2023-24 Monmouth Basketball  Preview: Game Twenty-Eight

Monmouth Hawks (15-12, 8-6 CAA) at Towson Tigers (16-11, 9-5 CAA)
Thursday, February 22, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
TU Arena, Towson, MD

TV
ME TV Baltimore/FloSports
Play-by-Play: Spiro Morekas
Analyst: Jimmy Patsos

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Joe Vasile
Analyst: Steve Bazaz

QUICK BULLETS
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted the fourth 20-20 game in MU history and the sixth in Division I this season last time out

-Cornelius Robinson comes off a career-best 16 points vs. Stony Brook

-Jaret Valencia earned his second straight CAA Rookie of the Week, the first Hawk since '08 to earn the award consecutively

-MU has won 12 home games in a row

-MU turned it over just four times against Stony Brook, the lowest since 3/6/20

-Five Hawks scored in double figures the last time out for the second time this year

-Xander Rice banked in a buzzer-beating three to beat Campbell on Thursday

-Rice scored 37 points, a career-high and tied for the most points ever in the OFBC

-Rice banked in two threes in the final 3.2 seconds against the Fighting Camels

-Spence has back-to-back 100-assist years

-King Rice is the 19th active NCAA head coach with 200+ wins at one institution

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...

-mark the 16th win of the season for Monmouth

-snap a 10-game road losing streak

-move Monmouth's CAA record three games over .500 to 9-6

-register as the 205th win of Rice's career

-even Rice's career record to 205-205

-give Monmouth a season sweep over Towson

-hand Towson its 12th loss of the season

-be MU's ninth win in the calendar year of 2024 and fifth in February

-propel MU to four games over .500 overall at 16-12

-be Monmouth's first win at Towson since 2021

-be the first team Monmouth has swept in CAA play this season

-even the all-time series at 3-3

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES

-Towson leads the all-time series 3-2

-Only four of those meetings came as DI opponents, with the teams meeting in 1983, the final season for Monmouth before turning Division I

-That first meeting came on February 7, 1983, a Towson win

-The teams met in 2014 in West Long Branch as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic

-Monmouth opened leads of 17-0 and 24-1 in 2021 at Towson to win the last non-league meeting between the programs

-Monmouth beat Towson 51-43 earlier this season

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT

-Nikita Konstantynovskyi's 22 points and 20 rebounds marked the sixth Division I player to have a 20-20 game this season.

-Konstantynovskyi's 20 rebounds is the most by a Hawk under King Rice, and the most since Corey Albano had 20 on 2/22/97 against LIU.

-Konstantynovskyi registered the sixth 20-rebound game in Monmouth history.

-This was the first 20-20 game in the CAA since Hofstra's Rokas Gustys on 2/15/18.

-Konstantynovskyi's 22 points and 20 rebounds both marked career highs.

-Cornelius Robinson scored a career-high 16 points.

-Monmouth has now won 12 straight games at home, one shy of tying a program record.

-This marked MU's fifth 40-rebound game of the season, totaling 46.

-MU's four turnovers was a season low and the least since 3/6/20 against Siena.

-Jaret Valencia was two points off a career high, scoring in double figures for the ninth time.

-Jack Collins scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games.

-Assistant coach Rick Callahan coached in his 1,300th career college basketball game.

-Over 50 Monmouth Basketball alumni attended the game as part of Alumni Weekend.

NEXT UP

-Monmouth will host North Carolina A&T on Saturday, 2/24 at 2pm

-The Hawks will host Senior Day and Black History Day on Saturday

-The game will air NBC Sports Philadelphia and FloSports