BULLDOGS HOST MOUNT ST. MARY'S IN NEC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL WEDNESDAY AT 7 P.M.

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

THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs host Mount St. Mary's in their first-ever Northeast Conference Tournament game, in a quarterfinal matchup that pits the four seed against the five at the Chace Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m. This is the third meeting between these sides this season, and the winner of Wednesday night's game advances in Saturday's NEC Semifinals.

THE SERIES
Mount St. Mary's has won seven of nine all-time meetings between these two programs, but the 2012-13 series is currently tied at one game apiece, with each side winning the game on its own home court. The Bulldogs hope this trend stays true Wednesday, as Bryant's only two wins over The Mount have come at the Chace Athletic Center. Seven of the nine all-time tilts have come at the Division I level, with the series beginning on Dec. 28, 1982 in Emmitsburg, Md.

SCOUTING THE MOUNT
Mount St. Mary's enters postseason play as the hottest team in the NEC, having won its last seven contests and coming out on top in nine of its last 10. Rashad Whack leads the team, averaging 13.4 points per game in 29 starts this season, while Julian Norfleet and Sam Prescott each sit at 10.8 points per outing. Prescott — who scored 44 against the Bulldogs the last time these teams met — paces the Mount on the glass, while newly crowned NEC Rookie of the Year Shivaughn Wiggins also chips in 9.6 points per contest with an 11.9 scoring average in league action. Mount St. Mary's enters Smithfield boasting a 75.1 scoring average in NEC play, good for third in the conference behind league leaders LIU Brooklyn and Bryant (79.1).

THIS SEASON AGAINST MOUNT ST. MARY'S (1-1)
The Bulldogs and the Mountaineers have each come away with a win this season, though Bryant's came in overtime, 79-78, back on Jan. 17 while Mount St. Mary's took a decisive 84-70 victory less than a month ago in Emittsburg (Feb. 14). Rookie Shane McLaughlin hit the game-winning last-second shot for the Black and Gold, while Sam Prescott has been the star for the Mount, averaging 30 points per game. Prescott, Shivaughn Wiggins (12.5 ppg), Kelvin Parker (12.0) and Rashad Whack (11.0) all average double figures for Wednesday's visitors, while the Black and Gold boast the same number in the form of junior forward Alex Francis (25.0 ppg), sophomore guard Dyami Starks (13.0), sophomore Joe O'Shea (12.0) and senior point guard Frankie Dobbs (10.0). Francis and junior guard Corey Maynard lead the team on the glass in two meetings this season, averaging 8.5 and 8.0, respectively, while both Francis and O'Shea have shot at 75 percent or above from the field.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs finished the 2012-13 regular season with a 12-6 record against the Northeast Conference and are now 27-59 against current league members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current NEC schools, the Bulldog basketball program is 55-113 (.327), having most frequently faced off against former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) member Quinnipiac (18-43).

QUICK HITS
» Bulldogs finish second in NEC: The Bulldogs may be the fourth seed in the NEC Tournament, but Bryant finished the 2012-13 regular season in a three-way tie for second with Wagner and LIU Brooklyn. Both the Seahawks and the Blackbirds owned tiebreakers over the Black and Gold, resulting in the team's No. 4 designation. Bryant finished the year with the second-most wins in the league overall at 19-10.

» Home Sweet Home: Bryant's top-four conference finish affords the team this first-round home game, and that's exactly where the Bulldogs want to be, wrapping up the season with an 11-3 mark within the friendly confines of the Chace Athletic Center.

» Playoff Bound: In their first season eligible for the NEC Tournament, Bryant succeeded in securing not only a place in the eight-team field, but a first-round home game. Bryant's No. 4 seed is the highest of any team in its first year eligible for the NEC Tournament after transitioning to the Division I level. Sacred Heart qualified as the eight seed in 2002 after completing its own four-year transition and Mount St. Mary's was the tournament's nine seed in its first year in 1992, while Quinnipiac and Monmouth failed to make the cut in their first year of eligibility.

» Vote of Confidence: With three NEC All-Conference selections, the Bulldogs double the program's Division I all-league total, now boasting six postseason honorees since becoming eligible for postseason accolades in 2009-10. Check out the full note below for details of exactly which Bryant players turned heads this season, according to the ballots.

