Bobcats Head to Fairfield Thursday Night

Quinnipiac Bobcats (19-10, 10-8 MAAC) at Fairfield Stags (12-17, 8-11 MAAC)
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 7:30 PM
Fairfield, Conn. | Leo D. Mahoney Arena
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Fairfield

Watch: ESPN3
Stats: Click Here
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's basketball begins the final stretch of the 2023 regular season on Thursday night, as the Bobcats make the short trip to Fairfield to square off with the Stags at 7:30 PM on ESPN3.

QU will play at Fairfield (3/2) and at Marist (3/4) to finish off the regular season before heading to Atlantic City for the MAAC Tournament.

Luis Kortright vs. Fairfield in Hamden (Feb. 3, 2023)

Luis Kortright vs. Fairfield in Hamden (Feb. 3, 2023)

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS FALL vs. MANHATTAN (2/26)

Quinnipiac men's basketball dropped a tight league contest, 72-70, vs. Manhattan on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Arena.
Matt Balanc recorded 19 points and four rebounds to lead the Bobcats, while Tyrese Williams chipped in with 14 points and Dezi Jones added 13 points.
QU outscored the Jaspers 40-26 in the first half, the Manhattan outscored the Bobcats 46-30 in the second half.

2OT WIN vs. RIDER (2/19)

The Bobcats won a double-overtime thriller on Sunday afternoon in Hamden, topping Rider by the final score of 90-88 at M&T Bank Arena.
Quinnipiac erased a 16-point deficit to earn its 19^th victory of the 2022-23 campaign. Rider led 57-41 with 12:11 remaining, and QU closed out regulation on a 30-14 run to force overtime.
Dezi Jones led the way with a career-high 28 points, going 8-of-16 from the floor in total. Jones scored five points in the second half, then tallied 11 of QU's 19 points over the two overtime frames.
Matt Balanc added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Alexis Reyes chipped in with 12 points and three rebounds, and Tyrese Williams recorded 11 points in the victory.

NATIONAL TV WIN AT SIENA (2/17 on ESPNU)

The Bobcats earned their second win on ESPNU over a 14-day span on Friday night at Siena, as Quinnipiac held on late for a 66-63 victory.
The Bobcats outscored Siena 36-22 in the first half of play, then held on in the second half en route to the league win.
Quinnipiac went on an 8-0 run (7:59 – 3:51 in the second half) to take a 56-45 lead, then went 8-for-9 from the free throw line over the final 37 seconds of regulation.
Four Bobcats tallied double-digit point totals: Dezi Jones (12 points), Matt Balanc (12 points), Luis Kortright (10 points) and Paul Otieno (10 points).

ALL EYES ON US (2/3 on ESPNU)

Quinnipiac downed Fairfield in front of a sellout crowd (3,519) on Friday, Feb. 3 in Hamden, as the Bobcats defeated the Stags, 66-51, on ESPNU.
QU shot 17-of-27 (63.0%) in the second half in total.
Ike Nweke led the Bobcats with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Luis Kortright chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Dezi Jones added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

STRONG SEASON FOR QU

Quinnipiac is 19-10 so far in 2022-23, winning 10 of 18 MAAC games.
The Bobcats won each of their first seven games of the 2022-23 campaign – marking the best start to a new year for the program since 1969-70.
QU began the season with a road win at A10-foe Rhode Island.
The Bobcats wrapped up a 2-1 trip to Canada for The Northern Classic (Nov. 25-27). Quinnipiac downed both Stephen F. Austin and Montana State for impressive wins at Place Bell Arena in Quebec, before falling 72-70 vs. Hofstra on the final day of the tournament.
The Bobcats have won 10 of 18 MAAC games to date. Quinnipiac began the month of January with six straight wins, downing Manhattan (1/1), Rider (1/6), Iona (1/8), Saint Peter's (1/13), Mount St. Mary's (1/15) and Canisius (1/22) during that span.
Dezi Jones (12.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.6 APG), Matt Balanc (11.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG) and transfer forward Ike Nweke (10.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG) have all averaged double-digit point totals thus far.
Luis Kortright has stuffed the stat sheet (10.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.9 APG).
Paul Otieno (7.5 PPG & 7.0 RPG) leads QU in rebounding. He has four double-doubles this year – three of which have come in MAAC action.
Tyrese Williams leads QU in made 3-pointers (58), and has posted 8.1 PPG off the bench.

