Up Next: The Red Flash look to continue the momentum built on a
tremendously successful road swing through Rhode Island and Connecticut
when they welcome Quinnipiac to DeGol Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on
Thursday night. Saint Francis snapped a 23-game road losing streak, and
a 17-game NEC road losing streak, by sweeping games at Bryant and
Central Connecticut State, respectively, last weekend. Saint Francis
will then welcome Sacred Heart to DeGol Arena for a rare 4 p.m. tipoff
on Saturday afternoon.
Playoff Chase: After seven weekends of Northeast Conference battles,
only two spots in the eight-team tournament have been decided. Robert
Morris (13-1) and Quinnipiac (12-2), which play each other on Saturday,
have secured playoff positions. However, there are still eight teams
fighting for the last six spots. Three games separate third through 10th
with the Red Flash sitting in a three-way tie for sixth with Monmouth
and St. Francis-NY. The top four teams in the final standings will host
first-round games.
Northeast Conference Standings
School NEC Pct. Streak
1. Robert Morris 13-1 .929 W2
2. Quinnipiac 12-2 .857 W4
3. Mount St. Mary's 8-6 .571 W6
Long Island 8-6 .571 L1
Fairleigh Dickinson 8-6 .571 L1
6. Monmouth 7-7 .500 W1
St. Francis-NY 7-7 .500 L2
Saint Francis (PA) 7-7 .500 W2
9. Sacred Heart 6-8 .429 W1
Central Connecticut State 6-8 .429 L2
11. Wagner 2-12 .143 L4
12. Bryant 0-14 .000 L26
The Series/Last Meeting: Quinnipiac swept last year's games and have
won four straight against the Red Flash to take a 16-6 lead in the
all-time series. The Bobcats won a 59-55 meeting at DeGol Arena after
taking a 65-58 victory on their home court. Quinnipiac has won four
straight games inside DeGol Arena.
Sizing Up The Bobcats: Quinnipiac has won four straight games, and are
one of the hottest teams in the country having won 12 of their last 13
contests. The Bobcats clinched a Northeast Conference playoff berth with
their two wins last weekend, and can guarantee at least one home playoff
game with just one win in their last four games. Quinnipiac is led by
senior James Feldeine and junior Justin Rutty. Feldeine leads the team
in scoring (17.6 ppg), 3-point field goals (27), and free throws made
(88), and is second in steals (36). Rutty is one of the top big men in
the league, averaging a double-double (14.6 ppg and 10.4 rpg), and is
second with 13 blocks. Sophomore point guard James Johnson, who is a
reigning Northeast Conference Co-Player-of-the-Week, is averaging 11.6
ppg, 3.2 rpg and 3.2 apg, and has a team-high 37 steals. Feldeine and
Rutty combine to make the Northeast Conference's second-most scoring
duo at 32.2 ppg. Quinnipiac is second in the league in scoring (73.0
ppg), third in scoring defense (65.1 ppg), and first in scoring margin
(+7.9 ppg). The Bobcats also lead the conference in field goal
percentage (.452), rebounding offense (40.8 rpg), rebounding defense
(31.4 rpg) and rebounding margin (+9.4 rpg).
Swedish Meatballs: Over the past two months, junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) has
begun to show the type of promise that was evident upon his arrival in
Loretto. After scoring just 103 points in the first 43 games of his
career (2.4 ppg), Orandi has tallied 172 points in the last 16 games -
all starts - for an average of 10.8 ppg. A native of Vastra Frolunda,
Sweden, Orandi entered the season with 34 career appearances, including
just one start. He tallied 72 points (2.1 ppg), 29 rebounds (0.9 rpg),
29 assists and 5 steals in those first 34 games. Since entering the
starting lineup on Dec. 16 against Youngstown State, Orandi has 172
points (10.8 ppg), 52 rebounds (3.3 rpg), 39 assists (2.4 apg), and 9
steals. He is second on the team in scoring, tied for the team lead in
assists and has a team-high 29 three-pointers during that span. On the
season, Orandi has reached career highs in games played (25), games
started (20), field goals (67), field goal attempts (162), 3-point field
goals (36) and attempts (92), free throws (33) and attempts (43), points
(203), rebounds (59), assists (45), steals (13) and blocks (2).
