Gameday Central - PittsburghVideo Preview DETROIT (11/19/2015) -- The first road trip of the year has the Titans heading to the state of Pennsylvania as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team battles Pittsburgh on Friday night, Nov. 20.
The game is set for 8:00 p.m., at the Peterson Events Center. Fans can purchase tickets online by
clicking here. Fans can also follow all the action on ESPN3.com as well as with live stats.
This is the third career meeting between Detroit and the ACC institution. UDM won the first meeting in 1969, while the Panthers collected a victory in the last match-up in 2012.
DETROIT VS. PITTSBURGHThis is the third career meeting between the two schools, separated by roughly 310 miles.
Detroit and Pittsburgh last met in 2012 as the Titans led by as many as 13 in the first half (25-12, 7:14), 37-29 at the break and by two in the second stanza (41-39, 12:24) only to see the Panthers storm back to earn the win, 74-61.
The first match-up took place in the Motor City Classic on Dec. 26, 1969, as the red, white and blue defeated Pitt, 86-60.
ABOUT THE PANTHERSPittsburgh is 1-0 on the year as the Panthers cruised past Saint Joseph's (IN), 84-43, on Tuesday.
Pitt was supposed to have another game under its belt as it led No. 9 Gonzaga, 37-35, at the half in the Armed Forces Classic, played at Foster Fieldhouse on U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. But that game was postponed due to unsafe court conditions that was produced by the humidity and moisture.
Michael Young and Sheldon Jeter each posted double-doubles in the season opener as Young finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Jeter added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Panthers were 19-15 last season, 8-10 in the ACC, and earned a trip to the NIT. They have eight letter winners and four starters returning, including Third Team All-ACC Jamel Artis and Young (Honorable Mention).
Jamie Dixon is in his 13th season as head coach of Pittsburgh, where he owns a 308-111 overall record.
THE PRESEASONDetroit did not play an exhibition this season as it elected to take part in two closed scrimmages against a pair of Division I programs.
LOOKING AHEADDetroit will return home for another Monday game as the Titans host UM-Dearborn on Dick Vitale Court in historic Calihan Hall. The game will be Special Needs Player Camp Appreciation Day as all of those campers that took part in the 5th Annual Basketball Camp for Special Needs Players this summer will receive a FREE ticket.
Campers will also participate in an on-court presentation during the game.
VS. THE ACCDetroit is 20-66 all-time against current teams in the ACC.
Most of that is the 12-41 record versus Notre Dame. The Titans last win against a current ACC school was the Fighting Irish as UDM won, 83-59, in the Motor City in 1992.
111 YEARS OF TITAN BASKETBALLThe 2015-16 season marks the 111th year of collegiate basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy as the Tigers – yes, Tigers - beat Collegiate, 18-7, in the first official Detroit basketball game.
Until 1919, the then University of Detroit athletic teams were known as the Tigers. In the fall of 1919, the Detroit Free Press' sportswriter Stan Brink, who was covering football for the paper, thought that a good nickname for the team would be the Titans.
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a class of oversized people who happened to have almost perfect physiques.
In its 111 years (two years records are missing in 1907-08 and 1908-09) Detroit is 1,378-1151 (.544) all-time with two regular season Horizon League championships (1998, 1999) and three conference tournament titles (1994, 1999, 2012).
UDM has also made six NCAA tournaments (1962, 1977, 1979, 1998, 1999, 2012) and seven NIT appearances (1960, 1961, 1965, 1978, 2001, 2002, 2013).
ROAD OPENERSThe first game on the road has not been so kind to the Titans as Detroit has dropped 14 true road openers.
The last time UDM won a true road opener was at Chicago State, 87-65, in 2000-01.
Overall, Detroit is 16-58 in road openers since 1932.
AGAINST THE KEYSTONE STATEDetroit is 34-52 all-time against schools from the state of Pennsylvania.
UDM is also familiar with Pittsburgh as former conference rival Duquesne is just a few miles away from the Pitt. Duquesne was in the MCC from 1992-93.
WE LOVE THE 80'SDid you know that Detroit is a remarkable 48-4 overall when scoring 80 or more points under head coach
Ray McCallum.
The Titans are even better outside of the Horizon League where they have a 24-1 record when reaching 80 points.
Year-by-Year Mark When Reaching 802015-16 (1-0)
2014-15 (6-0)
2013-14 (3-2)
2012-13 (14-1)
2011-12 (9-0)
2010-11 (8-1)
2009-10 (7-0)
WHAT A DEBUTFreshman
Josh McFolley didn't have to wait long before he made an impact as he scored the first basket of the year for the Titans and led Detroit with 17 points in the season-opening victory over Central State.
McFolley was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-8 from three, finishing with a team-high 17 points in just 26 minutes of action.
He is the first Detroit netter to lead his team in scoring in his Titan debut since sophomore Chase Simon registered 17 at California in 2009.
He is also the first freshman to lead the team in scoring in his collegiate debut since Jerry Davis had 18 against Toledo in 1978.
OFFENSIVE ATTACKThe Titans put up 88 points in their home opener, the most in a home opener since cruising past Northern Michigan, 88-53, to start the 2012-13 campaign.
Detroit also connected on 11 from behind the arc, the most since hitting 12 in a 109-59 win over Aquinas last season.
UDM was also 30-of-56 from the field with the 30 field goals the most since knocking in 30 at Youngstown State last season, while the 53.6 field-goal percent is the highest shooting mark since UDM tallied 68.2 percent in that contest at YSU.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERSIt was not all about the offense in the season opener as the Titans posted some good stats defensively.
