EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The best season in recent memory has come to an end for the University of Evansville men's basketball team.  With a record of 25-9, the Purple Aces were not invited to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
 
"Our goal this season was to get into either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.  In most seasons, 25 wins would do this, but with all of the upsets in the conference tournaments, just too many automatic bids to the NIT were taken by top seeds who did not win their conference," Evansville head coach Marty Simmons said.  "I could not be more proud of what our team accomplished this season.  To win 25 games, finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference and make it to the championship game is something very special."
 
The Purple Aces tied the Division I program record with 25 wins, doing so for the first time since the 1988-89 campaign.  UE also finished second in the conference, marking the highest finish since winning the regular season championship in 1999.  The berth in the championship game was also the first for the Purple Aces since 1999.
 
D.J. Balentine finishes his storied career with a program record of 2,464 points in his career.  He will finish his career in fourth place in MVC history behind Hersey Hawkins, Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird, who combined to play 40 seasons in the NBA.  Balentine was a 3-time All-MVC First Team player in his time at UE.
 
Egidijus Mockevicius also had a record career.  He posted a program mark of 1,260 rebounds in his career, which is the most in the MVC in over 30 years.  He also leads with the program mark in career blocks and finishes his senior season as the top rebounder in the country with 14.0 per game.
 
While it is a disappointing finish to the season, there were several high points.  The support that the program received from the city of Evansville set Ford Center attendance records.  Several great events took place this year, including: West Side Night, Jim Byers Day and a Senior Day that honored three of the best to put on the Evansville uniform.  The squad also picked up two victories in the Wooden Legacy in November and traveled back out to California in December, picking up a road win over eventual Mountain West champion Fresno State.
 
Evansville was on the bubble for the NIT, but came up just short.  One rule that hurt the Aces' chances was the fact that regular-season conference winners who did not win their conference tournament are guaranteed spots in the tournament.  Those teams took 15 of the 32 spots in the event, which normally occupy 7-9 of those bids.  There were also several teams from power conference to make the tournament who had sub-.500 league marks.
 

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