BOSTON — Northeastern and Drexel will meet for the second time in the span of a week when the No. 5 Huskies face the No. 4 Dragons in the quarterfinal round of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship at Baltimore Arena in Maryland. The long-time rivals, who split the regular-season series, will tip off on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet. For tournament information, including how to purchase tickets, visit NU's
Championship Central page.
Story lines
> Now in its ninth season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, Northeastern owns a 7-8 all-time record in CAA tournament play. Only once in CAA tournament history has NU failed to advance past the first round, and the Huskies have won at least one game in all but two tournament appearances.
> Northeastern and Drexel will meet for the second time in the span of a week when the No. 5 Huskies face the No. 4 Dragons in the quarterfinal round of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship. NU defeated Drexel, 54-52, in the regular-season finale on March 1 in Boston. The Huskies trail the Dragons in the all-time series, 17-37. NU, though, has won three of the last four head-to-head meetings.
> In the most recent meeting, NU overturned a five-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to claim a dramatic 54-52 win. Earlier this season, on Jan. 11 in Philadelphia, Drexel defeated NU, 93-88, in double overtime in the second-highest scoring game in the series' 37-year history.
> Under
Bill Coen, the Huskies have established a clear line of demarcation in the Drexel series: 60 points. The Huskies are 6-1 under Coen when holding the Dragons to fewer than 60 points. Conversely, NU is 0-10 when surrendering 60 or more points.
In the CAA tournament
Northeastern owns a 7-8 all-time record in CAA tournament play, and only once in tournament history have the Huskies failed to advance past the first round. NU will be the fifth seed in this year's event and will face No. 4 Drexel on Saturday. The Huskies are 3-2 all-time as the No. 5 seed in CAA tournament play, and 2-1 all-time when facing the No. 4 seed. NU is 3-3 in quarterfinal games and 0-1 in CAA tournament games played on March 8. This will be just the second meeting between Drexel and Northeastern in the tournament. The Dragons, as the No. 4 seed, defeated the No. 5 Huskies, 64-50, on March 3, 2007, in the quarterfinal round.
Retracing the roots of a legend: Northeastern's Baltimore connection
Northeastern has an emotional connection to the city of Baltimore. Charm City was the home to the late, legendary Reggie Lewis — the greatest player to ever wear a Northeastern uniform. Lewis, whose Dunbar High School teams went a perfect 60-0 over his junior and senior years, singlehandedly rewrote the Northeastern record books, ranking first in career points (2,709), scoring average (22.2 points per game), field goals (1,043) and free throws (592). He also is third on the all-time list in rebounds (964), steals (226) and blocks (155). He led the Huskies to a 102-26 record, four straight conference titles, and four NCAA tournament appearances. He was inducted into the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 1995, and his number 35 is the only basketball number in school history to be retired. Drafted by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft, Lewis served as the franchise's captain and started every game in his final three seasons from 1990 to 1993.
Notables from the last time out
Notes of interest from Northeastern's most recent game, a 54-52 win over Drexel:
>
Scott Eatherton notched his 18th double-double of the season (10 points, 15 rebounds)
>
Zach Stahl recorded his second double-double of the year; the sophomore had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Delaware on Jan. 18
> Northeastern defeated Drexel for the third time in the last four meetings
> Prior to the game, Northeastern honored its lone senior,
Chris Avenant (Sacramento, Calif.) on senior day; Avenant has appeared in 59 games over four seasons for the Huskies
> Northeastern shot under 30 percent for the first time since Nov. 29, 2008, at South Florida and for just the sixth time under head coach
Bill Coen
Drexel: A look at the series
Northeastern and Drexel will meet for the 55th time in series history on Saturday. The Huskies trail the Dragons in the all-time series, 17-37. NU, though, has won three of the last four head-to-head meetings. The Huskies overturned a five-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to claim a dramatic 54-52 win on March 1 in Boston in the most recent match-up. Prior to that, NU 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, then scored the final three points in overtime to send the game to a second extra frame.
