BALTIMORE, Md. — The fifth-seeded Northeastern Huskies will face top-seeded Delaware on Sunday in the CAA men's basketball semifinals in Baltimore. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. The Huskies, who defeated Drexel, 90-81, on Saturday, are making their fourth semifinal appearance and third in the last five years. Delaware is making its fourth appearance in the semis, but just the second since 2003.
Story lines
> Northeastern is making its fourth appearance in the CAA semifinals, and third in the last five years. A season ago, the Huskies defeated George Mason, 69-67, to advance to the tournament championship game.
> Northeastern downed Drexel, 90-81, on Saturday in the quarterfinal round.
Scott Eatherton registered his 19th double-double of the season to lead four Huskies in double figures.
Zach Stahl also recorded a double-double for NU—his second straight.
> Now in its ninth season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, Northeastern owns an 8-8 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.
> Three NU players received All-CAA recognition, collecting five awards.
Scott Eatherton led the way with three conference honors: CAA Defensive Player of the Year, All-CAA Second Team, and CAA All-Defensive Team.
David Walker was named to the All-Defensive Team, and
T.J. Williams earned All-Rookie honors. NU has had an All-Rookie selection in six of head coach
Bill Coen's eight seasons (story on page 8).
> Northeastern and Delaware will meet for the 45th time in series history on Sunday. UD holds a 25-19 edge in the all-time series, but NU is 13-7 against the Blue Hens in CAA games (12-6 regular season, 1-1 tournament).
> NU and UD are meeting for the third time in CAA tournament history. In 2007, No. 5 NU defeated No. 12 UD, 77-67 in the first round. In 2011, the seventh-seeded Blue Hens narrowly defeated the No. 10 Huskies, 60-58.
Notables from the last time out
Notes of interest from Northeastern's most recent game, a 54-52 win over Drexel:
> Northeastern defeated Drexel for the fourth time in the last five meetings
> The Huskies advanced to their fourth CAA semifinal and third in the last five years
> Northeastern scored a season-high 90 points; NU shot 51.9 percent from the floor, tied for second-best this season
> Drexel's 81 points tied for fourth-most by an NU opponent this season
> The Huskies made a season-high 32 free throws, including 13 (on 15 attempts) in the final two minutes
>
Scott Eatherton (23 points, 15 rebounds) posted his 19th double-double of the season
> Eatherton registered his 1,000th career point in the game; he now has 1,003
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Zach Stahl (19 points, 12 rebounds) registered his second straight double-double and third on the season; Stahl grabbed double-digit rebounds for the third straight game
>
David Walker (18 points) scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games, and ninth time in the last 11 games
>
T.J. Williams set career highs for free throws made (10) and attempted (12); Williams scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games, and fifth time in the last eight
> Northeastern improved to 6-0 this season, and 14-2 over the last two seasons, when leading by five or more at the half
Delaware: A look at the series
Northeastern and Delaware will meet for the 45th time in series history on Sunday in the CAA Championship semifinals in Baltimore. Delaware holds a slight 25-19 edge in the all-time series, but the Huskies are 13-7 against the Blue Hens in CAA games (12-6 regular season, 1-1 tournament). UD swept the regular-season series from the Huskies, winning 74-70 in Boston and 80-67 in Newark. (A game-by-game series history can be found on page 4 of the game notes.)
NU to play in third CAA semi in five years
Northeastern defeated Drexel, 90-81, on Saturday to earn its third CAA semifinal appearance in the last five years and fourth in nine CAA seasons. In last season's CAA semifinals, the Huskies completed the largest comeback in program history by rallying from 24 down to defeat George Mason, 69-67, on March 10 in Richmond.
Joining the club: Eatherton hits 1,000
With 23 points on Saturday in the Huskies' quarterfinal victory over Drexel, junior
Scott Eatherton eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark. The moment came on a driving layup with 4:03 remaining that put NU up 17. Eatherton scored 515 points in two seasons at St. Francis (Pa.). He has scored 488 points this season for the Huskies to bring his career total to 1,003.
Eatherton is CAA's most efficient scorer; most-frequently ranked
Of the CAA's 10 leading scorers, Eatherton is the most efficient, averaging 1.12 points-per-attempt. The junior also is the most-frequently ranked among conference players. He ranks in the top three in more statistical categories (six) than any other CAA player.
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 6-0 this season when leading by five or more points at the break, and 14-2 over the last two seasons. Under Coen, NU has won 87 percent of its games (61-9) when enjoying a halftime lead of five or more points.
Eatherton's double-double distinction
Scott Eatherton is locked in a tight race for the NCAA double-double lead. The junior, who has 19 on the year, trails only Towson's Jerrelle Benimon (21). Eatherton reached double-figure points and rebounds before halftime twice this season—most recently on Saturday against Drexel. He also accomplished the feat on Jan. 13 against the College of Charleston, becoming 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 since Shawn James in February 2006 to have four straight.
Eatherton ranks nationally in 11 categories
Scott Eatherton ranks nationally in 11 categories, including six top-50 rankings and four top-20 rankings (see page 3).
Davey delivers on offense and defense
David Walker has scored in double figures in 21 of 31 games this season, including 12 times in the last 15 outings. He poured in a career-high 20 points 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 and earned CAA All-Defensive Team honors.
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 five of the last eight games, averaging 10.9 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 was named to the CAA All-Rookie team.
Surging Stahl
Zach Stahl registered his second double-double in as many games on Saturday against Drexel, with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds in the season finale against the Dragons, and was just one point shy of a double-double in the game prior at William & Mary. The Minnesota native is averaging 7.4 points per game on the season, but has surged to an 11.7 ppg average over the last four games. Over the same four-game span, he is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game.
Hot and cold
Northeastern has scored 67 or more points in seven of its last 11 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, 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. The Huskies rebounded to limit Drexel to 52 points in the season finale.
Oh, so close
Northeastern has been competitive against one of the nation's toughest schedules. Of the Huskies' 30 games, 22 have been decided by 10 points or less. NU was an impressive 13-4 in games decided by five points or less a season ago. This year's young Huskies are 4-9 in such games.
Where they rank
Three different Northeastern players rank nationally in 15 total statistical categories, led by
Scott Eatherton, whose name appears 12 times. Eatherton ranks in the NCAA top-50 in six categories and he ranks in the top three in the CAA in nine categories.
Coen ranks among best in career CAA wins
Bill Coen continues to establish himself as one of the most highly regarded coaches in the CAA. Coen is currently eighth on the CAA's list of all-time winningest coaches and is one of just three current coaches to have cracked the top 10.
Playing the best...
Northeastern played one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules. NU's out-of-conference slate 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 five games. In 13 of its losses, NU has been within five points or less in the game's final five minutes, and only six losses have been by double digits.
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