EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the first time in program history, the University of Evansville men's basketball team will travel to Lexington, Ky. to take on the University of Kentucky. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday evening at Rupp Arena and the SEC Network will have the broadcast.
Setting the Scene
- Purple Aces head coach Walter McCarty makes his return to his alma mater where he was part of the 1996 National Championship team before being drafted by the New York Knicks with the 19th pick in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft
- With a win over top-ranked Michigan State last week, the Wildcats are expected to assume the top spot in the rankings
- Should they do so, it will mark the third time the Aces have faced the top team in the land; on 12/18/08, UE dropped a 91-73 game at North Carolina while the first meeting against the #1 team came on 2/26/80 at DePaul - a 105-94 UE loss
- Evansville will make its second appearance on the SEC Network; the first came on 12/8/15 when the Aces traveled to Fayetteville, Ark. to face the University of Arkansas; the Razorbacks won by a final of 89-76
Coach McCarty's Thoughts
"I don't think you can prepare a team to play there (Rupp Arena). We have to go in there and play the right way. Kentucky is going to be very aggressive. We just have to make the right play and not try to do too much. We have to stay with what we do and trust what we do. No matter who we are playing, we have to play the right way and value the basketball. Be a team and do it as a team."
Last Time Out
- An exciting opener saw Evansville defeat Ball State by a final of 79-75 on Saturday
- It was a tale of two halves as the Purple Aces shot 48.5% in the first half while leading by a 40-18 margin at the break
- Early in the second half, UE extended the lead to 45-20, but over the final 18:44 of the game, Ball State outscored the Aces by a 55-34 span
- UE converted all four free throw attempts in the final 10 seconds to clinch the win
Leftovers from Ball State
- Saturday's win over the Cardinals marked UE's 8th win in nine home openers at the Ford Center; the victory was also the program's 100th at the arena since its opening in 2011
- UE improved to 24-2 in 26 home games against Ball State with Saturday's 79-75 win
- The UE defense allowed 18 BSU points in the first half on Saturday before giving up 57 in the second half
- Those totals are the highest and lowest defensive efforts in a half under Coach McCarty; the highest total allowed in a half last year was 54 in the second half against Wyoming; the lowest allowed was 20 in the first half of the home win over Loyola
What a debut
- Sophomore DeAndre Williams had the best debut in 33 seasons for the program as he tallied 26 points against Ball State
- Williams was 11-for-14 from the field, 3-4 from outside and added 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals
- His effort was the best in an Evansville debut since Dec. 1, 1986 when Marty Simmons scored 27 points in an 85-79 home win over Montana State
- Interestingly enough - also making his debut that night was Scott Haffner, who added 26 points
Clutch down the stretch
- Sam Cunliffe had a nice program debut of his own on Saturday, recording 17 points for UE
- Cunliffe was 6-13 shooting, but got the job done from outside, hitting 3 of his 4 tries
- The final total was shy of Cunliffe's career scoring mark of 23 points, which came in November of 2016 as a player at Arizona State; his total came against The Citadel
Scouting the Opponent
- Kentucky is a perfect 2-0 on the season with wins over top-ranked Michigan State (69-62) along with a 91-49 victory over Eastern Kentucky in Friday's home opener
- Tyrese Maxey leads the way with 17.5 points per game; the freshman is 9-18 from the field and has connected on 14 out of 15 free throw tries
- Forward Nick Richards is second with 14 PPG; he has converted 12 of his 18 field goal attempts in two games and add 7.0 rebounds
- Nate Sestina has excelled on the glass in the early part of the season for the Wildcats, leading the squad with 8.5 rebounds per game
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