# 2014–15 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2014–15 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by seventh year head coach Jim Engles, played their home games at the Fleisher Center and were in their second year as an Independent.
On December 6, 2014, NJIT defeated then-#17 Michigan in the program's first game against a top 25 team.
After starting the season with 5 wins and 9 losses in their first 14 games, the Highlanders won 13 of their next 15 games to improve to 18–11 and earn an invitation to the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), the first Division I postseason berth in school history. In the CIT, they defeated New Hampshire, Cleveland State, and Canisius to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Northern Arizona. They finished with a record of 21–12.
This was the Highlanders' final season as a Division I independent; as on July 1, 2015, NJIT joined the Atlantic Sun Conference.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 0 | Ky Howard | Guard | 6–4 | 185 | Junior | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 2 | Tim Coleman | Guard | 6–5 | 210 | Sophomore | Union, New Jersey |
| 3 | Chris Jenkins | Guard/Forward | 6–4 | 215 | Sophomore | Hillside, New Jersey |
| 5 | Damon Lynn | Guard | 5–11 | 165 | Sophomore | Hillside, New Jersey |
| 10 | Daquan Holiday | Forward | 6–8 | 205 | Senior | Allentown, Pennsylvania |
| 11 | Winfield Willis | Guard | 6–0 | 180 | Junior | Baltimore, Maryland |
| 15 | Terrence Smith | Forward | 6–6 | 195 | Junior | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| 22 | Odera Nweke | Forward | 6–5 | 220 | Senior | Richmond, Texas |
| 23 | Osa Izevbuwa | Guard | 6–3 | 230 | Sophomore | Staten Island, New York |
| 24 | Emmanuel Tselentakis | Guard | 6–5 | 205 | Junior | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| 25 | Rob Ukawuba | Guard | 6–3 | 210 | Sophomore | East Brunswick, New Jersey |
| 33 | Vlad Shustov | Forward | 6–10 | 225 | RS Freshman | Tomsk, Russia |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||
| 11/14/2014* 7:00 pm, FSN | at St. John's | L 58–77 | 0–1 | Carnesecca Arena (4,703) Queens, NY |
| 11/17/2014* 7:00 pm | Maine | W 90–86 | 1–1 | Fleisher Center (775) Newark, NJ |
| 11/19/2014* 7:00 pm | at Albany | L 48–65 | 1–2 | SEFCU Arena (2,583) Albany, NY |
| 11/22/2014* 2:00 pm | UMass Lowell | L 61–63 | 1–3 | Fleisher Center (500) Newark, NJ |
| 11/24/2014* 9:00 pm, FS1 | at Marquette | L 57–62 | 1–4 | BMO Harris Bradley Center (11,966) Milwaukee, WI |
| 11/29/2014* 2:00 pm | at Duquesne | W 84–81 | 2–4 | Palumbo Center (1,563) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 12/03/2014* 7:00 pm | at UMass Lowell | L 67–71 | 2–5 | Costello Athletic Center (387) Lowell, MA |
| 12/06/2014* 12:00 pm, BTN | at No. 17 Michigan | W 72–70 | 3–5 | Crisler Center (12,226) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 12/09/2014* 7:30 pm | St. Francis Brooklyn | W 68–66 | 4–5 | Fleisher Center (1,372) Newark, NJ |
| 12/12/2014* 7:00 pm | at Holy Cross | L 66–76 | 4–6 | Hart Center (1,674) Worcester, MA |
| 12/14/2014* 3:30 pm | at LIU Brooklyn | L 49–65 | 4–7 | Steinberg Wellness Center (1,419) Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/20/2014* 7:00 pm | at Central Connecticut | W 84–76 | 5–7 | William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,117) New Britain, CT |
| 12/23/2014* 7:00 pm, FS1 | at No. 7 Villanova | L 67–92 | 5–8 | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA |
| 12/28/2014* 2:00 pm | at Lafayette | L 71–76 | 5–9 | Kirby Sports Center (1,732) Easton, PA |
| 12/30/2014* 7:00 pm | Saint Francis (PA) | W 77–65 | 6–9 | Fleisher Center (704) Newark, NJ |
| 01/02/2015* 7:00 pm | at UMBC | W 70–55 | 7–9 | Retriever Activities Center (713) Catonsville, MD |
| 01/07/2015* 7:00 pm | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 69–60 | 8–9 | Fleisher Center (776) Newark, NJ |
| 01/09/2015* 7:00 pm | Yale | W 78–71 | 9–9 | Fleisher Center (780) Newark, NJ |
| 01/14/2015* 7:00 pm | St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) | W 79–60 | 10–9 | Fleisher Center (411) Newark, NJ |
| 01/17/2015* 4:00 pm | at Dartmouth | L 53–62 | 10–10 | Leede Arena (775) Hanover, NH |
| 01/19/2015* 1:00 pm | at Maine | W 65–55 | 11–10 | Cross Insurance Center (2,417) Bangor, ME |
| 01/25/2015* 3:00 pm | at South Alabama | W 72–55 | 12–10 | Mitchell Center (1,909) Mobile, AL |
| 02/02/2015* 7:00 pm | Hampton | W 86–67 | 13–10 | Fleisher Center (511) Newark, NJ |
| 02/03/2015* 7:30 pm | Delaware State | W 69–51 | 14–10 | Fleisher Center (937) Newark, NJ |
| 02/07/2015* 4:00 pm | Fisher | W 96–70 | 15–10 | Fleisher Center (600) Newark, NJ |
| 02/13/2015* 7:00 pm | Albany | L 59–65 | 15–11 | Fleisher Center (1,500) Newark, NJ |
| 02/16/2015* 7:00 pm | Maine–Fort Kent | W 89–55 | 16–11 | Fleisher Center (516) Newark, NJ |
| 02/28/2015* 2:00 pm | Sarah Lawrence | W 90–55 | 17–11 | Fleisher Center (505) Newark, NJ |
| 03/04/2015* 7:00 pm | at Howard | W 71–62 | 18–11 | Burr Gymnasium (705) Washington, D.C. |
| CIT |||||
| 03/16/2015* 7:00 pm | New Hampshire First round | W 84–77 | 19–11 | Fleisher Center (1,303) Newark, NJ |
| 03/23/2015* 7:00 pm | Cleveland State Second round | W 80–77 | 20–11 | Fleisher Center (1,404) Newark, NJ |
| 03/28/2015* 7:30 pm | Canisius Quarterfinals | W 78–73 | 21–11 | Fleisher Center (1,505) Newark, NJ |
| 03/31/2015* 9:00 pm, CBSSN | at Northern Arizona Semifinals | L 61–68 | 21–12 | Walkup Skydome (5,583) Flagstaff, AZ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||