Sacred Heart (6-6, 6-5) vs. Central Connecticut (4-10, 4-7)
William H. Detrick Gymnasium, New Britain, Connecticut; Friday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Sacred Heart looks for its 12th straight win in the head-to-head series over Central Connecticut. Sacred Heart has won by an average of 15 points in its last 11 wins over the Blue Devils. Central Connecticut’s last win in the series came on Feb. 21, 2015, a 76-73 win.
LEADING THE WAY: Tyler Thomas is averaging 17.6 points and 5.1 rebounds to lead the charge for the Pioneers. Bryce Johnson is also a key contributor, producing 7.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The Blue Devils have been led by Greg Outlaw, who is averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds.
RAMP IT UP A NOTCH: The Pioneers have scored 69.3 points per game and allowed 72.1 points per game in conference play thus far. Those are both noticeable improvements over the 63 points scored and 86 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.TERRIFIC TYLER: Thomas has connected on 30.6 percent of the 98 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 10 of 36 over his last five games. He’s also made 70.5 percent of his foul shots this season.
SIMILAR DISTRIBUTIONS: Coincidentally, both of these teams have recorded assists on exactly 46.7 percent of all field goals over their last three games.
RECENT GAMES: Sacred Heart has scored 66 points and allowed 65.6 points over its last five games. Central Connecticut has averaged 62.8 points while allowing 67 over its last five.
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