Final Non-Conference Game Set for Saturday Afternoon

GAMEDAY INFORMATION vs. NJIT HIGHLANDERS
Date & Time	Saturday, January 17, 3 p.m.	Dartmouth	Stats	NJIT
Location	Hanover, N.H.	6-8	Record	10-9
Arena (Capacity)	Leede Arena (2,100)	Lost 2	Streak	Won 5
All-Time Series	First Meeting	61.9	Scoring	69.2
Tickets	Information	.430	FG%	.449
Broadcast	Big Green Insider on the Ivy League Digital Network - Drew Galbraith play-by-play	.357	3FG%	.365
Logistics	Directions // Parking // Seating Chart	.651	FT%	.671
Twitter	@DartmouthMBK // @DartmouthSports	+2.4	Reb Margin	-2.4
Dartmouth Links	Home // Roster // Schedule // Stats // Notes // Live Stats	13.1	Assists	14.3
NJIT Links	Home // Roster // Schedule // Stats // Notes	12.4	TO	14.9

Paul Cormier midseason update (audio)

Finishing Non-League Games
•    Dartmouth hosts NJIT for the Big Green's final game outside of Ivy League play on Saturday afternoon.
•   A win over the Highlanders would even out the Big Green's record against non-conference opponents at 7-7 and match last year's mark.
•   While Dartmouth has held five of its last six opponents to less than 60 points, the offense has fallen under that total four times, twice tallying less than 50 while going 3-3 in those six contests.
•   The new year has not been kind to Dartmouth thus far with losses to Harvard and Vermont.
•   The Catamounts dealt Dartmouth a 55-52 defeat on Wednesday evening when a 30-foot three-point attempt by Malik Gill at the buzzer only drew iron.
•   The Big Green's top two scorers this season, Alex Mitola (14.0 ppg) and Connor Boehm (11.3) paced the team at Vermont with 11 points apiece.
•   Mitola provided all three Dartmouth three-pointers in the game as he continues to lead the Ivy league in long balls per game (3.1).
•   Dartmouth boasts two players averaging at least six rebounds a night in Gabas Maldunas (6.6 rpg) and Boehm (6.0).
•   Two of the Ivy League's best ball-handlers reside in Hanover as well. Mitola and Gill both have a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, a figure bested by only one Ivy player.

Series vs. NJIT
•   This is the first-ever meeting between these two schools on the hardwood.
•   Twice Dartmouth has taken on opponents for the first time in the program's history. On opening day, St. Bonaventure dealt the Big Green a 77-57 loss, but Dartmouth beat Mercer on the Bears' home court, 67-51, back on Dec. 16.
•   Head coach Paul Cormier is 16-28 in his career against schools that reside in the state of New Jersey, and 11-11 against N.J. schools that are not in the Ivy league.

Scouting the Highlanders
•   The nation's lone independent team has been on a roll of late, winning its last five games, including a 78-71 victory over Yale last weekend.
•   But NJIT's biggest win hands down was its 72-70 road win at Michigan, which was ranked 16th nationally at the time.
•   Other road wins have come at Duquesne, Central Connecticut State and UMBC.
•   No player in the country has knocked down more three-point shots than Damon Lynn (listed as the same height as Mitola), and his 3.84 triples per game is third nationally as he leads the Highlanders with 16.8 points per game.
•   The Dartmouth defense will also have to keep an eye out for Winfield Willis (28-of-77, .364) and Tim Coleman (18-of-38, .474) on the perimeter.
•   Another guard in Ky Howard might be the team's most valuable. He is shooting 52.0 percent from the floor while averaging 11.8 points, plus leads the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and assists (4.1).
•   NJIT is not afraid at a faster pace, scoring nearly 70 points a game, but is prone to turning the ball over at nearly 15 per contest.
•   Defensively, the Highlanders have held opponents to 40.9 percent shooting, but have also had some bad luck in fouling. The opposition is shooting 75.5 percent at the line, a figure that would rank 11th in the nation.
•   Expect Dartmouth to grab exactly 2.4 more rebounds in this game — that is the Big Green positive rebound margin and NJIT's negative margin.
•   Now in his seventh season guiding the Highlanders, head coach Jim Engles owns a 71-112 record during his tenure. He was named the Great West Conference Coach of the Year in 2012-13 and even received a vote for national honors in 2010-11.

Win Needed To Go .500 vs. Non-Ivy
Last year, Dartmouth posted a 7-7 record to post a .500 record against non-conference competition for the first time in six years. A victory over NJIT in this game would match that 7-7 mark, and with at least a .500 record against Ivy teams, the Big Green could enjoy their first .500 or better season since the 1998-99 team went 14-12.

UVM Continues to Vex Big Green
A nip-and-tuck game at Vermont on Jan. 14 was of little consolation when the buzzer sounded as the Catamounts held off Dartmouth, 55-52. It was the seventh straight win for UVM in the series and 15th win in the last 16 meetings. The Big Green still maintain a strong 57-42 record in the all-time series, and will try to end the recent woes in the 100th game between the two next year in Hanover.

Harrison Provides Instant Offense
Sophomore Cole Harrison has seen limited time on the court thus far, but he made the most of the six minutes he played in the first half at Vermont. The 6-11 center hit 3-of-4 shots to equal his season high of six points, plus grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot.

Boehm on Target of Late
Over the last four games, Connor Boehm has been extremely efficient on offense. The power forward has made 22-of-35 field goals (.629), including 6-of-8 (.750) from behind the arc, to average 13.8 points per game. His dead-eye accuracy has vaulted him to the league lead in field goal percentage (.550).

No Rest for the Weary
Well, Alex Mitola may not be weary, but the junior point guard has seen plenty of action this season and in his two-and-a-half-year career. He has started each of Dartmouth's 70 games since arriving on campus and has averaged close to 33 minutes a game. This year, he leads the Ivy League and ranks 43rd nationally by playing an average of 35:34 each and every contest.

Maldunas Joins the 900 Club
By scoring the first Big Green bucket of the game at Vermont on Jan. 14, center Gabas Maldunas surpassed 900 points for his career. He finished the game with 907, so if he can add another 93 before the end of the season (not even seven points a game), he would become the 26th player in the program's history to tally 1,000. The last player to reach the milestone was Alex Barnett '09 six years ago.

Schedules