Men's Basketball Welcomes Sacred Heart Saturday

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (15-7, 9-2 NEC) vs.
Sacred Heart University Pioneers (12-10, 5-6 NEC)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 - 3 p.m.
TD Bank Sports Center - Hamden, Conn.

Bobcats Complete NEC Rivalry Week Saturday Against Sacred Heart
The Quinnipiac University men's basketball team concludes NEC Rivalry Week Saturday when it welcomes Sacred Heart to the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats defeated the Pioneers, 86-71, Thursday night at the Pitt Center. James Feldeine led the Bobcats with 27 points, while Justin Rutty and Jonathan Cruz each compiled double-doubles for the Bobcats. Though the Pioneers own a 36-20 edge in the all-time series, QU has taken the last two meetings.

Scouting the Sacred Heart Pioneers
The Pioneers (12-10, 5-6 NEC) are led by the NEC's leading scorer in Corey Hassan (20.8 ppg.). Hassan also leads the Pioneers at 7.8 rebounds per game, while seven-foot center Liam Potter has grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game. Ryan Litke averages 14.7 points per game, while Chauncey Hardy has chipped in 12.8 per contest for the Pioneers, who've scored a league-high 74.0 points per game. Jerrell Thompson has dished out a team-high 4.6 assists per game.

Last Time Against Sacred Heart
James Feldeine scored 27 points, while Justin Rutty and Jonathan Cruz added double-doubles as QU defeated the Pioneers, 86-71, Thursday in Fairfield. The Bobcats held the NEC's leading scorer and the nation's leader in three-point field goals made, Corey Hassan, to eight points and without a three ball.

On The Air
Saturday's game can be heard live on AM 1220 WQUN. Bill Schweizer will have the play-by-play call, while Bill Mecca and Bob Tipson will provide color commentary. Bobcat Channel subscribers can also access a live video feed through www.quinnipiacbobcats.com. Live stats will also be available. To access live audio, video and stats, click on the appropriate links on the men's basketball schedule on www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.

Feldeine Reaches 1,000 Career Points, Climbs Charts
With 17 points Jan. 7 against Mount St. Mary's, James Feldeine became the 33rd player in QU history and the seventh in the program's Division I history to reach 1,000 career points. Making the feat more impressive is that Feldeine scored just seven points in his freshman year. He currently ranks 17th in program history and fourth in QU Division I history at 1,168 points, having passed Jim Freund '81 (1,166), Rashaun Banjo '04 (1,166), Mike Buscetto '93 (1,165), Art Leary '70 (1,159) and Ed Skwara '69 (1,159), with 27 points, Feb. 4 at Sacred Heart.

Rutty Grabs Quinnipiac Division I Rebound Record
With 11 rebounds against Wagner on Jan. 9, Justin Rutty took over the Quinnipiac Division I Rebound lead from Bill Romano '02 (580). Rutty currently has 668 career rebounds while in just his junior season.

QU In the RPI
According to www.kenpom.com, the Bobcats are the top NEC team in the RPI (ratings percentage index). QU is ranked No. 163, with the next-closest team being Mount St. Mary's at No. 204.

C-T State of Mind
Quinnipiac is 12-0 in games played in Connecticut, including an 8-0 mark at the TD Bank Sports Center. The 8-0 start at home ties for the best in program history. Ironically, Quinnipiac has started three of the last four decades with at least seven straight home victories. Quinnipiac started the 90's 8-0 at home in 1990-91 and the 80's 7-0 in 1980-81.

Rutty Approaching 1,000 Career Points
Justin Rutty currently stands at 977 points, just 23 shy of becoming the 34th player in Quinnipiac history and the eighth in program Division I history to score 1,000 career points. He's currently on pace to challenge for 1,000 career rebounds. Should Rutty play in 30 games this year and next, his career 8.35 rebounds per game average would leave him at 985 boards, while his two-year average of 10.1 boards per game would put him at 1,051 rebounds. Just two prior Quinnipiac players have reached both 1,000 points and rebounds.

Hassling Hassan
The Bobcats held the NEC's leading scorer (21.4 ppg.) and the nation's leader in three-point field goals made per game (3.7), Sacred Heart's Corey Hassan, to just eight points and without a three-pointer on his home court, Feb. 4, at the Pitt Center. James Johnson drew the primary defensive assignment, holding Hassan to fewer than 10 points for the first time this season.

Cruz Control
Jonathan Cruz compiled his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Feb. 4, at Sacred Heart. The 11 points matched his career high, established while playing for Rhode Island at Duquesne, Feb. 11, 2007. The 11 rebounds established a new career-high, besting his previous high of eight, accomplished twice this season.

