Bryant hosts first-place Merrimack Tuesday on YurView
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team hosts the first-place team in the NEC when Merrimack visits the Chace Athletic Center Tuesday night.
The 7 p.m. tip between the Bulldogs and Warriors will air locally on YurView New England in addition to being available on NEC Front Row.
The Particulars
Opponent: Merrimack
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Tuesday, Feb. 18 – 7 p.m.
Tickets: Tuesday
Watch: YurView New England/NEC Front Row (Jon Wallach, Frankie Dobbs)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Merrimack's 18 wins in 2019-20 are the most ever by a team in the first year of reclassifying to Division I, breaking the record of 16 set last season by Cal Baptist. The Warriors, who are not eligible for the NEC or NCAA tournament per NCAA transition rules, lead the league with a 12-2 mark.
The Warriors have been powered by their defense in 2019-20, holding opponents to 60.2 points per game. Merrimack has forced a turnover on 25.6% of opponent possessions this season, which ranks fourth nationally, while the Warriors' 14.1% steal rate leads the country.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Warriors are meeting for the second time in the programs' Division I era. Merrimack held off Bryant in a 71-67 contest in North Andover in January despite a career-high 26 points from senior Juan Cardenas (Apartado, Colombia).
LAST TIME OUT: CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 75, BRYANT 70
Freshman Michael Green III (Bronx, N.Y.) led the way with 17 points and was joined by freshmen Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan) and Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) to contribute 41 of Bryant's 70 points, but Central Connecticut picked off Bryant in New Britain Saturday.
BULLDOGS ON TV
Tuesday's game will be the first of two this week to air in Rhode Island on YurView New England as part of a new partnership between Bryant Athletics and Cox Communications. Sunday's game against Sacred Heart will also air on the network. Jon Wallach and Frankie Dobbs will bring Bulldog fans both games on the local network and worldwide on NEC Front Row and the NEC On the Run app.
GOING GREEN
Green averaged 19.5 points per game during the Bulldogs' two-game trip to Connecticut. The freshman from the Bronx scored a career-high 22 points in a nationally televised game at Sacred Heart Thursday and added 17 Saturday at Central Connecticut.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF PROGRESS
Bryant's 12 victories on the year match the 2016-17 team for the fourth-highest win total in the program's Division I era.
The Bulldogs won 19 games in 2012-13, 18 in 2013-14 and 16 in 2014-15.
FRESH PRINCES OF SMITHFIELD
Freshmen Lin, Pride, and Green rank second, third and fourth on the team in scoring and have combined for 34 games of 10+ points and six NEC Rookies of the Week, matching the highest total in program history.
All three freshmen have at least 11 games of 10+ points after all three scored in double figures Saturday.
HARD HAT HARDING
Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) improved to 400 career rebounds in Saturday's game at Central Connecticut. Thursday's 15-rebound effort at Sacred Heart marked the fifth performance of 15+ rebounds for Harding this season, surpassing the total of five by all other players in Bryant's 12-year Division I history.
Harding is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game in 2019-20 and ranks third in the NEC. He has collected 32.1% of potential defensive rebounds while on the floor this season, good for third nationally.
MEN OF STEAL
Senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and redshirt-junior Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) are raising the bar for Bryant's Division I career steals record, with the top spot up for grabs at the end of the season.
Grant broke Corey Maynard's Division I program record for career steals Nov. 20 at Drexel and now has 134 for his career. Ndugba passed Maynard in the Dec. 29 game at Maryland and is up to 138 in his three seasons on the court in Black & Gold, moving past Grant with three Thursday and three more Saturday.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Grant knocked down a pair of three-pointers the Feb. 8 win over Central Connecticut to break Dyami Starks' Division I career record of 281. Grant's three-pointer Saturday gave him 284 to move within 11 of Jason Bennett for second on Bryant's all-time list and 40 back of John Williams' career mark of 323.
Grant passed Dyami Starks Jan. 30 for second on Bryant's Division I career scoring list. Grant now stands at 1,736 points for his career, besting Starks' 1,691 in his three seasons in Black & Gold (2012-15).
The senior ranks second in career minutes played at 4,061, 80 back of Alex Francis (4,141) for the most in Bryant's D1 history.
HALL IN, BALL OUT
Redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) passed Papa Lo Thursday for second on Bryant's Division I career blocks list and now has 66 on the year. Elisias broke Bryant's D1 single-season blocks record Jan. 30 at Robert Morris. The junior from Long Island leads the NEC and ranks 12th nationally in blocks per game (2.8) and has recorded four of Bryant's top six single-game block totals in his first year as a Bulldog including a career-high eight vs. Navy.
Elisias has blocked 15.7% of opponents' two-point attempts while on the floor this season, which ranks second nationally.
DEFENSIVE-MINDED DAWGS
Bryant's defensive efficiency (102.8) is second in the NEC and ranks 191st nationally in 2019-20 after the Bulldogs were last in the conference and in the bottom 10 nationally in each of the last two seasons.
The Bulldogs are 10-2 this season when holding opponents under 70 points. Bryant is 20-4 during Coach Grasso's tenure when limiting teams to 69 points or less.
Bryant leads the NEC and ranks 48th nationally in blocks per game (4.4), while ranking second in the league with 7.1 steals per game.