The Friday Fives

Another week come and gone, fans. Conference play is now in full swing and we've seen some great games so far this season. Let's get the weekend started with another edition of the Friday Fives.

Top Plays



Marquee Matchups - 1/12

MBB: Hartford at Stony Brook, 2 p.m.

One of the biggest matchups of the early season -- Hartford is trying to go 4-0 to start conference play and Stony Brook is out to prove it is the top dog in the America East. This one will be fun.

WBB: Stony Brook at Hartford, 2, p.m.

Basketball is alive and well at both of these schools, as Stony Brook looks to continue its strong start in conference play with a win against a Hartford squad that was featured in national mid-major polls for much of the non-conference slate.

MBB: UMBC at Vermont, 3 p.m.

Both of these teams are out to prove something in this game -- for UMBC, it's about following up a win over New Hampshire with another against the preseason favorite, something that would be a huge statement for the Retrievers. For Vermont, it's about following up a tough road loss by winning on its home court, which the Catamounts do so well.

WBB: Binghamton at Boston U., 1:00 p.m.

The Bearcats began conference play by knocking off one of the preseason favorites in Hartford, can they do it again on the road against the Terriers? Boston U. has looked extremely impressive to open up conference play and certainly is striving for a regular season crown.

MBB: Maine at Albany, 7:30 p.m.

Albany bounced back after dropping the Vermont game with a big win over Binghamton. Now the Great Danes will have to deal with a Maine team that is lost a back and forth contest to red-hot Hartford. The Black Bears are serious contenders this year and these two teams are in for a battle.

Comfortable in Conference

Five players that are off to a great start in America East play. Keep in mind this not a "Top five". Just an observation through conference play to date.

Men

Mark Nwakamma (Hart): (3 games) 19.7 PPG (67.7% FG; 73.3% FT), 5 RPG, 1.3 BPG

Jameel Warney (SBU): (2 games) 15.5 PPG (80% FG), 6 RPG, 3.5 BPG

Justin Edwards (Maine): (3 games) 14.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 1.3 SPG

Jimmy Gray (Bing): (3 games) 15.7 PPG (46.2% 3PG), 3.0 APG, 37.3 MPG

D.J. Irving (BU): (3 games) 17.3 PPG (78.6% FT), 3.7 APG, 2 SPG

Women

Ebone Henry (Alb): (2 games) 20 PPG (50% 3FG), 8 RPG,3.5 SPG, 3 APG

Rashidat Agboola (BU): (3 games) 16 PPG (51.3% FG), 8 RPG, 2 BPG

Cari Reed (UNH): (3 games) 14 PPG (100% FT), 9.3 RPG, 1.3 3PT-FG/G

Chikilra Goodman (SBU): (3 games) 13.5 PPG (66.7% FG), 5.7 RPG, 3 APG, 1.7 SPG

Shereesha Richards (Alb): (2 games) 15 PPG (76.5 FG), 8.5 RPG, 2.5 ORPG

Linked Up

A behind the scenes look at the academic side of things brought to you by the Stony Brook women's basketball team.

Stony Brook men's lacrosse midfielder Jeff Tundo is projected as the 29th pick of the fourth round in this year's MLL Draft according to Quint Kessenich's latest mock draft for Inside Lacrosse.

The Press and Sun takes a look at former Binghamton pitcher Scott Diamond as he gets ready to follow up his breakout 2012 with the Minnesota Twins.

Boston U. men's soccer player Michael Bustamante was invited to the 2013 MLS draft combine.

In case you missed it, men's basketball player Nake Sikma was last week's Hartford Mooyah Player of the Week.