PHILADELPHIA – The Northeastern men's basketball team will wrap up its January road swing at Drexel on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. as the Huskies bring a four-game win-streak into the Daskalakis Center.
Saturday's game marks the first between the two teams this season.
Northeastern is coming off of an 81-67 road win at Hofstra that helped propel the Huskies into sole possession of first place in the CAA in a game where three different Huskies recorded double-doubles in the victory.
The Huskies have turned it up, even more so, during conference action and currently rank first not only in scoring defense, but also on the offensive front in field goal pct. and assists.
NOTABLES
• This is the 98th season of Northeastern men's basketball
• Northeastern has an all-time record of 1,198-1,098 (.522) in 2,296 games, just two wins shy of 1,200
• The Huskies are 383-255 (.600) all-time in conference play including a 125-85 (.595) record since joining the CAA in the 2005-06 season
• Northeastern amassed 12 regular season conference championships and eight tournament titles including a 2015 CAA title which sent NU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 24 years
•
Bill Coen is in his 12th season as the leader of the Huskies and since Coen has taken the reins, Northeastern has accomplished the best win percentage amongst current CAA teams in conference and CAA tournament play with a 126-99 all-time mark
• Not only did
Vasa Pusica pick up his first career double-digit assist game on Thursday night, but in doing so he hit the century mark
• The Huskies named a new director of athletics and recreation last Wednesday morning as Jeff Konya will take over for
Peter Roby on February 1
•
Shawn Occeus also currently leads the CAA in thefts this season with 1.95 steals per game, a mark that also ranks in the top of the NCAA
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
• Drexel is 8-14 on the season and 2-7 heading into its first meeting with the Huskies on Saturday
• Despite the below .500 record, the Dragons are 6-3 at the Daskalakis center this season with four of those wins coming in non-conference play and a pair coming during CAA action, including a victory over Elon on Thursday night
• Drexel snapped a five-game losing skid on Thursday, but prior to that, the Dragons earned a 87-82 overtime victory against Charleston
LEADING THE WAY
• Drexel is led, by Missouri transfer Tramaine Isabell who is averaging 19.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game
• Also netting double figures are four more Dragons including Kurk Lee (12.9, 3.6 apg), Alihan Demir (11.9), Sammy Mojica (11.1) and Troy Harper (10.9)
• Austin Williams is leading the way with 8.3 rebounds per game while adding 9.7 ppg
ALL-TIME SERIES
• This will be the 62nd meeting between the two teams with Drexel holding the edge 38-23
• However, the Huskies have won the last five contests between the two teams and 9 of the last 11
LAST TIME VS. DREXEL
• Behind 54 second half points, Northeastern rolled over Drexel, 92-75 to extend its win streak to eight games, the largest since the 2012-13 season
• Northeastern, was led by a bevy of Huskies, five of which registered double-digit scoring on the night
•
T.J. Williams led the way with his second 30-point effort of the season, while adding eight rebounds and seven assists
•
Maxime Boursiquot notched his first career double-double with a 17 point, 11 rebound game against the Dragons
• Drexel was led by Chelsea, Mass. native Sammy Mojica who dropped 18 in his homecoming
THE LAST TIME OUT
• Northeastern kept its winning ways going on Thursday night in Hempstead, picking up their first win at Hofstra since the 2014-15 season
• With the win, the Huskies took sole ownership over first place in the CAA standings
• Three different Huskies tallied double-double efforts in the game (more below), the first time in nearly a decade that feat was achieved
• After a four-and-a-half minute stretch where Hofstra led or the two teams were tied, early in the first half, the Huskies gained control, earned a six-point halftime advantage and cruised to a 81-67 win over the Pride
• Northeastern was led a handful of Huskies who each recorded double-digit efforts led by
Vasa Pusica and
Shawn Occeus' 16 points each
