HARTFORD (9-8, 2-0 America East)Last Game: Hartford 88, UMass Lowell 68 on 1/8/20
Last Game with SBU: Stony Brook 68, Hartford 63 on 3/5/19; Cornish team-high 16; win secured 2 seed in AE tournament #sigh
Checkmate Unofficial Line: Stony Brook -5.5
NET Ranking: Stony Brook 127, Hartford 284
KenPom Rating: Stony Brook 120, Hartford 286
KenPom Prediction: Stony Brook 71, Hartford 64
Olaniyi 1,000 Point Watch: 974
Listen/Watch:TV:
http://bit.ly/BBallGm19VidNotables:6-5/215 gr G Malik Ellison 16.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.4 bpg, .500 FG%
6-3/180 fr G Moses Flowers 11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 spg, .390 3-pt FG%
6-9/190 so F Hunter Marks 11.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .355 3-pt FG%
6-10/235 fr C Miroslav Stafl 10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .511 FG%
6-1/175 gr G Traci Carter 9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.2 spg, .377 3-pt FG%, .867 FT%
Very very intriguing matchup. Not a layup for us by any stretch.
When everybody graduated last year, I thought for sure that Hartford would finish in the bottom two or three in the conference. Now I wonder if they're a top three team.
They started the year 4-6, with its wins coming against brutal CCSU and Marist as well as a couple D-IIIs. However, that's when Ellison – a Pitt transfer via St. John's – became eligible, and he's been a force, helping them win five of their last seven, including a nice road win at Northwestern (KenPom 104). Mind you, Ellison is the son of former #1 overall pick Pervis Ellison, so he's got greatness in his blood. Man was he good. And his kid's really making the most of his final year of eligibility, posting double-doubles in all but one of his seven games, including 26 and 13 in Hartford's win in Lowell last week. I find it interesting that Ellison, once a spot-up three-point shooter at St. John's, has gone in the opposite direction of Anthony Lamb, doing all his work inside the arc now. I do think it's a good matchup for us, with Olaniyi potentially marking him, or possibly Latimer. They got killed on the glass early in the year but Ellison has helped close that gap significantly
And he's far from their only weapon. This kid Flowers has a pair of 28-point games to his credit, and the other three guys listed above have had 18 or more in a game this season. The floor leader is Carter, who was a four-star recruit in HS playing with Ellison (coached by Pervis) before he landed at Marquette, La Salle and now Hartford. The knock on him has been his jump shot, although he's hitting at a decent clip so far this year.
The bottom line is the team has talent, certainly more than the Maines and UNHs of the world. And Ellison and Carter have been a nice complement to the youngsters well. I think Gallagher deserves a lot of credit for assembling this group after being so senior-heavy last year with Dunne, Carroll and Lynch. Like Maine, they have a mini-UN, with guys from Australia, Belgium, Ireland and more on the roster.
Barring a monster game from Olaniyi, he'll hit 1,000 at home on Saturday night. If he stays on this pace and stays healthy, 2,000 isn't out of the question.