LIST :
Senior captain
Zach Cooks was named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List for the second-straight season.The Lou Henson Award is given annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player. The award honors the late Henson, a former Illinois and New Mexico State coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989. Overall, 50 players were named to the Preseason Watch List. Cooks was one of just two America East players (Obadiah Noel; UMass Lowell) and one of just two from an NJ squad (Jahlil Jenkins; FDU) named to the watch list.
#PROTECTTHEWEC
NJIT enters its fourth campaign in the state-of-the-art Wellness and Events Center (WEC) . In three-plus seasons playing in the WEC, the Highlanders are 28-21 in this three story, 220,000-square-foot building that features a 3,500-seat basketball arena.
Up Next:
The Highlanders will hit the road once again next weekend for a two-game America East series at Binghamton. Game times are slated for 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
