BOSTON– The Northeastern men's basketball team is headed back down south for a Saturday matinee against Davidson when the Huskies and Wildcats go head-to-head for the second time in a week.
After the first ever meeting between the two teams on Sunday, a 71-59 victory in favor of the Wildcats, Northeastern will head to their home turf looking for revenge.
Heading into Saturday's game, here are a few things to look for.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- No shying away from the competition
• Northeastern tries to make its schedule competitive year-in and year-out and 2018-19 was no exception
• After the win over Alabama, the Huskies' non-conference schedule now features six opponents who took part in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and will play those six teams a total of seven times when all is said and done
• Two of the scheduled games, as well as the two potential competitors come as a part of the Gildan Charleston Classic
• The six NCAA opponents (seven times) on the non-conference schedule ranks first in the country in 2018-19
| School |
No. |
2018-19 |
| Northeastern |
7 |
Alabama, Davidson (x2), St. Bonaventure, Syracuse, Bucknell, Virginia Tech |
| N. Carolina |
6 |
Texas, Michigan State/UCLA, Michigan, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Davidson |
| Florida |
6 |
Florida State, Oklahoma, W. Virginia, Michigan State, Butler, TCU |
• The potential to play seven teams in the NCAA tournament, ranks second in the country
| School |
No. |
2018-19 possibles |
| Florida |
8 |
Butler, Virginia |
| Northeastern |
7 |
Davidson (x2) |
Seven other teams have the potential to play 7
• All but one of the games will come on the road or at neutral sites for the Huskies who face St. Bonaventure at Matthews Arena to close out the 2018-19 non-conference slate on Dec. 21
- Recapping the Charleston Classic
Northeastern went 1-2 last week at the Charleston Classic, starting things off with a win over Alabama but falling to No. 16 Virginia Tech and RV Davidson to close out the Huskies' time in Charleston
ALABAMA
- The Huskies began the Gildan Charleston Classic off on the right foot with a 68-52 victory over Alabama on Thursday afternoon at TD Arena
- The win marked the first ever over an SEC opponent in Northeastern men's basketball history
- The Northeastern BASEBALL team actually just recently beat their first SEC opponents last season when they took 2-of-4 from Missouri while also picking up a victory over Auburn
- Vasa Pusica registered his 17th career 20-point game in the victory finishing with 20 points (15 in the second half) and five assists
- Jeremy Miller and Bolden Brace each chipped in 11 points in the win
VIRGINIA TECH
- Less than 24 hours later, the Huskies were back in action against 16th ranked Virginia Tech on Friday morning
- The two teams were neck and neck through the first 15 minutes of action with Northeastern even taking a brief 24-34 lead over the Hokies thanks to eight-straight threes to start off the game
- Virginia Tech then finished the half on a 23-2 run propelling them to a lead they maintained until the buzzer as the Huskies fell 88-60
DAVIDSON
- The Huskies closed out the weekend against Davidson, playing even against the Wildcats through the first 20 minutes, though Davidson pulled away in the second half
- Bolden Brace led the team with 12 points, while Donnell Gresham nearly had a triple-double with a nine point, 10 rebound, six assist effort against the Wildcats
- The Huskies held Wildcat leading scorers, Jon Axel Gudmundsson and Kellan Grady to just 11 and 8 points respectively, as Davidson was led by Luka Brajkovic's 17 point effort
- Looking towards second
- On March 4, 2018, Northeastern men's basketball coach Bill Coen, in his 12th season with the program, picked up his 200th career victory
- Coen currently boasts a 203-187 career record with 135 of those wins coming during conference action
- Coen needs one win to tie and another to move past Dick Dukeshire for second place among Northeastern coaches
- Coen became just the third-ever Northeastern men's basketball head coach to hit the 200-win mark
| 1. Jim Calhoun |
250-137 |
1972-86 (14 seasons) |
| 2. Dick Dukeshire |
204-100 |
1958-71 (13 seasons) |
| 3. Bill Coen |
203-187 |
2006-pres. (13 seasons) |
- Coen is the Huskies' winningest coach in conference action with 123 career conference victories
- In addition, Coen is just one of three Northeastern head coaches to have coached at least 13 seasons with the Huskies
- Jim Calhoun leads the way with 14 seasons (1972-86) under his belt before he moved on to UConn while Dick Dukeshire coached 13 seasons from 1958-71
