HARRISONBURG, Va.—Northeastern and James Madison will meet for the 16th time in series history on Wednesday night at 7 p.m., in Harrisonburg, Va. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 11-4, and have won five of the last seven meetings. The programs waged two memorable battles a year ago. Northeastern defeated JMU, 66-64, on Feb. 20 in Boston to clinch the CAA regular-season title. David Walker connected on a 15-foot baseline jumper with just two seconds remaining to deliver the Huskies their 11th conference regular-season championship in program history. The Dukes exacted revenge 19 days later in Richmond, defeating the Huskies, 70-57, in the CAA tournament championship game. Both teams enter the contest on a two-game slide and with matching 1-2 CAA records. 


Story lines
> Northeastern's Scott Eatherton secured his NCAA-leading 13th double-double on Monday, reaching double-figures in points and rebounds in just 17:43. He became the first NU player to post a double-double before halftime since Sylbrin Robinson (Jan. 18, 2003).

> Northeastern has won 11 of its last 15 January games. NU is 37-16 (.698)  in the month of January since 2009.

> Northeastern has played one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Huskies' non-conference slate peaked at No. 15 and was rated the 42nd strongest in Division I by CBS's Jerry Palm.

> Eatherton ranks nationally in eight different statistical categories, including four top-50 rankings—double-doubles (first), total rebounds (13th), rebounds per game (14th), and field goal percentage (41st).

> David Walker and Reggie Spencer also appear in the NCAA rankings. Walker is fifth nationally in minutes per game, 65th in total steals, and 68th in steals per game, while Spencer ranks in rebounds per game and total rebounds.

About the Huskies
A year ago, Northeastern turned a challenging non-conference schedule and a disappointing December into a championship run. The Huskies, who were picked to finish fifth in the CAA last year, raced to a 14-4 record and the CAA regular-season title. This year's squad—picked sixth in the CAA—has played one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules. Scott Eatherton, who leads the nation in double-doubles, is making a strong case for CAA Player of the Year. He ranks in the top two in the CAA in six categories and leads NU with 17.0 ppg and 10.4 rpg. David Walker is second in scoring (11.4), while Reggie Spencer is third in scoring (9.8) and second in rebounding (7.4).

Notables from the last time out
Notes of interest from Northeastern's most recent game, a 58-48 loss to College of Charleston:
> Scott Eatherton secured his NCAA-leading 13th double-double in just 17:43, the quickest double-double in his career
> Eatherton became the first NU player to post a double-double before halftime since Sylbrin Robinson (Jan. 18, 2003, vs. UNH)
> Eatherton set a new career high with 16 rebounds, surpassing his previous best of 15 set on Nov. 24 against Florida State
> Eatherton's 16 rebounds were the most for a Northeastern player since Dec. 18, 2006 (Bennet Davis, 19 vs. UNH)
> Northeastern allowed just 19 first-half points for the second straight home game
> The Huskies were held to 49 points for the second time this season (Vanderbilt)

Eatherton leads nation in double-doubles
Scott Eatherton collected his NCAA-leading 13th double-double on Monday against Charleston. Impressively, he reached double-figure points and rebounds before halftime—the first NU player to do so in more than a decade. He posted four straight double-doubles from Dec. 4 to Dec. 21 to become the first NU player to accomplish the feat since Shawn James in February 2006. Eatherton's double-double in the season opener against Boston University was the first for an NU player since Dec. 29, 2012 (Quincy Ford at UAB) and the first for a player in his NU debut since Nov. 11, 2011 (Reggie Spencer at BU).

Eatherton: Making the case
Scott Eatherton has quickly established himself as an early frontrunner for CAA Player of the Year. The junior forward, who is in his first season on Huntington Avenue after transferring from St. Francis (Pa.), ranks in the top two in the CAA in six categories. He leads the nation in double-doubles and leads the CAA in blocked shots and field goal percentage. He also holds the number two spot in the CAA in rebounds per game, total block, and total rebounds.