» Accolades Continue for Head Coach Tim O'Shea: Fifth-year head coach Tim O'Shea was named the 2012-13 Jim Phelan NEC Coach of the Year, as selected by his peers in the league. The honor is the second major NEC postseason award in the history of the program after now-junior Alex Francis was tabbed the 2010-11 NEC Rookie of the Year. O'Shea was also named the NEC Coach of the Year by College Insider.

» NCAA Record Looming as Bulldogs Headline DI Men's Basketball Most Improved Team List: With a 19-10 overall record entering the final stretch of the regular season, Bryant currently boasts a Division I-best 17.5-game difference from last season (2-28) to this one. The NCAA Division I record for Most Improved Team from one season to the next stands at 17 games, set by Mercer in 2002-03 and matched UTEP in 2003-04. One more win would guarantee that the Bulldogs would break that record and set a new NCAA standard for Most Improved Team, regardless of how far into the postseason the team plays. Should they win twice more, the Bulldogs would stand alone ­as the NCAA leader at an 18-game improvement. (Towson, who has completed its 2012-13 season, also has a 17.5-game difference.)

» Tremendous Turnaround: The NCAA equation for most improved also takes number of losses into consideration, but Bryant remains the most improved team in the nation when it comes to pure win turnaround as well. The Bulldogs currently boast 17 more wins in 2012-13 than it had a season ago.

» NEC Improvement Records Fall: Bryant's 17-win jump from last season (2-28) to this one (19-10) is also the biggest in NEC history, eclipsing CCSU's 15-win jump from 1997-98 to 1998-99. The Bulldogs' 11-win bump in NEC play — from 1-17 to 12-6 — is the most in league annals, as well, one better than LIU Brooklyn's 10-win improvement from 1995-96 to 1996-97.

» Charge to 20: Yet another landmark achievement would be reached should the Bulldogs advance to the NEC Semifinals, as a victory Wednesday night would mark the team's 20th of the season. Bryant has yet to put together a 20-win campaign in the Division I era, and the last team to do so was the 2006-07 Bulldogs, who finished the year at 21-11. Director of Basketball Operations Chris Burns was a senior captain on that team and was the Bulldogs' leading scorer (15.8 ppg).

» Did You Know? In the history of the NCAA tournament, only seven teams have ever qualified for the Big Dance in its first year of full DI eligibility — Seattle (1953), Memphis (1956), Morehead State (1956), UMass (1962), Long Beach State (1970), Louisiana-Lafayette (1972) and North Dakota State (2009). The Bulldogs begin their battle to join that elite group Wednesday in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinals.

» Race to 500: Sophomore leading scorer Dyami Starks recorded his 500th point of the season Saturday against the Red Flash and enters the NEC Tournament with 513 points on the 2012-13 season. He is become the second Bulldog in as many years to finish a season with 500 or more points, after teammate and current junior Alex Francis scored 509 in 2011-12. Francis needs just three points Wednesday against the Mount to join Starks and accomplish the feat once again this season.

» Did You Know? The last time two Bryant players scored 500 points in the same season was back in 1978-79, when Ernie DeWitt (531) and John Mangum (514) teamed up for the feat.

» End It on a High Note: Bryant wrapped up the 2012-13 regular season with a bang Saturday afternoon against Saint Francis U., setting new season highs in shooting percentage (65.3 percent, also a new Division I program record), rebounding margin (25) and margin of victory (25). The game also saw two Bulldogs record double-doubles for the second time in three games (Alex Francis and Vlad Kondratyev).

» Double Vision: Junior Alex Francis recorded his 10th double-double of the year and his third in as many games with his game-high 19 points and game-best 12 rebounds Saturday. Francis now has 26 double-doubles in his career, and the forward has reached the acheivement six times in the last nine games.

» Sharpshooters: With their season-high 65.3 percent shooting clip Saturday against the Red Flash, the Bulldogs skyrocket even higher into the nation's top-20 for team field goal percentage, leading the NEC and ranking 13th in Division I at 48.1 percent. Junior forward Alex Francis went 7-for-8 in the game, jumping his shooting percentage to 16th on the national circuit at 57.4 percent.

