BOSTON — The first-place Northeastern Huskies will welcome second-place George Mason to historic Matthews Arena on Sunday night in men's basketball action. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and Comcast SportsNet will broadcast the game throughout the East Coast.

Northeastern is 7-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play for the first time in program history. The league start is the Huskies' best since opening ECAC North play at 9-0 in 1986-87. George Mason enters Sunday's game riding a three-game winning streak. The Patriots have won five of six games since suffering an 84-74 home loss to Northeastern on Jan. 3.

NU head coach Bill Coen and his staff will participate in the 10th annual Coaches vs. Cancer “Suits and Sneakers” weekend on Sunday, wearing sneakers with their game attire. Coen also will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society for every Northeastern student in attendance at the game.

“The Spot,” the popular fan gathering area on the arena floor level, will open one hour prior to tip-off.

The programs will be meeting for the 21st time in series history. The series is tied, 10-10, but NU has won the last two head-to-head meetings and five of the last six played in Boston.

Tickets for the game are available online at GoNU.com/tickets. Northeastern students can reserve their tickets on myNEU.

Fans unable to attend the game can catch all the action live on Comcast SportsNet, with Gary Tanguay and Jack Armstrong calling the action. Outside of the Comcast viewing area, fans can watch online in high definition at GoNU.com/xstream. WRBB radio also will carry the game live on 104.9 FM and WRBBsports.com with David Kroopnick and Zolan Kanno-Youngs on the call.


Storylines
> Northeastern is 7-0 in CAA play for the first time in program history (NU joined the CAA in 2005); the 7-0 league start is the Huskies' best since opening America East (then ECAC North) play at 9-0 in 1986-87

> NU went more than 142 minutes of game action without trailing — from the first half of the win at Towson (Jan. 12) until the first overtime of the win against William & Mary (Jan. 23)

> The Huskies have tallied at least 15 assists in six of seven conference games this season

> As a team, NU ranks either first or second in the CAA in 11 of 21 statistical categories (details on page 7)

> NU and George Mason will meet for the 21st time in series history; the series is tied, 10-10; NU has won the last two head-to-head meetings, four of the last six, and five of the last six played in Boston

> The game pits the CAA's top scoring offense (NU, 69.5 ppg) against the top scoring defense (Mason, 62.2 ppg); NU, meanwhile, ranks sixth in defense (68.5 ppg), while Mason ranks sixth in offense (65.7 ppg)


Scouting the teams
NORTHEASTERN has won seven straight games and eight of its last nine. The Huskies have opened CAA play at 7-0 for the first time since joining the conference in 2005, and sit atop the CAA standings. Joel Smith (16.7 ppg) leads four NU players averaging in double figures. Smith tied a career high with 29 points in NU's double-overtime win over William & Mary on Wednesday. Jonathan Lee (13.4 ppg), Quincy Ford (13.2 ppg) and Reggie Spencer (10.5 ppg) also pace the Huskies. Spencer (6.2 rpg) and Ford (5.9 rpg) lead the team in rebounding. NU ranks first in the CAA in seven statistical categories: scoring offense, 3FG percentage, assists, steals, turnover margin, assist/turnover ratio, and 3FG made.

GEORGE MASON enters Sunday's game riding a three-game winning streak. The Patriots have won five of six games since suffering an 84-74 home loss to Northeastern on Jan. 3. That game ended Mason's 18-game CAA home winning streak. Most recently, the Patriots defeated Towson, 77-67, to take sole possession of second place. Sherrod Wright has been impressive for Mason, averaging a team-best 18.4 ppg to rank second in the CAA. Wright also leads the team in rebounding at 5.2 rpg. Johnny Williams averages 7.2 ppg and joins Wright as the only Mason players to have started every game this season. GMU leads the CAA in scoring defense, scoring margin, and FG percentage defense.


Lee named national finalist for Senior CLASS Award
Northeastern men's basketball senior Jonathan Lee has been selected as a candidate for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate basketball. Lee, a graphic design major from Flint, Mich., is one of just 30 candidates nationally. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence—community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

At 7-0, NU off to best CAA start ever
Northeastern is 7-0 in CAA play for the first time in program history. The Huskies, who joined the CAA in 2005, posted wins at George Mason (84-74), vs. UNCW (68-64), at Drexel (63-58 OT), at Towson (70-59), vs. Hofstra (65-60), at Delaware (74-70), and vs. William & Mary (95-91 2OT) to open conference play. In 2008-09, the Huskies raced out to a 6-0 mark en route to a 19-win season and a postseason appearance in the CBI tournament. The 7-0 league start is the Huskies' best since opening America East (then known as ECAC North) play at 9-0 in 1986-87.

Nice shoes
Northeastern men's basketball head coach Bill Coen and his staff will participate in the 10th annual Coaches vs. Cancer “Suits and Sneakers” weekend on Sunday, Jan. 27, when the first-place Huskies host CAA-rival George Mason. Coen and his staff will be among more than 4,000 college and high school basketball coaches across the United States making an unusual fashion statement, wearing sneakers with their game attire to support the Coaches vs. Cancer program. Coen also will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society for every Northeastern student in attendance at the game.

Smith simply scintillating in extra time
Joel Smith tied a career high with 29 points in the double-overtime win over William & Mary on Jan. 23. Impressively, the senior guard scored 16 of those points after regulation, including 11 in the second overtime. Smith did not miss a shot in the overtime periods, going 5-for-5 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range, and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

Marathon man
Senior co-captain Jonathan Lee played every minute of the Huskies' Jan. 23 double-overtime win over William & Mary, logging 50 minutes of action. Lee, who registered 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game, is averaging 37.3 minutes per game. The NU record for minutes in a game is 54, set by Dave Leitao and Perry Moss in a triple-overtime 76-72 loss to Villanova in the NCAA tournament on March 14, 1982.

