The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team is back in action tonight, travelling to take on defending CUNYAC-champion Baruch College at the ARC Arena in Manhattan. The Dolphins are coming off a thrilling, buzzer-beater, win over Stevens Institute on Saturday and are 1-0 in conference play this season. The Bearcats are 4-3 overall and also 1-0 in conference play, and are the owners of a two-game win streak.
CSI vs. BARUCH COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup:CSI (4-2 overall, 1-0 CUNYAC) vs. Baruch College (4-3 Overall, 1-0 CUNYAC)
Where:ARC Arena – 55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Tip-Off:7:30pm
Live Audio: http://www.baruchradio.com/
Live Stats:http://www.sidearmstats.com/baruch/mbball/
All-Time Series: CSI leads 48-20
Last Year’s Result: Baruch won both meetings, 81-70 & 66-62
Players To Watch (CSI): Senior Will Fonseca scored his second-straight double-double on Saturday, notching 25 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Junior Vincent Dacunto, a transfer from Baruch College, hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in that game, part of 12 on the afternoon for him in 38 minutes of action. Look for Edin Bracic to pack a punch from the outside. Bracic is shooting 42% from the three-point line, leading the squad with 15 three-pointers.
Players To Watch (BC):Last year’s CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Chimaechi Ekekeugbor is leading the way this season for the Bearcats with 17.7 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per contest. Raymond De La Cruz is also exhibiting a hot had with 13.6 per game. Look for he and Ethan Hamlett to show touch from the three-point line. They have combined for 23 of Baruch’s 49 three-pointers and are shooting 43% from the arc this season.
News and Notes: Baruch took both meetings from the Dolphins last year, but this has been a very even series through the years with the teams having split the last 16 meetings dating back to 2007. Five out of the last 12 meetings have been decided by less than 10 points with two going into overtime. CSI is 13-12 in games played at Baruch, but have lost five out of the last seven meetings when the teams have met at the ARC Arena. Rebounds tell the story many times for these teams. Baruch is 3-0 this season when out-rebounding their opponents and CSI is 1-0 in that department. The Dolphins are also 3-0 this season when turning the ball over less than 15 times, meanwhile, Baruch is a team that prides itself on forcing turnovers, forcing opponents into 17 per game, good for 49th in the nation in that department. CSI has won its last 14 games when scoring higher than 70 points. Baruch’s magic number is 80. The Bearcats have won their last 9 games when scoring 80 or more points, and haven’t lost a game when scoring 80 since the second game of the 2013-14 season.
