A Love Letter to Northeastern Men’s Basketball

By Milton Posner People fall in love with teams for different reasons. Sometimes it happens before you reach the age of awareness. By the time you can talk, you can recite the whole starting lineup, and by that point it’s so ingrained in your DNA that you can’t fathom a “before” time. You can’t fathom

2020–21 CAA Preview: Northeastern Huskies

Last season: 17–16 (9–9, sixth place CAA); lost to Hofstra in CAA Final Head coach: Bill Coen (15th season) Preseason Poll Projected Finish: Seventh Departures — ppg/rpg/apg (fg% / 3fg% / ft%) G Jordan Roland — 22/3/2 (48/39/88) G/F Bolden Brace — 11/7/2 (45/39/82) G/F Max Boursiquot — 9/5/1 (57/36/67) F Tomas Murphy — 9/3

Boursiquot, Murphy, Franklin to Leave Northeastern

By Milton Posner Not one week after a surprising, inspiring, rejuvenating run to the CAA Championship game, Northeastern men’s basketball found itself in trouble. Compounding the losses of CAA leading scorer Jordan Roland and versatile four-year starter Bolden Brace to graduation, three players — Max Boursiquot, Tomas Murphy, and Myles Franklin — announced their intent

Northeastern Loses CAA Championship

By Milton Posner WASHINGTON — Before the swarming zone defense, before the frantic scrambles for offensive rebounds, before the drives and the kickouts and the one-on-one brilliance, Tuesday night’s game was about vengeance. The Northeastern Huskies knew it better than anybody. Two years ago, after locking up a share of the CAA regular-season title, battling their

Men’s Basketball Downs Elon, Advances to CAA Championship

Reminder: Northeastern faces Hofstra in the CAA Championship tonight at 7 PM. Michael Petillo, Matt Neiser, and Milton Posner will have the call from Washington D.C., with covering beginning around 15 minutes before tipoff. By Matt Neiser WASHINGTON — No. 6 seed vs. No. 7 seed in a ten-team tournament. It sounds like an early-round

Men’s Basketball Topples Towson in CAA Quarterfinal

Reminder: Northeastern plays Elon at 8:30 PM EDT on Monday in the semifinal of the CAA Tournament. Michael Petillo, Milton Posner, and Matt Neiser will be on the call from Washington D.C., with coverage beginning about 15 minutes before tipoff. By Milton Posner WASHINGTON — The calling card of Northeastern’s conference season was an infuriating

Roland, Walker Win All-CAA Awards

By Milton Posner Reminder: Northeastern begins their CAA Tournament play against Towson Sunday at 6:30 PM EST. Michael Petillo, Matt Neiser, and Milton Posner will have the call from Washington D.C., with coverage beginning at 6:15. It was hard to know what to expect from Jordan Roland and Tyson Walker before the season started. Everyone

Men’s Basketball Media Day

By Milton Posner The CAA Tournament is a funny thing. Save for the top six teams receiving a first-round bye — which Northeastern has — there isn’t much advantage in being a one seed instead of a six seed. This is especially true this season, in which the league’s almost ludicrous parity limits the matchup

Men’s Basketball Tumbles Against Towson

By Milton Posner BOSTON — Playing the Towson Tigers is like fighting an actual tiger. They’re fierce, they’re territorial, and the longer you’re locked in with them the more fatigued you get. So if you’re the Northeastern Huskies, and you have an extra day to prep for a Sunday showdown with Pat Skerry’s squad, you

Men’s Basketball Jackhammers JMU

By Michael Petillo BOSTON — The Northeastern Huskies defended home court on Thursday night, defeating James Madison 77–57 to secure a first-round bye in next week’s CAA tournament. Graduate transfer Guilien Smith led the Huskies with 20 points and Shaquille Walters dropped in 15 points to go along with six assists. Northeastern (15–14, 9–8 CAA)

Men’s Basketball Bests Drexel in Crucial Late-Season Matchup

By Milton Posner PHILADELPHIA — The last time Northeastern faced Drexel, the Huskies tore the Dragons up in every way imaginable. The Huskies nailed nine of their 17 tries from beyond the arc as their balanced attack carried them to a 85–52 victory. Northeastern played seven games between then and Saturday afternoon’s rematch with Drexel.

Men’s Basketball Decimated by Delaware

By Milton Posner Those moments when you’re riding high, when you feel invincible, when you feel like you have all the momentum and confidence . . . those are the moments you’re most likely to be smashed over the head with a hefty sledgehammer. Such was the story of the Northeastern Huskies on Thursday night.

