EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In its final contest before opening up the home slate, the University of Evansville men's basketball squad will travel to UT Martin on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Setting the Scene
- UE makes its first trip to UT Martin since 2006 in what is sure to be a somber scene
- The Skyhawks open the season with heavy hearts following the passing of head coach Anthony Stewart in November
- Evansville looks to continue the improvement it made between its first and second games in Louisville
- After shooting 29.8% against the Cardinals, UE rebounded to finish at 35.7% versus Prairie View
- A vast improvement was also made on the glass where the Aces more than doubled their output from 18 against Louisville to 40 versus PVAMU
Party Like It's 1989
- Evansville opens the 2020 campaign with three games away from home
- On the November 25 opening day, the Purple Aces faced Louisville in the first game of the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic
- UE continued the tournament two days later, facing Prairie View A&M before starting the month of December at UT Martin
- The last time the program opened the season with three games away from home was in 1989-90 with three games in the Maui Classic
Last Time Out
- In a back-and-forth contest, the Aces looked poised to pick up their first victory of the season, but a late run by Prairie View A&M lifted them to a 64-61 win on Friday
- UE jumped out to a 16-6 lead, hitting its first six shots of the day before the Panthers fought back to take their first lead at 23-22
- Prairie View wrestled away the lead in the second half, going up by as many as nine points before fending off a late rally for the win
- Noah Frederking posted the second 20-point game of his UE career, leading all players with 20 points
Looking Back
- The last meeting between the Aces and Skyhawks came in the 2015 CIT, which saw UE take the tournament championship
- In the semifinal contest at the Ford Center, D.J. Balentine recorded 28 points while Adam Wing added 16 to guide the team to a 79-66 win and a berth in the championship game
- Evansville took on Northern Arizona in the final game, earning a 71-65 win
20-20
- For the second time in his Aces career, Noah Frederking reached the 20-point mark, posting a game-high 20 tallies versus Prairie View A&M
- The top outing of his career came in November of 2018 when he registered 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting in a win over Kentucky Wesleyan
- Frederking knocked down six shots, including three triples while draining all five free throw tries
- Through two games, the senior is averaging a team-best 13.5 points
- Over the final 16 games of the year, Frederking was looked upon to log some big minutes, playing 26.6 minutes per game over that span; he ranks second thus far in 2020 with 29.8 minutes per contest
Making the Adjustment
- Freshman Trey Hall had a nice start to his college career at the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic in Louisville
- Hall recorded 9 points in the opener against the Cardinals before adding an 8-point, 8-rebound effort versus Prairie View A&M
- The forward has hit a 3-pointer in each game and ranks second on the team with five rebounds per game
Scouting the Opponent
- UT Martin takes to the floor for the first time since the unexpected death of head coach Anthony Stewart on November 15
- Montez Robinson takes over head coaching duties on an interim basis and leads a team that went 9-20 last season and 5-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference
- Five players return from last year's team including Preseason All-OVC guard Parker Stewart, who averaged 19.2 points per game a season ago
- The son of Anthony Stewart, Parker led the OVC with 2.8 made 3-point field goals per game
- Eman Sertovic averaged 4.8 PPG in 2019-20
- Ajani Kennedy is set to take the floor after sitting out last season following his transfer from UC Riverside
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