NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT men's basketball team heads to Cleveland for a Feast Week MTE, taking part in the Cleveland State Thanksgiving Throwback at Woodling Gymnasium. The Highlanders will face the host Vikings on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before squaring off with Morehead State on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Both games can be seen live on ESPN+.
Highlanders Hit the Road
After playing two of its first three games at home inside the Wellness and Events Center, NJIT is in the midst of a seven-game road swing. Last weekend featured two matchups with teams from the DMV in Morgan State and George Washington, followed by a trip to Bucknell this past Thursday.
After its stay in Cleveland, NJIT will head up to face UMass on Dec. 1 before wrapping up the road swing with a quick trip to Prudential Center to face Seton Hall on Dec. 4. The seven straight games away from home is the longest such stretch in NJIT's Division I history.
NJIT vs. Cleveland State: All-Time Series
This marks the second ever meeting between the Highlanders and the Vikings. The previous matchup came in the second round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament, when Ky Howard drilled a game-winning three-pointer with 19.7 seconds left to take down the Vikings inside the old Fleisher Athletic Center.
NJIT vs. Morehead State: All-Time Series
Not only will this be the first ever meeting between NJIT and Morehead State, but it will also mark the Highlanders' first ever matchup against a school from the Ohio Valley Conference.
Highlander Highlights
- Tariq Francis has led NJIT in scoring in all six games so far this season, doing so most recently with his 19-point performance at Bucknell on Thursday.
- Francis finished one assist shy of his first career double-double last week at George Washington, ending up with 20 points and nine assists.
- Francis is averaging 19 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists over his last three games.
- Francis' 17.7 points per game this season rank second in the America East.
- Jake Goldberg nailed a career-high four 3-pointers at George Washington on Monday.
- NJIT is the only team in the America East to have two players score 20+ points in a single game so far this season.
- Francis and Sebastian Robinson each scored 20 points in the season opener against Penn, becoming the first Highlander teammates to score 20+ points in a game since Francis and Elijah Buchanan did so in the win over UMass Lowell on Feb. 10, 2024.
- Robinson had the best all-around game of his young career against Penn, scoring 20 points and snatching a career-best nine rebounds while committing just one turnover.
- Grant Billmeier enters his second season as Head Coach of the Highlanders after going 7-21 overall and 3-13 in America East in his first season in University Heights.
- In terms of percentage of underclassmen on the roster, the Highlanders are the second-youngest team in the nation. Of NJIT's 15 players, 13 of them are either freshmen or sophomores.
- Six players return to Newark for their sophomore seasons in 2024-25, led by reigning-America East Rookie of the Year Tariq Francis. All-Rookie honoree Levi Lawal enters his second season as well, alongside Jeffrey Akintolu, Jake Goldberg, Cameron Piggee and Sebastian Robinson.
- Seven freshmen join NJIT's roster in 2024: Walt Andrews Jr., Malachi Arrington, Quentin Duncan, Ari Fulton, Stefan Jimenez-Vojnic, John Kelly and Jordan Rogers.
- NJIT faces a difficult schedule in 2024-25 which includes three NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, three power conference teams and two NIT qualifiers, including NIT champions Seton Hall.
Next Up
Upon returning to the east coast, NJIT will trek up to Amherst, Mass. to face its second Atlantic 10 foe of the season in UMass on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Stay up to date on all things NJIT Men's Basketball throughout the season by following @NJITHoops on X/Twitter and Instagram.
