HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.—Fresh off a dramatic buzzer-beating win over Towson, the Northeastern men's basketball team will turn its attention to an upstart Hofstra squad that has won three straight CAA games and is tied for second in the conference standings. Tip-off in Hempstead is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. The meeting will be the 34th all-time between the northern rivals, with the Pride holding a narrow 17-16 lead. NU has won four straight in the series.

Saturday's game will feature two of the CAA's top talents in Northeastern's Scott Eatherton and Hofstra's Zeke Upshaw. Eatherton leads the nation in double-doubles and ranks in the top three in the CAA in more statistical categories than any other player. Upshaw, meanwhile, leads the conference in scoring with an impressive 19.2 points-per-game average.


Story lines
• Northeastern and Hofstra will meet for the 34th time in series history on Saturday in Hempstead. The Pride hold a narrow 17-16 lead in the rivalry, but Northeastern has won the last four head-to-head meetings and eight of the last 12.

• The Huskies are coming off a dramatic win at Towson. Sophomore David Walker connected on a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to lift NU to a 57-54 win. The victory was Northeastern's sixth straight over the Tigers and snapped Towson's 13-game home-court winning-streak. NU is the first visiting team ever to win at SECU Arena and the only remaining CAA member to win at Towson each of the last two years.

• Junior Scott Eatherton ranks nationally in a remarkable 10 different statistical categories, including four top-50 rankings—double-doubles (first), total rebounds (fifth), rebounds per game (11th), and field-goal percentage (37th). He ranks in the top three in the CAA in more statistical categories than any other player and he rates as the conference's most efficient scorer.

• NU is 39-17 (.696)  in the month of January since 2009.

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

About the Huskies
Bill Coen's squad played one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, highlighted by a 63-56 win over Georgetown. Despite the overall record, the Huskies have been highly competitive, and have led or been tied in the second half of all but two games. NU has won two of its last three games and, in three of its last four games has held opponents under 60 points. 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 three in the CAA in six categories and leads NU with 16.9 ppg and 10.3 rpg. David Walker is second in scoring (11.7), while Reggie Spencer is third in scoring (9.5) and second in rebounding (7.3).

Notables from the last time out
Notes of interest from Northeastern's most recent game, a 57-54 win at Towson:
> Northeastern improved to 16-11 against Towson and has won six straight against the Tigers
> NU snapped Towson's 13-game home-court winning-streak and became the first visiting team ever to win at SECU Arena; the Huskies are the only remaining CAA member to win at Towson each of the last two years
> David Walker hit the second game-winning buzzer-beater of his career (Feb. 20, 2013, James Madison, 66-64)
> Scott Eatherton (19) scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and 18th time this season
> Eatherton narrowly missed his 15th double-double of the season (19 points, nine rebounds)
> Zach Stahl nearly notched his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds
> Junior Reggie Spencer (injury) missed the first game of his Northeastern career (83 straight game appearances)
> NU limited Towson to 32 percent shooting, the lowest for an NU opponent this season
> NU improved to 10-1 over the last two seasons when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points
> Travel note: Due to the snow storm blanketing the East Coast and the resulting flight cancelations, Northeastern arrived in Baltimore Tuesday night after a seven-hour train ride from Boston's South Station to Baltimore's Penn Station.

Hofstra: A look at the series
Northeastern and Hofstra will meet for the 34th time in series history on Saturday in Hempstead. The Pride hold a narrow 17-16 lead in the rivalry, but Northeastern has won the last four head-to-head meetings and eight of the last 12. The Huskies won the first-ever meeting more than 60 years ago, 55-53, on Feb. 4, 1950, in Boston, and the most recent meeting, 62-57, on Feb. 6, 2013, on Long Island. (A game-by-game series history can be found on page four of the game notes.)

Getting defensive
Northeastern has held three of its last four opponents to 58 or fewer points. NU is 10-1 over the last two seasons, and 19-3 over the last three years, when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points. Under Coen, the Huskies are 61-18 (.772) when keeping opponents under the 60-point mark. NU ranks fourth in the CAA in scoring defense, and third in conference-only games.

Schedule unkind
NU recently completed a brutal CAA stretch of five games in 11 days. The travel-happy Huskies will play back-to-back home games only once.

Reggie's rare miss
Reggie Spencer (injury) missed the first game of his Northeastern career on Wednesday at Towson, snapping a streak of 83 straight game appearances.

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Stating the case
Scott Eatherton: Candidate for CAA Player of the Year

Eatherton leads nation in double-doubles
Scott Eatherton collected his NCAA-leading 14th double-double—and fourth straight—in NU's win at James Madison on Jan. 15. That followed an impressive performance against College of Charleston, in which 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 is CAA's most efficient scorer
Of the CAA's 10 leading scorers, Scott Eatherton is the most efficient. When you calculate points scored from the field against total shot attempts, Eatherton's 1.15 points per attempt clip outpaces the rest of the league.

Eatherton most-frequently ranked in CAA
Scott Eatherton ranks in the top three in more statistical categories than any other player in the CAA. Eatherton leads the league in three different statistical categories—double-doubles, blocked shots, and offensive rebounds. He holds the number two spot for rebounds per game and defensive rebounds, and the number three spot for field goal percentage.

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Marathon man
David Walker ranks sixth nationally in minutes per game (37.3).

Oh, so close
Northeastern has been competitive against one of the nation's toughest schedules. Of the Huskies' 20 games, 16 have been decided by 10 points or less, and 11 have been decided by five or fewer points. NU was an impressive 13-4 in games decided by five points or less a season ago. This year's young Huskies are 3-8 in such games.

Coming off a CAA win
Under Bill Coen, Northeastern is 46-24 in CAA regular-season games following a regular-season conference victory.

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 13 of their last 18 games—and 21 of their last 29—played in the month of January. NU is 39-17 (.696) 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 then-career marks for points (17), steals (three), field goals made (five), free throws made (six), and free throw attempts (eight).

Double-figure Davey
David Walker has scored in double figures in 12 of 20 games this season, including a career-high 20 points in NU's recent outing against Delaware. Walker, who reached double figures six times as a freshman, has become a more aggressive offensive force for the Huskies as a sophomore.

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Up next
Northeastern will return home to face James Madison on Wednesday at 7 p.m., at historic Matthews Arena. The Huskies, who have faced every CAA team this season except William & Mary, defeated the Dukes, 56-52, on Jan. 15 in Harrisonburg, Va.