EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A unique weekend is on tap for the University of Evansville men's basketball team, who will take on Illinois State in a home-and-home, which begins on Friday at 6 p.m. in Normal, Ill. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the coverage.
Last Time Out
- Just a day after moving into the national rankings, Loyola shot 62.8% on Tuesday on its way to a 77-48 win over the Purple Aces
- Evansville scorched the nets in the opening minutes, hitting its first five attempts on its way to a 6-0 lead; the Aces would lead by a 13-8 score before the Ramblers flexed their muscle, taking a 30-24 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half
- Jawaun Newton and Shamar Givance led UE with 13 and 12 points, respectively while Noah Frederking recorded 11 points as he went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from outside
Leading the Way
- Jawaun Newton scored a team-high 13 points on Tuesday against #22 Loyola and stands with a season average of 14.3 PPG and ranks 9th in the MVC
- Since opening the season with 5 points at Cincinnati, Newton has averaged 14.9 points with his career game coming against Rice where he scored 30 points on a 12-of-25 shooting effort
- An efficient shooter, Newton checks in at 44.6% on the season, but over the last two games he has finished at 9-of-27 (33.3%)
Back in Form
- Over the last three games, Noah Frederking has converted 5 of his 9 3-point attempts and appears to be rebounding from a tough stretch in December
- While the last 10 games have seen him hit 14 out of 58 triples, he was a perfect 3-of-3 against Loyola and has hit at least two shots from outside in four of the last five games
- Frederking is averaging 7.5 points on the season, which was capped off by an 11-point game on Tuesday against the Ramblers where he was 4-for-4 from the field
Scouting the Opponent
- Illinois State comes into Friday's game with a 9-9 overall mark while going 2-3 through their opening five MVC outings
- On Wednesday, the Redbirds dropped an 88-63 decision at Missouri State to split the season series against the Bears
- Antonio Reeves is the leading scorer for ISU while pacing the MVC
- Reeves has averaged 20.4 points per game and is shooting 45.9% from the field and 78.1% from the line
- Sy Chatman has notched 14.2 PPG while pacing the team with an average of 6.4 rebounds
- Josiah Strong checks in with a 12.7 PPG average
- INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville athletics, log on to the sport page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics.
- TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page
