Dec. 21, 2009

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Navy Looks To End Three-Game Losing Streak at Big East Member Seton Hall
• The Navy men's basketball team concludes its pre-Holiday schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 22, when it travels to Newark, N.J., to battle Big East power Seton Hall at the cavernous Prudential Arena, also known as "The Rock" (18,500). Navy enters the contest on a three-game losing streak and is 4-7 overall after falling to a solid Wofford squad, 73-62, on Dec. 12. Seton Hall, meanwhile, is 8-1 after opening the year with eight straight wins, before falling to Temple on Saturday night. The contest comes the day after final exams end at Navy, and will be the Midshipmen's first contest in 10 days.
• Tip-off will be at 7:00 pm (ET) and the contest will be carried by WNAV 1430 AM on the radio dial in Annapolis and www.WNAV.com online all around the world. Pete Medhurst will handle the call, beginning with the Navy Basketball pregame show at 6:45 pm (ET). In addition, SHUPirates.com will provide live streaming video and live stats, and Navy fans can stay updated with text messages during the game via Twitter at twitter.com/NavyAthletics(.)
• Navy received a well-deserved break after playing its first 11 games in a 29-day span from Nov. 13 - Dec. 12, following its last contest against Wofford, 73-62. Since its season opener, Navy has had just three spans of three days off so far this year, not including its 10-day break for finals (Dec. 12-22). Five of Navy's seven losses have come to teams picked in the top three of their respective conference races. The other two have come to Atlantic 10 power George Washington (7-2) and a much-improved Maryland-Eastern Shore squad.
• The Mids gave a valiant effort in their last outing, a 73-62 loss to a very strong Wofford team that has lost tight games to Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Illinois and Bradley. Navy led by as many as six points in the first half, but scored just eight points in the first half's final 12 minutes to trail 32-26 at haltime. After eventually tying the game at 50 with 10 minutes left, the Mids were outscored, 23-12, down the stretch to drop their third straight game. Jordan Sugars led Navy with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting (5-of-6 from three), while Chris Harris added 11 points. Navy was hurt at the free throw line, where the Terriers outscored the Midshipmen, 20-9, from the stripe.
• Seton Hall dropped a 71-65 decision Temple on Saturday night, falling from the ranks of the unbeatens and now standing 8-1. The Pirates are an impressive 6-1 at home and have outscored its opponents by an average margin of 20.4 points per game at "The Rock".
• Seton Hall and Navy have played just twice before, once in the 1967-68 season and then again in the 2007-08 season. The teams have split the meetings, 1-1. Navy won on Jan. 20, 1968 (68-58) in Annapolis, but dropped a 79-75 decision at the Palestra on Nov. 23, 2007.