Rutty's Keeping Good Company
At 14.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, Justin Rutty is one of just 20 players nationally averaging a double-double.

Feldeine's Just Fine
After suffering through a 1-for-14 shooting effort, Jan. 30 at Mount St. Mary's, James Feldeine bounced back with a 27-point performance on 11-for-14 shooting, Feb. 4, at Sacred Heart.

Rutty Finding Free-Throw Stroke
Justin Rutty, a career 45.4 percent free-throw shooter, has shot 83.3 percent (15-18) from the charity stripe in the last three games. Included in the mark is a string of nine consecutive successful attempts, dating back to the Jan. 30 Mount St. Mary's game. Rutty went 6-for-6 at Sacred Heart, the first 100 percent game of more than three attempts in his career.

Rutty Compiles 4 Straight Double-Doubles
Justin Rutty has compiled double-doubles in each of his last four games, padding the Quinnipiac Division I career double-doubles record of 22. Rutty passed Jeremy Bishop '02, who had 18 double-doubles for QU, with a 26-point, 14-rebound performance against CCSU on Jan. 24. He then added to his total with 15 points and 10 rebounds at Wagner, Jan. 28, and 18 points and 15 rebounds at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 30. His last double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds came in just 25 minutes, Feb. 4 at Sacred Heart.

15-15-15
With 15 wins already this season, the Bobcats have matched their win total of each of the past two seasons under Head Coach Tom Moore.

Hot Shots
The Bobcats shot a season-high 60.0 percent (33-55) from the floor, Feb. 4, at Sacred Heart. It was the Bobcats' first effort of 60 percent or more since Dec. 19, 2007, when the Bobcats shot 64.7 percent (33-51) against Dartmouth.

Double Trouble
With Justin Rutty and Jonathan Cruz's double-doubles, Feb. 4 at Sacred Heart, two Bobcats compiled double-doubles in the same game for the first time since James Johnson and Rutty did it against Monmouth, Dec. 6, 2008.

Bobcats, Rutty On NCAA Rebound Charts
Led by Justin Rutty's 10.4 rebounds per game (16th-NCAA), the Bobcats rank 11th in the nation in rebounds per game (41.1 rpg.).

On the Rebound
Quinnipiac has outrebounded each of its opponents this year, and owns a +9.8 rebounding margin, good for second in the nation. The NEC all-time best in rebound margin for a season was set by FDU in 1997-98, when the Knights finished at +9.1.

Quinnipiac, Rutty Grab Top Rankings
The Bobcats are ranked seventh in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (15.4). Individually, Justin Rutty ranks fourth nationally at 4.5 offensive boards per game, a year after finishing second in the nation behind only Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair (5.6 oreb/game) with 4.6 offensive caroms per game.

If At First You Don't Succeed...
42.8 percent of the Bobcats' rebounds have come on the offensive end, third-most in the NCAA.

Sitting on Top of the NEC Stats
Quinnipiac ranks first in the NEC in 10 of 19 statistical categories, second in one and third in another. The Bobcats are first in scoring defense (63.8), scoring margin (+8.0), field-goal percentage (.449), field-goal percentage defense (.407), rebounding offense (41.1), rebounding defense (31.3), rebound margin (+9.8), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92), offensive rebounding (15.36) and defensive rebounding (25.77). QU ranks second in scoring offense (71.8) and third in free-throw percentage (.683).

Johnson's Elite Company
James Johnson's consecutive starts streak reached 53 games to begin his career, Feb. 4, at Sacred Heart. Johnson became just the eighth freshman in QU Division I history to start his collegiate debut, and started all 31 of Quinnipiac's games in 2008-09, joining just 19 other freshmen in the nation to start every game their team played. With the start in each of this season's contests, Johnson has stretched the streak to his first 53 games as a Bobcat. Each player to start his first game and complete four years with the Bobcats has scored over 1,000 points. Rob Monroe, Bill Romano and Jared Grasso started their first games and rank first, second and sixth, respectively, on the Bobcats D-I scoring list. The 53-game streak currently ranks second in program history to begin a career (Grasso - 71 games), and fifth among all QU D-I starts streaks.

On Deck
The Bobcats begin the unbalanced portion of the NEC schedule Thursday, when they play the first of four straight games against teams that appear on their schedule only once each in the regular season (St. Francis (N.Y.), Long Island, Saint Francis (Pa.), and Robert Morris). Thursday's game pits the Bobcats against St. Francis (N.Y.). Opening tip from the TD Bank Sports Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.