QU Men's Basketball Hosts MAAC Opener Against Monmouth Thursday (7 PM)

Thursday, December 1

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Monmouth University

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QU Men's Basketball Hosts MAAC Opener Against Monmouth Thursday (7 PM)

11/30/2016 9:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (1-4, 0-0 MAAC) vs.
Monmouth University Hawks (4-2, 0-0 MAAC)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 (7 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.)
All-Time Series vs. Monmouth: QU leads 19-15
Current Streak: Monmouth 2 straight
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LAST GAMES (ADVOCARE INVITATIONAL)
Quinnipiac had an impressive performance at the AdvoCare Invitational last week, coming home with a 1-2 record. The Bobcats opened with an 82-62 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, but battled the Bulldogs evenly for much of the contest, trailing by just five at one point in the second half. Quinnipiac then jumped out to a 20-10 lead on Seton Hall on day two, and was within two points at 62-60 with just under 10 minutes left before falling 90-79. The final day, Quinnipiac came away with the win, defeating Indiana State 80-77 in a game that came right down to the final shot. The Bobcats led by eight with 3:30 to go, but the Sycamores rallied and took a one-point lead with 44 seconds left. Chaise Daniels answered with a big basket 20 seconds later, and Quinnipiac earned a key stop, with Daniel Harris making two foul shots. A last desperation three from Indiana State missed as the Bobcats picked up their first win.

KISS NAMED MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman guard Peter Kiss was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week after averaging 16.0 points in three games at the AdvoCare Invitational. Kiss scored a personal-best 18 points in a loss to No. 11 Gonzaga on Thursday, shooting 8-13 from the floor. His season high lasted for all of one day, as he eclipsed that total with 19 points against Seton Hall on Friday. Kiss shot 7-11 from the floor against the Pirates, including a perfect 4-4 from three, tying for the fifth-best single-game performance in Quinnipiac's Division I history (current teammate Daniel Harris was 5-5 in a game last year). Kiss capped off the weekend with 11 points in the win over Indiana State, giving him double figures in all three games at the tournament.

A SHOT FOR LIFE GAME
Quinnipiac men's basketball is partnering with A Shot For Life to raise money to fight cancer this season. Every three-pointer that the Bobcats make this season will result in money pledged to A Shot For Life to assist with brain cancer research, and the Monmouth contest will serve as the program's Shot For Life game. An information table for A Shot For Life will be set up in the lobby, and you can visit their website at www.ashotforlife.org.

SERIES WITH MONMOUTH
Quinnipiac holds a 19-15 lead over Monmouth, which it has faced more than any other Division I opponent (the two schools used to be NEC rivals, and then moved to the MAAC together in 2013-14). The Bobcats won 10 straight meetings in the series, before Monmouth took both meetings last year on its way to the MAAC regular season title.

MILESTONE YEARS FOR MOORE
Head Coach Tom Moore is in a pair of milestone seasons in his coaching career - his 10th as the head coach at Quinnipiac and his 30th in collegiate coaching (as both an assistant and a head coach). He currently has been a part of 594 wins, six shy of 600, and 493 at the Division I level, seven away from 500 in 23 years. He currently ranks third among MAAC coaches in career winning percentage at the Division I level (.535).

PROMISING START FOR NEW FACES
Quinnipiac has four new guards in the rotation this season, and all of them have had an impact in the early going. In fact, freshman guards Mikey Dixon and Peter Kiss have led the Bobcats in scoring in each of the last four games, after new JuCo transfer Reggie Oliver led the Bobcats on opening day with 15 points against Vermont. Since then, Dixon scored 17 against Columbia, Kiss scored 18 against Gonzaga and 19 against Seton Hall, and Dixon tallied 21 against Indiana State.

DANIELS PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Junior forward Chaise Daniels (pictured) overcame an injury that kept him out of action for a month and closed out his sophomore season by scoring in double figures in each of his last seven games, staring with a new career high 28 points on 11-17 shooting in a double-overtime defeat to Fairfield on Feb. 13 and ended it with 10 points in the MAAC Tournament against Rider. After reaching doubles in the first two games this year, his streak ended at nine after tallying a respectable nine points and 10 rebounds against No. 11 Gonzaga. He then followed that up with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Seton Hall, his second career double-double, and then had 12 points (all in the second half), including the game-winner with 24 seconds left, against Indiana State.

BUNDU BREAK THROUGH
Current sophomore forward Abdulai Bundu earned MAAC and ECAC Division I Rookie of the Week honors on Jan. 4 last season after a break through week. Bundu averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds in two games, including a 23-point, 15-rebound effort at Maine on Dec. 29. After averaging only 4.4 rebounds over the first 10 games, Bundu moved up to sixth in the MAAC in rebounding (6.6 rpg) by averaging almost eight boards in the final 20 games. He pulled down over half of his rebounds last year on the offensive end of the floor (105 of 198), which ranked him in first in the MAAC in offensive rebounding (3.5 pg) and 25th nationally, despite only playing 23.2 mpg. He had six offensive rebounds (out of nine total) in a loss to Columbia and has once again tallied over half of his rebounds on the offense end so far this year (15 of 29). He picked up his fourth career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Indiana State.

HARRIS THREE-FOR-ALL
Senior guard Daniel Harris had some big performances from behind the arc in his first season with the Bobcats last year, shooting 6-9 in a win over Niagara on Jan. 30 and 5-5 in a Feb. 13 defeat at Manhattan. His 5-5 effort tied for the second-best in Quinnipiac's Division I history (since 1998-99) and is the best in Head Coach Tom Moore's nine seasons at the helm, while his six three-pointers in one game was the highest total for any Bobcat in 2015-16. Harris had two or more three pointers in 23 of 30 games in 2015-16 and ranked third in the MAAC in three-point percentage (40.7) and eighth in three-pointers made (2.3). He has made at least two three-pointers in four of five games this season, shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, and has now had multiple threes in 27 of 35 games as a Bobcat.

