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The University of Evansville men's basketball team has been movin' on up, and the Purple Aces (15-8, 7-6) can climb to third place Wednesday with a victory over Illinois State (19-5, 8-5). Tip-off is at 7:05 CST at Roberts Stadium.

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW...UE VS. ILLINOIS STATE FEB. 11

1. Wednesday’s game is the 38th in the Evansville-Illinois State series. The Redbirds lead 24-13, and have won four in a row against the Purple Aces. Evansville’s most recent win came in 2006-07 at Roberts Stadium, 69-41.

2. The Redbirds handed Evansville its worst loss of the season back on Dec. 31. Illinois State jumped out to a 48-22 halftime lead and routed the Aces 80-50, hitting 14 of 32 three-point attempts. Osiris Eldridge led Illinois State with 22. Shy Ely was the only UE player in double figures, with 19.

3. A victory by Evansville Wednesday moves up the Aces to a third place tie with Illinois State and possibly Bradley. Illinois State is one victory away from its second consecutive 20-victory season. The 19-5 Redbirds (8-5 MVC) fell from second to third in the Valley standings Sunday with a 75-73 overtime loss at home against 5-19 Indiana State.

4. With three wins in their last four games, the Aces are now tied with Bradley for fourth in the MVC. All seven league wins have come against teams below Evansville in the standings. All five remaining MVC games (two vs. Bradley, one each vs. Northern Iowa, Creighton, Illinois State) are against the league's top four.

5. The Aces on Saturday picked up their 15th win, the most at UE since the 2000 team won 18. Their seven league victories are the most since the 2003 squad ended up 8-10. And, the magic number for Evansville’s first winning season since 2000 now stands at one.

6. Jason Holsinger chose a great time to come out of a shooting slump. UE's all-time leader in 3-point field goals was 1-for-13 behind the arc in his previous two games before hitting five of six threes and scoring 21 points in the Aces' 61-52 win Saturday over Wichita State. Holsinger moved past Bradley's Jeremy Crouch and into sixth place in MVC history Saturday with 264 3-pointers in his career.

7. In UE’s last five games, the winning team has been the one with the most free throws and most free throw attempts. The Aces are 3-2 in their last five. They outscored Wichita State 20-8 from the line in Saturday’s 61-52 win.

8. Shy Ely leads the MVC in scoring at 17.3. The last Evansville player to finish with a scoring average that high was MVC Player of the Year Marcus Wilson in 1999, at 20.7.

9. The Aces have added two more television appearances in the past week. The ESPNU Bracketbusters game at Roberts Stadium against Miami (Ohio) will be televised by ESPNU on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2:30 CST. The Feb. 28 regular season finale at Northern Iowa will be televised by Fox Sports Net at 7:30. UE has already been on ESPN once (North Carolina), ESPNU once (Creighton) and Fox Sports Net twice (Indiana State, Drake).

10. Only four MVC teams with RPIs above 40 have been chosen at-large for the NCAA Tournament, including #44 Evansville in 1999. Here’s a look at the latest Ratings Percentage Index, through Sunday’s games: 60. Creighton; 77. Illinois State; 82. Evansville; 83. Northern Iowa; 104. Bradley; 124. Southern Illinois; 132. Drake; 173. Missouri State; 177. Wichita State; 232. Indiana State.

For a complete look at the game notes, click on the Ill. State Game Notes link on the men's basketball page here at GoPurpleAces.com.