Bulldogs look to clinch playoff berth at QU

BULLDOGS LOOK TO CLINCH FIRST-EVER NEC TOURNAMENT BERTH WITH WIN AT QUINNIPIAC SATURDAY (2 P.M.)

FULL GAME NOTES
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THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs play on the road for the final time in the 2012-13 regular season Saturday, looking to clinch their first-ever Northeast Conference playoff berth. Bryant needs just one more win to secure a place in the league tournament, and the Black and Gold will travel to Hamden, Conn., for a 2:00 p.m. rematch against Quinnipiac to take their first shot at it.

THE SERIES
Bryant has faced off against the Bobcats more than any other team in the Northeast Conference. Since their first meeting back in 1967, much history has been made between these two programs, with highlights that include the Bulldogs' first-ever Division I win — a 59-50 victory over Quinnipiac on Nov. 22, 2008 — and Bryant's first DI 100-point game — a 103-95 win that came the last time these teams met back on Jan. 10. Both programs have histories in the Division II ranks and have faced off frequently at both levels of NCAA competition, with Saturday's game marking the 61st all-time meeting between Bryant and Quinnipiac. It is, however, just the 10th tilt at the Division I level, as these two programs spent 10 years as co-members of the Division II Northeast-10 Conference before the Bobcats' jump to Division I after the 1996-97 season. Quinnipiac owns a 42-18 advantage in the all-time series, but the Division I margin is much tighter, with the Bobcats holding just a slight 5-4 edge — something the Black and Gold look to change on the road Saturday afternoon.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Brand new 1,000-point scorer and preseason all-conference pick Ike Azotam leads the Bobcats on the year, averaging 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while Zaid Hearst adds 10.1 as the team's only other double-digit scorer. Ousmane Drame's 33 blocks pace the Bobcat side, as does his 51.5 percent shooting clip, and he adds 8.6 points and 7.1 boards per outing to compliment stellar all-around numbers on the season. The Bobcats enter Saturday's game as one of the NEC's hottest teams, having won five in a row dating back to the beginning of the month to even their record at 13-13 and boost their conference mark to 9-5. As a team, Quinnipiac shoots 42.8 percent from the floor and 32.6 percent from beyond the arc, while the team's 41.9 boards per game rank second in the NCAA behind only Missouri (42.1).

LAST TIME AGAINST QUINNIPIAC (January 10, 2013)
Behind five double-digit point scorers and a .607 shooting clip, the Bryant University men's basketball team came out on top in a record-setting night as senior point guard Frankie Dobbs scored his 1,000th-career point to pace the Bulldogs to a 103-95 victory over Quinnipiac at the Chace Athletic Center.

Dobbs needed just five of his game-high 24 points to become the program's 34th member of the elite 1,000-point club, as the Bulldogs set new Division I records for points in a game (103), wins in a season (10), consecutive victories (5), single-game assists (24) and single-game field goal percentage (.607). Bryant also set a new all-time program record from 3-point land in the win, converting at a 63.2 percent clip — the highest single-game mark in program history.

The Bulldogs led most of the way, allowing the Bobcats their final lead of the night at the 10:30 mark of the opening frame, 18-17. Back-to-back treys from Dobbs would push the hosts back on top, 23-20, just a minute later, the second of which sparked a 16-4 run that saw the Black and Gold open up a 36-24 advantage with 5:21 left to play in the first.

The home lead would linger around 10 until the final two minutes, when Quinnipiac ended the frame on an 8-2 stretch that would send the Bulldogs into the locker room with just a 42-39 advantage.

The visitors would cut Bryant's lead to one four times in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but despite narrowing the deficit to 59-58 with 14:40 remaining, the Bobcats couldn't overcome the home side, who used a 19-6 run over a 6:37 span to take over a double-figure lead and never look back. Bryant extended its advantage to 18 points, 89-71, with under five minutes to play, and both sides removed their starters in favor of reserves with 1:39 to play and a 98-81 margin in the Bulldogs' favor.

