The Northeastern Huskies (10-19, 11-18-0 ATS, 6-12 CAA) and the Delaware Blue Hens (16-15, 13-16-1 ATS, 8-10 CAA) played two very tight games against each other this season. They split the matchups, with the home team winning each time by a single possession. There won't be a home-court advantage this time, but much more is at stake as the loser will be sent packing. Neither team envisions leaving D.C. early, but only one can survive. At 8:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, the battle will rage on in Entertainment & Sports Arena.
The Huskies did not travel well to end their season. Their penultimate game was a 27-point loss, setting the stage for a 32-point loss in their finale, with both games taking place on the road. Hofstra took a 13-point lead into halftime over Northeastern and increased it throughout the second half. Northeastern finished the game with 13 turnovers while only shooting 31.6% from the floor. Chase Cormier led the scoring with 12 off the bench for the Huskies.
Unfortunately, shooting struggles aren't abnormal for the Huskies, as they ended the season with a field goal percentage of 41.6%, good for 316th nationally. They at least hit 33.8% of their threes, a respectable mark that was fifth in the CAA. Don't back on them knocking down free throws either, as they only shot 67.6% at the line. That rate was 315th in the nation.
Northeastern's defense wasn't great at forcing misses either. They allowed opponents to shoot 34.8% from three and 45.3% overall, both bottom-five marks in the CAA. Shot blocking helped a bit, as they're third in the conference with 4.0 blocks per game. The Huskies are also helped greatly by rebounding, as their average margin was +3.2 per game, third in the conference.
It also kept them competitive with the Blue Hens, as Northeastern was +32 on the glass against Delaware between the two games. The Huskies went 1-1 in their two neutral-court games this season. KenPom has them rated 309th in the nation.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!