Game 2	NJIT Highlanders (0-1, 0-0 America East) at Villanova Wildcats (1-1, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Date | Time	Friday, November 8, 8:30 p.m.
Location	Villanova, Pa. | Finneran Pavilion
Live Video	FS2 (Dave Sims & Jim Spanarkel)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | Villanova Notes
Follow	X/Twitter | Instagram | Live Stats

NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season on Friday night as it heads to Villanova to take on the Wildcats. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. on FS2 with Dave Sims & Jim Spanarkel on the call.

NJIT vs. Villanova: All-Time Series
This will be the third time in history that NJIT and Villanova square off, with the Wildcats taking each of the previous two meetings. While the last matchup was lopsided in favor of Villanova back in 2014, the first showdown between the programs saw the Highlanders be within one possession of the Wildcats with three minutes remaining in a close defeat on the road. NJIT's head coach for each of the two previous matchups against Villanova was Jim Engles, who led Columbia to a win over the Wildcats on Wednesday night.

NJIT is seeking just its second ever win over a BIG EAST opponent. The first came back on Dec. 20, 2015 when the Highlanders won at St. John's, 87-78.

Last Time Out
Tariq Francis and Sebastian Robinson each tallied 20 points on the night, but the Highlanders were unable to hold onto their second half lead in a loss to Penn, 58-57. Robinson nearly collected his first career double-double as he added a career-best nine rebounds to his 20 points. For Francis, 12 of his 20 points came from behind the arc.

2023-24 Quick Rewind

• NJIT finished the 2023-24 season with a 7-21 record under first year head coach Grant Billmeier.
• Billmeier earned his first win as head coach of NJIT on Nov. 20 with an 81-72 at home over Delaware State.
• Tariq Francis was named America East Rookie of the Year, finishing fifth in America East with 18.7 points per game during conference games.
• Francis and Levi Lawal were each named to the America East All-Rookie Team. Lawal started 14 of 16 games in league play, averaging 7.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.
• NJIT's three wins in conference play were each exhilarating. The first was when NJIT erased a 22-point halftime deficit in a 75-74 win at UMBC, the program's largest ever comeback win. Less than two weeks later, the Highlanders defeated the America East's top two teams in consecutive games in Vermont and UMass Lowell.
• NJIT's win over Vermont snapped the Catamounts' 23-game America East winning streak, the longest conference winning streak in the nation at the time.

Highlander Highlights

• Francis and Robinson are 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.
• NJIT is the lone America East team to have two players score 20+ points in a game so far.
• 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.
• Billmeier and Villanova assistant coach Mike Nardi were high school teammates during their playing days at The Patrick School.
• NJIT assistant coach Pete Lappas is the son of former Villanova head coach Steve Lappas, who coached the Wildcats from 1992-2001.
• 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 Sebasitan 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.
• This marks NJIT's first matchup against a BIG EAST opponent since Nov. 27, 2021, when the Highlanders took St. John's to overtime in a 77-68 defeat.

Next Up
The Highlanders return to the Wellness and Events Center on Tuesday night to welcome in Loyola (Md.) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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