Dec. 31, 2011
• 2011-12 Virtual Guide
2011-12 Stony Brook Men's Basketball
Game #12: Vermont Catamounts (6-8) at Stony Brook Seawolves (5-6)
Mon., Jan. 2 • Pritchard Gymnasium • Stony Brook, N.Y. • 7 p.m.
TICKETS ARE BUY 1, GET 1 FREE AT THE DOOR!
On Television
Optimum Local Channel 118 with Carl Reuter & Rob Pavinelli
On the Radio
WUSB 90.1 FM & GoSeawolves.org with Mike Solano, Curt Hylton & Jeff Bernstein
LIVE: STATS | AUDIO | VIDEO | TWITTER
INFO: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Stony Brook Seawolves (5-6, 0-0 America East)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell, seventh season
Overall Record: 83-132
Record at SBU: 78-114
Vermont Catamounts (6-8, 0-0 America East)
Head Coach: John Becker, first season
Overall Record: 12-52
Record at Vermont: 6-8
About the Game: Stony Brook embarks on the all-important conference season as it opens America East play against defending regular season champion Vermont. SBU has won its last three conference openers while UVM has won 11 of its last 12. This is the 23rd all-time meeting between the two teams, and the Catamounts have a comfortable 17-5 series lead, but the Seawolves have won three of the last five matchups. The Seawolves are putting a six-game home winning streak on the line tonight.
Scouting Vermont: The Catamounts, picked third in the league this year, are the defending America East regular season champions and returned four starters from that team, although the one loss was first-team All-AE star Evan Fjeld. Despite the loss of Fjeld, UVM has gotten contributions from many players as it has eight different double-digit scorers this year. The team is led in scoring by Luke Apfield (11.5 PPG), who is the league’s leading shooter at 64%. Freshman Four McGlynn is right behind him at 10.9 PPG. Despite its 6-8 record, the team has quality wins over Old Dominion and Siena. Vermont is the nation’s leader in road wins since the start of the 2009-10 season with 26, including four this season.
Last Time Out: Stony Brook shot 49 percent and had four players in double figures while surviving 12 Rider three-pointers in a 79-62 win over the Broncs. The Seawolves got out to a 20-point lead in the first half and then withstood a Rider rally that included eight, second-half three-pointers. Dave Coley led SBU with 16 points, and Dallis Joyner chipped in 15. The Seawolves did an excellent job protecting the basketball, committing a season-low seven turnovers.
A Stony Brook win...
- Extends the Seawolves’ home winning streak to seven games.
- Will give the Seawolves their fourth straight conference opener victory.
- Will get the Seawolves back to the .500 mark for the third time this season.
Home Cooking: Stony Brook is unbeaten at home and winless on the road, and the stats have shown how important home games are for the Seawolves. SBU is averaging 75.4 points and 44% shooting at home while averaging only 60.8 points and 36% shooting on the road.
Home Streaks: Stony Brook has won six consecutive home games, dating back to last season. Between the end of 2009-10 and the beginning of 2010-11, the Seawolves won 10 straight home games. The program’s Div. I record is 12 straight home wins, which occurred between Nov. 29, 2000 and Dec. 4, 2001.
Getting off to a Good Start: Stony Brook has won three consecutive America East conference openers, beating UMBC in 2011 and 2009 and Boston University in 2010. Prior to that, the Seawolves had lost seven consecutive conference openers.
Regular Season Matters: Although to win the America East, all you have to do is win the tournament in March, the regular season does matter. History shows that only two teams have ever won the conference tournament as a No. 3 seed or lower. No. 3 seed Delaware won it in 1999 and third-place Holy Cross won it in 1980.
Dougher Loves Pritchard: Perhaps no one benefits from the confines of Pritchard Gymnasium better than
Bryan Dougher. The senior guard is shooting 41% from the field and 48% from three-point range in his home games, but only 31% from the field and 29% from three-point range in road/neutral games.
Tommy's Passing: Tommy Brenton is ranking in the upper echelon among the entire nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. He is 37th in the country with a 2.54 mark. That is also second best among the nation’s forwards, trailing only Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson.
Rebounding Machines: Stony Brook has done a nice job on the glass so far this season, outrebounding opponents by a 5.5 margin (38.3 to 32.7), which leads America East. What’s more impressive is the work on the offensive end, grabbing a league best average of 15.9 offensive rebounds per game. That is leading to an average of 14.6 second chance points per game.
Non-Conference Home Success: The Seawolves went undefeated (5-0) at home during the non-conference season, the first time SBU accomplished the feat in its Div. I history.
The Plus-Minus Game: Plus-minus is attributed to a player by determining how many points are scored for and against while that player is in the game. Leading the Seawolves is Dave Coley, who is a +92 this season. While he is on the floor, SBU is outscoring opponents 470-378.
The Line's the Key: Stony Brook’s win-loss record could be tied to its ability to get to the free throw line more than its opponent. The Seawolves are 5-1 in games in which they have more free throw attempts than their opponents (averaging 22.6 attempts in wins) and 0-5 in games in which they have fewer attempts than their opponents (averaging 11.0 attempts in losses). Last season, Stony Brook was 12-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent, 3-14 when shooting fewer.
Camera Ready: Stony Brook appeared on television a school-record 11 times in 2010-11, including four broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks. This season, the Seawolves will appear on television at least 18 times, which will shatter the school record. The full schedule, released Nov. 30, includes three national television broadcasts. Stony Brook will host Boston University on Jan. 27 on ESPNU, and will host Maine on Feb. 26 on CBS Sports Network. The Seawolves will also be on CBS Sports Network Feb. 12 at Vermont.
Up Next: Stony Brook hits the road for a rivalry showdown against the Binghamton Bearcats Thursday at 7 p.m.
