9 Central Connecticut
2019-20 was not kind to the Blue Devils, who endured their worst season yet under fifth-year coach Donyell Marshall. At 4-27 overall and 3-15 in NEC play, it is hard to be optimistic about CCSU heading into 2020-21, but they do return their leading scorer in Ian Krishnan.
Krishnan missed the first 12 games of the 2019-20 season, but returned in CCSU’s final non-conference game of the year, scoring 23 points in 20 minutes against Div. III Connecticut College. He averaged 12.5 points for the year, all the while draining an insane 45.2% (42-93) of shots from beyond the arc.
Krishnan is not alone, either. Greg Outlaw (8.8 ppg), Myles Baker (8.6 ppg), and Jamir Reed (8.3 ppg) are all returning for the Blue Devils, and Marshall has been able to achieve some success at CCSU. His 14 wins in 2017-18 were the most for the program since 2010-11.
Obviously, they will have to fix a lot of last year’s woes. They were tenth in scoring offense (63.2), last in scoring defense (77.3), last in field goal percentage defense (.460), and were the only team in the NEC to shoot less than 40% last season.
The Blue Devils will also need to learn how to compete and win. Again, their lone non-conference victory last year was against a Div. III school. Their three conference wins – Wagner, Bryant, and FDU – were won by a combined 16 points. Only two of their non-conference games – UMass Lowell and Maine – were lost by single-digits.
The path back to success begins with Krishnan, whose 43.3% overall shooting clip last season should see him average nearly 20 points this coming season. Krishnan’s leadership, paired with a starting five largely comprised of freshmen last year, should see CCSU improve on their four-win total.
The Blue Devils have only made the NEC Tournament once in Marshall’s four seasons, putting the former NBA player’s job in jeopardy. However, with Krishnan on board, there is an opportunity for Marshall – and the Blue Devils – to return to the tournament within the next two years.