TOWSON, Md. – Fresh off of the team's 1200th program win the Northeastern men's basketball team is set to face Towson for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon at SECU Arena.
The game, which will kick off at 2 p.m. will be the Huskies' Autism Awareness game, an effort started by Towson head men's basketball coach Pat Skerry and USF assistant men's basketball coach Tom Herrion. It has since gone national with support from the NABC and Autism Speaks. Coaches across the country will also be wearing a blue puzzle piece pin on their suit jackets during the games this weekend.
The Huskies are coming off of a tough 70-67 victory at Delaware, the team's ninth conference victory of the year as
Vasa Pusica finished with yet another 20-point effort in the game, his 10th of the season, while Donnell Gresham tallied 17 points in the win.
NOTABLES
• This is the 98th season of Northeastern men's basketball
• Northeastern earned win #1200 on Thursday and has an all-time record of 1,200-1,100 (.522) in 2,300 games
• The Huskies are 385-257 (.600) all-time in conference play including a 127-87 (.593) 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 128-101 all-time mark
•
Vasa Pusica has been dishing them out for the Huskies this season including a career-best 10 assist effort against Hofstra which has helped him to the best assist per game mark in conference action this season
• 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 currently leads the CAA in thefts this season with 1.88 steals per game, a mark that also ranks in the top of the NCAA
• The Huskies have recorded 10 80-point efforts this season, the most in a single season during the
Bill Coen era
• The Huskies have been turning it up during conference play and rank in the top-two in many categories midway through the conference season
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Towson is 17-9 on the season entering their first game of the year with the Huskies but are 7-6 in conference action
• After falling in theie season opener, the Tigers went out on a 10-game win streak, the longest in the CAA, to start their season off on the right foot
• Towson began CAA play 0-2 with losses at College of Charleston and Elon but have since gone 7-4 in conference action
• Towson is 8-2 at home this season, including a 4-2 mark in CAA games
LEADING THE WAY
• Towson is led by Zane Martin who is averaging 20.0 points and 3.5 rebounds a game while adding 61 assists and 21 steals on the season
• Brian Starr has dished out a team-high 66 assists on the year while adding 8.7 ppg
• Mike Morsell has added 14.1 ppg while making 26 steals for an evenly balanced squad
ALL-TIME SERIES
• This will be the 37th meeting between the two teams with the Huskies holding the series lead 21-15
• The two teams split the season series for the second straight season with Towson earning the extra win in conference tournament action
LAST TIME VS. TOWSON
• Six-seed Northeastern's season came to an end in the Quarterfinal Round of the CAA Tournament against No. 3 Towson at the North Charleston Coliseum as the Huskies fell 82-54
• Northeastern could not get their offense going, though they were able to put together a 12-1 run over a four-minute span in the second half that brought them within 12 of the Tigers with 6:42 to go
• A 3-point attempt on the next possession by
Jimmy Marshall rattled halfway in and then bounced out on a shot that could have made it a double-digit game
• On the ensuing possession Towson went down and hit a three, taking a 15-point lead and the ultimate victory
•
T.J. Williams led the Huskies with 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half
• He was 9-of-11 from the free throw line and with those went over the 200-free throw mark for the season finishing the year with 202
THE LAST TIME OUT
• The Huskies started the weekend off with a Thursday night victory at Delaware the 1200th in program history
• The game came down to the final possession and after a Ryan Allen three rattled out,
Anthony Green helped bring down the rebound and
Vasa Pusica was fouled immedately as he went down to the other end and sank a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game
• On the inbound, with 1.2 seconds left,
Jeremy Miller altered a pass that
Bolden Brace was able to knock away, into a Delaware player, and out of bounds to seal the win
• The two teams went back-and-forth all night in a game that saw nine ties and 12 lead changes
•
Vasa Pusica finished with 27 points on the night, his 10th 20-point effort of the season and third 25+ point game
NUMBER 1,200
• With a 70-67 victory over Delaware on Feb. 8, he Northeastern men's basketball team earned its 1,200th program win
• 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 as well as the most recent milestone
| 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 |
at Delaware |
2/8/18 |
70-67 |
DISHING IT OUT
•
Vasa Pusica has turned it on in conference play leading all CAA players with 6.3 apg in conference play
• Pusica currently has 127 assists on the season
• Pusica ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage (10th, .500) and steals (10th, 1.1) and the top-three in assists (5.1) in the CAA this season
• Pusica's 100+ assists this year, makes it four-straight seasons for NU with at least one player dishing out 100 dimes
• The redshirt junior has notched 5+ assists in 12 games this season and has finished eight of the last 10 games with at least five assists
