Game Notes

The University of Evansville men's basketball team begins the 2008-09 season Saturday night at Roberts Stadium against defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay. Tip-off at Roberts Stadium is at 7:05 CST. Saturday's game is the highlight of Homecoming Weekend at UE.

Here are the Top 10 points to remember as the Aces get ready for the season opener:

1. Saturday’s game is the 22nd between the Aces and Governors in a series that Evansville leads 15-6. The two have met in each of the past six seasons, with Evansville holding a 4-2 edge.

2. Saturday’s game is the Purple Aces’ 31st season opener since their first full year at the Division I level in 1978. The Aces are 21-9 to kick off the regular season since then for a .700 winning percentage. Of course, it helps that 21 of those 30 games have been played at Roberts Stadium. They’re 16-5 in the games played here, and 5-4 away from Roberts. One of the few homecourt losses on Opening Night came against Austin Peay, 67-62 in 1997.

3. From now on, it’s Arad A. McCutchan Court. Saturday’s pre-game ceremony at 6:50 makes it official that the University of Evansville basketball floor will always be named in honor of the coach who led Evansville to five NCAA college division national championships. McCutchan’s teams won 514 games in his 31 years as head coach from 1946 through 1977, including NCAA titles in 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1971.

4. With two exhibition games in the books, Shy Ely leads the Aces in scoring with a 20-point average. He scored 24 against USI and 16 against Earlham. Ely led last year’s squad with a 14.4 average. Nate Garner is next at 12.0, thanks to his 20-point game against Earlham.

5. Austin Peay won both of its exhibition games, 80-75 over Division II?Central Missouri and 91-70 over Division III Fontbonne. Senior forward Drake Reed was the leading scorer in both, with 14 against Central Missouri and 26 against Fontbonne.

6. Austin Peay lost six of its first 10 games last season, including a 10-point loss to Evansville. Then the Governors won 20 of their next 25 to win the Ohio Valley Conference for the second straight year and qualify for the NCAAs. Former OVC Player of the Year Drake Reed and three other veterans return for the 2008-09 season.

7. The most notable rule change this season is the 3-point line at 20 feet, 9 inches–one foot farther back than before. Coincidence or not, the Aces and Governors have gotten off to slow starts with the new distance. Austin Peay’s 0-for-5 three-point shooting in the Central Missouri game marked the first time since Feb. 18, 2002 against Morehead State that Austin Peay failed to hit a three-pointer. Evansville is just 5-for-33 from three-point range in its two exhibition games.

8. The Aces have started the same five players in the two exhibition games that started the final three games last season–forwards Shy Ely and Nate Garner, center Pieter van Tongeren, and guards Jason Holsinger and Kavon Lacey.

9. The UE coaching staff signed two players to national letters of intent this week–6’4” guard Colt Ryan of Batesville, Ind. and 6’7” guard-forwad Derek Johnson of The Woodlands, Texas. Both are high school seniors. UE in 2009-10 will be replacing seniors Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger and Nate Garner.

10. The Mighty Oaks of Oakland City University come to Roberts Stadium for Evansville’s next game, on Tuesday. One of OCU’s top newcomers is USI transfer Brandon Hopf, cousin of UE’s Clint Hopf. This will be the first regular season game between the two since 1955.