EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the first time in three weeks, the University of Evansville men's basketball team will take to the Ford Center floor when Valparaiso comes to town for a 2-game series. The Purple Aces and Crusaders open the series on Sunday, January 31 at 3 p.m. before finishing on Monday, February 1 with a 6 p.m. contest. Both games will be carried live on ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network.
Setting the Scene
- A COVID stoppage, coupled with a bye week, have altered the UE schedule
- Evansville was set to travel to Indiana State on January 20, but that trip will be rescheduled; the COVID stoppage impacted just one game since UE was headed into its bye week
- This weekend's opponent - Valpo - has also dealt with stoppages in MVC play
- They have had two series postponed including a home one versus Bradley and a road trip to SIU
- Evansville looks to get back on track as they have dropped their last three games
Last Time Out
- On Jan. 17, the Aces dropped the second of two games at Bradley by a final of 86-55
- The Braves jumped out to an early 15-3 lead and would never relinquish the lead
- They shot 56.7% in the first half while going 7-for-11 from outside (63.6%) in the opening 20 minutes
- A bright spot for Evansville was the performance by junior Iyen Enaruna - he scored 17 points on a 5-of-6 shooting day to set his career high
- Jax Levitch added a game-high nine rebounds
Getting Better and Better
- Iyen Enaruna's progress throughout his first season at UE has been evident - over his first ten games, he scored eight or more points on one occasion, but since then, he has done so in three of the last four games
- That culminated with a career-high 17 points at Bradley on Jan. 17 where he was 5-for-6 from the field and 6-of-11 from the line; he added seven rebounds in the effort, also a career mark
- In the series against Illinois State, Enaruna scored eight points in each contest
- Enaruna has taken his efficiency to a new level over the last seven games, hitting 65.4% of his tries (17 out of 26)
He Makes a Difference
- Jawaun Newton continues to evolve to new heights and is coming off of a weekend that saw him set his career-high with 22 points in the opener at Bradley
- The junior hit 9 of his 14 attempts, including 4 out of 6 from outside; the final tally surpassed his previous mark of 19, which came on two occasions earlier in the season
- After missing the first three games of the year, Newton burst onto the scene with 19 points against EIU where the Aces halted a 22-game skid
- Newton matched that total on January 9 against Illinois State where he hit 8 of his 12 field goal attempts while going 3-for-5 from long range
Scouting the Opponent
- Valparaiso halted a 5-game skid over the weekend, sweeping a road series against Illinois State before taking a 91-85 double overtime win against Bradley on Jan. 28
- On January 23, the Crusaders opened with a 69-60 victory over the Redbirds before earning a 70-66 triumph in game two
- Ben Krikke leads Valparaiso with 12.5 points per game while shooting a team-high 53.1%
- In the finale at Illinois State, Krikke scored a game-high 25 points while hauling in 15 caroms
- Donovan Clay is just behind him with 11.5 PPG and leads the squad with 5.5 rebounds per game and a total of 24 blocked shots
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