Conference play in the CAA continues on Thursday when the Stony Brook Seawolves (5-9, 7-5, 1-0 CAA) take on the Monmouth Hawks (1-13, 4-10, 0-1 CAA). Stony Brook opened up conference play with a 65-61 road win over Northeastern, winning outright as 9-point underdogs. Monmouth opened CAA play with a home loss to UNC-Wilmington, losing 68-55 and just missing the cover as 12-point dogs. The two teams did not play last season, as Monmouth was a member of the MAAC, and Stony Brook played in the America East Conference.
Stony Brook is only ranked 318th in KenPom's D1 rankings, and were 9-point road underdogs in their conference opener against Northeastern, but were able to pull out the win. Stony Brook took the lead late in the first half, and although the game was tight, they never relinquished the lead. The Seawolves were led by Frankie Policelli, who had 17 points and 8 boards in the win.
?????? ?????????? ??
*The Seawolves have entered the chat*
???? x #CAAHoops
— Stony Brook Men's Basketball (@StonyBrookMBB) December 31, 2022
Stony Brook is led in scoring by Tyler Stephenson-Moore with 14.9 PPG. He is a 6'3 guard, who has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, and averages slightly under two made 3's a game. Policelli leads the CAA in rebounding with 9.9 per game, and is the team's second leading scorer with 11.7 PPG. Keenan Fitzmorris is a 7'0 graduate transfer from Stanford. He also adds 10.0 PPG and leads the conference in FG% shooting 62.0% from the field.
Stony Brook has been hot against the spread, covering six of their last seven, all as underdogs except a pick-em win over Sacred Heart. Overall, the Seawolves have been struggling on offense averaging only 95 points per 100 possessions, which is 317th in Division 1.