EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Looking to build on its win over Northern Iowa, the University of Evansville men's basketball team is back at the Ford Center on Sunday afternoon to face Missouri State. Tip is set for 1 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Setting the Scene
- January's series opener saw the Bears defeat the Purple Aces by a final score of 85-62 in Springfield
- Marvin Coleman II was the bright spot for UE, recording 22 points and 8 rebounds
- Four MSU players reached double figures, led by Chance Moore's 19-point effort
- UE is 8-5 in the last 13 home games against the Bears dating back to February of 2011
Last Time Out
- Evansville ended a 12-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 71-59 win over UNI
- After jumping out to an 11-4 lead, the Aces led by as many as 19 points before taking the win by 12
- Four UE players reached double figures including Yacine Toumi (15), Kenny Strawbridge Jr. (14), Gage Bobe (12) and Preston Phillips, who finished with a career-high 10 points
So What Changed?
- Two statistics stand out when looking at UE's victory over UNI
- For the first time this season, the Aces shot 50% over the entirety of the game, hitting 28 out of 56 attempts
- Forcing 19 turnovers, UE turned them into 24 points on the other end while holding UNI to just 6 to finish at +18 in that category, another season-best
First in Double Figures
- In a game that his teammates said was the best they saw him play, Preston Phillips recorded 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the win over UNI while adding 3 steals, 3 rebounds and a pair of assists
- The scoring effort was the first double figure contest of his college career, surpassing his 9-point game at Saint Louis and Ball State
- Throughout the season, Phillips has been given the green light to shoot more and has delivered in the last two games, posting 8.5 points while hitting 6 of his 8 attempts
Continuing to Impress
- For the fourth time this season, Gage Bobe reached double figures as he tallied 12 in the win over UNI
- His top career game came at Valpo as he scored 22 points while draining six of his 11 3-point tries and seeing 36:49 of work
- Over the last four games, Bobe has knocked down 11 of his 25 3-point tries
- He is a 36.8% outside shooter on the season but after starting the season hitting 3 of his first 22 attempts (13.6%), he has knocked down 25 of the last 55 (45.5%) since Dec. 21
Scouting the Opponent
- Fresh off a 61-59 victory over Belmont, Missouri State comes into Sunday's game with a 13-12 record and a 9-6 Valley mark
- The Bears have won five of their last eight games but have struggled on the road as of late, dropping four of the last five
- Donovan Clay and Chance Moore lead MSU with 11.1 points per game
- Clay is a 47.6% shooter who has recorded a team-best 883 assists while Moore paces MSU with 39 triples
- Alston Mason is averaging 9.0 PPG while Jonathan Mogbo comes in with 8.5 PPG and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game
