Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
NEC (20-13, 12-6)
For the first time under Coach Greg Herenda, Fairleigh Dickinson won a share of the Northeast Conference regular season title. They followed it up with tournament title and their second NCAA Tournament appearance following their trip to the First Four in 2016.
Big Wins: 11/21 at Princeton (77-66), 1/5 at St. Francis (79-61), 2/9 at St. Francis Brooklyn (84-73)
Bad Losses: 11/25 Lafayette (76-80), 1/10 Central Connecticut State (96-103), 1/12 at Wagner (60-66)
Coach: Greg Herenda
Why They Can Surprise:
The Knights are a team that can hang around against a top team. This is a group that can score in bunches. They are a very good three-point shooting team and will force quite a few turnovers. Five players average at least ten points per game and there are also five players who average at least one steal. Darnell Edge excels in both departments. He leads the team with 16.4 points and is one of the most underappreciated outside shooters in the country. He has connected on 46.9 percent of his 179 attempts from long range and with other shooters like Jahlil Jenkins, Xzavier Malone-Keys and Kaleb Bishop, the Knights have plenty of options.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Even if the Knights can hang around with a talented team for a while with their consistent outside shooting and perimeter defense, eventually they will get worn down. Fairleigh Dickinson is not a great rebounding team and that is going to catch up with them sooner or later. Mike Holloway, Kaleb Bishop and Elyjah Williams are tough forwards and provide Coach Herenda with some depth, but overall this is not a great rebounding team. An injury to Malone-Key is a potential problem too. He missed the last three games due to a concussion and, without him, the pressure has been on freshman Brandon Powell. He has played relatively well, but Fairleigh Dickinson will need Malone-Key in the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters:
Darnell Edge, Senior, Guard, 16.4 ppg, 2.4 apg
Xzavier Malone-Key, Sophomore, Guard, 11.4 ppg, 1.9 apg
Jahlil Jenkins, Sophomore, Guard, 13.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg
Mike Holloway, Senior, Forward, 12.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Kaleb Bishop, Junior, Forward, 10.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Brandon Powell, Freshman, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Elyjah Williams, Sophomore, Forward, 8.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 75.1 (112th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.1 (174, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.3 (41, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.1 (203, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (175, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.0 (6, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.7 (101, 4)
Rebound Margin: -0.7 (225, 7)
Assists Per Game: 14.2 (116, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.6 (244, 5)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2016 | NCAA | Opening Round loss to Florida Gulf Coast |
*all team stats through 3/10
