EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the third game in a row, the University of Evansville men's basketball team will face an opponent for the first time in program history as the team welcomes SMU to the Ford Center for a 6 p.m. game on Monday. ESPN+ will have the broadcast with Preston Leinenbach and Marcus Wilson on the call.
Setting the Scene
- Since arriving to campus, UE head coach Walter McCarty has stressed the importance of improving the strength of the schedule
- Monday's game is a prime example of the types of games and series McCarty is looking at implementing for the Aces
- It is the first in a home-and-home series with the Mustangs and is the first time the programs have met on the hardwood
- Evansville and SMU each put their perfect 3-0 records on the line in the game
- SMU has faced one opponent this year that is also on the Aces schedule - Jacksonville State; in their opener, the Mustangs picked up a 74-65 win over the Gamecocks in their season opener
Last Time Out
- Less than 48 hours after earning a win on the floor of Rupp Arena, the Purple Aces were back home to face IU Kokomo
- The Cougars stayed with the Aces in the opening 10 minutes of the game before UE got in its groove and led by 15 at the half before taking the win by 18 points
- DeAndre Williams notched the first double-double of his Evansville career, tallying 23 points and 13 rebounds
- Arture Labinowicz was an efficient 7-8 from the floor to finish with 21 while John Hall scored 16
Leftovers from IU Kokomo
- Making the start in all three games this season, Jawaun Newton saw a career-high 26 minutes of work
- Evansville was outrebounded on the offensive glass by a 13-11 margin against IUK; the only time the Aces won that battle came against the top-ranked Wildcats as they finished with an 11-8 advantage
- In two home games, DeAndre Williams 24.5 points per game while hitting 20 of his 28 attempts
Depth is Paying Off
- One statistic you may not see any Aces player lead the conference in is minutes played
- Coach McCarty is showing that the best teams do not need one player on the floor for the majority of the game; so far - UE does not have a single player in the top 15 in the league in minutes
- Eight Aces players are on the floor for at least 20 minutes per game with nobody having to work over 30 minutes
- In fact - not one player over UE's three games has played 30 minutes or more
Scouting the Opponent
- SMU comes to the Ford Center with a perfect 3-0 mark following an 80-63 win over Jackson State on Saturday
- The Mustangs opened the year with wins over Jacksonville State and New Orleans
- Isiaha Mike and Tyson Jolly combine to score 39.3 points per game - over half of the Mustang season average
- Mike leads the way with 20 points and 6.7 rebounds while Jolly stands at 19.3 PPG and 6.3 boards
- Feron Hunt checks in with 11.7 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds
- Head coach Tim Jankovich is a name that will be familiar to Aces fans as he spent five seasons as the head coach at Illinois State (2007-12)
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