BULLDOGS LOOK TO OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY WITH WIN AT ROBERT MORRIS THURSDAY (7 P.M.)
FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: NECFrontRow.com
Live Stats: rmucolonials.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday
THE PARTICULARS
Just days removed from one of the biggest wins in recent memory, the Bulldogs jump head first into Northeast Conference action, taking on one of the league's top teams in Robert Morris Thursday in the NEC opener at the Sewall Center (7 p.m.).
THE SERIES
This is the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Colonials, and Bryant enters Thursday's contest looking for its first win over the conference rival. Bryant has particularly struggled at the Sewall Center, losing by 25 points or more in its three losses on Robert Morris's home court.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
After starting out the year 1-3, Robert Morris has picked up steam as of late and has come out on top in five of its last six contests, the only exception coming Dec. 20 at Arkansas (79-74 loss). That was the last time the Colonials took the court in competition, though, as they try to shake off a 13-day layoff against the Black and Gold Thursday night. Three Colonials average double figures, led by 12.5 points per game from Karvel Anderson and 11.6 from preseason all-conference pick and senior guard Velton Jones. Jones runs RMU's offense and paces the team with 69 assists, while Lucky Jones is the team leader on the glass (5.8 rebounds per game) while also contributing 9.7 points per outing. Coron Williams averages double digits as well (10.2 ppg), as Mike McFadden's 60.9 percent shooting represents the side best. As a team, Robert Morris shoots just under 40 percent from the floor while allowing opponents to convert at a 46.2 percent clip. Still, the Colonials' list of wins is impressive, including victories over Ohio U. (84-76), Cleveland State (71-62) and Louisiana-Lafayette (66-61) on the road.
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs start Northeast Conference play in 2012-13 with a 15-53 record against current Northeast Conference members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference members, the Bulldog basketball program is 43-107 (.287), having most frequently faced off against former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) member Quinnipiac (18-41). Bryant went just 1-17 against league opponents last season, having earned its only NEC win Jan. 7, 2012 against Saint Francis, 59-56.
BULLDOGS RECEIVE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL RANKING
Bryant's 80-79 stunner over perennial mid-major stronghold Lehigh University on the road Saturday night earned the program a spot in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, marking the first time in program history the Bulldogs have received a national ranking. Bryant takes the No. 25 spot in its national poll debut, and the Bulldogs are the only Northeast Conference team to make the esteemed list. Lehigh falls from No. 4 to No. 6 in the poll following its first loss at home since the 2011-12 campaign.
DYNAMIC DOBBS
After averaging 18 points per game in the Bulldogs' last two wins — not to mention scoring the game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds to go on the road at mid-major powerhouse Lehigh — fifth-year senior captain and starting point guard Frankie Dobbs has been getting some much deserved attention as of late. Just a day after earning the first Northeast Conference Player of the Week accolade of his career, Dobbs was named the Lou Henson National Player of Week, the first time a Bulldog has ever received the countrywide recognition. This season, Dobbs is averaging 12.7 points and 4.2 assists per game while seeing 34.2 minutes of floor time per contest as the court general for the Black and Gold.
O'SHEA EARNS MID-SEASON COACHING HONORS
Guiding the Bulldogs to their best start in the Division I era and more than tripling his team's win total from a season ago, Bryant head coach Tim O'Shea has been named the mid-season Hugh Durham Award winner, presented to the top mid-major coach in the country by College Insider.
UPSET CITY
After posting just two wins in 2011-12, Bryant would be considered the underdog in almost every contest entering this year's campaign. But even with a vastly improved roster and the opportunity to play for a postseason as motivators, few would have imagined the signature wins the Bulldogs' have pulled off already in 2012-13. Just more than a month after taking its first-ever victory over an ACC opponent – a 56-54 road win over Boston College Nov. 26 – Bryant picked up yet another shocking upset, upending 2011-12 NCAA tournament sweetheart and reigning Patriot League Champion Lehigh, 80-79, on a last-minute bucket by senior point guard Frankie Dobbs on Dec. 29. The marquee wins have garnered national attention for the program, still in its Division I infancy as it plays just its fifth slate against the NCAA's top tier of competition.
LEAPS AND REBOUNDS
Junior forward Alex Francis played a huge role in Bryant's win over the Mountain Hawks, scoring a team-high 21 points while tying his career high with a game-best 14 rebounds. Francis was strong on the glass all game, posting his second double-double of the year by halftime (11 points, 10 rebounds) to lead Bryant to a 37-27 rebounding margin on the contest.
BULLDOGS SPOIL LEHIGH'S BID FOR NEC PERFECTION
Bryant was the sixth and final Northeast Conference team on the Mountain Hawks' 2012-13 schedule, and Lehigh entered Saturday's contest 5-0 against the Bulldogs' home league. In its five previous victories over NEC opponents this season, Lehigh averaged a +22 scoring margin and hadn't won by less than 16 points. Included in those wins were victories over conference frontrunner Robert Morris (89-60), Sacred Heart (91-77), Quinnipiac (77-66), Fairleigh Dickinson (102-62) and Saint Francis U. (83-67).
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
The Bulldogs ended the 2012 calendar year with one of their strongest months ever, going 4-2 in December competition. The winning record marks back-to-back such stretches after the Black and Gold went 3-2 throughout the month of November. This is the first time since joining Division I that the team has posted a winning margin in back-to-back months.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
For the first time in the program's Division I era, the Bulldogs finished non-conference play with a winning record in 2012-13. Bryant's 7-4 mark entering league action is just two wins shy of tying its DI record, and the Bulldogs finished the first half of their schedule with winning records against four different conferences (1-0 vs. ACC; 2-0 vs. America East; 2-1 vs. Ivy League; 2-1 vs. Patriot League). Last Saturday's 80-79 win over Lehigh also secured winning records in each of the season's first two months.
AULD LANG SYNE
Saturday's one-point win over the Mountain Hawks marked the first time Bryant has closed out the calendar year with a win since making the Division I jump four and a half years ago. The Bulldogs have fared slightly better in the first game of the year and enter Thursday's contest against the Colonials 1-3 in January openers at the DI level. Bryant's only previous "Happy New Year" win came in its first Division I season, as the Black and Gold topped Yale at home, 69-58, on January 2, 2009. The team's three year-starting losses came at the hands of Cornell on the road (Jan. 2, 2010), Monmouth on the road (Jan. 3, 2011) and Robert Morris at home (Jan. 5, 2012).
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
The Bulldogs' 80-79 win over Lehigh marked the 650th in Bryant men's basketball program history. Head coach Tim O'Shea approaches his 150th-career victory, entering Thursday's contest with 147.
UP NEXT
Bryant stays on the road and travels to Saint Francis U. for a Saturday, Jan. 5 matchup against the Red Flash (4 p.m.).
