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The number two team in the Missouri Valley Conference, and the only one that the University of Evansville hasn't seen yet, comes to Roberts Stadium Tuesday night. The 20-5 Shockers of Wichita State will try to win at Roberts Stadium for the first time since 2007 when they take on the Purple Aces at 7:05 CST.
•Wichita State has a 17-13 lead in the series against the Purple Aces, and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings. However, Evansville has been victorious at Roberts Stadium against the Shockers each of the past two seasons: 64-56 on Feb. 6, 2008 and 61-52 on Feb. 7, 2009.
•At 20-5, Wichita State is one of only 14 teams in the nation with 20 wins. The Shockers are ranked 37th nationally in the latest Ratings Percentage Index. They are 9-4 in the Valley, second only to Northern Iowa (21-2 overall, 12-1 in the Valley, 13th in the RPI). Wichita State is the only MVC team that UE has not played. The Aces play the Shockers one week from Wednesday at Wichita.
•Evansville’s last two opponents have shot 66.7 percent (Creighton 28-for-42) and 62.5 percent (Bradley 30-for-48). Those are the top two shooting percentages against Evansville all season. The Aces are 0-13 when they shoot a lower field goal percentage than the opposition. Through the first 13 MVC games, Evansville is shooting 40.5 percent as a team, and the opponents are shooting 48.0.
•Colt Ryan scored 48 points in two games last week, and is now just seven points shy of breaking Jason Holsinger's UE freshman scoring record of 365 points, set in 2006. Ryan is well on his way to becoming the first freshman to lead the Aces in scoring since Marcus Wilson in 1996. Ryan is the MVC's #2 scorer at 15.6 ppg.
•The name of Kavon Lacey will likely pop up among the MVC assist leaders on Wednesday. Because he missed six games with a knee injury, Lacey won't qualify for the MVC stat categories until he has played in 75 percent of the games. That will come after Tuesday's game against Wichita State. At 3.6 assists per game, Lacey is one of three Aces averaging three or more assists. Troy Taylor is at 3.3 and Colt Ryan is at 3.0.
•Junior Clint Hopf has been UE's most consistent frontcourt player lately. He scored in double figures in back to back games last week for the first time this season, and has scored 10 or more in four of his last seven games. The 6-8 junior is scoring at a modest 5.5 points per game, but his average has doubled since Dec. 10.
•Since sitting out the Missouri State game Jan. 27 with a possible concussion, Ned Cox has been UE’s most accurate outside shooter. He was 4-for-5 from three point range at Creighton last Wednesday and 2-for-4 Saturday against Bradley. Cox is third on the team with 19 three-pointers, and number one on the team in accuracy (38.8%).