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Two of the hottest teams in the Missouri Valley Conference square off in their league opener Sunday afternoon at 2:05 at Roberts Stadium. Defending MVC champion Drake brings a 9-3 record into Evansville against the 8-2 University of Evansville Purple Aces, off to their best start in 14 years.

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW...VS. DRAKE DEC. 28

1. The Sunday, Dec. 28 game will be the 30th in a series that Evansville leads 15-14. Drake has won four in a row against the Aces, and nine of the last 11. Drake has also won three of the last four at Roberts Stadium. Sunday is the first day for MVC games. All 10 teams take on league foes that day.

2. At 8-2 overall, the Aces are off to their best start in 14 years. The 1994-95 team won nine of its first 11.

3. The Aces have won all eight home games this season, best since the 2004-05 team won its first eight. The last time Evansville started 9-0 at Roberts Stadium was 1999-2000, when the Aces won their first 10 home games.

4. Under second year coach Marty Simmons, the Aces are just one win away from matching last season’s victory total. UE has the MVC’s third best offense at 72.8 points per game, up from an MVC-worst 59.5 a year ago. Their field goal percentage defense last season (45.4%) was also the MVC’s poorest. This season, opponents are shooting only 40.6 percent. That’s currently second best in the league.

5. Evansville is just 6-8 in MVC openers since joining the league in 1994-95, but they’re 5-2 in even-numbered years. The wins came in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2006.

6. Getting to the free throw line has been a big reason for UE’s success. The Aces have outscored the opposition 185-106 at the line. The only opponent to make more free throws this season has been North Carolina.

7. Senior forward Shy Ely went into Christmas week second in the Valley in scoring behind Drake’s Josh Young with a 17.3 average. Ely has scored 26, 23 and 21 points in his last three games. Last Saturday he became the 43rd player in Aces’ history to reach 1,000 career points.

8. Senior guard Jason Holsinger is now 25th in career scoring at UE with 1,190 points. His 245 three-pointers are the second most in UE history behind Marcus Wilson’s 250. Three more treys will put Holsinger in the MVC’s all-time top 10.

9. Jason Holsinger was chosen this week as one of 30 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The only other finalist from the MVC is Josh Dotzler of Creighton. Players are chosen on the basis of athletic and academic success. In addition to being a 1,000-point scorer, Holsinger has a 3.88 grade point average. He’ll graduate in May with a degree in economics.

10. Evansville’s most improved player is senior forward Nate Garner. His second double-double in two weeks came Saturday when he scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 73-66 win over North Carolina A&T. Despite standing only 6-foot-4, Garner is sixth best in the MVC with a 6.9 rebound average.

For a complete look at the UE-Drake game notes, go to the men's basketball page here at GoPurpleAces.com.