A pair of Shane McLaughlin free throws with 1:35 to go pushed Bryant to 100 points for the first time in its young Division I history — the game also marked the Bulldogs' first trip into the 90s in the DI era — and while the Bobcat bench fought back to make things interesting in the waning seconds, Quinnipiac wouldn't get closer than seven.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 10-4 against the Northeast Conference in 2012-13 with a 25-57 record against current league members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current NEC schools, the Bulldog basketball program is 53-111 (.323), having most frequently faced off against former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) member Quinnipiac (18-42).

QUICK HITS
» Playoffs! Playoffs?!: In its first season with NEC and NCAA postseason eligibility, Bryant is just a single win away from clinching a spot in the 2013 NEC Tournament.

» Home Sweet Home: Saturday marks the Bulldogs' final road tilt of the regular season. Bryant will wrap up the 2012-13 campaign with three-straight games at home in front of a friendly crowd, hosting Sacred Heart Monday night (7 p.m.), Robert Morris Thursday night (7 p.m.) and Saint Francis U next Saturday for Senior Day (4 p.m.).

» Making NEC History: With Thursday night's 88-67 win over Central Connecticut, Bryant tied the Northeast Conference record for win improvement from one year to the next (15 games). Coincidentally, the Bulldogs now share the record already held by the Blue Devils, who went from four wins in 1997-98 to 19 in 1998-99 to set the current mark. The Bulldogs will have four more chances to break that record, though, starting with Saturday's game against the Bobcats.

» Making NEC History, Part II: Limiting the most-improved scope to just conference play, Bryant's nine-game jump now ranks second in the 32-year league history behind LIU Brooklyn, who went from five NEC wins to 15 league victories en route to the NEC title in 1997.

» Double or Nothing: Junior forward Alex Francis recorded his seventh double-double of the season and 23rd of his career with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds Thursday against the Blue Devils. The game included back-to-back dunks for the Bryant bigman. Of his seven double-double outings in 2012-13, five have come in NEC play.

» Twenty is Plenty: Dyami Starks's 26 points Thursday night marked the sophomore's 11th outing in which he has scored 20 points or more this season and the seventh time he has matched or surpassed 25 points in a game. As a team, the Bulldogs have boasted a 20-point scorer 23 times in 2012-13.

» 50/50: For the 11th time this season Thursday, the Bulldogs shot better than 50 percent from the floor, hitting 53.3 percent against the Blue Devils. On the year, Bryant has shot better than 50 percent in both halves seven times — including Thursday night — and converted 50 percent or better from 3-point range four time this season (vs. Binghamton, at Robert Morris, vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Wagner).

» He Shoots, He Scores: The Bulldogs have gotten a 20-point scorer in each of the last eight games, most recently a 26-point performance from sophomore Dyami Starks vs. CCSU at home. During the course of the current streak, Bryant also saw six-straight contests in which one of Starks, Alex Francis or Frankie Dobbs scored 25 points or more.

» Tough Two: For the third time this season, Bryant avoided its first losing streak of the year, winning the next contest after back-to-back defeats. The Bulldogs have exactly two losses in every month of the season so far.

» 500: With 446 total points and averaging 17.8 points per game entering this weekend's action, sophomore Dyami Starks is on pace to surpass 500 points on the 2012-13 campaign. If he does hit the mark, it would make him the second Bulldog in as many years to finish the season with over 500 points, after teammate and current junior Alex Francis scored 509 in 2011-12. To accomplish the feat again this season, Francis will have to score just over his yearly average in the final four games, needing 18.3 points each time out (currently at 427). No other Bulldog has scored 500 points in a season in the Division I era.

» Out of Favor: With last Saturday's loss and with a game still in hand, the Bulldogs entered this week's action out of first place in the Northeast Conference standings for the first time since the beginning of league play. Bryant started the week in third, but after a Thursday night win over CCSU coupled with an LIU Brooklyn loss, the Black and Gold sit firmly in second on the league ladder, just a half game back on current NEC leader Robert Morris.

» Bulldogs Headline NCAA's DI Men's Basketball Most Improved Team List: With a 17-8 overall record entering the final stretch of the regular season, Bryant currently boasts an impressive 17.5-game difference from last season (2-28) to this one. Next on the list is Towson, with a 16-game differential. The NCAA Division I record for Most Improved Team from one season to the next stands at 17 games, set by Mercer in 2002-03 and UTEP in 2003-04. Last season's most improved teams — Manhattan and Nevada — sported a 13.5-game turnaround at season's end.

