Bryant welcomes Army to Smithfield Tuesday at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team remains at home for the second-straight contest Tuesday, hosting Army in a 7:00 p.m. matchup that can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.

THE SERIES
Tuesday's game marks the eighth overall meeting and the second-straight season in which the Bulldogs and Black Knights have squared off. Although Army holds the overall advantage, 5-2, Bryant has won the last two outings, including the most recent contest at the Chace Athletic Center in 2012. The Bulldogs defeated the Black Knights, 80-73, at West Point last season.
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army's 20th-ranked offense, which operates at a clip of 86.6 ppg, is paced by three double-digit scorers, including the Patriot League's top two performers in seniors Tanner Plomb and Kyle Wilson. Plomb heads the attack with 20.4 ppg on 47.7 percent shooting despite averaging less than 30 minutes per contest. Wilson follows with 19.5 ppg, converting 41.8 percent of his shots from distance while averaging 4.1 triples per game to rank fourth in the nation. Army's floor general is senior guard Dylan Cox, leading the league and sitting tied for eighth nationally with 7.3 assists per game. As a squad, Army converts at a 47.8 percent clip from the floor while ranking sixth nationally in triples per contest (10.1). Overall, the Black Knights lead the Patriot League in 15 categories.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. ARMY
Seven Bulldogs have faced Army in their careers, but only senior captain Shane McLaughlin has played the Black Knights more than once. As a sophomore in 2012, McLaughlin played 13 minutes in Bryant's 70-59 home victory over Army. In last season's 80-73 win at West Point, the Black and Gold were aided by 17 points from Hunter Ware, 11 points and seven rebounds from Andrew Scocca, and 10 points and six rebounds from Dan Garvin. As a unit, current Bulldogs are shooting 42.4 percent from the floor against Army (17-35).

BRYANT vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Tuesday's contest is the lone outing of the season for the Black and Gold against a member of the Patriot League, with Bryant entering the matchup 5-9 against current Patriot League schools in its short Division I history. Seven of Bryant's 14 all-time tilts against Patriot League constituents have come against the Black Knights (2-5), with four more coming against Lehigh (2-2), two against Navy (1-1) and one against Bucknell (0-1).

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs trimmed what was a 22-point second-half deficit down to seven with just over a minute to play but could not complete the comeback, as Brown held on for a 76-68 win Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. Junior forward Dan Garvin recorded his first double-double of the 2015-16 campaign with a 12-point, 16-rebound effort. Frosh guard Nisre Zouzoua would score in double digits for the first time since Nov. 18, dropping a team-best 18 points while draining four of Bryant's six triples in the second half. Sophomore wing Hunter Ware added 15 points and five boards, while senior captain Shane McLaughlin charted 11 points, five boards and a game-best eight assists. The Bears would shoot 44.6 percent from the field (22-56), as they were paced by 19 points from both Justin Massey and Tavon Blackmon.    

DAN THE MAN
Saturday's double-double for junior bigman Dan Garvin marked the 10th of his collegiate career. His 16 rebounds in the 76-68 loss to Brown were both a personal and team season high and marked the 13th double-digit effort on the glass for the Bethel, Conn., native as a Bulldog.

LINEUP DANCING
Just nine games into the 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have unveiled seven variations of their starting lineup, something that has not happened since the 2011-12 season. The only cast of five to be on the floor for the opening tip more than once has been senior Shane McLaughlin, sophomore Hunter Ware, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, sophomore Gus Riley and junior Dan Garvin — a lineup that played together in three-straight games from Nov. 20-25.

DOUBLE-DIGIT TROUBLE
After failing to produce a double-digit scorer against Yale for the first time since Feb. 11, 2010, the Bulldogs bounced back with four double-digit performers in Saturday's loss to Brown. The last time four Black and Gold players scored in double figures in a losing effort was Feb. 21, 2015 against Robert Morris. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, this unfortunate occurrence has happened to the Bulldogs nine times.

STEAL CITY
After nabbing 10 steals in back-to-back games Nov. 21 and Nov. 25, the Bulldogs repeated the effort for the third time this season Saturday against the Bears. And while all three 10-theft outings came in losses (vs. Siena, at Harvard, vs. Brown), the Nov. 21 performance against the Saints marked the first time since Dec. 14, 2013 that the team had finished a game with double-digit steals (10 vs. Navy).

THAT 70s SHOW
The Bulldogs have conceded 70 or more points in all seven of their losses this season but have held opponents to less than 70 points in their only two wins. Last season, Bryant finished 4-9 when allowing more than 70 points, posting a 12-6 record when holding teams below the 70-point threshold. Conversely, the Black and Gold finished last season 11-2 when totalling 70+ points and have concluded with north of 70 points in both wins this year.

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have yet to outrebound an opponent in 2015-16, posting a -8.1 rebounding margin on the young season. This is the first time in the program's Division I history the team has opened a campaign on the short side on the glass in nine-straight outings. The last time the Bulldogs were outboarded in more seven-straight games at any point in a season was back in 2011-12, when the team lost the battle on the boards in nine-consecutive games from Nov. 27-Jan. 5. To find the last time the squad was outrebounded in 10 or more straight contests, you must look all the way back to the 2009-10 season, when the Bulldogs lost the board battle in 20 in a row from Dec. 3-Feb. 13. Bryant currently ranks 330th in Division I in rebounding margin (-8.1) and 300th in rebounds per game (32.50).

IN THE MARGINS
Bryant has played just two games in which the final margin has been within 10 points, coming at UNH (75-67 L) and at home against Brown last time out (78-68 L). The Bulldogs' five remaining defeats have come by 39 (Yale), 38 (Duke), 35 (Harvard), 30 (Georgetown) and 19 (Siena), while its two wins (Emerson, Prairie View A&M) each came by 13 points.

HIGH MILEAGE FOR McLAUGHLIN
Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin is once again proving to be a workhorse for the Bulldogs on the court, playing 34 minutes or more in eight of the seasons first nine contests. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game and sits second as a senior with a current average of 36.11 minutes per outing (31st nationally). Over his last 54 starts, McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 26 times. He has played the entire game seven times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win against Sacred Heart in last year's NEC Tournament.

THE NAME IS ZOUZOUA
Freshman Nisre Zouzoua made a name for himself in the first two games of his collegiate career. He scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds in his debut at Duke, only to follow that up with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Emerson. Zouzoua started 0-for-2 against the Lions but then made his next eight shots from the field on his way to his career day. After six-consecutive single-digit outings, the Brockton, Mass., native erupted in the second half of Saturday's 76-68 loss to Brown, draining four treys en route to a team-high 18 points.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and partial season ticket packages are available for the 2015-16 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant University Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2015-16 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge, high-definition broadcasts of all Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard, state-of-the-art graphics and brand-new DVR functionality. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the eighth season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. Veteran sportscaster Jon Wallach of 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston returns to call the action alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will play away from Smithfield but remain in Rhode Island as they head to the capital city to take on No. 15/18 Providence College Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The Friars will be the highest ranked team that Bryant has faced this late in the season since it played at No. 3/2 Ohio State on Dec. 11, 2013. The game can be seen live on Fox Sports 1.