The No. 20 nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team is set to play two Northeast-10 Conference games this week beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. as they play host to the University of New Haven, followed by a road game against the College of Saint Rose on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m.

ALL-TIME VS. UNH
The Chargers hold a 43-39 edge all-time versus the Owls. Both teams split the season series last year, 1-1.
Game 1 - UNH 79, SCSU 66 - Senior Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, followed by sophomore Isaiah McLeod (Cambridge, Mass.) who scored 12 points.
Game 2 - SCSU 86, UNH 71 - Mallory scored a game-high 29 points where the Owls went on to clinch the Southwest Division of the NE-10 for the third straight year.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers (3-3, 0-3 NE-10) are coming of a 77-67 victory over LIU Post. UNH has three players scoring in double figures -  junior Danny Upchurch (15.5 ppg and 7.1 apg), freshman Elijah Bailey (14.7 ppg and 3.2 rpg) and sophomore Michael Bourke (12.0 ppg). The Chargers are scoring an average of 70.7 ppg (13th in the NE-10) and allowing 72.8 ppg (13th in the NE-10). The Chargers have wins over Mercy, Le Moyne and LIU Post and losses from St. Thomas Aquinas, Saint Rose and Adelphi. 

ALL-TIME VS. SAINT ROSE
Saint Rose leads the all-time series versus the Owls with an overall record of 20-14. Both teams split the season series last year, 1-1. 
Game 1 - SCSU 86, STR 79 - The Owls shot 57-percent from the field in the final 20 minutes behind 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting by Michael Mallory.
Game 2 - STR 85, SCSU 79 - Sophomore Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.) notched 13 points along with eight rebounds. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Golden Knights (8-0, 3-0 NE-10) are riding an eight-game winning streak and are coming off a three-game sweep in the 2016 Puerto Rico Basketball Classic. The Golden Knights are one of two teams undefeated in the NE-10 (So. New Hampshire 4-0, 2-0 NE-10). Opponents are averaging 55.8 ppg against the Golden Knights (first in the NE-10). Saint Rose is led by juniors Julian Lipinski (11.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg) and Mical-Ryan Boyd (12.8 ppg and 3.4 apg).

LAST TWO GAMES FOR THE OWLS
SCSU kicked off the week with an NE-10 Conference showdown against AIC. The Owls, led by Michael Mallory who poured in 30 points, defeated the Yellow Jackets, 92-87. In its second game of the week, the Owls took on Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Owls fell short to the Sharks, 81-78. 

NATIONAL RANKING
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team is ranked No. 20 nationally in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll.

MALLORY EARNS USBWA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mallory has been named the Division II National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers of America. This honor comes on the heels of his selection as the Spalding Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for his play in wins over Adelphi and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

MALLORY BECOMES OWLS ALL-TIME LEADER IN POINTS
After a 30-point performance in a 92-87 victory over AIC, Mallory passed Rich Radicioni as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,938 career points and counting.

SCORING LEADER
Michael Mallory currently leads the country in scoring with 28.8 ppg.

AUSTIN CARTER CLOSING IN 
Senior Austin Carter (Bloomfield, Conn.) is seven blocks shy in becoming the program's second all-time leader in blocked shots, trailing Trevon Hamlet (188). Last week, Carter moved to 11th all-time in career rebounds with 561 and counting.

THE SOPHOMORES 
Joey Wallace has scored over 10 points in five games played for the Owls and currently ranks third on the team in scoring. Isaiah McLeod has scored over 10 points in five of the Owls' six games this season. 

DISHING THE BALL
Joey Wallace is fourth in the NE-10 Conference in assists with 5.8 apg. Through five games last season, Wallace averaged 1.2 apg.

