By Andrew Parente, News Staff

When teams come into Matthews Arena this winter, they will be frustrated not only by the cold environment, but by the suffocating defense the men’s basketball team prided itself on last season.
The Huskies will use their defense to try and build on a successful 2008-09 campaign, which saw 19 wins, 13 losses, and a trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
Last season, the Huskies were second in the conference in team defense, allowing 60.4 points per game and first in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play, allowing just 56.3 points per game.
‘It all starts with defense,’ said senior captain and guard Matt Janning. ‘Last year we held teams to under 40 percent shooting 15 times and we were 15-0 in those games. That’s something were going to try and set as a goal for each game.’
This year’s roster contains a strong balance of veteran talent combined with seven fresh faces.
Janning leads a talented senior class, along with newly named captains forward Manny Adako and guard Baptiste Bataille. Other seniors include forward Nkem Ojougboh and guard Brian McDonald.
Bataille said as captain, he focuses on helping younger players on the team.
‘We’ve been through some of the things they’re going though now academically and on the court,’ Bataille said. ‘We just try to guide them and help them out.’
This year’s freshman class includes guards Chris Avenant, Alwayne Bigby, Jonathan Lee, Mathiang Muo and Joel Smith, and forwards Kauri Black and Dinko Marshavelski.
Head coach Bill Coen, now in his fourth season with the Huskies, said he is impressed with how his older players are mixing with the newcomers.
‘They’ve been unbelievable up to this point,’ Coen said. ‘Most of our freshmen have been here on campus taking classes over the summer and they have been training and playing together. I couldn’t be more proud of what they have meant to this group.’
Adako agreed with Coen’s thoughts and said it has been easy meshing with the freshmen.
‘It’s been easy to lead by example,’ Adako said. ‘Us being seniors, we lead by example and they respect everything that we do.’
Since Coen took over the program, the Huskies have had some of the more challenging schedules in the nation, including teams from major conferences such as the Atlatic Coast Conference, Big East and Big Ten. This year is no different as Northeastern will battle traditional major and mid-major powerhouses to prepare for the rigorous CAA schedule.
‘We always try to schedule the best opponents to prepare us for CAA play,’ Coen said. ‘This year some unique opportunities popped up.’
Among the teams the Huskies will play this year are Siena (27-8), Utah State (30-5), Wright State (20-13), Rhode Island (23-11), Providence (19-14) and Boston University (17-13). They will also travel to Hawaii and California to play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22-25) as well as the Cable Car Classic (Dec. 29-30) during winter break. Northeastern will open the season at Siena, in Albany, N.Y., in a nationally-televised game on ESPN Nov. 17.
‘We’re anxious to get started,’ Coen said. ‘That should be a great contest. They are a top-25 team at home and with the bonus of being on ESPN’s marathon day, it should just be a terrific day of college basketball.’
On the offensive side, Janning returns as the team leader in points (14.3) along with junior guard Chaisson Allen to make up the productive backcourt for the Huskies.
Allen returns to the Huskies after leading the team in rebounds (5.2), steals (1.8) and assists (3.1) last season.
‘As good as Chase is, he might be one of the most underrated players in this league,’ Coen said. ‘Many days, he is our best player. He’s getting better and better and is really going to help our offensive production.’
Adako and Ojougboh make up the last of the four returning starters in the front court, both of whom are poised to have a strong senior season. Junior forward Vinny Lima and sophomore forward Ben Felix make up the rest of the returning lettermen to the Huskies. Janning and Adako also both earned pre-season awards from the CAA. Janning was named all-first team while Adako was named to the second team.
Janning said he couldn’t have won his individual award without a team effort.
‘It’s not just me, it’s everybody who practices here in this gym,’ Janning said. ‘Stuff we do down in the weight room, that’s got me that [award] and Manny that [award] and that’s going to get our team to where we want to be. It’s not just my honor, it’s a team honor.’
Fans can see this year’s squad when the Huskies host their annual Red/Black scrimmage tonight at 7 p.m. at Solomon Court. The first home contest at Matthews Arena will be Saturday Nov. 21 at noon when the Huskies welcome Utah State to Boston.