Orandi's success coincides with his second season under a head
coach for the first time his playing career. He played under various
head coaches in Sweden and then moved to the United States for one year
of prep school, then played under former Red Flash head coach
Bobby?Jones during his initial collegiate campaign, and has now
played under head coach Don Friday for two seasons.
Felder is One Fine Freshman: Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) picked up his second Choice
Hotels Northeast Conference Rookie-of-the-Week award this week, after
leading Saint Francis to a pair of road victories last weekend. He
averaged 12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and shot 52.9 percent from the floor to help
the Red Flash snap a 23-game road losing streak, and a 17-game NEC road
losing streak. Felder is perhaps playing himself into consideration for
Northeast Conference Rookie-of-the-Year honors with his play over the
last six games. SFU is 4-2 during that stretch with Felder averaging
10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg and 1.3 spg. He is shooting 49.0 percent form
the field and 55.6 percent from outside the arc during that stretch.
Young and the Restless: Of the 5,025 minutes played over the first 25
games of the season, 3,012 (59.9 percent) have been logged by the
team's seven true freshmen, and transfers Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) and Aaron
DeVane, who did not play last season. On Dec. 20 at Akron, seven of
those nine players (DeVane and Ron Johnson did not play) accounted for a
season-high 163 of 200 total minutes. Newcomers have also accounted for
55.2 percent of the Red Flash scoring through 25 games.
Honoring Our Champions: Saint Francis University Director of Athletics
Bob Krimmel announced on Wednesday that the Red Flash Swim Team will be
recognized at halftime for winning the 2010 Northeast Conference
Swimming and Diving Championships. Head coach Pat Gallagher's team won
the school's first-ever NEC?title in swimming last weekend. Gallagher
was named the NEC Swim Coach-of-the-Year.
?Red Flash Quick Notes:
* Saint Francis won its ninth game of the season on Saturday
afternoon at CCSU, giving the team its highest win total over the past
five seasons.
* SFU snapped a 23-game road losing streak at Bryant, and a
17-game Northeast Conference road losing streak. By defeating Central
Connecticut State on Saturday, the Red Flash won back-to-back Northeast
Conference road games for the first time since 2002-03.
*Saint Francis' 26-point win over Bryant on Thursday night
marked the largest margin of victory in a road game since the Red Flash
defeated Central Connecticut State, 76-47, on Jan. 3, 1998.
*The Red Flash snapped a nine-game losing streak at Detrick
Gymnasium with their win over CCSU.
* Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist), who was named NEC Player-of-the-Week
for the second time this season on Feb. 1, became just the fifth player
in program history to record 1,400 points and 700 rebounds during their
careers. He is 9th on the school's all-time scoring list (1,431
points), and 12th-place all-time at SFU with 716 rebounds.
* The Red Flash have a 7-5 record at home, including a 5-2 mark
in Northeast Conference games this season. The seven home wins are the
most since the 2004-05 season. The Red Flash are also 6-3 in their last
nine home games.
* With the Jan. 30, 74-73, victory vs. Long Island, the Red
Flash improved to 2-0 in overtime games under second-year head coach Don
Friday.
* Saint Francis has forced opponents into 109 turnovers over the
last six games (18.2 per game), which is the team's best stretch of
the year. The Red Flash also have 54 steals during that period (9.0
spg).
* On the season, SFU is shooting 45.9 percent at home, while it
is shooting 38.8 percent on the road. The Red Flash are also a better
free throw shooting team at home (.745) than they are away from DeGol
Arena (.694).
* SFU is 6-2 on the season when it takes a lead into halftime.
the Red Flash are 3-14 in game's that it trailed at the break.
* Saint Francis exceeded its Northeast Conference win total from
a season ago by defeating St. Francis-NY on Jan. 28. SFU then exceeded
its overall win total from the last two seasons by beating Long Island
in overtime, on Jan. 30. With its win at Bryant on Feb. 11, the Red
Flash doubled last year's NEC win total.
* Freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs), who is the reigning, Choice Hotels NEC
Rookie-of-the-Week, tied a career high with three blocks against RMU on
Feb. 4, and has 16 of his team-high 22 blocks in the past 12 games.
* The Red Flash have just one player - Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) - who
ranks among the Northeast Conference's top 30 players in minutes
played per game. Sweetney is 13th in averaging 31.61 mpg.
* Saint Francis leads the Northeast Conference in free throw
percentage (.721), is 3-point field goal percentage (.373), and is third
in assists per game (12.92 apg).
