BOSTON — The Northeastern men's basketball team will face longtime rival Drexel on Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena at 1 p.m., in a game that has CAA tournament implications. The Dragons are locked into the No. 4 seed in next weekend's championship in Baltimore. The Huskies, however, are engaged in a three-way tie for the No. 5 seed.

Northeastern will honor redshirt senior Chris Avenant before Saturday's tip-off. The Sacramento, Calif., native has appeared in 58 games over four seasons for the Huskies, including a career-high 20 appearances in 2013-14. His senior campaign has been his best during his career on Huntington Avenue.


Story lines
> Northeastern and Drexel will meet for the 54th time in series history on Saturday. The Huskies trail the Dragons in the all-time series, 16-37. NU, though, has won two of the last three head-to-head meetings.

> In the most recent meeting, on Jan. 11, Drexel defeated NU, 93-88, in double overtime in the second-highest scoring game in series history. The only time the two programs have combined for more points in the series' 37-year history was on Jan. 16, 1991, in a 98-90 NU win in Philadelphia.

> Scott Eatherton has vaulted himself into the All-CAA First Team conversation. The versatile big man has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 15 games and 25 of NU's 29 outings this season. He continues to rank among the NCAA leaders in double-doubles,  with 17, and ranks nationally in a remarkable 12 statistical categories, including six top-50 rankings. He also ranks in the top three in the CAA in more statistical categories than any other player, and is the most efficient scorer among the CAA's top 10 scorers.

> David Walker continues to be a steady force for the Huskies. Walker has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games—including each of the last four—and in 12 of NU's 15 CAA games.

> Drexel and Northeastern are at opposite ends of the CAA rankings in free-throw percentage. The Dragons lead the CAA at 71.3 percent, while the Huskies are ninth at 63.2 percent. NU has the upper hand in field goal percentage, however (43.7 to 42.1), as well as 3-point field goal percentage (32.3 to 31.1). The squads are among the league's best at distributing the ball, with DU ranking second at 11.9 assists per game and NU ranking third at 11.8.

Senior salute
Northeastern will honor redshirt senior Chris Avenant before Saturday's 1 p.m. tip-off. Avenant has appeared in 58 games over four seasons for the Huskies, including a career-high 20 appearances in 2013-14. His senior campaign has been his best on Huntington Avenue. The Sacramento, Calif., native is shooting 44 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from 3-point range, and tallied career-highs for points (10), assists (3), field-goals made (4), and 3-point field-goals made (2). He played in 18 games as a junior, during the Huskies' run to the CAA regular-season title. Avenant is a talented artist who will graduate from Northeastern with a degree in graphic design.

Notables from the last time out
Notes of interest from Northeastern's most recent game, an 81-67 loss at William & Mary:
> William & Mary swept the season series to even the all-time series, 8-8
> Freshman T.J. Williams (16 points) led NU in scoring for the second straight game; he posted a career-best 17 points on Thursday against Towson
> David Walker (12 points) scored in double figures for the eighth time in nine games and the 12th time in 15 CAA games
> NU surrendered 48 second-half points for the second consecutive game, tying the mark for the most points in a half by an NU opponent this season
> Foul trouble kept NU's leading scorer Scott Eatherton sidelined for much of the game; he played just 18 minutes, tied for second fewest this season
> Zach Stahl grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, one shy of his career high
> Northeastern dropped to 0-9 this season when allowing an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better
> Saturday's loss assures Northeastern of a losing record in CAA play for just the second time under head coach Bill Coen

Drexel: A look at the series
Northeastern and Drexel will meet for the 54th time in series history on Saturday. The Huskies trail the Dragons in the all-time series, 16-37. NU, though, has won two of the last three games in the series. The Huskies lost a double-overtime heartbreaker in Philadelphia on Jan. 11, 93-88. In that game, Demetrius Pollard nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at the end of regulation. Pollard then scored the final three points in overtime to send the game to a second extra frame. Drexel, though, scored the first six points in the second overtime to seize control of the game. NU was victorious in the last game played in Boston, a 59-52 affair on Feb. 2, 2013. (A game-by-game series history can be found on page four of the game notes.)

When last we met
For the second time in as many years, Northeastern and Drexel waged an overtime thriller in Philadelphia. But unlike last year, the Dragons held off the visiting Huskies, handing NU a 93-88 double-overtime setback at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Demetrius Pollard nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the right wing—from nearly the same spot as Quincy Ford's heroic shot a year ago—to tie the game at the end of regulation. Pollard then scored the final three points in OT to send the game to a second extra frame. Drexel scored the first six points in the second overtime to seize control of the game. The Huskies twice cut the lead to two and, on the second occasion, appeared to force a Dragons' turnover. But an errant pass that was headed out of bounds deflected off a game official to Drexel's Chris Fouch who nailed a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left that sealed the Huskies' fate. Pollard led NU with 19 points and five assists. Scott Eatherton scored 18 and grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. Marco Banegas-Flores tallied a career-high 17 points, including 10 after regulation. Reggie Spencer added 10 points to give NU four players in double figures for the second straight game. Chris Fouch scored a career-high 31 points to lead Drexel. Backcourt mate Frantz Massenat added a double-double of his own with 27 points and a game-high 12 boards. Tavon Allen added 18 points.

Scott Eatherton: Candidate for All-CAA honors
Eatherton ranks nationally in 12 categories
With 17 double-doubles, Scott Eatherton continues to rank in the NCAA top two. He ranks nationally in 12 categories, including six top-50 rankings (see page 6 of the notes).

Eatherton is CAA's most efficient scorer
Of the CAA's 10 leading scorers, Eatherton is the most efficient, averaging 1.15 points-per-attempt.

Eatherton most-frequently ranked in CAA
Eatherton ranks in the top three in more statistical categories (six) than any other CAA player.

David Walker: Candidate for All-CAA honors
David Walker has scored in double figures in 20 of 29 games this season, including 11 times in the last 13 outings. He ranks second in the CAA in steals and is among the national leaders in minutes played.

T.J. Williams: Candidate for CAA All-Rookie honors
While many freshmen across the nation are hitting the late-season wall, T.J. Williams continues to improve. The rookie has scored in double figures in four of the last six games, winning CAA Rookie of the Week twice in the last three weeks. He ranks among the league's top five in freshman scoring.

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Up next
Northeastern will travel to Baltimore, as Charm City hosts the CAA Men's Basketball Championship for the first time. No. 8 Hofstra and No. 9 UNCW will open the tournament at 7 p.m. on March 7. The Huskies' first game will be played on March 8. NU will be either the No. 5, No. 6, or No. 7 seed in the tournament.

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