Bryant squares off with Yale Wednesday in New Haven
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bryant University men's basketball team opens a five-game road stretch when the Bulldogs travel to Yale for a Wednesday night contest in New Haven.
THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Yale
Game Time: Wednesday, Nov. 29 – 8 p.m.
Watch Live: ESPN3 (John Ryan, Josh Hess)
Live Stats: YaleBulldogs.com
Game Notes: Bryant | Yale
SCOUTING THE YALE BULLDOGS
Yale is 4-4 following Monday's 76-66 victory at Delaware. The Bulldogs have wins over South Carolina State, Curry College, Alcorn State and Delaware with the losses coming to Creighton, Wisconsin, Albany and Vermont. Yale's strength of schedule ranks in the top 100 in KenPom as of Tuesday.
Three Bulldogs are in double figures this year, led by 15.9 points per game from Miye Oni. Oni has also grabbed a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game. 47.5 percent of Yale's field goal attempts come from beyond the arc, which ranks in the top 25 in the nation.
THE SERIES
Bryant and Yale are meeting for the 10th-straight season with the Bulldogs from New Haven holding a 6-3 advantage. Bryant took last year's meeting in Smithfield, 79-70, as the Black and Gold committed only six turnovers in the contest.
LAST TIME OUT: BROWN 81, BRYANT 67
Sophomore Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) tallied a career-high in points for the second-straight game with 22, but Brown pulled away late for an 81-67 win over Bryant Sunday in Smithfield. Sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) added 18 points for the Bulldogs.
WE LIKE IKE
Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) is averaging 14.0 points per game over his last four contests with at least 15 points in three of four. Ndugba had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five steals in Friday's win at Hartford.
MR. STEAL YOUR PASS
Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba enters the week leads the NEC and ranks 17th in the nation with 2.7 steals per game. Ndugba has recorded a steal in 4.5 percent of defensive possessions, according to KenPom.com.
TOWNES ENJOYS A THANKSGIVING FEAST
Sophomore Sabastian Townes had his two highest scoring outputs of his career in the Bulldogs' Thanksgiving weekend games. Townes scored a career-high 19 points in Friday's win at Hartford and followed that with 22 points and seven rebounds Sunday against Brown.
GRAND START FOR GRANT
Sophomore Adam Grant has averaged 17.5 points per game on the year with 14 or more points in five of six games. Grant has collected 20 or more points six times in his first 38 collegiate games and 10 or more in 26 of 38.
Grant reached the 500-point mark for his career with nine points Nov. 21 at Rutgers. The sophomore guard reached the mark in his 36th career game, which is tied with Nisre Zouzoua for the third-fastest to reach the 500-point plateau in Bryant's Division I era. Dyami Starks reached 500 points in 29 games in 2012-13, while Alex Francis did it in his 33rd contest in in 2011-12.
BK ALL DAY
Senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) has rebounded from a scoreless opening night to average 11.8 points over his last five games. Kostur's 25 points vs. Navy (11/18) were one shy of his career-high.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) has recorded 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in his first six collegiate contests. Layman tallied a career-high 14 points at NC State (11/14) - his first career start.
10-4
Four Bulldogs scored at least 10 points against NC State (11/14), Navy (11/18) and Hartford (11/24). Three players were the same against all three opponents - Adam Grant, Bosko Kostur and Sabastian Townes.
CARROLL, MARTIN BIG ON THE BOARDS
Senior Aram Martin (San Antonio, Texas) and freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) combined for 14 rebounds in at Rutgers (11/21). Carroll grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, while Martin collected a career-best six.
NEXT UP: NEW HAMPSHIRE
Bryant makes the trip north to the Granite State for a Saturday showdown with New Hampshire. The 1 p.m. tip can be seen on ESPN3.