Bryant returns home to host Yale, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team will host an opponent for the first time in over two weeks when it welcomes Yale to Smithfield for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff Wednesday. The game can be seen live NECFrontRow.com or heard on WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach and Tristan Hobbes)

THE SERIES
Wednesday's showdown between both Bulldogs marks the ninth meeting in the series and the ninth-consecutive ecounter. Yale leads the series, 6-2, posting 3-1 records in both New Haven and Smithfield. Aside from last year's 79-40 setback at Yale, Bryant's last two home defeats to the Elis were by a combined nine points and it claimed a victory on the road in 2013-14. 

SCOUTING YALE
Despite losing star point guard Makai Mason to injury before the season began, Yale has impressed against some quality opponents to start the year. Mason led the team in both points and assists last season, but the defending Ivy League champs were able to net 98 points in a road win over Washington to start the season, followed by 89 points in an overtime win over Lehigh. The Elis were held to just 38 points in a road loss at Virginia on Nov. 20, but lost by a combined seven points at Pittsburgh and at Vermont since. Yale has been led by four double-figure scorers, predominantly senior Sam Downey, who nets 14.6 points per. Three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, freshman guard Miye Oni is averaging 14.4 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds. Sophomore forward Blake Reynolds adds 13.4 points on a team-high .481 clip from the floor and classmate Alex Copeland scores 13.2 points per game. Yale hauls in 12.8 offensive boards per contest to lead the Ivy League and also holds onto the ball, turning it over just 11.4 times per game which is 45th nationally. 

CURRENT DAWGS vs. YALE
Of the eight Bulldogs that have played Yale ­– four more than once – and in the 14 combined games, no one has scored in double digits. Bryant has been limited to under 70 minutes in eight of the nine all-time meetings with Yale and netted just 40 points last year. Juniors Bosko Kostur and Hunter Ware along with sophomore Nisre Zouzoua all tallied seven points in last year's loss to Yale.  

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Wednesday's matchup is the second of four contests against members of the Ivy League in 2016-17 and the first of three at home. Bryant is 8-24 against Ivy League schools in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (2-7), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-5), Yale (2-6) and Dartmouth (3-2) over the last eight seasons. In the all-time history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 7-32 against Ivy League opponents, but their most recent matchup against Dartmouth on Dec. 31, 2015 was a 62-60 victory.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs battled all night in a high-pace shootout at Brown on Monday night. Their first lead did not come until midway through the second half, and the game went back-and-forth until the final seconds. Trailing, 89-87, with just under 30 seconds left, sophomore Nisre Zouzoua drained a three with 11 seconds left to give his team a lead, but Brown's Tavon Blackmon drove the length of the floor and hit a layup with three seconds left to win  the game. Zouzoua finished with a career-high 31 points, freshman Adam Grant netted 20 and junior Bosko Kostur tallied 16 points and seven boards off the bench. 

QUICK HITS

» Nail Biter: The 91-90 loss at Brown Monday night marked the sixth game determined by one point since the program joined the Division I ranks in 2008. Bryant led by just 46 seconds in the game and is now 3-3 in games decided by one point at the DI level. 

» Mr. Steal Your Ball: The 11 steals against Brown on Monday are the most for the Bulldogs since the start of the 2014-15 season (69 games). Bryant also theft the Bears 10 times in last season's meeting on Dec. 5, 2015. 

» 90's Kids: The 90 points against the Bears are the most points scored for the Bulldogs since they scored 91 on March 4, 2015 against Sacred Heart. It marked just the sixth time Bryant scored 90 or more points in a game at the Division I level.   

» Wrong Side of Thirty: Eastern Washington's Bogdan Bliznyuk netted 32 points against the Bulldogs on Monday, marking the first time since Feb. 26, 2015 that an opponent scored 30 points or more against Bryant. 

» Just Let It Go: The 23 turnovers against No. 14/14 Gonzaga on Nov. 18 tied for the second most in a game in Bryant's Division I history. The most was 25 at Robert Morris on Feb. 6, 2012, and the Bulldogs have been forced in more than 20 turnovers in a game just 11 times at the DI level.  

» Wide Margin: The 27-point victory over Salve Regina on Nov. 15 tied Bryant's Division I record for its largest victory, having done so four times (twice against the Seahawks). 

JUST ZOO IT
After lighting up the Northeast Conference for over 19.0 points per game to finish out the final month of last season, sophomore Nisre Zouzoua was expected to have a better second campaign. But he has exceeded expecations with an impressive 23.0 points per game over the first seven contests to lead the league and sit 16th nationally, while hitting a conference-best 3.3 triples per game. He has scored 22 points or more in five-straight outings, including a new career high of 31 points at Brown on Monday, his second 30-point game since Nov. 22. His 30 points at La.-Monroe on the 22nd made him the first Bulldog to tally 30 or more since Dyami Starks ('15) did so on Feb. 12, 2015. In doing so, Zouzoua eclipsed 500 career points to become the second fasted Bulldog to reach the milestone in the program's Division I history (36 games). Alex Francis ('14) did it in 34 games.

Zouzoua is just the second Bulldog to score 30 or more points in at least two-of-three games and the second player to average 23.0 points over the first seven games of any season in the program's DI history (Starks did it in 2013-14).   

WHOSE LAUGHING NOW
Freshman Ikenna Ndugba may have become an internet sensation and the source of a lot of entertainment surrounding the sports world following his mistake at the end of Monday night's 91-90 loss at Brown. After a layup gave Brown the lead with less than four seconds remaining, Ndugba received the inbounds pass thinking his team was winning. He dribbled to midcourt, ran out the clock and threw the ball in the air, only to realize Bryant was trailing and needed to attempt a potential game winner. 

Though we'll never know if there would have been a buzzer beater to stun the Bears, what we do know is Ndugba has done a very good job as a true freshman point guard through his first seven games. The Boston product leads the NEC with 4.9 assists per game and sits 41st in the country with 34 total helpers. Ndugba has scored in double-figures twice this season and grabbed nine rebounds in a 64-57 victory over La.-Monroe on Nov. 22.   

PROTECT THE PERIMETER 
The Bulldogs have done a very good job of closing in on shooters and defending against the three, as they currently rank 89th in the country with a .306 three-point field-goal defense. The ability to limit the success of teams beyond the arc is no anomaly, as Bryant has finished in the top-100 nationally in each of the last two years and ended the year ranked 47th in 2014-15 (.315 3-PT FG defense). They have held their first seven opponents this season to under 40.0 percent from distance, and limited Notre Dame and Salve Regina to clips of .180 (3-16) and .210 (4-19), respectively.   

GRANTED PERMISSION
Following in the footsteps of reigning NEC Rookie of the Year Marcel Pettway and fellow NEC All-Rookie Team selection Nisre Zouzoua, freshman Adam Grant has stepped right in and played like a season vet through his first six collegiate games. He has netted double-digit points in six of the last seven games with at least 13 points, has scored no fewer than nine and has made at least three treys in four of the seven games this year. Grant is second on the team with 16.3 points per game to sit sifth in the NEC, first among league rookies, and he has a .534 field-goal clip to sit fourth in the conference and a 43.6 three-point field-goal percentage.       

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are available for the 2016-17 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.

NO TICKET, NO PROBLEM
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference are once again affiliated with the Pack Network and 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 90 Bryant University home contests during the 2016-17 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 DVR functionality. Visit NECFrontRow.com for more information and a complete schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the ninth 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.

ON TAP
The Bulldogs head back on the road for five days to start December, first taking on Ohio University Saturday at 3:30 p.m.