Bryant looks for weekend sweep, hosts RMU Saturday at 1 p.m.

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

THE PARTICULARS
Bryant is back in the swing of the NEC's Thursday/Saturday schedule and will play host to league rival Robert Morris Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. The game is slated to tip off at 1:00 p.m.

THE SERIES
This is the first of two January meetings between the Bulldogs and the Colonials and marks the eighth time the sides have squared off. Bryant and Robert Morris split the season series in 2013-14, with each team winning on the road in unfriendly territory. Bryant's 84-77 upset win over the Colonials in last season's NEC opener was the first time the Black and Gold topped RMU, who holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris enters the Chace Athletic Center with a 6-10 overall record, having won its own NEC opener, 79-70, over Sacred Heart Thursday night. Karvel Anderson and Lucky Jones pace the side with 18.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively, while the latter also leads the squad on the glass (5.4 rpg). The Colonials shoot 44.4 percent from the floor as a team, led by 52.9 percent accuracy from Anderson, who also has 19 steals, six blocks and 55 long balls to his name this season. Anthony Myers-Pate's 75 assists are a team high, while Robert Morris averages 31.5 rebounds per outing with a .408 clip from 3-point land. RMU's victory over Sacred Heart snapped a three-game losing skid for the Colonials.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. ROBERT MORRIS
Six current Bulldogs have faced off against the Colonials in their Bulldog careers, with senior Alex Francis taking on RMU a team-most five times. Francis averaged 20 points per game against the Colonials last season and averages 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per outing on his career against RMU. In total, current Bulldogs are shooting 45.6 percent (41-90) against the Colonials with only Francis and  junior Dyami Starks (23.0 ppg) averaging double-figure scoring.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 1-0 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 22-49 record (.310) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 36-66 (.353), having most frequently faced off against regional rival Sacred Heart (10-16). Bryant went 12-6 against league opponents last season, finishing tied for second in the regular-season standings to earn a No. 4 seed in the 2013 NEC Tournament.

BLOCK PARTY
Rookie forward Dan Garvin has had quite an impact around the rim for the Bulldogs. The Connecticut native leads the team with 24 blocks so far this season — good for third on the league circuit — and is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per outing. In Thursday night's NEC opener, the frosh set a new career mark with four stuffs. Garvin averages 6.3 points per game  with eight assists and 10 steals as well.

OPENING NIGHT
Bryant's 77-67 victory over the Red Flash marked the second-straight season the Bulldogs started off Northeast Conference play with a win. Last season, the team rode its league-opening win to a 6-0 conference start.
MILESTONE WATCH
With a number of Bulldog players approaching significant career milestones, head coach Tim O'Shea's nearing accomplishment is often overlooked. With just two more victories, O'Shea will earn his 50th win at Bryant University, having turned the Bulldogs from a one-win program into a consistent challenger in the NEC under his watch. O'Shea enters Saturday's contest with 168 career victories.

#6THFAN
Bryant has the best fans in the NCAA. Now, it's time to prove it. The NCAA's 6th Fan contest is a nationwide online competition that will determine which Division I school has the most pride and the most supportive fans. Fans can be a part of the action and help Bryant earn over $100,000 in general scholarship contributions by voting for the Bulldogs once a day every day at ncaa.com/6thFan now until Feb. 16. Fans can also vote on Twitter by tweeting or retweeting the hashtags #6thFan and #BRYANT (both hashtags must appear for vote to count). The contest also includes prizes for individual fans, including an iPad Air and an all-expense paid trip to the 2015 Men's Final Four in North Texas April 5-7.

WINNING WAYS
For the second-straight season, Bryant finished its non-conference schedule with a winning record in 2013-14, going 8-7 over the campaign's opening two months. The Bulldogs finished non-league play with winning records against three different conferences, going 3-1 against the Ivy League, 2-0 against the Patriot League and 2-1 against the America East.

1,000 REASONS...
After leading the Bulldogs in nearly every offensive statistic and setting the program's Division I mark for points in a season last year, junior sharpshooter Dyami Starks is poised to become the third player in a two-year span to join the 1,000-point club. He enters Saturday's contest with 949 career points, 88 of those coming during his freshman campaign at Columbia (2010-11). Starks will need to average fewer than four points per game — well below both his Bryant and career scoring averages — to eclipse the milestone by the end of the 2013-14 regular season.

OH DANNY BOY
Freshman forward Dan Garvin has been impressive since breaking into the starting lineup five games ago. The rookie averages 8.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a starter, having also posted a pair of double-doubles in that span (12p, 14r vs. Navy; 13p, 10r at Binghamton). Since Dec. 14, Garvin has amassed 12 blocks, three steals, six assists, 42 boards and a .486 shooting percentage (17-35).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With half a season still to play, senior forward Alex Francis is already seated among the greatest scorers and rebounders the program has ever seen. After a 23-point performance in the NEC opener Thursday, he moves into the No. 3 spot on the all-time scoring list and enters Saturday's contest with 1,771 career points. To move up to No. 2, however, Francis would need 469 points, a near-impossible order with just 15 regular-season games left to play.

Francis's eight rebounds Thursday also break him out of a tie and into sole possession of No. 3 on the rebounding charts with 836 in his career.  He needs just 33 more boards to take over second place in that category. Francis also ranks in the program's top-10 in scoring average, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws made and rebounding average.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis reached yet another plateau on his march up the NEC career scoring chart, rising three more spots Thursday night to crack the league's all-time top-15. Francis enters Saturday's game with 1,771 points, tops among active players in the conference and 15th all-time. The senior forward needs just 104 more points to enter the top 10 but will need to cross over the 2,000-point threshold to make it into the top 5.

Francis is also tied for15th on the league's all-time rebounding list (836) and has a chance to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
 
More Francis/NEC Highlights...
» Francis is one of just four players in NEC history to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding in his career, joining the likes of CCSU's Ken Horton, LIU's Jamal Olasewere and Marist's Rik Smits.

» Francis is one of just 13 players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 rebounds in his career, and one of just five players in the league annals to reach 1,700 points and 800 boards.

» He currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (17.6, fifth), rebounding (6.8, third), field goal percentage (.560, second), blocks (0.88, 10th) and minutes played (36.12, second).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA rankings, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently sits among the top active NCAA Division I players in numerous categories. As of January 9, the senior is ranked third in career field goals (currently 669), sixth in career double-doubles (28), seventh in total rebounds (836), eighth in total points (1,771), 16th in career scoring average (16.6 ppg), 14th in free throws made (420) and 26th in rebounding average (7.8). He is one of just five active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 43rd in field goal percentage this season, shooting at a .560 clip, and 29th in minutes played, averaging 36.12 each time out.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are still available for the 2013-14 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.

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 in 2013-14. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2013-14 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all Bulldog home and in-conference road men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

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
The Bulldogs wrap up their current four-game homestand with a Thursday night battle against regional league foe Sacred Heart at the Chace Athletic Center Jan. 16. The 7:00 p.m. tipoff will be broadcast live on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network.