Towson faces Northeastern in CAA quarters
No. 6 seed Northeastern (15-15, 9-9) vs. No. 3 seed Towson (19-12, 12-6)
Colonial Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington; Sunday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the CAA semifinals is up for grabs as Northeastern and Towson prepare to face off. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last went at it on March 1, when Northeastern made just nine foul shots on 12 attempts while the Tigers hit 18 of 23 en route to a 75-72 victory.
SAVVY VETERANS: Senior leadership could play a big role in this game’s outcome. Brian Fobbs, Nakye Sanders and Dennis Tunstall have combined to score 41 percent of Towson’s points this season and 43 percent of the team’s points over its last five games. For Northeastern, Jordan Roland, Bolden Brace, Maxime Boursiquot and Shaquille Walters have combined to account for 67 percent of all Northeastern scoring, including 84 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.JUMPING FOR JORDAN: Roland has connected on 39.9 percent of the 218 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 6 of 16 over the last three games. He’s also made 89.1 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Towson is 0-6 this year when it scores 60 points or fewer and 19-6 when it scores at least 61.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Huskies have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Tigers. Towson has 45 assists on 81 field goals (55.6 percent) across its previous three outings while Northeastern has assists on 48 of 83 field goals (57.8 percent) during its past three games.
SECOND CHANCES: Towson has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 33.6 percent this year. That figure is ranked 29th in Division 1. The offensive rebound percentage for Northeastern stands at just 24.4 percent (ranked 288th).