Men’s Basketball Routs Cougars Behind Dominant Second Half

By Milton Posner BOSTON — You’d be forgiven for thinking that disaster was in store. As they entered Matthews Arena on Saturday morning, the Northeastern Huskies had lost five of their last seven contests, each one featuring a blown second-half lead, faltering defense, and lackluster rebounding. Their Saturday afternoon opponent seemed perfectly primed to exploit

Men’s Basketball Subdues Seahawks, Summarily Snapping Subpar Skid

By Michael Petillo BOSTON —  Coming off a tough two-week stretch in which they lost four straight games, Northeastern returned to Matthews Arena on Thursday and picked up a much needed win, defeating UNCW 71–63. The Huskies held the Seahawks to just 24 first half points and Jordan Roland poured in 27 on the night

Second-Half Woes Sink Men’s Basketball Again

By Matt Neiser HEMPSTEAD, NY — The Northeastern men’s basketball team came into Saturday afternoon’s game against Hofstra on a three-game losing streak, desperate for a win as William & Mary, Charleston, and Hofstra have begun to separate themselves at the top of the CAA. Looking for revenge after Eli Pemberton’s last-second game-winner in their

Men’s Basketball Loses Third Straight, Drops Below .500

By Milton Posner and Adam Doucette ELON, North Carolina — The last name the Northeastern Huskies visited the Elon Phoenix, dominant overtime play gave the Huskies an 11-point win and moved them to 2–2 in CAA play. That was January 10, 2019. It was also the last time the Huskies would possess a losing conference

Men’s Basketball and The Knight That Won’t End

By Milton Posner WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia — The green-and-gold-clad players leapt joyfully on the sidelines. The similarly dressed fans erupted into deafening cheers. And the scoreboard, for the final time on a frantic Thursday evening, changed its mind. But Northeastern fans who were paying attention — and perhaps even a few who weren’t — would have

Men’s Basketball Falls to Delaware, 76–74

By Milton Posner BOSTON — At the close of CAA action on Saturday, the Northeastern Huskies’ average margin of victory in conference play rested at 7.7 points, nearly three points better than the next-best team. And yet they sat tied for fifth, owners of a 5–4 conference record, an anomaly possible only because each one

Men’s Basketball Destroys Drexel Dragons

By Michael Petillo BOSTON — Coming off a disappointing overtime loss to UNCW on Saturday, Northeastern returned to Matthews Arena Thursday night badly needing a bounce-back win. They got it against Drexel, soundly defeating the Dragons 85–52 in a game that was never in doubt. Jordan Roland led the scoring charge for the Huskies as

Men’s Basketball Succumbs to Streak-Snapping Seahawks

By Matt Neiser WILMINGTON, North Carolina — Fresh off a 15-point comeback win over CAA heavyweight Charleston, the Northeastern men’s basketball team was riding high as it made its way to Wilmington for a Saturday night matchup against the winless-in-conference UNCW Seahawks. The Seahawks pulled the Huskies back down to earth in Trask Coliseum, however,

Men’s Basketball Conquers the Cougars in Courageous Comeback

By Michael Petillo CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Coming off a pair of heartbreaking, buzzer-beating home defeats to William & Mary and Hofstra, the Northeastern Huskies marched into TD Arena Thursday night badly in need of a win. Against Grant Riller and the second-place College of Charleston Cougars, snapping that two-game skid would be no small

Men’s Basketball Falls to Hofstra on Pemberton’s Game-Winner

By Milton Posner Thursday night’s ending was a test of just how much déjà vu the college basketball gods can cram into one play. Just like Saturday, Northeastern faced a top-tier CAA opponent at Matthews Arena. Once again, the Huskies overcame first-half struggles, closed the deficit with hot second-half shooting, and tied the score in

Photo by Sarah Olender

Men’s Basketball Falls to Tribe on Knight’s Game-Winner

By Matt Neiser BOSTON — Entering Saturday’s games, three CAA men’s basketball teams boasted undefeated records. Two of those teams, Northeastern and Charleston, were of no surprise to most CAA followers. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who predicted the third team would be where they are. The William & Mary Tribe, with long-time

Men’s Basketball Eclipses Elon

By Milton Posner BOSTON — On December 31, 13 hours before the clock hit midnight and the year reset, Tyson Walker was named CAA Rookie of the Week for the third time this season; no other player has won it more than once. The main reason the league cited was his scoring; Walker notched a

Men’s Basketball Deposes the Dukes

By Milton Posner For a few games, it appeared as though Jordan Roland had settled down. His scoring average dropped from the national top-five toward slightly more reasonable territory, and he was shooting just 30 percent in the team’s last three games. But he couldn’t lie dormant forever, and on Monday evening he woke up,

Photo by Sarah Olender

Men’s Basketball Trounces Towson to Open Conference Play

By Milton Posner For years now, anyone who has strolled into SECU Arena to face Pat Skerry’s Towson Tigers has known exactly what they’re up against. The Tigers are tough, scrappy, and energetic on defense, and every point scored against them is a point well-earned. They lived up to that reputation in non-conference play this

