• Free Live Game Audio (Courtesy of WUEV)
It's been almost two years since the Aces' men's basketball team has won a Missouri Valley Conference game away from home, and UE hopes the new winning streak begins where the old one ended–-Terre Haute. That's where the Aces (9-3, 1-1) meet Indiana State (3-10, 1-1) Sunday at 12:35 CST in the MVC Game of the Week on Fox Sports Net.
THE TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW...VS. INDIANA STATE JAN. 4
1. Evansville has played far more games against Indiana State than any other school. Sunday’s game will be the 148th in a series that Indiana State leads 75-72. The series dates back to 1920-21. Evansville had won four in a row over Indiana State until the Sycamores swept last season’s games, winning 70-56 at Evansville on Dec. 29 and 72-42 at the Hulman Center on Jan. 23.
2. Under second-year head coach Marty Simmons, the 9-3 Aces have already equaled last season’s victory total.
3. UE has lost 16 consecutive games to Missouri Valley Conference teams away from Roberts Stadium. That includes 14 straight regular season road games, and MVC Tournament first round games in 2007 and 2008.
4. The Aces’ most recent MVC road victory came at Indiana State on Jan. 24, 2007, 50-49. Evansville has won two of the last three games at the Hulman Center. A 77-75 victory in 2005-06 ended a six-year losing streak in Terre Haute.
5. Evansville had scored 70 points or more in seven consecutive games until being held to a season-low 50 points in Wednesday’s 30-point loss at Illinois State. The Aces shot a season-low 35 percent, and turned over the ball a season-high 21 times.
6. Jason Holsinger is the Prairie Farms/MVC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the second time in less than a month. He goes into Sunday’s game with 249 three-pointers in his career. That’s one shy of the school record set by Marcus Wilson 10 years ago. Holsinger is the 23rd leading scorer in UE history with 1,215 points. He is 50 away from catching his coach, Marty Simmons, who scored 1,265 points in just two seasons.
7. Shy Ely has scored in double figures in all 12 games this season. His longest previous stretch of double figure games was 11, last season. Ely is #38 in UE career scoring with 1,044 points. His next point will tie him with former teammate Kyle Anslinger (2003-07).
8. Sophomore center Pieter van Tongeren scored in double figures only six times last season, but two of those were against Indiana State. He totaled 23 points and 11 rebounds in the pair of games against the Sycamores.
9. There’s been only one recorded triple-double in UE history, but freshman guard Kaylon Williams is flirting with the second. He had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday at Illinois State. He had already recorded points/rebounds/assists of 7/8/9 against Western Kentucky and 8/6/8 against North Carolina A&T. Williams’ season highs are 12 points (Oakland City), 9 rebounds (SIU-E) and 13 assists (Drake).
10. Here’s a look at the UE players who rank in the top five in this week’s Missouri Valley Conference statistics: Assists– 2. Kaylon Williams 4.7; Scoring– 3. Shy Ely 17.3; Assist To Turnover Ratio– 3. Kaylon Williams +2.0; Minutes Played– 3. Shy Ely 33.4; Offensive Rebounds– 4. Nate Garner 2.5; Defensive Rebounds– 4. Shy Ely 5.3; 3-Point Field Goals– 5. Jason Holsinger 2.4.
For a complete look at the game notes, just click on the ISU Game Notes link on the men's basketball page here at GoPurpleAces.com
