NEC Championship by the numbers
Numbers are all the rage at this time of year. What's a team's RPI? How high is their strength of schedule? How many Top 50 RPI wins does a team have? Top 100?
Well, we have more here at Colonials Corner. We've combed the stat books, dug through official Northeast Conference releases, dug into past games, and crunched some numbers. Below are some of the more intriguing numbers leading into Wednesday's NEC championship game.
3: 1,000 point scorers in Wednesday's game, all of them only juniors. LIU's Julian Boyd (1,268), Jamal Olaswere (1,222), and RMU's Velton Jones (1,217) all hit the mark this season
4: Consecutive years Robert Morris has made the NEC championship, tied for second longest streak in NEC history (Rider 1993-1996). Fairleigh Dickinson made it five straight from 1985-1989.
5: Number of times Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn will have met in the NEC championship after Wednesday. The two teams have split the four previous titles. LIU holds a 4-3 edge in all NEC tournament contests between the two.
7: The combined total amount the last three NEC title games have been decided by.
8.5: Average number of steals per game for Robert Morris, the most in the league and 21st in the country.
12: Number of road wins for Robert Morris, tied for the most in Division I.
13:: Assists LIU guard Jason Brickman had in the NEC semifinal versus Quinnipiac, a tournament record.
13: Number of players returning this year who played in last year's final.
20.6: Average number of free throws LIU makes per game, the most in the country.
25: Number of years since two teams met in the final in back-to-back seasons. Fairleigh Dickinson and Marist pulled it off in 1986 and 1987.
26: Consecutive games won at home by LIU, the second longest streak in the nation behind Kentucky (52)
31: Number of points scored by LIU's Jamal Olasewere in last year's final.
33: Total NEC tournament wins for Robert Morris in program history, the most of any NEC team.
63.0: Average points per game Robert Morris has allowed this season, tops in the NEC.
67.5: Average score for LIU in the two games the Blackbirds have lost to Robert Morris in the last two years.
81.6: Average points per game LIU has scored this season, third most in Division I.
84: Average score for LIU in the two games the Blackbirds have won over Robert Morris in the last two years.
231: Number of assists for LIU's Jason Brickman this season, third most in league history.