Bryant Set To Host Vermont Saturday for First Place in America East
The Bryant University men’s basketball team welcomes the University of Vermont to the Chace Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon in a battle of the last two unbeaten team in America East. Tip is set for 4:00 p.m.
Bryant and Vermont both enter Saturday’s showdown with 5-0 league records. The Bulldogs have won 4-of-5 on the road, while the Catamounts are coming off an overtime victory against UMass Lowell on Thursday.
The Particulars
Opponent: Vermont
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Saturday, Jan. 27 – 4:00 PM EST
Live Stats: Presto
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Buy Now
Game Notes: Bryant | Vermont
Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram | #AEMBB
THE SERIES
Vermont owns a 3-1 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. The Catamounts swept the season series last year, earning a 70-66 victory in Smithfield. Bryant’s lone win in the series came back in 2014 when the two teams met as non-conference foes.
YEAR TWO OF AMERICA EAST
Bryant is off to a 5-0 start in its second year as a member of the America East. It is the first time Bryant has started 5-0 in league play since the Bulldogs opened the 2012-13 season 6-0 in Northeast Conference play.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Bryant enters Saturday ranked first nationally with 6.7 blocks per game and 13th nationally in field goal percentage defense (39.0 percent). Bryant also ranks 32nd nationally in three-point field goals per game (9.5).
GOOD GRIEF, REEF
Sherif Gross-Bullock became just the third player in DI program history to record 40 points in a game when he scored a career-high 41 at UMBC. SGB finished 16-of-24 from the field, joining Charles Pride (44) and Alex Francis (43) as the only three players to reach 40+. SGB scored 20+ in a six-game stretch from Dec. 22-Jan. 20, joining Alex Francis, Nisre Zouzoua and Peter Kiss as the only players in DI program history to accomplish that feat.
FIVE MORE THINGS TO KNOW
SGB is averaging 23.4 ppg to lead all scorers in America East play. On the year, he’s averaging 19.1 ppg and has made a league-best 3.3 threes per game. SGB has posted nine 20-point games this season.
Timberlake enters Saturday with one of the league’s best overall stat lines, averaging 13.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 bpg and 1.3 spg. He’s one of just three players nationally averaging 12.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 4.5 apg, and is the only player to average at least 8.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.0 spg and 1.0 bpg. In fact, Timberlake is just the fourth player in the last 10 years to post that type of average. Timberlake currently ranks 2nd in the league with eight double-doubles.
Daniel Rivera is currently averaging 15.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 3.4 bpg in America East play. Rivera ranks 12th nationally with 2.42 blocks per game.
Connor Withers posted a team-high 13 points on Thursday at NJIT, hitting 3-of-7 from three. Withers is averaging 8.0 ppg over a 103-game collegiate career. He has 496 rebounds, 193 assists, 99 blocks and 118 steals.
Bryant is 38-7 at home since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Bulldogs are 5-1 at home this year.
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