2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Highlanders, led by fourth-year head coach Brian Kennedy , played their home games at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference . They finished the season 9–21, 6–10 in ASUN play, to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Liberty .
This was the final season the Highlanders were a member of the ASUN. On June 14, 2020, it was announced that on they would become a full member of the America East Conference beginning July 1, 2020.[ 1]
Previous season
The Highlanders finished the 2018–19 season 22–13 overall, 8–8 in ASUN play, to finish in fifth place. In the ASUN tournament , they defeated Florida Gulf Coast in the quarterfinals,[ 2] before losing to Lipscomb in the semifinals.[ 3] They received an invitation to the CIT , where they defeated Quinnipiac in the first round,[ 4] before losing to Hampton in the quarterfinals.[ 5]
Roster
2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Levar Williams
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Burke HS
Hyde Park, MA
F
1
Taj Price
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Newark East Side HS
Newark, NJ
F
2
San Antonio Brinson
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
South Kent School
Thomson, GA
G
4
Zach Cooks
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
Jr
Berkmar HS
Lawrenceville, GA
G
5
Diego Willis
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
So
Canarias Basketball Academy
Hermosillo, Mexico
G
10
Caleb Matthews
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Fr
Mt. Zion Prep
Smyrna, DE
G
11
Shyquan Gibbs
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Sr
St. Anthony HS
Hillside, NJ
F
13
Jason Murphy
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
232 lb (105 kg)
Fr
St. Frances Academy
Owings Mills, MD
G
14
Reilly Walsh
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
GS
St. Peter's Boys HS
Staten Island, NY
F
21
Souleymane Diakite
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Saint Benedict's Prep
Bamako, Mali
G
22
Byron III Breland
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Hamden Hall Country Day School
New Haven, CT
F
32
Xavier Mayo
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
The Hill School
Beacon, NY
F
33
Kjell de Graaf
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Canarias Basketball Academy
Rotterdam, Netherlands
F
35
Da'mir Faison
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Hazleton Area HS
Philadelphia, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: January 23, 2020
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2019 *7:00 p.m.
at Colgate
L 75–80
0–1
Cotterell Court (871)Hamilton, NY
November 9, 2019 *4:30 p.m., FSN
at Providence
L 47–76
0–2
Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,102)Providence, RI
November 13, 2019 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Cornell
W 59–58
1–2
Newman Arena (274)Ithaca, NY
November 16, 2019 *2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Wagner
W 88–69
2–2
Wellness and Events Center (1,255)Newark, NJ
November 20, 2019 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Binghamton
L 75–77
2–3
Wellness and Events Center (504)Newark, NJ
November 23, 2019 *4:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Brown
L 63–79
2–4
Pizzitola Sports Center (555)Providence, RI
November 26, 2019 *7:00 p.m., BTN
at Rutgers
L 58–85
2–5
Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,509)Piscataway, NJ
December 4, 2019 *7:00 p.m.
at Army
L 65–75
2–6
Christl Arena (658)West Point, NY
December 7, 2019 *12:00 p.m., ESPN3
at UCF
L 65–78
2–7
Addition Financial Arena (4,178)Orlando, FL
December 11, 2019 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
UMass Lowell
L 66–72
2–8
Wellness and Events Center (355)Newark, NJ
December 14, 2019 *2:00 p.m.
at St. Francis Brooklyn
L 71–73
2–9
Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (418)Brooklyn, NY
December 22, 2019 *2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kean
W 74–46
3–9
Wellness and Events Center (350)Newark, NJ
December 29, 2019 *1:00 p.m., ESPN3
at UConn
L 47–69
3–10
XL Center (10,507)Hartford, CT
Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
January 4, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Liberty
L 38–65
3–11 (0–1)
Wellness and Events Center (1,004)Newark, NJ
January 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Jacksonville
L 52–68
3–12 (0–2)
Swisher Gymnasium (847)Jacksonville, FL
January 11, 2020 5:00 p.m., ESPN+
at North Florida
W 78–66
4–12 (1–2)
UNF Arena (1,919)Jacksonville, FL
January 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Lipscomb
W 75–57
5–12 (2–2)
Wellness and Events Center (2,016)Newark, NJ
January 18, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kennesaw State
W 66–48
6–12 (3–2)
Wellness and Events Center (255)Newark, NJ
January 23, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Stetson
L 64–65
6–13 (3–3)
Edmunds Center (680)DeLand, FL
January 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Florida Gulf Coast
W 56–54
7–13 (4–3)
Alico Arena (2,843)Fort Myers, FL
January 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
North Alabama
L 74–78
7–14 (4–4)
Wellness and Events Center (328)Newark, NJ
February 6, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
North Florida
L 75–82
7–15 (4–5)
Wellness and Events Center (256)Newark, NJ
February 8, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Jacksonville
L 54–65
7–16 (4–6)
Wellness and Events Center (607)Newark, NJ
February 13, 2020 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Lipscomb
L 63–77
7–17 (4–7)
Allen Arena (1,485)Nashville, TN
February 15, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Liberty
L 49–62
7–18 (4–8)
Vines Center (4,745)Lynchburg, VA
February 20, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Stetson
W 78–69
8–18 (5–8)
Wellness and Events Center (569)Newark, NJ
February 22, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Florida Gulf Coast
L 39–55
8–19 (5–9)
Wellness and Events Center (735)Newark, NJ
February 27, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at North Alabama
L 65–72
8–20 (5–10)
Flowers Hall (812)Florence, AL
February 29, 2020 4:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Kennesaw State
W 76–55
9–20 (6–10)
KSU Convocation Center (1,006)Kennesaw, GA
Atlantic Sun tournament
March 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
(8)
at (1) Liberty Quarterfinals
L 49–55
9–21
Vines Center (3,042)Lynchburg, VA
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern .
Source:[ 6]
References
^ "NJIT Welcomed as 10th America East Member Institution" . americaeast.com . June 14, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2024 .
^ "NJIT ADVANCES: Highlanders Earn First ASUN Tournament Win at Dunk City" . New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics . March 4, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ "NJIT's ASUN Championship Run Ends at Lipscomb" . New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics . March 7, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ "BOBCATS BOUNCED: NJIT Defeats Quinnipiac in CIT First Round" . New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics . March 18, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ "Historic Year Comes To A Close: NJIT's Season Ends in CIT Quarterfinals" . New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics . March 28, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule" . New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics . Retrieved September 21, 2019 .