Men’s Basketball Tops Detroit Mercy to End Conference Play

By Milton Posner A matchup between Northeastern and Detroit Mercy a week before Christmas wouldn’t normally stir much national attention. But Thursday evening’s contest had a nationally relevant storyline running right through its heart. On the Northeastern side was Jordan Roland, the nation’s fourth-leading scorer at 23.8 points per game. On the Detroit side was

Men’s Basketball Falls to Eastern Michigan

By Milton Posner Anyone who glanced at a pre-game matchup sheet could hazard a guess at how Tuesday evening’s game would go. Northeastern, which entered the game fifth in the nation in three-point percentage, would rely on outside shooting. Eastern Michigan, which entered ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense, would use their height

Men’s Basketball Falls to Davidson

By Milton Posner Many of Northeastern’s wins this season have resulted from a wave of improbable Jordan Roland shots. The senior guard has shown out this season, his long-distance bombs guiding the Husky offense. On Saturday afternoon, a squad hailing from Roland’s old conference arrived at Matthews Arena to battle the Huskies. Roland stood a

Men’s Basketball Manhandles Maine, Roland Scores 1000th Point

By Michael Petillo Jordan Roland tallied 28 points and the Northeastern Huskies defended home court against the Maine Black Bears, winning 78–63 on Wednesday night. Roland notched his 1,000th career point while leading the Huskies to their second consecutive win. Northeastern (5–4) started slowly, committing turnovers on each of their first three possessions before a

Men’s Basketball Tops Weber State Behind Three-Point Torrent

By Milton Posner As Northeastern took the court against Weber State Wednesday morning, they were fresh off a close defeat at Drake’s hands, a defeat caused in part by 19 Northeastern turnovers and the resulting disparity in shot attempts. For the second day in a row, Northeastern give the ball away 19 times. But this

Nineteen Turnovers Sink Men’s Basketball Against Drake

By Milton Posner As the game clock steadily ticked off its final seconds, Jason Strong took charge. He took the ball out top, put his head down, and drove down the right side of the lane. He tossed the ball with a gentle hooking motion, and his layup settled neatly into the basket with 0.6

Men’s Basketball Falls to South Alabama

By Milton Posner As Boston trudges inexorably toward winter, as the days end earlier, the winds blow harder, and the temperatures drop, the Northeastern Huskies migrated south, if only for a few days. They flew to Fort Myers, Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase, an annual eight-team tournament. The Huskies’ three-day, three-game slate is, according

Men’s Basketball Claims Largest Win in Program History

By Milton Posner WORCESTER, MA — From 1096 to 1271, the Roman Catholic Church waged a series of wars against Muslim powers in the eastern Mediterranean. Though the Crusades arguably increased Christianity’s reach, the Church’s wealth, and the Pope’s power, the Crusaders repeatedly failed in their main goal of retaking the Holy Land. On Tuesday

Men’s Basketball Drops Second Straight

By Michael Petillo Old Dominion used strong rebounding and defense to knock off Northeastern Saturday afternoon by a score of 76–69. ODU outrebounded the Huskies 36–26 — including a 14–6 margin on the offensive glass and an 11–3 second-chance points advantage — and pulled away during the last few minutes of what was, for the

Men’s Basketball Loses First of Season

By Milton Posner For the first time this season, Jordan Roland — whose 81 points through two games had garnered himself and his team national recognition — did not log an otherworldly performance. For the first time this season, Northeastern played the balanced offensive game last year’s team did so well. And for the first time

Men’s Basketball Tops Harvard, Roland Sets Franchise Record

By Michael Petillo On Tuesday night against BU, Northeastern senior guard Jordan Roland scored 39 points, just shy of the school record of 41 held by Husky legends J.J. Barea and Reggie Lewis. Northeastern needed every one of those points, as they edged BU out in the closing seconds. Tonight, the Harvard Crimson, a team

Men’s Basketball Bests BU in Exhilarating Season Opener

By Milton Posner When the 2019–20 season ends and the CAA releases its all-conference teams, it’s entirely possible that Jordan Roland’s left hand will make the first team. Roland is right-handed, not that you could tell from watching Tuesday night’s game. The 6’1” senior guard, who usually feasts on a steady diet of long-distance bombs,

CAA Preview: Northeastern Huskies

Last season: 23–11 (14–4 CAA, second place), won CAA Tournament, lost in first round of NCAA Tournament Head Coach: Bill Coen (14th season) CAA Preseason Poll Finish: Third Losses G Vasa Pusica G Donnell Gresham Jr. G/F Shawn Occeus F/C Jeremy Miller C Anthony Green Additions G Vito Cubrilo G Tyson Walker G Guilien Smith