EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Wednesday, the University of Evansville men's basketball team travels north to Terre Haute to take on Indiana State for a 6 p.m. CT game inside the Hulman Center. Wednesday's game will be carried on ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network.
Setting the Scene
- Evansville looks to break two streaks on Wednesday; UE has dropped its last four contests overall while falling in its last eight trips to the Hulman Center
- In last year's road game, the Sycamores defeated the Purple Aces by a final of 85-62
- The Sycamore defense held the Aces to shooting percentages of 35.0% and 36.2% in last year's regular season meetings
- Following the trip to Terre Haute, the Aces are at the Ford Center for their next two games with Missouri State and Drake coming to town
Last Time Out
- Saturday's game at Loyola saw the Aces hang tough, taking a 15-14 lead in the first half, but the Ramblers finished the first half on a 13-2 run before taking a 78-44 victory
- The Ramblers shot 70.5% in the game, including 75% (18/24) in the first half
- Sam Cunliffe was the leader for UE, scoring 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting
- K.J. Riley finished with seven tallies
- It marked the fourth consecutive defeat for the Aces inside Gentile Arena
Leader of the Pack
- With the absence of DeAndre Williams, Sam Cunliffe has stepped up and recorded a team-high 11 points at Loyola
- Over the last four games, Cunliffe has started to shoot better, hitting 19 of his 41 attempts to improve his season shooting to 39.5%
- In the final 10 non-conference games, Cunliffe shot over 40% from the field just twice, but has reached that mark in all four MVC games
- He has ten double figure efforts in 17 contests
Looking at the numbers
- When comparing the stats for UE in non-conference play versus MVC contests, there are a few disparities
- In non-conference contests, UE averaged 78.1 points per game while shooting 45.5%
- Through four league games, the Aces have averaged 56.8 points while shooting 39.2%
- The numbers in 3-point shooting drop from 35.7% to 24.4% in the Valley
- Evansville has scored under 60 points in three out of four conference games; the team was held under 60 on two occasions in 13 non-conference games
Scouting the Opponent
- Indiana State enters its first match-up against the Purple Aces with a 9-6 record while splitting their first two MVC games
- The Sycamores are coming off of a 65-52 home win over Illinois State on Saturday and have held three of their first four league opponents to 68 points or less.
- ISU is 9-2 in its last 11 games
- Tyreke Key paces the Sycamores with 17.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game
- Key has excelled in his chances at the line, shooting 87.9%
- Jordan Barnes averages 12.2 points and has a team-best 56 assists
- Sycamore assistant coach Kareem Richardson played at Evansville from 1995 through 1997
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