Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Already 6-0 in home Missouri Valley Conference games, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will look to add to that tally on Saturday as they welcome No. 23 Creighton to the Ford Center.
 
Tip will be at 2 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU.  Fans are encouraged to wear their purple as UE looks to set a season attendance high against the Bluejays.
 
For the 11th time in the last 15 games, Colt Ryan reached the 20-point mark with his game-high of 21 against the Salukis.  With the effort, his career tally now stands at 2,048, just five points away from Marcus Wilson, who notched 2,053 in his illustrious career.   Ryan is within shouting distance of the all-time UE scoring record, held by all-time great Larry Humes; the mark is set at 2,236, he is just 188 points away from tying Humes’ mark.  He is just the 14th player in Missouri Valley Conference history and the third at UE to score 2,000 in his career.
 
Saving his best for last, Ryan is on the top scoring streak of his career, for the first time since coming to UE, he has scored 20 or more points in five straight games; Ryan has also set a new mark with double figures in 15 straight games, his previous top streak was 14 contests in a row, which lasted the final eight games of 2010-11 and the first six games of last season.
 
Evansville is one of the most unselfish teams out there; led by Troy Taylor’s four assists, the Aces rank 23rd in the nation, averaging 15.8 per game.  Wednesday’s contest at SIU saw UE players looking to find open teammates first; UE recorded 17 assists on 22 baskets, upping their assisted basket percentage to 65%, 7th overall in D1; over the last two games, the Aces have been credited with assists on 39 out of 48 made baskets.  Colt Ryan has also averaged 3.8 assists per game and ranks sixth in the league with his total; he is the only player in the MVC to rank in the top six for points (2nd with 18.9), assists and steals (5th w/1.7).
 
Creighton heads to Evansville on a 3-game slide as their record stands at 20-6 overall and 9-5 in the conference.  The Bluejays lost their fourth in a row in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday evening as the Panthers came away with the 61-54 victory; prior to that, CU fell to Illinois State at home and at Indiana State.
 
MVC Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott leads the MVC and is second in the nation in scoring, posting 23 points per game; he is also the top rebounder on the squad with 7.7 per game; the Ames, Iowa native has hit an impressive 55.4% of his shots this season.  Behind him is senior Gregory Echenique, who averaged 9.7 points and 7 rebounds; he is the No. 8 shooter in the nation at 65.4%, a tally that is tops in the Valley.  As a team, the Bluejays are the top shooting squad in Division I, hitting 50.7% of their shots and 42.7% of their treys.  Creighton also does an excellent job of spreading the ball around, averaging 17.4 assists per game (4th in the country) and an assist/turnover ratio of 1.449 (8th overall).
 
Evansville and Creighton met in Omaha on Dec. 29 as the Bluejays came away with an 87-70 victory.  Doug McDermott led everyone with 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds; Greg
Echenique tallied 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  Ryan was the leader for UE as he notched his second-consecutive 25-point game while Troy Taylor recorded just the second triple-double in Evansville history, notching 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.  CU held a 45-34 lead at the half before UE got within seven early in the second half; Creighton fought back to lead by as many as 21 points.
 
Evansville will continue at home on Wednesday as Illinois State comes to the Ford Center for a 7:05 p.m. tip.