James Madison: A look at the series
Northeastern and James Madison will meet for the 16th time in series history on Wednesday night in Harrisonburg, Va. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 11-4, and have won five of the last seven. The programs waged two memorable battles a year ago. Northeastern defeated JMU, 66-64, on Feb. 20 in Boston to clinch the CAA regular-season title. David Walker connected on a 15-foot baseline jumper with just two seconds remaining to deliver the Huskies their 11th conference regular-season championship in program history. The Dukes exacted revenge 19 days later in Richmond, defeating the Huskies, 70-57, in the CAA tournament championship game. (A game-by-game series history can be found on page four of the game notes.)

Marathon man
David Walker's 37.33 minutes per game rank fifth nationally.

Coming off a CAA loss
Under Bill Coen, Northeastern is 26-28 in games following a regular-season conference loss. The Huskies, though, have won five of their last seven games following a CAA loss.

Bouncing back
With its win over UNCW on Jan. 8, Northeastern improved to 7-1 in games following a loss of 20 or more points since 2008-09.

Schedule unkind
Northeastern is in the midst of a brutal CAA stretch of five games in 11 days. The travel-happy Huskies will play back-to-back home games only once all season.

Flip the calendar, flip the script
Bill Coen's Northeastern teams have traditionally used challenging December schedules to launch successful January campaigns. The Huskies have won 11 of their last 15 games—and 19 of their last 26—played in the month of January. NU is 37-16 (.698) in the month since 2009. The Huskies won just one December game a year ago before racing to an 8-1 January and the CAA regular-season title.

Banner night for Banegas-Flores
On Jan. 11 at Drexel, Marco Banegas-Flores set career marks for points (17), steals (three), FG made (five), FT made (six), and FT attempts (eight).

Double-figure Davey
David Walker has scored in double figures in 10 of 17 games this season, including a career-high 19 points at VCU. Walker, who reached double figures six times as a freshman, has become a more aggressive offensive force for the Huskies as a sophomore.

Reggie rebound
Reggie Spencer has collected at least five rebounds in 10 straight games, and 15 of the last 16. Spencer grabbed a career-high 15 boards in NU's win over UNCW on Jan. 8. That came just three games after a 13-rebound effort on Dec. 22 at Tulane. The UNCW game was Spencer's third double-figure rebounding game of the season and the eighth of his NU career.

Playing the best...
Northeastern has played one of the nation's toughest schedules. NU's non-conference schedule was ranked 15th in Division I through Dec. 12 and 42nd overall by CBS Sports' Jerry Palm. Seven of NU's first eight games were against teams that advanced to postseason play last year, and four of the early opponents were ranked or receiving votes in the AP or Coaches polls at the time of the game.

...and playing them close
Coen's young squad has been within striking distance in nearly every game this season. The Huskies have led or been tied in the second half of all but two games. In nine of its losses, NU has been within five points or less in the game's final five minutes, and only two losses have been by double digits.

Cleaning the glass
NU has out-rebounded its opponents in 10 of 17 games this season. The Huskies accomplished the feat only nine times in 30 games a year ago. For the first time since Nov. 30, 2011, Northeastern collected 40 or more rebounds in consecutive games, grabbing 41 caroms in the opener against Boston University and 40 on Nov. 13 at Stony Brook. Most recently, NU hit the 40-rebound mark against Fairfield (Dec. 15), out-rebounding the Stags by 13.

Double down
Northeastern has had at least one double-figure rebounder in all but three games this season. NU has had two double-figure rebounders three times.

Youth movement
The graduation of two highly-decorated seniors a year ago in Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith has ushered in a youth movement on Huntington Avenue. NU's roster includes just one senior and underclassmen account for nearly 50 percent of minutes played.

Where they rank
Three different Northeastern players rank nationally in 11 total statistical categories, led by Scott Eatherton, whose name appears eight times. Eatherton ranks in the NCAA top-50 in four categories and he ranks in the top two in the CAA in six categories.

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Up next
Northeastern will continue its challenging stretch of five games in 11 days when it welcomes Delaware to historic Matthews Arena on Saturday. Tip-off on Comcast is set for noon. Delaware leads the all-time series 23-19, but the Huskies are 12-4 against the Blue Hens in CAA regular-season play. For ticket information, visit GoNU.com/tickets.


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