Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Tuesday, the Aces will take on Tennessee State in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament as UE makes its fourth postseason appearance in five years.
 
Since arriving at UE, Marty Simmons has led the Aces to four postseason berths in his six years including two appearances in the CIT.  In three career postseason games, Colt Ryan has  averaged an even 20 points per game, his high of 29 came versus Princeton last season.  Ned Cox has also registered double figures in his three postseason outings, tallying ten vs. Hofstra, 17 at Boise State and 15 against Princeton last season, an average of 14 per game.
 
Last year, the Aces participated in the CBI, taking on Princeton at the Ford Center; the Tigers came away with a 95-86 win, shooting 60% on its way to the win.  UE was also stellar from the floor, hitting 59.6% of their shots.
 
Both squads enter Tuesday’s matchup with an 18-14 record.  This will mark the third meeting between the two schools; each team has won on its home floor.  In the 2000-01 campaign, UE took down the Tigers in overtime, 86-80, as Adam Seitz tallied 21 points and Craig Snow finished the contest with 20.  A year later in Nashville, the Tigers defended their home floor, winning by a 101-78 final; after leading 46-37 at the half, TSU posted 55 second-half tallies.   Ian Hanavan was the top UE scorer in that game, scoring 19; he was one of five players to register double figures in that contest.
 
Colt Ryan’s effort to leave UE as its all-time scorer continued against Indiana State as the senior tallied 31 points to enter tje CIT just 55 points away from tying Larry Humes record of 2,236.  He is the No. 2 scorer in the MVC and ranks 20th in the nation with 19.6 points per outing.  Since the game at Butler in December, Ryan has tallied double figures in 20 out of 21 games, besting his previous streak of 14 in a row, which spanned from his sophomore to junior seasons at UE.
 
For the third time in program history, Tennessee State will take on Evansville.  The Tigers posted an 11-5 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference, good for third in the east division.  A solid squad down low, TSU averages 4.4 blocks per game (64th in the nation) while posting a rebounding percentage of 53.5% (63rd in the country); they are also a strong team from the line, hitting 74.5% of their free throws (26th in USA).
 
Robert Covington leads the Tigers with 17.0 points per game; he has posted 373 points this season despite missing ten contests; in a pair of OVC Tournament games, he averaged 18.5 tallies.  Three other Tigers average double digits led by Kellen Thornton (15.7) and Patrick Miller (14.7).  Miller is one of the top guards in the country as he has posted 191 assists this season, a mark that is 23rd in the NCAA.
 
Tickets remain available for the contest and cost $15 apiece.  All seats will be in the lower bowl.  Fans can call 812-488-ACES, visit the Carson Center Ticket Office, log on to www.ticketmaster.com or purchase seats at the Ford Center.  Fans are also reminded that soft drinks at tomorrow’s game will be available for just $1.