Men's Basketball Tips at Sacred Heart on Thursday Night
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team faces Sacred Heart on Thursday night in a matchup of former conference rivals. The 8:00 p.m. tipoff will be shown live on ESPN+.
CCSU GAME NOTES | HOME GAME PROGRAM LINKS | SACRED HEART GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS | WATCH | AUDIO | TICKETS
The Blue Devils and Pioneers matchup in a non-conference meeting, with CCSU leading the all-time series, 38-35.
OPENING NOTES
• Central Connecticut travels to Sacred Heart on Thursday night for an 8:00 p.m. game. It will mark the grand re-opening of the Pitt Center for SHU.
• Head coach Patrick Sellers is in his 4th season in charge of his alma mater. Tonight's matchup is a meeting between former CCSU assistant coaches as Sellers and Anthony Latina coached together at Central from 1999-2003.
• CCSU will play its next two games at home, beginning with a matchup against Binghamton on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
WITH A WIN TODAY ...
• Central would improve to 2-1 in road games in 2024-25
• The Blue Devils would win three straight in the series for the first time since Jan. 10, 2013-March 1, 2014 (4 straight).
• CCSU hasn't won back-to-back games at the Pitt Center since Feb. 23, 2013 and March 1, 2014.
LOOSE ENDS...
• Central is committing just 9.0 turnovers per game, which ranks 19th nationally.
• CCSU's +5.0 turnover margin through four games ranks 42nd nationally. Central had just 3 turnovers against Vermont St. Johnson - its fewest since Jan. 27 vs. Wagner (5).
• CCSU is committing 12.5 fouls per game thus far, which ranks 10th in the country. Central ranked 10th nationally in 2023-24 committing just 13.6 fouls per game.
• CCSU led for 99:32 in the first 3 games, while trailing 10:25. CCSU trailed for 34:42 vs. NU.
• With 20 wins last season, CCSU surpassed its win total from the previous 2 seasons combined. In the 10 previous seasons since its last winning season (2010-11, 19-12) until Patrick Sellers was head coach, CCSU was just 86-207 (.294).
• Dating back to the 2021-22 season, CCSU has won 6 straight 1-point games. Its last one-point loss came on Jan. 21, 2022 in a 67-68 loss at SFU. Two came vs. Wagner in 2023-24.
NOTABLES
• Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll (1st place votes):
1T. CCSU (5)
1T. Wagner (4)
3. FDU
4. Le Moyne
5. LIU
6. Chicago St.
7. Mercyhurst
8T. Saint Francis U.
8T. Stonehill
• The Preseason All-NEC Team: Malachi Davis (LIU), Jo'el Emanuel (FDU), Darrick Jones Jr. (Le Moyne), JORDAN JONES (CCSU), Jeff Planutis (Mercyhurst).