NE-10 RANKINGS
The Owls are first in points per game (87.8) and offensive rebounds per game (12.8), second in rebounding (39.2 rpg) and third in free-throw percentage (79.4)

TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
SCSU has four players scoring in double figures:

• Michael Mallory - 28.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.6 apg
• Junior Jerry Luckett, Jr. (Milwaukee, Wisc.) - 16.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg
• Joey Wallace - 15. 2 ppg, 5.8 apg and 5.0 rpg 
• Isaiah McLeod - 10.2 ppg and 5.0 rpg

IN THE PRESEASON RANKINGS
SCSU has been well-recognized in both the conference and national polls.
- Northeast-10 Conference: No. 1 in the Southwest Division 
- Division II Bulletin: No. 4
- NABC Coaches' Poll: No. 13 
- D2SIDA National Poll: No. 15

RECAPPING LAST YEAR
The Owls are coming off a year in which they went 22-8, finished first in the NE-10 Conference Southwest Division and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The Owls elevated as high as No. 2 in the national rankings last season.

A FINE FIRST SEASON
Owls' coach Scott Burrell was selected the 2016 ECAC Coach of the Year after leading the Owls to 22 wins and a NCAA berth in his first season. 

RETURNING STARTERS
Southern Connecticut will be led by senior Michael Mallory, who led the team with 23 points per game and was selected as an All-American, All-ECAC, All-Region and All-Northeast-10 Conference performer. Classmate Austin Carter averaged 9.8 points per game, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and was named 2015-16 Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Sophomore Joey Wallace averaged 7.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds and was named to the NE-10 All-Rookie Team. 

MALLORY CHOSEN TO PRESEASON "SUPER 16" TEAM
Michael Mallory has been selected to the Division II Bulletin's preseason "Super 16" Team. 

MALLORY NAMED SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
For the second year in a row, Michael Mallory was named to the Sporting News preseason All-America Team. 

SOME RECORDS OWNED, MORE WITHIN REACH
Michael Mallory set a new SCSU single-season program record with 95 three-pointers made last year and is also currently the Owls' all-time leader in three-pointers made with 281 and three-point attempts with 720. He also holds Southern's single-game scoring record with 47 points in a January, 2016 win over Bentley.

CARTER DOES IT DEFENSIVELY
Austin Carter ranks third all-time at SCSU with 182 blocked shots. Carter trails Trevon Hamlet (188) for second place all-time in blocks. Carter is also 12th all-time in career rebounds with 561 boards and counting. The senior earned the 2015 Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award.

HEAD OF THE PACK
Seniors Michael Mallory and Austin Carter will serve as team captains for the 2016-17 season. 

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The Owls welcome junior Jerry Luckett, Jr. sophomore Bernard Brantley and freshmen Noah Miree, Donte Etheridge and Taurus Adams II to the team this year.

WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns nine players from last year's squad - seniors  Michael Bozzuto, Austin Carter, Michael Mallory, Dominic Migliaro, Jonathan Paul and sophomores Toby Christensen, Isaiah McLeod and Joey Wallace.

TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY
Moore Field House has been a tough place to play for the Owls who are 38-8 (.826) at home since the start of the 2013-14 season. SCSU has been even better in NE-10 action with a 30-2 mark (.938) in league games.

FACING SOME TOUGH COMPETITION
The Owls will face five teams that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago – Bentley, Holy Family, Southern New Hampshire, Stonehill and Saint Anselm.

RECENT SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Owls have been victorious in their last six season-opening games dating back to the 2010-11 season, defeating Molloy, Goldey Beacom, Post, Chestnut Hill, Dominican and Dowling.

THRIVING IN THE CLASSROOM
For the second year in a row, the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as a recipient of the 2015-16 Team Academic Excellence Award for its success in the classroom. In addition, five members of the team were selected as honorees for the 2016 NABC Honors Court - Michael Bozzuto, Austin Carter, Michael Mallory, Jonathan Paul.

UP NEXT
SCSU is back in action against Molloy College on Monday, Dec. 5 in Rockville Centre, N.Y. at 7 p.m.