6-GAME WINNING STREAK (1/1 – 1/29)

The Bobcats won six consecutive games from Jan. 1 – Jan. 29.
Quinnipiac downed Manhattan (1/1), Rider (1/6), Iona (1/8), Saint Peter's (1/13), Mount St. Mary's (1/15) and Canisius (1/22) during that span.
The Bobcats outscored opponents 440-370 over the six-game span (+11.7 per game), shooting 43.2 percent from the floor. QU assisted on 96 of 146 baskets (16.0 APG) in those games.
QU's defense held opponents to 39.6 percent shooting during those six matchups.

BACKBOARD BOBCATS

Quinnipiac currently leads the MAAC in rebounds per game (37.97, 34^th nationally).

BATTLING ON DEFENSE

Opponents have shot 41.7% from the floor against QU, the second-lowest shooting mark that any MAAC defense has posted this year.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD

The Stags are 12-17 (8-11 MAAC) so far this season. Fairfield has dropped each of its last three games.
Supreme Cook (12.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG) has paced the Stags offensively, while Caleb Fields (11.5 PPG) and TJ Long (10.7 PPG) have also averaged double-digit point totals.
Quinnipiac won the matchup between the two teams, 66-51, earlier this season on ESPNU (2/3/23). The Bobcats went 17-of-27 (63.0%) in the second half in front of a sellout crowd (3,519).

STRONG RETURNING GROUP

Quinnipiac returns return 5 of its top 7 scorers from a season ago – led by All-MAAC selection Matt Balanc (14.6 PPG in 2021-22).
QU brings back seven rotational players from a year ago. Matt Balanc, Dezi Jones, Savion Lewis, Tyrese Williams, Tymu Chenery, Luis Kortright and JJ Riggins have all returned back after playing significant minutes in 2021-22.

INSTANT IMPACT

Quinnipiac added four impact transfers during the offseason: Ike Nweke (Columbia), Paul Otieno. (Kilgore CC), Alexis Reyes (East Carolina), and Elijah Taylor (Notre Dame).
Ike Nweke transfers to Quinnipiac after playing in three seasons at Columbia University (2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22). He played in 65 total games during that span, making 39 starts. The Woodbine, Maryland-native led the Lions in scoring last season over 10 games played. He recorded 15.9 PPG & 6.3 RPG for Columbia, scoring double-digit point totals on nine occasions.
Paul Otieno started in all 34 games for Kilgore last season (2021-22), posting 11.0 PPG & 7.6 RPG on 68.7% shooting. Otieno scored a season-high 24 points vs. Missouri State West Plains (11/7), registering 16 separate double-digit point totals during the course of the campaign.
Alexis Reyes will join the Bobcats for the upcoming 2022-23 season after spending his freshman campaign at East Carolina University. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter played his senior season of high school in Connecticut at Putnam Science Academy. He appeared in 10 games last season for the Pirates, making a pair of starts.
Elijah Taylor, a Philadelphia-native, played for Head Coach Andrew Noble at Imhotep Charter High School, coming out of high school as the fifth-best ranked recruit on the state of Pennsylvania (247Sports). He played alongside current Quinnipiac forward JJ Riggins at Imhotep.

QUINNI-THREE-AC

Quinnipiac led the MAAC in 3-pointers per game (8.9) last season.
QU finished 5^th in the country in 3-pointers per game in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Bobcats made 11.2 triples per game in 2018-19, then sunk 10.3 triples per night in 2019-20.
QU has made 7.9 triples per game this year – which ranks second in the MAAC.

HEAD COACH BAKER DUNLEAVY

Head Coach Baker Dunleavy – a very successful former player and coach under Jay Wright at Villanova – is in his sixth season at Quinnipiac in 2022-23.
Dunleavy joined the Bobcats after spending seven years on the men's basketball staff at Villanova University, where under Jay Wright, he helped the Wildcats capture the 2016 national championship with a 77-74 win over North Carolina. He began at Villanova as the director of basketball operations in 2010, before being elevated to assistant coach in 2012 and to the associate head coach position in 2013.
In his four seasons as an associate head coach from 2013-17, Villanova compiled an overall record of 129-17, including a national title in 2016 and four straight BIG EAST regular season titles. He is only the seventh head coach in Quinnipiac's history (since 1951-52).
Dunleavy appeared in 28 games over his four seasons for the Wildcats (2006 graduate). As a senior, he was part of the first Villanova team to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
During his playing days – behind future NBA guards Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry – the Wildcats were an Elite Eight team in 2005-06.