Detroit held Central State to 32.4 percent shooting, including just 4-of-18 (22.2%) from three, while outrebounding the Marauders, 52-35.
The Titans had nine blocks, the most since Detroit swatted away nine against Youngstown State in last year's Horizon League Championship first round game.
The red, white and blue also recorded nine steals, the most since taking nine away at Oakland last year.
CB BRINGING THE ESenior
Carlton Brundidge - one of the most experienced college players on the team - had a great start to the year finishing with 14 points, six rebounds, a career-high five assists, a block and a steal in just 21 minutes of action against Central State
He has now seen action in 81 career games with 21 starts.
He was close to a 2-1 assists-to-turnover ratio last season dishing out 33 assists with just 19 miscues.
NON-CONFERENCE TOUGHNESSDetroit's non-conference schedule is as tough as anyone in the Horizon League.
The non-conference slate features a total of 11 games -- including six regular-season home dates.
Overall, the non-conference schedule has six teams that posted 20 or more wins in 2014-15 - with two other foes garnering 19 – while six of the nine Division I opponents made a trip to the postseason last year.
Eight of the nine Division I schools had winning records and combined to tally a 176-125 overall mark (58.4 percent) last season.
Non-Conference Foes 2014-15 RecordBowling Green 21-12
Central State 18-12
Eastern Michigan 21-14
Northeastern 23-12
Oral Roberts 19-15
Pittsburgh 19-15
Toledo 20-13
UCF 12-18
UM-Dearborn 11-19
Vanderbilt 21-14
Western Kentucky 20-12
AND THE 1ST POINTS GO TO.....Junior
Jarod Williams as he sank two free throws for the first points of the 2015-16 season.
#1 SHOOTING 3'SSharpshooting senior
Anton Wilson is back for his final collegiate campaign. He appeared in all 33 games – with 16 starts as a junior – and averaged 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
He shot 41.8 percent from behind the arc - a number that ranks sixth in school history - connecting on 56-of-134 from long distance.
With his four triples in the season opener, he passed Titan legend and 12-year NBA veteran Willie Green and is now eighth in school history with 123 career 3-pointers.
He is also seventh in school history with a 40.1 career three-point field goal percentage.
Titan 3-Point Field Goal Leaders1. Rashad Phillips, 1998-01 - 348
2. Desmond Ferguson, 1998-00 - 235
3. Dwayne Kelley, 1990-93 - 224
4. Jon Goode, 2005-08 - 202
5. Greg Grays, 2001-02 - 169
6. Michael Jackson, 1992-95 - 157
7.
Juwan Howard Jr., 2012-15 - 146
8. Anton Wilson, 2012-pre. - 123MORE 3 NEWSSenior
Anton Wilson started the season with four 3-pointers marking his 11th career game with four or more treys.
He has 64 career games with at least two 3-pointers and 19 games knocking down at least three triples.
GERALD'S GLASSFreshman
Gerald Blackshear had a fine start to his career as he posted a game-high 10 rebounds to go with six points, three assists, three steals and a block.
WIERD STATThe Titans committed 25 turnovers in the season opener, but still came away with a win.
The 25 turnovers were the most since UDM had 26 against Shawnee State on Dec. 28, 2009, a game it won, 82-53, and a season in which the Titans finished 20-14 overall.
MUSCLE IN THE MIDDLEA rugged 6-6, 240-lb forward returns in sophomore
Jaleel Hogan and he showed signs in the second half of being a force to reckon with.
In the season opener, he filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
It was also his fifth career double-digit scoring effort.
He played in all 33 games for Detroit as a true freshman and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, but his shining play was on display with 10 points and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes in a win over Valparaiso at home in the regular season finale.
Almost unstoppable down low, Hogan ended the year with a blistering 62.0 field goal percentage, which would rank third in school history for a single season, but was 25 field goal attempts shy from qualifying for that mark.
THEFT ALERTJunior
Jarod Williams is back for the Titans and the opposition should take note of that.
Williams led Detroit last year with 40 steals, after tallying 33 as a freshman, the second highest total on the team.
He has played in 66 career games with 50 starts and is averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
AN AFS SIGHTINGA candidate for Horizon League Freshman of the Year could be redshirt freshman
Aaron Foster-Smith, a 6-7, 220-lb forward who sat out last season. That experience could pay for him this season the same way it paid off for his teammate
Paris Bass a year ago.
He played 24 minutes in the season opener and registered nine points on 4-of-7 shooting with a pair of blocks and two rebounds.
He averaged 21.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game in high school as a senior and was selected to the News Herald All-Downriver 'Dream Team' two years in a row. He was also tabbed to the Detroit News All-Metro West First Team and the Class A All-State Third Team.
FROM LA TO THE DJunior
Matthew Grant returns, adding to the experience in the Titans' backcourt.
Through his first two years, he has played in 66 games making 32 starts.
He has one of his best games last year against No. 11 Wichita State, posting a season-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds.
HL PRESEASON POLL HAS UDM FOURTHAt the annual Horizon League media day in Chicago in mid-October, the Titans were voted fourth in the HL Preseason Poll, which was voted on by the league's coaches, media and sports information directors.
The Titans totaled 289 points – including one first place vote – in the preseason poll, trailing only Valparaiso (418), Oakland (368) and Milwaukee (344). Wright State (253), Green Bay (215), Cleveland State (173), UIC (125), Youngstown State (93) and Northern Kentucky (87) rounded out the preseason predictions.
