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…
Story by Justin Diament and Milton Posner Photos by Jordan Baron HARRISONBURG, VA — “Whenever it ends, it ends.” “It’s like you’re on a treadmill, you’re running about ten miles an hour, and somebody hits the stop button. And everything stops. Your mind, the players’ rhythm, ‘what time is practice tomorrow’, ‘what are we doing’, ‘what…
Story by Justin Diament and Milton Posner Photos by Jordan Baron HARRISONBURG, VA — If you were paying attention, you could see the answers coming an hour in advance. After each of his team’s last three wins, plus a CAA press conference a month ago, Northeastern head coach Bill Coen fielded a question about his…
By Peyton Doyle and Milton Posner TOWSON, MD — The coronation of Bill Coen as the winningest coach in Northeastern basketball history seemed almost inevitable entering Sunday. His team was 8–1 in conference play, with their only loss coming to second-place James Madison. Their opponent, the eighth-place Towson Tigers, had only two conference wins, both…
By Jordan Baron and Milton Posner The Northeastern Huskies have had some pretty crazy CAA win streaks. In 2012–13 they began conference play with eight wins and finished 14–4. In 2018, they marched to the CAA Championship game on the back of a nine-game streak. The next year, a string of seven victories lifted them…
Story by Justin Diament Photos by Sarah Olender BOSTON — It just wasn’t the Huskies’ day. As they watched James Madison dribble out the clock to complete a surprising 79–72 win, they also watched their seven-game winning streak, their longest in two years, end. The Dukes were led by junior guard Vado Morse, who contributed…
Story by Peyton Doyle and Milton Posner Photos by Jordan Baron BOSTON — Northeastern men’s basketball’s 72–63 win over James Madison on Saturday afternoon wasn’t exactly surprising. The Huskies were on an absolute roll coming in, and while the Dukes boasted a seemingly solid record, they hadn’t played much in the way of sturdy competition. But…
By Milton Posner If it wasn’t obvious by now, there’s some kind of magic in the air for Northeastern men’s basketball. In a season thrown into chaos by the unpredictability of a pandemic, with the youngest roster in the CAA, amid injuries that sidelined three big men simultaneously, and after being pummeled by high-major teams…
By Jordan Baron and Milton Posner Since their introduction to the Colonial Athletic Association in May of 2005, the Northeastern Huskies had started conference play 5–0 in only three seasons. Make that four. Behind quality performances from Jason Strong, Tyson Walker, Shaq Walters, and Chris Doherty, the Huskies did just that, securing their fifth straight…
By Jordan Baron and Milton Posner BOSTON — It’s not the greatest idea to wake a sleeping dragon. But during the second half Saturday afternoon, the Hofstra Pride did just that. Northeastern’s Tyson Walker had been a consistent if unremarkable presence all game, dropping eight points in a first half where the Huskies dominated on both…
By Milton Posner and Mike Puzzanghera HEMPSTEAD, NY — When Bill Coen led his team into the locker room at halftime Thursday evening, he was less than pleased with the state of affairs. The Huskies trailed the preseason favorite Hofstra Pride by 17. The four most prolific scorers in the game were all wearing blue,…
By Peyton Doyle and Milton Posner BOSTON — Northeastern men’s basketball entered Sunday afternoon’s rematch with Elon after demolishing the Phoenix the day before. A game that stayed close through halftime was decided by a furious 11–0 run to begin the second half. Sunday’s game was precisely the opposite. After opening a double-digit lead four minutes…
By Andrew Lee and Milton Posner When Shaq Walters splashed home a long, difficult three-pointer with 17:53 left in the game, Northeastern men’s basketball fans had every reason to be jubilant. The team had tried 15 triples to that point, converting 10. And they led the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs by 14 points on the road.…
By Catherine Morrison and Milton Posner NORFOLK, VA — Northeastern came into Sunday’s game looking to even their record after a nail-biting loss to Syracuse on Wednesday. Instead, the Huskies suffered another close loss to a strong team, falling 66–62 to Old Dominion. The Monarchs (3–2) started strong, bolstering a moderate scoring pace with elite…
By Jordan Baron and Milton Posner On Wednesday afternoon, the Northeastern Huskies were a young, undersized team entering the jaws of a basketball shark. They drove west to Syracuse to battle a team coached by a man who’s won more games than many of us have watched, the same team that most recently polished off…
By Jordan Baron, Justin Diament, and Milton Posner BOSTON — In a fiery game that came down the wire, the Northeastern Huskies held off a frantic last-minute run from UMass to notch a 78–75 win, their first of the season. In Friday’s game, the crushing UMass press forced the Huskies into 15 first-half turnovers and…
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…
By Milton Posner Almost eight months to the day after Northeastern and Hofstra battled it out in the CAA Championship game, the conference released the results of its preseason poll. For the second straight year, the Pride took the top spot. The Huskies, who underperformed their third-place projection last year before hitting their stride in…
By Milton Posner The Colonial Athletic Association announced its 2020–21 schedules for men’s and women’s basketball on Wednesday morning. Teams will play 18 conference games across January and February, same as usual. But to limit travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, teams will play back-to-back games on Saturdays and Sundays against the same opponent in the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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)…
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.…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
By Milton Posner With the CAA’s conference slate beginning today, WRBB examined the non-conference performances of all 10 CAA teams and ranked them from worst to best. The rankings are based on each team’s record and strength of schedule, with occasional deviations if a deep dive into a team’s schedule, margins of victory, or statistics…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
