WASHINGTON – A crucial division doubleheader is on deck for American University men's basketball this weekend as the Eagles are set to host Loyola University Maryland in their first home game since March 5, 2020, before returning the favor in Baltimore on Sunday night.
 
QUICK INFO

• Date/Time: At American – Saturday, Jan. 23, 12 p.m. ... At Loyola – Sunday, Jan. 24, 6 p.m.
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena) / Baltimore, Md. (Reitz Arena)
• Series History: AU leads, 49-48
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: At AU - Dan Laing (pxp), Jimmy Patsos (color) ... At Loyola - Gary Lambrecht (pxp), Jim Chivers (color) 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• AU swept the series against Loyola a season ago and has won three of the last four meetings. Every meeting in the past two seasons has been decided by six points or less.
• The two programs have faced off 97 times since their first meeting on January 27, 1928. It is the most-played series for the Eagles. Navy and AU are next closest with 95 meetings.
• Long before being in the Patriot League together, AU and Loyola were conference foes in the Mason-Dixon Conference before joining NCAA Division I.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• Johnny O'Neil was outstanding in his first weekend of college basketball, averaging 15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 3.5 bpg against Navy. He was named PL Rookie of the Week for his efforts, the first AU player to do so since March 2019.
• Stacy Beckton Jr. had a career day on Saturday, scoring a career-best 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The 10 field goals and five 3-pointers were also a career-best. The senior was named AU Student-Athlete of the Week, as a result.
• This weekend marks 324 days since the Eagles last played a home game. Among teams that haven't opted out this season, 324 days is the longest stretch between home games in men's Division I basketball. In home openers under Brennan, AU is 4-3 with its last win coming in 2018-19 against New Hampshire, 68-44.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT LOYOLA

• Loyola enters a crucial divisional matchup against American boasting an identical 0-2 record, narrowly dropping two contests to Lafayette by four total points last weekend.
• On Saturday, walk-on Brandon Bradsher scored 21 points in the first start of his career. Bradsher began his career as a manager with the program. The senior made 7-of-12 shots from beyond the arc in the weekend series versus the Leopards.
• Loyola was ranked No. 3 in the preseason PL poll in large part due to the development of its young core. Cam Spencer, Golden Dike, and Santi Aldama all return a year removed from being named to the PL All-Rookie Team. That was only the second time in league history that the same school had 3 members of the All-Rookie Team (Bucknell, 2009-10).
• Corin 'Tiny' Adams is the first female assistant coach of a Patriot League men's basketball team. Adams joined the Loyola staff in October 2020, and she is one of two female assistant coaches on a Division I bench this year, along with the University of Maine's Edniesha Curry. Adams is the sixth woman to serve as an assistant coach in NCAA Division I history.

OTHER NOTABLES

• With the addition of Lorenzo Donadio (Rome, Italy) and Christian Lorng (Paris, France) to the roster this season, AU continues its legacy of international-born ballers as 11 different players from 10 different countries have now played for Coach Brennan. Most recently, Yilret Yiljep (Nigeria) and Mark Gasperini (Russia) carried the torch as international players. The legacy of international players continues all the way back to the Jeff Jones era as an international player has been an Eagle for at least 20 straight seasons.
• The Eagles and Greyhounds are set to face off six times during this unprecedented season. The most recent time two NCAA D-I men's programs have played each other at least six times was 1948 when Oregon and Washington did so. Other D-I men's programs scheduled to play each other at least five times this season include: Winthrop/USC-Upstate (5), Austin Peay/Murray State (5), Georgetown/St. John's (5), and Boston U./Holy Cross (6).
• When play tipped off last Saturday against Navy, the Eagles became the second-to-last NCAA D-I men's basketball program that hadn't officially opted out of competition to open its season. Loyola Maryland tipped off at 4 p.m. last Saturday and was the final program to open play. Both programs went on pause prior to the first scheduled weekend of play due to a positive COVID-19 test within its Tier 1 personnel.
• In his eighth season at AU, head coach Mike Brennan looks to make moves on the all-time wins list. He is six wins away from becoming the fifth AU skipper to reach 100 wins. Eight wins this season will put Brennan in fourth place on the all-time wins list.
• The Eagles were successful from long-range last Saturday, shooting 50 percent on 14-of-28 from beyond the arc in the narrow overtime loss. The 14 triples are second in school history and the most since making 15 against Towson on Dec. 10, 2005. Only once last season did AU make more than 10 three-pointers in a contest (13, vs. St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 16, 2019). All of this success from beyond the arc came without, arguably, AU's biggest weapon from deep, as Connor Nelson was inactive last weekend. Look for the Princeton offense to continue generating open looks for this AU squad.
• Senior guard Stacy Beckton Jr. is looking to make his mark on the AU Men's Basketball record book this season. He currently sits in 9th on the all-time blocks list at AU with 77 career swats. His 36 blocks in 2018-19 also put him on 9th place on the single-season list. The Third Team All-PL honoree and PL All-Defensive Team member has also improved offensively over the course of his career and looks to continue that momentum this season. He enters the season 325 points away from becoming the 33rd member of the 1,000 point club at AU.
• Jamir Harris made an immediate impact in his first year starting for the Eagles as he led the team with 62 made threes and ranked second with 10.7 ppg. More than anything, though, Harris was lights-out from the charity stripe. He broke the single-season record for free-throw percentage at AU (93.2), surpassing Arvydas Eitutavicius's mark of 90.5 percent set in 2006-07.

POSTSEASON PLANS

• Teams in the conference are split into three mini-conferences: South (American, Loyola, Navy), Central (Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh) and North (Army West Point, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross). Teams will play multiple games within those mini-conferences with other games in the league serving as crossovers.
• Eight teams, as opposed to 10, will qualify for the Patriot League Championships this year.
• Each of the three mini-conference winners earns a spot into the tournament field and host a quarterfinal game. Those teams are seeded (one through three) by their overall League record winning percentage.
• Each of the second-place mini-conference finishers earns a spot in the tournament field. The runner-up team with the best overall record would earn the No. 4 seed and the right to host a quarterfinal game. Those teams are seeded (four through six) by their overall League record winning percentage.
• The seventh and eighth seeds are determined by a list of procedures, including but not limited to: best two overall League record winning percentages and head-to-head record (if applicable).

VIRTUALLY "PHIL BENDER" ARENA PRESENTED BY GEICO

• American University Athletics has announced a new virtual ticket campaign in an effort to sell out Bender Arena this coming basketball season. This new season-long initiative, presented by "TEAM AU" partner GEICO, will challenge Eagles fans and alumni to sell out each seat in Bender Arena for the 2020-21 basketball schedule. The "AU Founder" ticket price of $18.93 commemorates the year AU was founded. Click here to support AU Athletics by buying virtual tickets. 

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $5.99/month or $59.99/year.

KEEP UP WITH US

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).