GAME 14 | HARTFORD HAWKS (6-7, 0-0 AE) at NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (5-6, 0-2 BIG TEN)
 
DATE | TIME: Sunday, Dec. 29 | 4 p.m. (EST)
LOCATION: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)
COVERAGE: Live Stats | Big Ten Network+                                              
TWITTER: @HartfordMBB | #CapitalCityTeam | #AEHoops
GAME NOTES: Hartford | Northwestern
 
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Hartford men's basketball team looks to extend its winning streak to three games on Sunday afternoon, when it takes on Northwestern for the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Tipoff from Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 4 p.m. (EST).
 
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

• Northwestern is 5-6 overall after dropping an 83-78 decision to undefeated DePaul last weekend for its second straight loss
• Knocking down a team-best 19 three-pointers, Miller Kopp is averaging 11.5 points per game to lead the Wildcats
• Pete Nance chips in 11.3 points per contest, while Ryan Young is the team's leading rebounder with 7.1 boards per game 

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between the Hawks and the Wildcats
• Hartford has faced two other teams that currently represent the Big Ten, including Penn State (0-3) and Rutgers (1-2)
• The only win against a Big Ten team in program history came in 2017, a 60-58 victory at Rutgers (Dec. 28)

 
LAST TIME OUT 
HARTFORD 80, CORNELL 76 (DEC. 22, 2019)

• The Hawks stormed back from a 15-point deficit in the second half to take down Cornell, 80-76, inside Reich Family Pavilion last Sunday
• Graduate student Traci Carter netted a team- and career-high 21 points behind five three-pointers
• Freshman Miroslav Stafl contributed six of his 14 points — including the go-ahead bucket — to a game-ending 23-7 run that put the Big Red away

 
ROOKIES OF THE WEEK

• Stafl became the third Hawk to win America East Rookie of the Week honors last Monday (Dec. 23)
• The power forward joins classmates Moss Flowers (Dec. 9) and PJ Henry (Nov. 11) in receiving the accolade this season 
• The three Rookie of the Week honorees are the most in a season since 2011-12, when three different freshmen combined for four honors: Wes Cole (2x), Mark Nwakamma and Nate Sikma

 
SIX PACK

• Led by a career-high 21 points from Carter, the Hawks landed six players in double figures in last week's win over Cornell (Dec. 22)
• It marked the first time since 2017-18 that Hartford had six players net double figures in the same game (vs. Maine, Jan. 18, 2018)

 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE THE FUN

• Malik Ellison has made an instant impact on both ends of the court since making his Hartford debut earlier this month
• The graduate transfer from Pitt dropped a team-high 18 points in his first appearance against Sacred Heart (Dec. 8) 
• He was even more impressive against Wagner (Dec. 14), scoring 12 points while corralling 14 rebounds, the most by a Hawk in a single game this season
• Ellison went on to make it back-to-back games with double-doubles after scoring 14 and pulling down 10 boards against Cornell (Dec. 22)
• Ellison is nearly averaging a double-double on 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, both of which are team-best numbers

 
SPARK PLUG

• Sophomore D.J. Mitchell has been a major contributor off the bench this season
• He has netted double figures in three of his last four contests, including a recent 10-point outing against Cornell last week
• He was a key factor in Hartford's come-from-behind win against the Big Red, contributing seven points to the team's game-ending 23-7 run
• Mitchell has had a hot hand from three as of late, combining to go 5-for-9 in his past four outings, including 2-for-2 against Cornell

 
COACH CARTER 

• Carter has been a consistent workhorse in the backcourt for the Hawks this season
• Contributing 8.8 points per game, the guard leads the America East in steals with 2.1 per game
• Additionally, he is the team's top playmaker with 4.1 dimes per game, which rank second in the league
• Carter has dished out five-or-more assists six times this season, 
• He has been even more generous as of late, averaging 5.3 helpers in his past four outings
• The Philadelphia native stuffed the stat sheet against Wagner (Dec. 14) with seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and eight points

 
MALIK'S BLOCK PARTY

• In addition to being a beast on the boards with 9.7 per game, Ellison has been a big defensive presence for the Hawks
• In just three appearances, he has totaled six blocks, third-most on the team
• Five of those rejections came in last week's come-from-behind win against Cornell
• The five rejections are the most for a Hawk since Hassan Attia registered seven against Sacred Heart on Dec. 11, 2017

 
FRESHMEN PHENOMS 

• Much different from last year, which saw the senior class account for 92 percent of the team's scoring, the Hawks' rookie class has been the storyline of the 2019-20 campaign
• The freshmen trio of Moses Flowers, PJ Henry, and Miroslav Stafl have provided 41 percent of the Hawks' scoring so far this season, averaging 27.5 ppg
• Flowers (11.3 ppg) and Stafl (11.2 ppg) rank third and fourth, respectively, in scoring
• Henry has been a spark plug off of the bench, averaging 4.9 points in 18.8 minutes per game

 
SWIPE SPECIALISTS 

• The Hawks have been active on the defensive end, as their 7.6 steals per game are the most in the America East
• Leading the way is graduate student Traci Carter, who is 32nd in the nation and first in the America East with 26 thefts (2.1 per game)
• Flowers also ranks among the league's leaders in steals, checking in at third with 17 total (1.3 per game)

 
NEXT ON TAP

• The Hawks continue their Midwest Swing with a stop at Bowling Green on New Year's Eve
• The second meeting between the two teams is set to tip off at 12 p.m.
• The contest marks Hartford's non-conference finale

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