March 6, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Setting The Scene: The Sacred Heart men's basketball team opens up the Northeast Conference at home on Thursday night at 7 p.m. when the #6-seeded Central Connecticut State Blue Devils come to the Pitt Center. The two teams met just four days earlier at the conclusion of the regular season. This is the third straight appearance in the NEC Tournament by the Pioneers.

Series: This rivalry goes back to the Division II days for both schools. CCSU leads the series 28-12 and has won 18 of 21 meetings since the Pioneers turned Division I, including three times victories last season. The teams split a pair of games this year - SHU winning 68-52 in New Britain, and the Blue Devils winning 100-87 in Fairfield. The most notable game in the series came just last season in the 2007 NEC Championship game on ESPN2, a 74-70 CCSU triumph.

Scouting the Opponent: Central Connecticut, the defending NEC champions, is 14-15 overall and 10-8 in the conference. The Blue Devils are coming off their highest point total of the season, a 100-87 win over the Pioneers on Sunday afternoon.

Senior guard Tristan Blackwood, who torched the Pioneers for 32 on Sunday, leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 16.5 points per game. He also leads the club in assists at 5.3 per game and has canned 102 three-pointers. He is the NEC's all-time leader in treys. Freshman forward Ken Horton is second in scoring at 12.6 per game. Junior forward Marcus Palmer leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 per contest.

The Blue Devils are shooting 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range.

The Coaches: Dave Bike (Sacred Heart '69) is in his 30th year as the head coach of Sacred Heart. He has a career record of 462-413 and guided the Pioneers in their transition from a Division II program to Division I. His 450 victories ranks him 21st among active coaches. He led the Pioneers to eight NCAA Division II tournaments, and his 1985-86 team won the national championship while finishing 30-4. Bike was named the national Coach of the Year by the NABC following the title game. Prior to joining the SHU coaching staff, he worked as an assistant at Seattle University for four seasons. Drafted as a baseball player by Detroit, he spent five seasons as a catcher in the Tiger farm system.

Howie Dickenman (CCSU `70) is in his 12th season at Central Connecticut and has guided the Blue Devils to two NCAA Tourney berths led them to the conference championship game five times. He has a career record of 192-160 and has been named the NEC Coach of the Year three times. As a player he was the first player in CCSU history to amass 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds - a feat he accomplished in just three seasons. Prior to coming back to CCSU, he worked as an assistant for 14 seasons at the UConn.

SHU in the NEC Tournament: This is the fourth appearance in eight years of eligibility for the NEC Tournament. The previous three appearances were all ended by Central Connecticut State University. CCSU beat the Pioneers 65-54 in 2002 in the first round, on the way to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils did it again in 2006, beating SHU 86-68 in New Britain in the first round. Last season the two teams met in a memorable classic in New Britain in the championship game, a 74-70 CCSU victory and Central's third NCAA Tournament berth.

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