Men's Basketball vs. MIT
Wednesday, January 19 | 7:00 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 57-25 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to the 1978-79 season.
• The Beavers swept the season series in 2019-20 after dropping five of the previous six encounters.
• Four of the last seven games between the programs have gone to overtime, and six of the last 10 meetings have been decided by six points or fewer.
LAST MEETING
• Junior Crew Ainge '21 scored the go-ahead hoop with 50 seconds left and Jack Coolahan '20 scored nine of his game-high 33 points in overtime as No. 20 Babson outlasted MIT, 90-85, on February 20, 2020, inside MIT's Rockwell Cage.
• Coolahan went 10-of-16 from the floor and matched his career-high with seven three-pointers for the Beavers. Andrew Jaworski '21 matched his career-high with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting and senior Colin Bradanese recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
• Ian Hinkley '21 finished with 23 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Engineers. Senior Giannis Chatziveroglou recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards, while junior Tim Kostolansky came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the loss.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (10-5, 3-1 NEWMAC) has won four of its last five games, including a 104-65 NEWMAC rout of Wheaton last Saturday at Staake Gymnasium.
• Graduate student Spencer Cline scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-11 shooting in Babson's win over the Lyons. He buried a season-high six three-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds, and his 11-for-11 effort marks the second-most field goals made without a miss this season by any Division III player.
• Bradanese recorded his team-leading fourth double-double with 18 points and 14 boards in the win, while sophomore Kieran Dorney chipped in with 15 points.
• The Beavers shot a season-best 61.2 percent from the floor and buried a season-high 16 three-pointers while finishing 57.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Beavers also dished out a season-best 28 assists and finished with a 43-33 edge on the glass.
• Babson's 56 first-half points were its most since putting up 60 in a 99-85 win over Tufts on December 8, 2019.
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• MIT (9-5, 2-2 NEWMAC) brings a two-game winning streak into Wednesday's contest, including a 73-52 victory over Springfield on Saturday.
• Senior Dan Pilsbury scored a game-high 21 points in the win over the Pride, shooting 9-for-11 from the field. Classmate Ian Hinkley posted a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, while sophomore Charles Rich added 13 points and Chatziveroglou collected 11 rebounds in just 17 minutes.
• Hinkley also had a double-double in last Wednesday's 73-60 triumph over Coast Guard with 16 points and 10 boards. Chatziveroglou posted a 16-point, eight-rebound, six-assist performance, junior Alex Cho added 11 points and six rebounds, and Pilsbury finished with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
• MIT ranks eighth in NCAA Division III in total assists (278), 19th in 3-point field goals (144) and 25th in free throw percentage (75.5).
• Junior Alex Cho leads the NEWMAC and ranks tied for 11th nationally with 88 assists along with his 13.6 points per game.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• Babson is 8-1 on home court this season, 13-2 since the start of last season, and 22-4 since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Beavers are outscoring their opponents by nearly 14 points per game this season in Staake Gymnasium (79.6-65.8).
NEWMAC NUMBERS
• MIT and Babson are second and third in defense in the NEWMAC, respectively, allowing 71.1 and 71.2 points per game.
• The Beavers and Engineers are fifth and sixth in scoring in the NEWMAC, respectively, with 78.4 and 74.9 points per game.
• MIT tops the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (39.6), free throw percentage (75.6), and assists per game (19.4).
• Hinkley is the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week after averaging a double-double, highlighted by posting 10 defensive rebounds per game.
AROUND THE BLOCK
• Bradanese has a team-high 17 blocks this season and is tied for third in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game.
• The senior forward has upped his career total to 70 rejections, tying him with Jeff Nicholson '05 for fourth place on the program's all-time list.
• Bradanese now has his sights on Bradley Jacks '18, who blocked 75 shots, and Tim O'Brien '97, who blocked 78. The all-time leader is Bryant Richards '96, who swatted away 128 shots.
BY THE NUMBERS
• The Beavers are 7-1 this season when leading at halftime, and 14-3 since the start of last season.
• Babson has won 13 of its last 14 since the start of the 2020-21 season when winning the rebounding battle, and is 27-2 with the advantage on the glass since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Beavers' 28 assists against Wheaton were the most in a single game over the last decade, surpassing the 27 dished out in a 91-57 victory over Becker on November 22, 2016.
A LOOK AHEAD
• Babson winds up its three-game homestand this Saturday with a NEWMAC match-up against Coast Guard at Staake Gymnasium, beginning at 1 p.m. MIT returns home to host Emerson in conference play Saturday at 2 p.m.