BAKER'S BOBCATS

Quinnipiac men's basketball has won 85 total games under Dunleavy since 2017.
The Bobcats earned a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament during two of Dunleavy's first four years with the program.
QU has advanced to the MAAC Tournament semifinal round twice under Dunleavy's tutelage.
Dunleavy led the Bobcats all the way to the MAAC Semifinals during his first year with the program in 2017-18 – defeating No. 10 Siena and No. 2 Canisius in the postseason.
Most recently, the Bobcats became the first No. 11 seed in league history to reach the semifinal round after winning two games in Atlantic City in March of 2022.
He has been has been consistently ranked among college basketball's top young head coaches. Dunleavy earned a spot on Seth Davis' "40 under 40" list published by The Athletic in October of 2020, and was also selected to ESPN's "40 under 40" in May of 2020.

FAMILY TIES

Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy's father, Mike, enjoyed a long NBA coaching career, including stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. Baker's older brother, Mike Jr., had a 16-year NBA career (most recently with the Atlanta Hawks) after winning a national title in college with Duke in 2001.
Mike Jr. is currently the Assistant General Manager for the Golden State Warriors, while Mike Sr. last served as Head Coach at Tulane from 2016-19.

BREAKOUT YEAR FOR BALANC

Matt Balanc enjoyed a breakout redshirt-junior season, averaging 14.6 points per game in 2021-22. Balanc finished sixth in the MAAC in scoring. He posted 14.8 PPG & 5.5 RPG in MAAC play.
Balanc scored 10+ points in 23 of 20 games played, including a career-high 31 points in QU's MAAC victory at Manhattan (12/5/22).

MR. JONES

Missouri-native Dezi Jones finished second on the team in scoring (11.5 PPG) during his first year with the Bobcats. He also contributed 3.1 RPG and 3.0 APG, and shot 47.4% from the floor.
Jones flirted with a triple-double in the Bobcats' opening round MAAC Tournament win (3/8/22) – posting 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs. No. 6 Marist.
He posted 12.0 PPG in MAAC play for the Bobcats during the regular season.
Jones spent two full seasons at Moberly Area Community College before joining the Bobcats in 2021-22.

WILLIAMS' WAY

Guard Tyrese Williams returns for his graduate season at QU. He's posted 8.4 PPG for QU off the bench.
He reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 22, 2022 at Penn State. The Beacon, New York-native surpassed 1,000 points over 116 career games – all with the Bobcats.
Williams becomes the 44^th player in Quinnipiac program history to reach 1,000 career points. He's the 18^th player to reach the mark at the Division I level.
The guard was a MAAC All-Rookie selection in 2018-19 stuffing the stat sheet with 8.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.4 APG.
Williams has played in 132 career games, trailing only Jacob Rigoni (147 games) in all-time games as a Bobcat.

TYMU'S TIME

Tymu Chenery is back his junior campaign after making 48 starts over his first two season in Hamden.
The 2020-21 MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree has 7.7 PPG and 3.5 RPG for his career thus far. The 6-foot-6 wing also has 67 steals and 38 blocks.

HOLDING KORT

Fellow 2020-21 MAAC All-Rookie selection Luis Kortright also returns to the Bobcats' backcourt. He's played in 67 games so far at QU, averaging 8.1 points per contest.
Kortright posted 10.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.7 APG as a first-year student two seasons ago, earning a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie squad.

THE RETURN OF SAVION LEWIS

Savion Lewis is back in Hamden for another season. He's played in 48 games for QU since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
He scored a career-best 15 points at Canisius on Jan. 11, 2022.

JJ ALL DAY

Over 71 career games, JJ Riggins has added 3.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG off the bench.
He scored a career-best 15 points at Canisius on Jan. 11, 2022.

LAST SEASON (2021-22)

QU went 14-17 (7-13 MAAC) last season.
The Bobcats became the first No. 11 seed in league history to reach the semifinal round after winning two games in Atlantic City in March of 2022. QU downed No. 6 Marist in the opening round and defeated No. 3 Siena in the quarterfinals.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Balanc

Tymu Chenery

Tymu Chenery

Dezi Jones

Dezi Jones

Luis Kortright

Luis Kortright

Savion Lewis

Ike Nweke

Paul Otieno

Alexis Reyes

JJ Riggins

JJ Riggins

Jacob Rigoni

Elijah Taylor

Tyrese Williams

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