What You Need To Know
• Navy enters the contest with Seton Hall with a 4-7 record, its third time Navy has started 4-7 or worse under Billy Lange (2007-08 and 2004-05). The 2007-08 team started 3-8, but went 13-6 in its last 19 games to finish 16-14 and finish in second place in the Patriot League.
• The Mids enter the contest on a three-game losing streak. It matches Navy's longest losing streak since a five-game slide on Jan. 17 - Feb. 2, 2007.
• Navy has led, been tied or trailing by just one possession with under 10 minutes to go in six (Radford, Buffalo, Mount St. Mary's, George Washington, Md.-Eastern Shore, Wofford) of its seven losses. In its other loss to Long Island, Navy was within six points in the final five minutes.
• Navy continues to be one of the nation's best free throw shooting teams, currently ranking 58th nationally (.731) in free throw percentage. Navy is one of three teams nationally (Harvard and California) to rank in the top 70 nationally in free throw percentage in each of the last five years (including this year).
• Navy is just one of 17 teams nationally that have not lost by 20 or more points in the last two-plus seasons (start of 2007-08). Navy's worst loss during that span was an 86-68 setback in the season opener to Towson a year ago. Just six teams nationally have not had a loss by as much as 18 points, and Navy is one of 11 teams nationally to have not had a loss by more than 18 points. The list includes national powers Butler, Memphis, Connecticut, Georgetown, North Carolina, Texas and Kansas and nine others. The Mids are one of five mid-major teams to be on the list (Butler, VCU, Niagara and Wright State).
• Nationally as of Dec. 13, Navy ranks in the top 100 in three-point percentage defense (.282 / 34th), free throw percentage (.731 / 58th) and three-pointers per game (7.5 / 78th). However, the Mids rank in the bottom 100 in scoring defense (72.4 / 248th), scoring margin (-3.9 / 253rd), field goal percentage (.385 / 311th), rebound margin (-5.2 / 304th), assist-turnover ratio (0.82 / 238th), turnovers per game (16.6 / 291st) and personal fouls per game (22.2 / 302nd).
• Navy boasts the Patriot League's top scorer in Chris Harris at 20.6 ppg (Colgate's Kyle Roemer is second at 16.9) and the league's second-ranked rebounder in Jordan Sugars at 8.3 (American's Stephen Lumpkins leads at 8.6). The last and only year that two different teammates led the league in those stats was in 1992-93.
• The only teammates to ever win the scoring and rebounding titles in league history were Colgate's Tucker Neale (21.9 ppg) and Darren Brown (11.3 rpg) in the 1992-93 season.
• In addition, O.J. Avworo ranks second in assists per game at 5.2 apg (Lehigh's Marquis Hall is first at 6.4 apg). Needless to say, no three teammates have ever led those three categories in a season.
• Senior guard Chris Harris ranks high in several national categories, including field goal attempts (1st / 205), three-point attempts (1st / 104), free throws made (6th / 66), three-pointers made (17th / 31), free throw attempts (18th / 74), scoring (25th / 20.6), free throw percentage (33rd / 89.2) and field goals made (36th / 65).
• Harris is also closing in on the top spot for career three-pointers made at Navy. Harris currently has 231 career three-pointers, just six behind the school record of 237 set by Greg Sprink (2005-08). Harris has 16 games during his career of five or more three-pointers, including in three of his last five games.
• Lastly, Harris has 1,230 career points to rank 17th on the school's career scoring list. However, the 6-2 guard from Mechanicsville, Va., needs just 10 points to move into the top 15 in scoring. John Tolmie (1967-69) ranks 15th with 1,240 points.
• Jordan Sugars has been a pleasant surprise this year for Billy Lange's squad, averaging 15.0 ppg and a team-best 8.3 rpg. Sugars ranks third in the Patriot League in scoring (15.0), second in rebounding (8.3), sixth in field goal percentage (.500), sixth in steals (1.4), third in three-point percentage (.446) and third in three-pointers made per game (2.6).
• In addition, Sugars ranks fifth nationally in rebounding among guards. He has recorded three double-doubles on the season (16 p, 16 r vs. Radford; 21 p, 12 r vs. Penn; 19 p, 14 r vs. UMES) and his 16 rebounds vs. Radford are the most nationally for a guard.

Navy-Seton Hall: The Series
• Navy and Seton Hall will battle for just the third time in series history on Tuesday night, but for the second time in the last three years. Both teams have won a prior meeting.
• Navy defeated the Pirates, 68-58, in Annapolis on Jan. 20, 1968. In that contest, Scott Semko led the Midshipmen with 17 points and Henry Schmidt added 14. The Mids shot 48.0 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pirates, 36-27, in the contest.
• Almost 40 years later, Seton Hall gained its revenge with a 79-75 decision at the Palestra on Nov. 23, 2007, in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. Brian Laing had 27 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates, while Greg Sprink had 23 points and Adam Teague had 18 for the Midshipmen. John Garcia led Seton Hall with 19 rebounds.
• Navy is looking for its first win over a Big East squad since a Nov. 26, 1996, victory over Pittsburgh (60-49). Navy has lost the last six games against Big East teams by an average margin of 11.5 ppg (two losses to Villanova, two to Georgetown, one to Seton Hall and one to Pittsburgh).
• In addition, Navy has lost 21 straight games against teams from a power conference (Big East, Atlantic 10, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac 10, Big 10, Conference USA). Navy's last win over a power-conference school came on the above-mentioned Nov. 26, 1996, win over Pittsburgh (60-49).
• An interesting note about Navy's shooting against Big East opponents. In three of the last four games against a Big East foe, Navy has made at least 11 three-pointers. The lone exception came against Georgetown in the 2006-07 season, when the Mids went just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. Navy made 14-of-28 against Villanova a year ago, 13-of-37 vs. Seton Hall two years ago and 11-of-34 against Villanova three years ago.

# GO NAVY #