» 50/50: For the 14th time this season, the Bulldogs shot better than 50 percent from the floor Saturday. It was also the second time this season the team eclipsed 60 percent. On the year, Bryant has shot better than 50 percent in both halves 10 times — including Saturday against Saint Francis U. — and converted 50 percent or better from 3-point range five times this season (Saturday vs. Saint Francis, vs. Binghamton, at Robert Morris, vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Wagner).

» Leaps and Rebounds: The Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents for the 16th time this season in the finale, and Bryant's 41-16 margin on the glass marked the largest of the season of far. Bryant is 7-5 when losing the battle on the glass but 12-4 when finishing with a rebounding edge, and the Bulldogs have outrebounded an opponent by double figures nine times in 2012-13.

» 19 Wins and Counting: The Bulldogs keep improving on their Division I single-season wins record, picking up their 19th victory of the year at home against Saint Francis U. Bryant has now won more games this season than in the last three campaigns combined (12) and with Saturday's victory tied the program's win total against DI opponents since starting the transition. The Bulldogs entered the 2012-13 season with just 20 total wins (regardless of division) in their brief Division I history.

YOU SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD
Bryant broke yet another Division I record Saturday against Saint Francis University, marking the 20th DI mark set in 2012-13. The Bulldogs shot 65.3 percent against the Red Flash, besting the DI team field goal record for the second time this season after first re-setting the standard against Quinnipiac Jan. 10 (.607). In total, 23 DI records have been either matched or broken this year, with both team (13) and individual (10) records falling away nearly every time Bryant takes the court.

Sophomore Dyami Starks has set the most individual records, so far eclipsing the previous Division I bests in four single-season categories — points (513), 3-pointers made (88), 3-pointers attempted (217) and field goals attempted (396) — while tying the current mark on single-game lists for 3-pointers made in a game (7 at Robert Morris) and 3-point percentage (.857 vs. Binghamton). Alex Francis now owns the Division I single-season records for field goals made (197) and rebounds (252), also setting single-game records for field goal percentage (.917 vs. Mount St. Mary's) and boards (18 at Central Connecticut). Frankie Dobbs broke the program's DI single-game steals record last Monday against Sacred Heart, finishing the contest with seven thefts, a record that fell less than a month after the senior set the mark for assists in a game with 13  vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. Dobbs also tied the single-game DI mark for free throw percentage, going a perfect 8-for-8 against RMU Feb. 28.

As a team, the Bulldogs have set new Division I bests for points in a season (2154), field goals in a season (761), free throws in a season (429), free throws taken in a season (595) and assists in a season (443), and they are just three boards shy of setting the mark for rebounds in a season (currently at 988) as well. Single-game team marks that have fallen this season include points (103 vs. Quinnipiac), field goal percentage (.653 vs. Saint Francis U.), free throw percentage (.905 vs. Dartmouth), assists (24 vs. Quinnipiac) and 3-point percentage (.632 vs. Quinnipiac), which also set an all-time program mark.

MILESTONE WATCH
» Alex Francis: Hit his 700th-career rebound against the Colonials Feb. 28, just four days after surpassed the 1400-career point mark. The forward has a chance to be the first player in program and NEC history to hit 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. He is just 51 poitns shy of 1,500 entering Wednesday's game.
» Corey Maynard: Picked up his 100th-career 3-pointer Saturday against the Red Flash after scoring his 600th-career point Feb. 25. Maynard needs just five more assists to hit the 250 mark.
» Frankie Dobbs: Barreled through his 100th-career steal with a seven-theft performance Feb. 25 and hit his 1200th point Feb. 28 against Robert Morris. He is only 11 assists shy of 500 all time.
» Dyami Starks: Netted his 500th point of the season and the 600th point of his career Saturday against Saint Francis U.
» Vlad Kondratyev: Grabbed his 350th-career rebound Feb. 25 and his 600th-career point Saturday afternoon.

TICKET TO RIDE
A limited supply of tickets are still available for Wednesday's NEC Tournament Quarterfinal. Tickets can be purchased beginning at 5:30 p.m. on gameday.

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 2012-13. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2012-13 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all 15 Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visit www.necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the fifth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. 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.