The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team will be finalizing their regular season tonight, and they could not have asked for a bigger game, as they will take on Baruch College with the CUNYAC Regular Season Championship on the line. CSI and Baruch have already locked up the top two seeds in the upcoming CUNYAC Postseason Tournament and so just an extra piece of hardwood will be on the line tonight at the ARC Arena, as well as momentum heading into the CUNYAC Postseason Tournament.
CSI VS. BARUCH COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (16-8, 12-3 CUNYAC) vs. Baruch (19-5, 13-2 CUNYAC)
Where: ARC Arena – 55 Lexington Avenue – New York, NY
Live Stats: https://athletics.baruch.cuny.edu/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6A-GojLPhtB8wsn8Uel4IQ?view_as=subscriber
All-Time Series: CSI leads, 57-20
Last Meeting: January 16, 2019 – CSI won, 74-49
Players to Watch (CSI): CSI’s Christian Taylor continues to be the high scorer on the Dolphins, averaging a healthy 19.8 points per contest this season, while leading the team in other categories like assists (89) and steals (54). He had 23 points the last time these two teams hooked up and certainly he will be looked at by the Bearcats as someone who they need to stop. Adeola Latunji is right there with him, as he poured in 22 points the last time against Baruch and he is now up to 17.8 points per game while leading the Dolphins with 8.2 rebounds per game as well. Lone senior Stephen Flagg has also been a force with 11.2 points per contest, also adding 6.2 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per contest since joining the team. Look for Joseph Zieris to be a factor tonight. He has only played in four games this season, but his production is getting bigger and bigger, as he is averaging nine points and seven rebounds per game in limited duty (19.8 minutes per contest). He did not play during the first regular season meeting between the two teams.
Players to Watch (BC): Like the Dolphins, the Bearcats have three players averaging in double-figures and they can beat you a multitude of ways. Andre Harris leads the bunch with 15.7 points per game while Bryler Paige is at 12.7 and long-distance threat William Sixsmith is next in line at 12.5. Sixsmith has scored almost two-thirds of his points from beyond the arc with 68 three’s this season. On the glass, look for Harris and Benjamin Boateng to dominate. Harris leads all with 8.9 rebounds per while Boateng is next in line at 5.7. The Bearcats will need a better shooting performance from their big three than they got in the opening meetings a few weeks ago, when the trio shot just 11-28 from the floor (39.2%).
News & Notes: This has been a great series in recent years although the momentum has belonged mostly to the Dolphins. CSI has won eight of the last nine meetings and handed Baruch their largest loss of the season in the January 16 meeting, 74-49. The Bearcats shot just 28% in the contest and were out-rebounded 48-40 while committing 20 turnovers. All-time, CSI has won 16 of 28 meetings against Baruch on the road, including the last three meetings at the ARC Arena. The last two wins at Baruch for CSI were by a total of just seven points and in fact, six out of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 or less points. No matter the result, these two teams will finish one and two in the CUNYAC standings and will both host a home semifinal contest on Wednesday, February 20. CSI has scheduled their semifinal for 7pm. On this final day of the regular season, only four teams have clinched a tournament spot in the CUNYAC with three other teams fighting for the remaining two playoff spots (Medgar Evers, CCNY, Lehman College). The official CUNYAC Postseason draw will be announced tomorrow morning.