» Tremendous Turnaround: The NCAA equation for most improved also takes number of losses into consideration, but Bryant remains the most improved team in the nation when it comes to pure win turnaround as well. The Bulldogs currently boast 15 more wins in 2012-13 than it had a season ago.

» 17 and Counting: The Bulldogs keep improving on their Division I single-season wins record, picking up their 17th victory of the year at home against Central Connecticut Feb. 21. Bryant has now won more games this season than in the last three campaigns combined (12). The Bulldogs entered the 2012-13 season with just 20 total wins in their brief Division I history.

NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Numerous Bulldogs can be found ranked in the NCAA's Top 100 in multiple categories, but none are ranked higher than sophomore sharpshooter Dyami Starks. Starks enters Saturday's game ranked 12th among all Division I players for 3-point field goals per game, also leading the NEC ranks at 3.04 trifectas per outing. Junior forward Alex Francis also highlights the national rankings, as his 56.6 percent shooting clip breaks into the nation's top 20 for the first time this season.

MILESTONE WATCH
Junior guard Corey Maynard picked up his 300th-career rebound Thursday night and needs just 16 more assists to hit the 250 mark. Senior point guard Frankie Dobbs has 97 steals on his career and is 39 assists shy of 500 all time, while sophomore transfer Dyami Starks surpassed the 500-point mark on his career last Saturday at Wagner (534). Junior forward Alex Francis has a chance to reach 1500-career points this season if the Bulldogs grace postseason play (1379), and he needs just 27 more rebounds to hit 700 on his three-year career.

TWENTY SOMETHINGS
Four Bulldogs have combined to record 20 or more points in a game 23 times this season, including in each of the last eight contests and most recently against CCSU last time out (Starks, 26). Sophomore sharpshooter Dyami Starks leads the way with 11 such outings, while junior Alex Francis has eight, including three in the last six games. Senior Frankie Dobbs has also chipped in three this year, including a career-high 27 points in a win over Monmouth Feb. 2. Sophomore transfer Joe O'Shea joined the trifecta with his career-best 21-point outing against the Seahawks Feb. 16.

Two players have recorded 20+ points in the same contest four times, including Feb. 7 against the Terriers, with Starks (25) and Francis (23) teamming up for the feat. Starks (20) and Francis (21) also paired up at Lehigh Dec. 29, while Starks (29) and Dobbs (26) did so at Robert Morris Jan. 3 and repeated the feat with 20 and 24 points, respectively, at home against Quinnipiac Jan. 10.

BAZOOKA JOE
Sophomore transfer Joe O'Shea recorded the best game of his young career on the road against Wagner last Saturday, posting career- and game-best 21 points on a career- and game-high eight made baskets (8-11), while pulling in a career- and game-best eight rebounds. He has now picked up double-figure points in each of the last three games, averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with a 61.9 percent shooting mark from the floor (13-21) and a 90 percent conversion rate from the charity stripe (18-20) dating back to Feb. 14.

LEAPS AND REBOUNDS
The Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents for the 14th time this season Thursday night, 41-29. Bryant is 6-4 when losing the battle on the glass but 11-3 when finishing with a rebounding edge. On Jan. 31, Bryant outrebounded FDU by a season-high 13, 39-26, and the Bulldogs have outrebounded an opponent by double figures seven times in 2012-13.

BLOCKHEADS
For all of Bryant's success this season, the Bulldogs have struggled mightily in one particular statistical category — blocks. The Black and Gold average just 1.12 blocks per game and rank dead last in Division I entering Saturday's matchup. Senior Vlad Kondratyev leads the way with eight stuffs this season, but the Bulldogs have posted three or more blocks in a game just three times so far, most recently against St. Francis Brooklyn Feb. 7.

UP NEXT
Bryant returns to the Chace Athletic Center to wind down the 2012-13 regular season and will play three times next week, thanks to Monday's makeup game with Sacred Heart (7 p.m.). The Bulldogs will follow with regularly scheduled bouts against Robert Morris Thursday night (7 p.m.) and Saint Francis U. Saturday, March 2 in the regular-season finale and 2013 Senior Day (4 p.m.).