When last we met
The Northeastern men's basketball team overturned a five-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to claim a dramatic 54-52 win over Drexel in the regular season finale, on senior day, Saturday at Matthews Arena. The victory earned the Huskies the No. 5 seed in next weekend's CAA Championship and a rematch with Drexel, the No. 4 seed. The Huskies (10-20, 7-9 CAA) trailed 52-47 in the final minute before a 3-pointer by junior
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) cut the deficit to one with 15 seconds left. Northeastern then capitalized on two costly errors by the Dragons (16-13, 8-8 CAA) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. After Pollard's triple, NU's full-court pressure forced a Drexel turnover. The Dragons then committed a foul on a
David Walker (Stow, Ohio) 3-point attempt, sending the sophomore to the line with 6.7 seconds remaining. Walker calmly stepped to the stripe and knocked down all three shots to give NU the 54-52 edge, its first lead since the 9:25 mark of the second half. Needing a basket to tie or win, Drexel's Chris Fouch (26 points) raced down the court and hoisted a three that missed the mark at the final buzzer to send the Huskies into next week's CAA tournament on a high note. Redshirt junior
Scott Eatherton (10 points, 15 rebounds) and sophomore
Zach Stahl (11 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles to pace the Huskies. Freshman
T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas) added nine points and three assists, while Walker chipped in eight points, including the deciding three free throws in the waning seconds. Fouch scored half of Drexel's 52 points on 9-of-22 shooting, including 5-for-14 from beyond the arc. Frantz Massenat contributed eight points and four assists, while Dartaye Ruffin pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Drexel was held scoreless for the final 2:08 as the Huskies rallied for their third win over the Dragons in the last four meetings.
Line of demarcation: 60
Under
Bill Coen, the Huskies have established a clear line of demarcation in the Drexel series: 60 points. The Huskies are 6-1 under Coen when holding the Dragons to fewer than 60 points. Conversely, NU is 0-10 when surrendering 60 or more points.
Getting defensive
NU is 13-3 over the last two seasons, and 22-5 over the last three years, when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points. Under Coen, the Huskies are 64-20 (.762) when keeping opponents under 60 points.
Eatherton's double-double distinction
Scott Eatherton is locked in a tight race for the NCAA double-double lead. The junior, who has 18 on the year, trails only Towson's Jerrelle Benimon (19). Eatherton reached double-figure points and rebounds before halftime on Jan. 13 against the College of Charleston—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 ranks nationally in 11 categories
With 18 double-doubles,
Scott Eatherton continues to rank in the NCAA top two. He ranks nationally in 11 categories, including six top-50 rankings and four top-20 rankings.
Eatherton is CAA's most efficient scorer
Of the CAA's 10 leading scorers, Eatherton is the most efficient, averaging 1.12 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.
Davey delivers on offense and defense
David Walker has scored in double figures in 20 of 30 games this season, including 11 times in the last 14 outings. He poured in a career-high 20 points in NU's game against Delaware on Jan. 18. Walker reached double figures six times as a freshman. At the defensive end of the floor, Walker, who is among the national leaders in minutes played, ranks second in the CAA in steals.
Pfast Pflugerville pfinish
While many freshmen across the nation are hitting the late-season wall, Pflugerville, Texas native
T.J. Williams continues to improve. The rookie has scored in double figures in four of the last seven games, averaging 10.7 points during the span, including an impressive 14.0 points over the final three regular-season games. He twice won CAA Rookie of the Week over the season's final four weeks and ranks among the league's top five in freshman scoring.
Hot and cold
Northeastern has scored 67 or more points in six of its last 10 games. During that span, though, the Huskies have sandwiched in a 46-point game against James Madison and a season-low 45-point performance on Feb. 13 at UNCW. At the defensive end of the floor, NU held UNCW to 55 points and Charleston to just 44 points—a season low for an NU opponent. In the two games following, however, NU allowed 79 and 81 points, respectively. The Huskies rebounded to limit Drexel to 52 points in the season finale.
Fundamental first half
Northeaster's ability to battle back from double-digit deficits in recent years has been well documented. The Huskies, though, have been impressive when leading at the half. NU is 5-0 this season when leading by five or more points at the break, and 13-2 over the last two seasons. Under Coen, NU has won 87 percent of its games (60-9) when enjoying a halftime lead of five or more points.
.
