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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 96^th season of Purple Aces basketball will commence on Saturday as the University of Evansville plays host to Earlham at the Ford Center.  Tip is set for 2:05 p.m.
 
Tickets are still available at 812-488-ACES and can be bought prior to the game at the Ford Center.  For those out of town, you can watch the live stream at GoPurpleAces.com or listen live at www.wuev.org.
 
D.J. Balentine has picked up right where he left off after the 2013-14 season, averaging 23.0 points per game in UE's two exhibition contests.  Balentine notched 24 in the opener against McKendree before draining 22 versus Wabash.  Over the course of the two games, Balentine shot an efficient 16-of-26 (61.5%) overall while hitting 3 of his 7 long-range attempts.
 
You can easily say that Adam Wing endured the dreaded sophomore slump over the final 21 games of the 2013-14 season.  Over that span, Wing was just 3-for-26 from 3-point range and did not hit double figures in scoring in the last 15 games of the season.  His work and dedication in the offseason has paid dividends and it showed against Wabash as he was 3-3 from outside on his way to 16 points.  Wing's great all-around game saw him go 6-8 from the field while posting a pair of steals and assists.
 
Evansville was voted 19th in the Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 poll by CollegeInsider.com.  The Aces are one of five Missouri Valley Conference teams to make the list joining Wichita State (1st), UNI (5th), Illinois State (20th) and Missouri State (21st).  Other UE opponents in the rankings include Belmont, who is 8th and Murray State, which comes in at 12^th.  Potential Gulf Coast Showcase opponents Green Bay and Florida Gulf Coast are ranked 9th and 23rd, respectively.
 
Evansville's three newcomers have settled in well over the course of the exhibition season with each getting a large amount of playing time.  Mislav Brzoja had a stellar outing against Wabash, finishing with 11 points and 7 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.  Brzoja averaged 6.5 points and 5.5 boards while hitting 6 of his 7 free throws in the preseason; his 5.5 rebounds per game was second on the team in exhibition action behind only Mockevicius.
 
Taylor Stafford saw action in 33 minutes in two games, posting five points while hitting 3 of his 8 shot attempts.  Willie Wiley was on the floor for 22 minutes total with his best performance coming against Wabash where he notched 7 points and 3 rebounds.
 
Earlham loses its top eight scorers from last season's 5-20 squad.  A young team, the Quakers feature four freshmen and five sophomores.  Transfer Taylen Alexander and freshman Elijah Wilson-Thomas were named Preseason Players to Watch by the Heartland Conference.