Saint Francis University (8-11, 5-1 NEC) at FDU (12-10, 5-2 NEC)
Date | Time	Thursday, January 26, 2023 | 7 p.m.
Location	Hackensack, N.J. | Stratis Arena (Rothman Center)
Television	NEC Front Row
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | FDU
Stats	Saint Francis | FDU | Northeast Conference
Social Media	@RedFlashMBB  | #BELIEVE | #RideTogether | @RedFlashMBB | Facebook

OPENING TIP
• Thursday's game between Saint Francis and FDU marks the 100th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1954-55 campaign.
• The Red Flash hold a 50-49 edge in the all-time series while the teams have split the season series in the last two seasons.
• In a reverse split, the Loretto program has won the last four games on the road in the series, while the Knights have won five of the last six in Loretto.

THE WORD ON FDU
• The Knights come into the contest 12-10 overall and 5-2 in NEC play after falling 70-59 to Stonehill on Sunday.
• Ansley Almonor paced the Knights against the Skyhawks with 22 points, while Joe Munden, Jr. added 12 points.
• Demetre Roberts fuels the team with 17.1 points per game, while Grant Singleton ranks second with 14.8 points per game.

LAST TIME WE MET
• Brad McCabe registered a career-high 21 points to lift Saint Francis past FDU 78-65 on February 10, 2022.
• Ramiir Dixon-Conover (17 points), Josh Cohen (16 points) and Maxwell Land (13 points) also posted double figures for the Red Flash.
• Anquan Hill led the Knights with 16 points while Brandon Rush (14 points) and Ansley Almonor (12 points) also scored double figures.

LAST TIME OUT
• Redshirt junior Josh Cohen, junior Ronell Giles, Jr. and junior Maxwell Land combined for 32 first-half points to help Saint Francis jump out to a 46-21 lead at halftime en route to an 87-61 win against St. Francis Brooklyn on January 20.
• Cohen posted half of his game-high 22 points, while Giles also had 11 points and Land had 10 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
• Cohen finished the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Giles posted 16 points, while Land tallied 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Redshirt senior Marlon Hargis recorded 12 points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench.
• The Red Flash is now 5-1 in NEC play and tied for first place. The 5-1 start matches the second-best league start in team history for the four time.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Match the best start in team history in the NEC with a 6-1 record (1990-91)
• Be the fifth-straight win against the Knights in Hackensack
• Improve to 4-1 in the month of January
• Be the second win on the road for the Red Flash this season

TRENDING UP
• Redshirt junior Josh Cohen is averaging 29.6 points per game in his last five road games thanks to 40 points against Hawai'i on December 11, 30 points at Miami on December 17, 28 points at Robert Morris on December 21 before his 27 points in Staten Island on January 7 and 23 points at Sacred Heart on January 16.
• Cohen is also a huge New York Giants fans and when the Giants lost by more than 13 points is when the redshirt junior posted both of his 40-point games. New York lost to Detroit 31-18 and then the next day Cohen posted 40 points against Lehigh on November 21. The Giants lost to Philadelphia 42-22 in the morning Hawai'i time on December 11 and then Cohen went off for 40 points against the Rainbow Warriors later that night. The Eagles downed New York 38-7 on Saturday and the next game for the Red Flash is the Knights on Thursday.
• You can leave Stella out of this one because this is about junior Ronell Giles, Jr. getting his groove back. Dating back to the final non-conference game against Robert Morris on December 21, Giles has registered four double-figure performances in his last seven tilts. Giles ranks fourth on the team in scoring (9.4 ppg.) and second in assists (16), steals (7) and blocks (3) while shooting 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the floor, 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from 3-point land and 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the fre throw line in that stretch. Giles missed seven games at the beginning of the year, but he was averaging 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with seven assists and five steals while shooting 12.5 percent (2-for-16) from the floor, 0-for-6 from behind the arc and 1 of 5 from the free throw line in five games including one start. In the first 12 games of the year, the Red Flash were 3-9, but are 5-2 since Giles resurgence.
• Saint Francis is 7-1 this season when it makes at least eight baskets from behind the arc, which is also the total needed to give away free a free Big Mac at home games.
• The squad made 12 treys against St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, marking the sixth time this season the team has dialed up long distance at least 11 times in a game this season. It was also the sixth time the team shot over 50.0 from distance with four of those occasions coming when the team made 11 triples. However, five of the six times it has happened at home. The only time the squad hit double digit treys on the road at Bucknell on November 30.
• While the Petula Clark will tell you that you can forget all your troubles and forget all of your cares and go downtown, there is another area that has been key to the Red Flash success this season. The team is 7-3 when it has more points or even number of points inside the paint. In the last five games, the Red Flash has won the battle in the paint and are 4-1 in that stretch.

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saint Francis is 5-1 for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1989-90, 1997-98 and 2019-20 teams.
• With a win, the team would be back on the track of the 1990-91 team for best start in team history at 6-1. That season, the squad won its first six games and then lost for the first time in league play at Robert Morris, 87-85 on January 19, 1991.
• The 1989-90 Red Flash started the year 5-1. It lost the first NEC game and then reeled off five-straight games before losing its next three league games on its way to a 10-6 season.
• The 1997-98 squad won five of its first six games before a two-game losing streak and that team also finished 10-6 in the circuit.
• The 2019-20 team lost the opener and then rolled to five-straight wins before a three-game losing streak. That team would then win eight of its last nine to finish 13-5.
• With a loss, the Frankies would join the 1982-83, 1989-90, 1997-98 and 2019-20 teams with the second-best start in the team's NEC history at 5-2.
• Saint Francis enjoyed its best success under head coach Rob Krimmel from 2016-20, posting a 77-55 overall record and 48-24 in NEC play in those four seasons.
• The one thing that might be forgotten about those teams that correlates to 2022-23 is that those teams struggled on the road at the beginning before ending the regular season on a high note away from Loretto.
• In those four years through nine road games, the Red Flash combined to post a record of 11-25, including going 1-8 in 2018-19 and 2-7 in 2016-17.
• In the remaining road games those seasons, Saint Francis went 18-8 including registering five victories in both 2016-17 and 2018-19.
• This season, Saint Francis has also started 1-8 on the road with six games remaining away from DeGol Arena, including starting a four-game road trip this week.
• The other key to success of those four years that led to three appearances in the NEC Championship Game and three postseason tournament appearances was having success at home with a combined mark of 44-15.
• The Red Flash is currently 6-3 at home and has won five-straight games in Loretto for the eighth time under Krimmel, but the squad will not return home until February 9 against Sacred Heart on ESPNU.
•  Redshirt junior Josh Cohen was named to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List on Thursday.
• The trophy is given out annually to an outstanding men's college basketball player annually and is considered to be the oldest of its kind. It has been handed out since 1959.
• The award was called the Player of the Year Trophy until 1998 when they changed the award in honor of Robertson, who was the first two recipients of the award in 1958-59 and 1959-60.
• Cohen is the first NEC player to ever be named to the Watch List, although the list has grown from 15 to almost 50 players over the years.
• Last year's game at FDU had a huge Saint Francis contingent and so did the game at Wagner on January 7. With four players currently playing having Jersey connections, the Red Flash has traditionally traveled well for its games in the Garden State.
• This four-game road trip in league play marks the eighth time the Loretto program will play four straight conference games on the road, joining the 1988-89, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2021-22 teams.
• Saint Francis returns to action when it completes the season series with CCSU on Saturday. The squad then travels to New England next weekend.