Bryant, Sacred Heart meet in conference play

Bryant (12-12, 4-7) vs. Sacred Heart (14-11, 7-5)

William Pitt Center – West Gym, Fairfield, Connecticut; Thursday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: NEC foes meet as Bryant squares off against Sacred Heart. Bryant beat Central Connecticut by four in its last outing. Sacred Heart lost 61-58 to Robert Morris in its most recent game.

SUPER SENIORS: Bryant has benefited heavily from its seniors. Adam Grant, Ikenna Ndugba, Charles Pride and Patrick Harding have collectively accounted for 52 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 53 percent of all Bulldogs points over the team’s last five games.

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Pioneers have given up only 65.2 points per game to conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 75.2 per game they gave up to non-conference opponents.ACCURATE ADAM: Grant has connected on 36.1 percent of the 216 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 9 of 37 over the last five games. He’s also made 72.2 percent of his free throws this season.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Pioneers are 5-0 when they record seven or more steals and 9-11 when they fall shy of that mark. The Bulldogs are 6-0 when recording at least 14 offensive rebounds and 6-12 when they fall short of that total.

COLD SPELL: Bryant has lost its last five road games, scoring 66.2 points, while allowing 76.4 per game.

DID YOU KNOW: Sacred Heart has attempted the second-most free throws among all NEC teams. The Pioneers have averaged 19.8 free throws per game this season.