Saturday, November 21st, 7:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: SEFCU Arena (4,538) -- Albany, New York. Television: None. Home Record: Detroit 1-0, Albany 1-1. Away Record: Detroit 0-1, Albany 1-1. Neutral Record: Detroit 1-0, Albany 0-0. Conference Record: Detroit 0-0, Albany 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Shooting for their third straight win, the Albany Great Danes clash with the Detroit Titans as part of the Albany Subregional for the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Last night the Great Danes, losers of back-to-back games to start the new season versus Syracuse and Morgan State, picked up a 71-55 victory over Alcorn State as part of this event.

As for the Titans, they too started out 2009-10 with a disappointing loss to a national powerhouse in California, but after that the team posted an 86-80 win over Western Michigan and also logged a 71-59 decision versus Robert Morris yesterday in this same building.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, this is the first-ever meeting.

Except for Lamar Lee who was held scoreless in his nine minutes on the floor yesterday, every starter for the Titans hit for double figures in the win against Robert Morris. The top man was Thomas Kennedy with 19 points, followed by Eli Holman with his 14 points and eight rebounds, although he also turned the ball over six times. Xavier Keeling's 9-of-12 effort at the free-throw line led to his 13 points and Chase Simon contributed with 12 points, seven boards, a career-high seven assists and five steals to fill out his stat line. Simon has done it all for this team in the early going, putting up a team-best 17.0 ppg, clearing almost six rebounds per contest and accounting for 12 total assists, now if only he could improve upon his 38.1 percent shooting from the floor. Holman is responsible for 15 points and nine rebounds per game, but because he and Simon are the only ones clearing more than four per game it is easy to see why the squad is being beaten on the glass by more than five rebounds per contest.

More than anything, it was a tough defense for the Danes that doomed Alcorn State yesterday, the visitors shooting a mere 35.1 percent from the field and turning the ball over 19 times. Albany didn't exactly take great care of the ball either, suffering 21 miscues, but at least the team could lean on 7-of-17 shooting behind the three-point line and 46.4 percent from the field to get them through. Will Harris tallied 15 points and backup Derrek Tartt tacked on 13 on his 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Tim Ambrose had a busy game with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds, but his 2-of-10 shooting effort left a lot to be desired. Harris, a 43.8 percent shooter beyond the arc, leads this group with his 14.0 ppg, closely followed by Ambrose at 13.8 ppg, but the latter has yet to get a real feel for his shooting touch, aside from his 16- of-20 at the free-throw line. This team is still struggling to find an offense, averaging just 57.5 ppg.

If the Titans can put all the pieces together they can be a tough bunch to handle, something Albany is bound to find out about tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Detroit 71, Albany 66