Ford earns CAA Co-Player of the Week
Quincy Ford earned CAA Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 14-20. Ford averaged 20.5 points for the week, while shooting 63 percent from the floor, as Northeastern improved to 6-0 in CAA play with victories over Hofstra and Delaware. The 6-8 forward continued his impressive play, pouring in a game-high 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting versus the Pride and followed that with 17 points in the road win against the Blue Hens.

Helping hand
Northeastern has tallied at least 15 assists in six of seven conference games this season after hitting that mark just three times in 12 non-conference contests. The Huskies lead the CAA, averaging 14.1 assists per game. The per game average jumps to 15.7 in conference games.

I'll take that
NU, which leads the CAA in steals, has collected at least nine steals in four of its last six games. The Huskies average a CAA-best 8.1 steals per game, including an 8.3 average in conference games. Four NU players are averaging at least one steal per contest (Jonathan Lee, David Walker, Joel Smith, and Quincy Ford).

Give me three
More than a quarter of the Northeastern offense is coming from outside the arc. The Huskies average a CAA-leading 6.6 made 3-point field goals per game. In league play, the number jumps to 7.6. NU is shooting 36.4 percent from long-range on the season, which is first in the league, and an impressive 44.9 percent in conference games.

Generating offense
In seven CAA games, Northeastern has outscored opponents 146-70 in points off turnovers, a per-game average of 20.9-to-10.0.

Demetrius dialing in
Sophomore guard Demetrius Pollard is finding his range in conference play. The Virginia Beach, Va., native is shooting 55 percent (11-20) from 3-point range in CAA play after hitting just 28 percent (8-29) in non-conference action. One of his non-conference makes, though, will be long-remembered by Huskies fans. Pollard nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with one second remaining to lift NU to a thrilling 65-64 win over city rival Boston University in the season opener.

Coen ranks among best in career CAA wins
Bill Coen earned his 69th career CAA win in the Huskies' 74-70 win against Delaware on Jan. 19. Coen is currently ninth on the CAA's list of all-time winningest coaches. He is one of just four current CAA coaches to have cracked the top 10.

Winningest coaches in CAA play (CAA regular season and tournament games only)
1. Jim Larranaga (George Mason, 1998-2011) 183
2. Blaine Taylor (ODU, 2002-present) 148 *
3. Bruiser Flint (Drexel, 2002-present) 130 *
4. Dick Tarrant (Richmond, 1982-93) 106
5. Tom Pecora (Hofstra, 2002-10) 98
5. Charles “Lefty” Driesell (JMU, 1988-97) 98
7. Jerry Wainwright (UNCW, 1995-2002) 97
8. Jeff Capel, Jr. (ODU, 1995-2001) 77
9. Bill Coen (Northeastern, 2006-present) 70 *
10. Brad Brownell (UNCW, 2003-06) 61
10. Tony Shaver (William & Mary, 2003-present) 61 *
* active

Huskies in conference play
Northeastern joined the Colonial Athletic Association before the 2005-06 season. In their eighth season as a CAA member, the Huskies have won 59 percent (78-55) of their regular season games and have finished at or above .500 in conference play in seven of eight seasons. Prior to the CAA, Northeastern was a founding member of the America East Conference and played in the league from 1979 to 2005. (The conference was known as the North Atlantic Conference until 1996.) The Huskies captured the conference championship on seven occasions (1981, '82, '84, '85, '86, '87, '91).

1,000-point watch
Senior co-captain Jonathan Lee is on pace to join fellow senior co-captain Joel Smith in the 1,000-point club. Smith accomplished the feat on Dec. 21 in NU's 82-63 win at Central Connecticut. Lee would become the 32nd player in program history to record 1,000 points.

Lee point watch
Jonathan Lee  84 games  964 points

Limited pine time
NU's Jan. 23 game against William & Mary was the 108th game of Joel Smith's career. The Leander, Texas, native has appeared in 86 straight games, dating back to Feb. 23, 2010, and has made 65 consecutive starts, dating to Jan. 15, 2011. He has played in all but six games since arriving on Huntington Avenue in 2009, with all six missed games coming in his freshman season. The program record for career games is 128, achieved by Andre LaFleur (1983-87), Wes Fuller (1983-87) and Matt Janning (2006-10).

Shooting star
Senior co-captain Joel Smith is posting impressive shooting numbers. Smith currently leads the CAA in free throw percentage at 88.9 percent. He is second in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.5, and eighth in overall field goal percentage at 46.8.

Stay connected
Northeastern Athletics: @GoNUathletics  //  facebook.com/GoNUathletics
Northeastern Men's Basketball: @GoNUmbasketball  //  facebook.com/GoNUmbasketball

Join the conversation
Fans and members of the media are encouraged to use #GoNU in tweets to join the Twitter conversation.

Win rewards with Huskies Ncentives
Northeastern has a new rewards program that lets you earn points and win great prizes just by doing the online social activities you do everyday. Go to   GoNU.com/Ncentives for more information.

Up next
Northeastern will play the third game of a four-game home stand on Wednesday night, when it welcomes Georgia State to historic Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. tip. NU leads the all-time series, 9-5. The squads split the season series a year ago. Tweets by @GoNUmbasketball .