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Tuesday was a good day for the University of Evansville basketball team, and the Aces didn't even play.  Creighton's loss at Bradley moved UE into sole possession of fifth place, and Indiana State's loss to Wichita State means that UE is one victory away from moving into a fourth place tie with the Sycamores.  

But the Aces still have plenty of work ahead of them, beginning Wednesday when UE hosts second place Missouri State at 7:05 CST at Roberts Stadium.  Evansville (12-9, 6-5) has won three straight Missouri Valley Conference games for the first time since 2006-07, and the Purple Aces will try to make it four in a row for the first time since 1999-00 against the Bears (17-5, 9-2).  A 7-5 record would be the Aces' best MVC record after 12 games since the 1999-00 team started out 7-5.

The Aces are now 6-6 in games in which they trail at halftime.  Indiana State led 39-27 at Terre Haute Wednesday, but UE outscored the Sycamores 39-24 in the second half thanks to Jordan Jahr’s 13 points and 11 rebounds in the second half.  UE trailed Southern Illinois 21-18 at the half Saturday, then outscored the Salukis 48-28.  Colt Ryan provided the momentum against SIU, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Evansville and Missouri State are the only two schools in the Valley that have used the same starting lineup in every game, but that will change Wednesday.  Leading rebounder and second leading scorer Kenneth Harris will miss Wednesday’s game after suffering a mild concussion Saturday against Southern Illinois.  He will be tested later this week to determine his status for Saturday’s game at Creighton.

Senior Pieter van Tongeren goes into the Missouri State game with the third highest single-season field goal percentage in MVC history.  He has made 65 of 98 shots for 66.3 percent.  The only players to shoot better were Vernon Moore of Creighton in 1985 (.674) and Luke Jackson of Bradley in 1988 (.668).

Colt Ryan’s 23 points Saturday were the most scored by a player for either side in the Aces’ 11 MVC games.  The only others to reach 20 in UE’s Valley games this season have been Carl Richard of Indiana State (20 Jan. 26) and Jake Odum of Indiana State (20 Jan. 1).

Colt Ryan has hit 17 straight free throws since missing at Missouri State Jan. 7.  He was 9-for-9 Saturday against Southern Illinois.

Kavon Lacey’s 21 points over the last two games are the most he has scored in consecutive games this season, and Lewis Jones’ 16 are the most he has scored in consecutive games in his career.  Lacey averages 4.7 points per game.  He ranks fifth in the MVC in assists. Jones is up to 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game after tying his career high with 10 points and breaking his career high with   seven rebounds in 21 minutes Saturday against Southern Illinois.