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It's been 38 years since the Ball State Cardinals have played in Evansville, and that long dry spell finally ends on Saturday when the 4-2 Cardinals take on the 4-1 Purple Aces at Roberts Stadium at 7:05 CST.
THE TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW...UE VS. BALL STATE SATURDAY, DEC. 6
1. Evansville and Ball State competed for years in the Indiana Collegiate Conference, but they had not played since the 1978-79 season until renewing the series last year at Muncie. UE’s Pieter van Tongeren scored the game-winner in the last 10 seconds to give the Aces a 51-50 victory last season. Evansville leads the series 37-14.
2. This will be Ball State’s first trip to Evansville since 1970-71. The Aces are 17-0 at Roberts Stadium against the Cardinals. Ball State’s most recent win at Evansville came in 1953-54, when the Aces were still playing at the Armory.
3. The Cardinals and Aces already have two common opponents. Evansville lost at Butler 75-59, and won at home over SIU-Edwardsville 89-58. Ball State lost at Butler 64-55, and won at home over SIU-Edwardsville 67-55.
4. Both programs appear headed in the right direction under second-year coaches. Billy Taylor’s Cardinals are 4-2 after going 6-24 last season. Marty Simmons’ Aces are 4-1 after finishing 9-21 a year ago. This is Evansville’s best start since 2004.
5. Sophomore center Pieter van Tongeren produced the first double-double of his career in Tuesday’s win over SIU-Edwardsville with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes.
6. Senior forward Shy Ely didn’t have a double-double before this season. Now he has two, after totaling 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds on Tuesday.
7. Sophomore guard Kavon Lacey also got into the career-high column on Tuesday. Despite not starting for the first time since midway through his freshman season, Lacey came off the bench to hit six of seven shots and score a career-high 14 points. Freshman Kaylon Williams started in place of Lacey.
8. Senior guard Jason Holsinger is creeping closer to the school record for three-pointers. He has nine this season and 229 in his career, the third most in school history. Marcus Wilson is the all-time UE leader with 250. Scott Haffner is second with 245.
9. Junior guard Darin Granger scored his first seven points of the season Tuesday. He was the Aces’ third leading scorer last season at 8.0 ppg, and ranked 10th in the MVC in 3-point field goal percentage at .407. Granger is still scoreless from three-point range this season.
10. Evansville leads the Missouri Valley Conference in defense, allowing opponents only 59 points per game. UE is the only team in the league holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. The Aces also rank number one in rebounding, averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game more than the opposition. Of course, a big reason for that disparity is Tuesday’s 61-31 rebounding advantage against SIU-Edwardsville.
For the full game notes, just click on the Game Notes link on the men's basketball page.
