Battle of the Bulldogs: Bryant travels to Yale Wednesday night (7:30p)

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com
Listen: WOON 1240 AM
Live Stats: yalebulldogs.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday

THE PARTICULARS
The Bryant University men's basketball team is back on the road but won't travel too far, taking on Ivy League foe Yale University in New Haven Wednesday night. The game is the second half of a Bulldog battle doubleheader, as the women take on Yale at 5:00 p.m. The men are slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. from John J. Lee Amphitheater.

THE SERIES
This is the sixth "Battle of the Bulldogs" in as many years and the third time Bryant has visited New Haven for a tilt
on the hardwood. Bryant took the series opener, 69-58, in January of 2009 but hasn't come out of a matchup on top since, as the Connecticut Bulldogs have emerged victorious in each of the last four meetings, including last year's 64-62 nailbiter in Smithfield.

SCOUTING THE YALE BULLDOGS
Sophomore Justin Sears paces Yale in scoring (17.6 ppg) and on the glass (7.9 rpg) and leads three double-digit point scorers for the Bulldogs. Juniors Javier Duren and Armani Cotton aren't far behind with 15.1 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Duren runs the offense and has dished out 21 assists on the young season, while Sears contributes 14 blocks to his team-leading start. Duren (13-34), Cotton (10-24) and Jesse Pritchard (9-17) are all dangerous from distance, while as a team, Yale shoots 43.5 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (35.6 boards per outing).

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. THE ELIS
Seven of Bryant's 16 current players have faced off against Yale over the past three seasons, but only seniors Alex Francis (three games), Corey Maynard (three games) and Claybrin McMath (four games) have done so more than once. In three career matchups, Francis averages 11.3 points per game while Maynard chips in 9.3 points per outing. Junior Dyami Starks dropped 22 the last time these teams faced off, and returning Bulldogs accounted for 56 of the team's 62 points from last season's loss at the buzzer. Current Bulldogs are shooting a lifetime .526 (41-78) against Yale.

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Wednesday's matchup marks the final of four contests against members of the Ivy League in 2013-14 and is the sixth time these teams have met in the Bulldogs' Division I era. Bryant is 2-1 against Ivy League opponents so far this season after topping Dartmouth and Brown and falling at Harvard, all within the month of November. Bryant is 5-17 against the Ancient Eight in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (2-4), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-3), Yale (1-4) and Dartmouth (2-1) over the last five-plus seasons. In the all-time history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 5-24 against Ivy League opponents, most frequently matching up against intrastate rival Brown (2-11).

DID YOU KNOW?
In addition to Bryant, there are just 14 other schools within the Division I ranks who sport the Bulldog moniker. Wednesday's matchup marks the second such Battle of the Bulldogs matchup for the Black and Gold through the season's first eight contests. (Bryant opened the season against the nation's only nationally ranked Bulldogs, then-No. 15 Gonzaga.)

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
Among all active Division I players, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently ranks fourth in career field goals (610), fifth in career double-doubles (27), sixth in total rebounds (770), eighth in total points (1,599), 11th in career scoring average (16.3 ppg), 16th in free throws made (366), 26th in rebounding average (7.9) and 46th in career field goal percentage (.537). He is one of just five active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. This season, Francis also ranks 21st in field goal percentage, shooting at a .638 clip so far in 2013-14.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Last week, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis cracked the top-50 on the Northeast Conference's career scoring list and enters play this week with 1,599 points, tops among active players in the conference and 44th all-time. Francis, who also ranks 23rd on the league's all-time rebounding list with 770, is one of 13 just players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 boards in his career. The New York City product is currently on pace to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Francis currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (15.6, seventh), rebounding (6.0, sixth), field goal percentage (.638, first) and blocks (1.43, fifth).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
Senior forward Alex Francis enters Wednesday's game ranked sixth all-time in the program's career scoring list (1,599 points) and fifth among the career rebounding leaders (770). He also ranks in the program's career top-10 in scoring average (sixth), field goals (fifth), field goal percentage (sixth), free throws made (second) and rebounding average (second).

STARK NAKED
The Bulldogs were without leading scorer Dyami Starks for their last matchup, an 82-55 home victory over Salve Regina. The junior guard averages 23.2 points per outing this season, a number that ranks 14th in the nation and tops in the league circuit. Starks also averages in the conference's top-10 in free throw percentage (.895, second, 57th nationally), 3-pointers per game (2.83, third, 54th nationally), steals (1.33, ninth) and minutes played (36.33, first, 30th nationally).

PUT ME IN COACH
The Bryant bench was responsible for 61 of the team's 82 points in Saturday's 27-point victory over Salve Regina. Leading the charge was sophomore guard Curtis Oakley, whose career-best 18 points (6-10, 3-4 from 3-point range) marked a game high. Rookies Bosko Kostur and Dan Garvin set and tied their career bests, respectively, with 13 points for the Black and Gold, while classmate Justin Brickman chipped in a career-best eight more points in the 82-55 win.

OH DANNY BOY
Rookie Dan Garvin posted a career week last week, recording the first double-double of his career (10 points, career-high 10 rebounds) Wednesday against Ocean State foe Brown before tying his personal best with 13 points against Salve Regina at home Saturday afternoon. On the week, Garvin went 9-for-17 from the floor (.529) and 2-for-5 from long range (.400) with 15 rebounds and 23 points. One of the team's most athletic players, Garvin currently averages 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game with five blocks and five steals on the year.

NICE NOVEMBER
With Saturday's 82-55 win, the Bulldogs wrapped up November action and secured a winning record through the season's opening month.

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

UP NEXT: BLACK ROCK GOTHAM CLASSIC
The Bulldogs are back home to kick off the Black Rock Gotham Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1:00 p.m. Bryant will welcome North Dakota State University to the Chace Athletic Center before hitting the road to take on Notre Dame (Dec. 9) and No. 3 Ohio State (Dec. 11). The Black and Gold will wrap up the Gotham Classic against the University of Delaware at Madison Square Garden on December 21.