• Hofstra was once again led by Justin Wright-Foreman who was held to seven first-half points and 20 total while Rokas Gustys finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds
• The Huskies earned their largest rebounding advantage outrebounding the Pride 40-25 on the night
STEALS ON STEALS ON STEALS
• Through 21 games, the Huskies have robbed their opponents 139 times or 6.6 times per game
• The 139 steals rank 2nd in the CAA and 130th nationally
• 10 of Northeastern's 12 roster players have recorded a steal on the year, led by
Shawn Occeus' 41 and
Vasa Pusica's 25
• Occeus, in fact, leads the CAA in steals with 1.95 per game, a mark that also ranks 52nd nationally, and his 41 total steals rank 37th, while Pusica's mark ranks in a tie for 10th (1.3 spg) in the conference
• Occeus has led the Huskies in steals in 13 of the 21 games on the season, while in nine of 21 games this season, Occeus has tallied at least three steals, a mark that he only achieved twice last season
• Last season,
Devon Begley led the conference in thefts (48) en route to CAA All-Defensive Team honors
• With his four steals against Hofstra, Occeus went over the 40-steal threshold, marking the 11th-straight year the Huskies have had at least one player with 40 steals
| Year |
Player |
|
|
| 2017-18 |
Shawn Occeus 41 |
|
|
| 2016-17 |
Devon Begley 48 |
|
|
| 2015-16 |
David Walker 47 |
Quincy Ford 43 |
|
| 2014-15 |
David Walker 41 |
|
|
| 2013-14 |
David Walker 50 |
|
|
| 2012-13 |
Jonathan Lee 43 |
David Walker 42 |
Quincy Ford 41 |
| 2011-12 |
Quincy Ford 60 |
Jonathan Lee 46 |
Kauri Black 41 |
| 2010-11 |
Chaisson Allen 61 |
Alex Harris 40 |
|
| 2009-10 |
Matt Janning 51 |
Chaisson Allen 51 |
|
| 2008-09 |
Chaisson Allen 57 |
Matt Janning 48 |
|
| 2007-08 |
Chaisson Allen 63 |
Matt Janning 40 |
|
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
• At Hofstra a trio of Huskies each tallied their first double-double of the season en route to an 81-67 victory over the Pride
•
Anthony Green (14p, 12r),
Vasa Pusica (16p, 10a) and
Bolden Brace (14p, 10r) all recorded double-doubles for the third, third and second times in their careers
• It was the first time in nearly a decade that a trio of Huskies were able to complete the feat
• The last time three players did so was on Jan. 30, 2008 when current Graduate Manager
Manny Adako (10p, 10r), Nkem Ojougboh (10p, 11r), Chaisson Allen (11p, 10r) each did so
CREEPING UP ON 1,200
• The Northeastern men's basketball team currently has 1,198 program victories heading into Saturday's game with Drexel
• After it took 14 seasons to earn the first 100 wins in program history, the Huskies have picked up steam in the last few decades
• Head Coach
Bill Coen helped the Huskies to its 1100th victory back in the 2011-12 season
| No. |
Opponent |
Date |
Score |
| 1 |
vs. Harvard |
1/19/21 |
41-31 |
| 100 |
vs. Pratt Institute |
2/1/35 |
28-23 |
| 200 |
vs. Maine |
1/20/51 |
77-69 |
| 300 |
vs. Norwich |
2/2/62 |
76-65 |
| 400 |
vs. WPI |
12/16/67 |
106-80 |
| 500 |
vs. Harvard |
1/7/74 |
55-54 |
| 600 |
vs. Fairfield |
1/3/81 |
76-69 |
| 700 |
vs. BU |
3/9/85 |
68-67 |
| 800 |
vs. CCSU |
2/27/90 |
81-61 |
| 900 |
vs. Maine |
2/27/98 |
74-54 |
| 1000 |
vs. Hofstra |
1/21/06 |
89-73 |
| 1100 |
vs. William & Mary |
3/2/12 |
57-49 |
| 1200 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
TURNING IT UP
• The Huskies finished the 12-game non-conference season scoring 71.3 ppg while holding their opponents to 68.4, shooting .465 from the field and connecting on 101 3FGs (.348 3FG%) while holding their opponents to just 59 (.307 3FG%)
• Heading in to the conference slate, Northeastern has turned up the heat
• The Huskies lead the conference in scoring defense, while also ranking high in many offensive categories
|
Conference |
Overall |
| Category |
Stat |
Rank |
Stat |
Rank |
| Scoring Defense |
69.8 |
1 |
69.0 |
3 |
| FG Pct. |
.514 |
1 |
.485 |
2 |
| 3 Pt. FG Pct. |
.399 |
2 |
.371 |
3 |
| 3 Pt. FG Made |
10.1 pg |
2 |
9.1 pg |
3 |
| Assists |
17.2 |
1 |
15.6 |
3 |
DISHING IT OUT
•
Vasa Pusica has been the catalyst to the Huskies leading the way in conference action in assists per game
• The redshirt junior transfer finished Thursday's game against Hofstra with a career-high 10 assists and currently has 100 assists on the season
• With Pusica crossing the century mark, it marks four-straight seasons for the Huskies with at least one player dishing out 100 dimes
