Dec. 9, 2011
2011-12 Stony Brook Men's Basketball
Game #8: Stony Brook Seawolves (3-4) at Boston College Eagles (2-7)
Sun., Dec. 11 • Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Mass. • 5 p.m.
On Television
ACC Regional TV (NESN, YES, ESPN3, etc.) with Bob Rathbun & Mike Gminski
On the Radio
WUSB 90.1 FM & GoSeawolves.org with Mike Solano
LIVE: STATS | AUDIO | VIDEO | TWITTER
INFO: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Stony Brook Seawolves (3-4, 0-0 America East)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell, seventh season
Overall Record: 81-130
Record at SBU: 76-112
Boston College Eagles (2-7, 0-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Steve Donahue, second season
Overall Record: 169-158
Record at BC: 23-20
About the Game: Stony Brook takes another crack at a BCS level opponent Sunday as it faces the Boston College Eagles of the ACC. The Seawolves have already played two members of the Big Ten, but lost both games. This is the fourth all- time meeting between the two teams, and the Eagles are a perfect 3-0 in the series. They have not met since the 2005-06 season, BC’s first year in the ACC.
Scouting Boston College: The Eagles are in a transition season under second-year head coach Steve Donahue. After a 21-13 season and NIT appearance in 2010-11, BC lost all five of its starters, including leading scorer Reggie Jackson (18.2 PPG). The Eagles returned just three letterwinners and one redshirt transfer from last season while welcoming in nine freshmen and two senior transfers. Junior transfer from Oregon Matt Humphrey and freshman Patrick Heckmann are the leading scorers for the Eagles, who are struggling mightily on offense.The team ranks in the bottom third in the nation in scoring offense (58.1 PPG) and field goal percentage (37.7%).
Last Time Out: Stony Brook played outstanding defense by holding Fairleigh Dickinson without a field goal made for a stretch of 10:48 and turning 21 Knights turnovers into 24 points in a 70-46 rout of FDU Wednesday night. The Seawolves once again outrebounded an opponent, going 39-34 on FDU and getting 17 second chance points on 13 offensive rebounds. Dave Coley led SBU with a career-high 16 points after going 6-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from the line. Bryan Dougher added 14 points and four assists. The Seawolves held FDU leading scorer Lonnie Hayes without a single point (0-for-11 FG).
A Stony Brook win...
- Gives the Seawolves their first-ever win against the ACC.
- Gives the Seawolves their first road win of the 2011-12 season.
- Gets the team back to the .500 mark for the third time this year.
Rebounding Machines: Stony Brook has done a nice job on the glass so far this season, outrebounding opponents by a 7.0 margin (39.4 to 32.4). What’s more impressive is the work on the offensive end, grabbing an average of 16.9 offensive rebounds per game. That is leading to an average of 18.1 second chance points per game.
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 3-0 in games that they have more free throw attempts than their opponents and 0-4 in games in which they have fewer attempts than their opponents.
Dish and Protect: Stony Brook has done an excellent job distributing and protecting the basketball this season. In four of the team’s seven games, SBU has had more assists than turnovers, including three straight games. The Seawolves have a 1.1 assist/turnover ratio and a +2.86 turnover margin, both second best in America East.
Rapier's Midwest Madness: Senior Al Rapier is from Chicago, and the Seawolves' three games in the Midwest region afforded him the opportunity to play in front of family and friends. He responded by averaging 12.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in those three games while shooting 63% from the field.
Iron Man: Saturday's game at Eastern Illinois marked the 100th career game for senior Bryan Dougher. He has started in every game on Stony Brook's schedule since joining the team in 2008. He is on pace to become the program's all-time leader in games and minutes played.
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 will play one of its biggest games in program history next Saturday when it takes on Rutgers in the MSG Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden at noon. SBU last appeared at the Garden on Jan. 22, 1995 when the program was Div. III.