Quinnipiac Top 5 Single-Game 3-pt Pct. (DI Era)
6-6   Rashaun Banjo vs. St. Francis (Pa.)   2/4/02
5-5   Daniel Harris vs. Manhattan   2/11/16
5-5   Jared Grasso vs. UMBC       2/3/00
5-5   Kason Mims vs. Monmouth   2/7/04
4-4   Five players (inc. Peter Kiss v Seton Hall - 11/25/16)

REBOUNDING DOMINANCE
Quinnipiac finished the 2015-16 season leading the nation in offensive rebounding, the fifth time in the last six years it has led the nation in that category. The Bobcats actually have a streak of six straight seasons leading the nation in at least one rebounding category. In 2014-15, Quinnipiac ranked second in offensive rebounds (16.4) to West Virginia, but still led the nation in total rebounds (45.4), defensive rebounds (29.0) and rebounding margin (12.4). In 2013-14, the Bobcats led the nation in rebounding margin (11.8), offensive rebounds (16.7), defensive rebounds (28.7) and total rebounds (45.4), becoming the only team to finish first in all four categories since Quinnipiac joined the Division I ranks (1998-99).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
With Tom Moore at the helm, Quinnipiac has outrebounded its opponent in 244 of 286 games (85.3 percent). In 108 of those 286 games, QU has posted a plus-10 or better rebounding margin, as well as 30 games with plus-20 or better. The Bobcats have an 85-23 (.787) mark when holding a plus-10 edge under Moore, and 22-8 (.733) with plus-20. Remarkably, Quinnipiac has held a +10 margin or better on the boards 108 times in the last 10 years, and suffered a -10 margin or worse only five times in that same span (including Vermont and Gonzaga this season). Quinnipiac is now 113-11-4 in the rebounding department in the 128 games since the start of 2012-13, including two entire seasons without being outrebounded once (2012-13, 2014-15).

BOARD SCORES
In the first eight full seasons since Tom Moore took over, the Bobcats improved their rebounding margin, from 5.0 per game in his first season in 2007-08 to a nation's best 12.4 in 2014-15 (see chart below). The aggregate total over the Moore Era years sees Quinnipiac outrebounding its opponents by a spread of 2,460 (12,008-9,548). To put that total in perspective, if all of the Bobcats vacated the floor against Monmouth, and the Hawks did a tip drill on the glass and recorded exactly one rebound per second, Quinnipiac's rebounding margin under Moore would not level off at zero until the end of the first full minute of overtime.

SMITH THIRD ON QU BLOCKS CHART
Senior forward Donovan Smith had 53 blocks in 2015-16 (1.8 per game, ranking him second in the MAAC), which is third on the single-season blocks mark at Quinnipiac during its Division I era (since 1998-99). Ousmane Drame has the top two totals (88 as a senior in 2014-15, 64 as a junior in 2013-14), while C.J. Vick is now fourth with 43 (2002-03). Junior Chaise Daniels finished with 39 (fifth place), ranking him fourth in the MAAC.

CAN WE POOL OUR POINTS?
The TD Bank Sports Center has banners listing all of the 1000-point scorers in Quinnipiac basketball history, but nobody on the 2016-17 team entered the year even a third of the way there. Collectively, the Bobcats now have 1,524 points, enough to make the banner, but the closest individual is Chaise Daniels with 381, still needing 619. A year ago, the Bobcats started the season with only 602 points on the entire roster, making this year's roster slightly more experienced than the 2015-16 squad.

QU Career Scoring Leaders
   Player   Total
   Chaise Daniels   381
   Daniel Harris   359
   Abdulai Bundu   262
   Donovan Smith   234
   Andrew Robinson   65
   Peter Kiss   62
   Reggie Oliver   56
   Mikey Dixon   50
   Alain Chigha   40
   Phil Winston    10
   Aaron Robinson   3
   Greg Tarca   2
   Total   1,524

FIVE PLAYERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Quinnipiac had five players score in double figures in its loss to Columbia on Nov. 21, something that happened only once all of last season (in an overtime loss at Maine). Currently, Quinnipiac has five players who average in double figures, all within 2.4 points of each other. Peter Kiss leads with 12.4 ppg, followed by Chaise Daniels (12.0 ppg), Reggie Oliver (11.2 ppg), Daniel Harris (10.8 ppg) and Mikey Dixon (10.0 ppg). Abduali Bundu is also not far behind at 8.2 ppg. As a team, Quinnipiac is averaging 73.8 points per game this year, up from 65.6 a year ago.

THREE-FENSE
One area that the Bobcats showed significant improvement in 2015-16 was defending the three-point line. Opponents shot just 31.0 percent from beyond the arc (174-562), which led the MAAC and ranked 19th nationally at the end of the year, In 2014-15, opponents shot 35.1 pct from three, ranking QU eighth in the MAAC. So far this year, opponents are shooting just 29.8 percent through five games.

IT PAYS TO GET DEFENSIVE
Over the past seven seasons, Quinnipiac has a strong record of 76-32 (.704) when keeping its opponent to 40 percent or less from the field. The Bobcats were 9-7 when holding opponents below 40 in 2015-16, accounting for all nine wins.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will be back in action at the TD Bank Sports Center on Sunday for another MAAC game, when it hosts Marist for a 2 p.m. contest.