EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Set to complete the regular season series, the University of Evansville men's basketball team welcomes Northern Iowa to the Ford Center on Wednesday evening. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Setting the Scene
- On December 3, the teams opened the season series in Cedar Falls with the Panthers 72-55 victory
- After trailing by a 38-20 score at halftime, the Purple Aces outscored the Panthers by a 35-34 margin in the second half
- Kenny Strawbridge Jr. led the Aces with 17 points while UNI saw Bowen Born register 29 points
Last Time Out
- UE led by as many as 10 points in the first half before UIC rallied in the second half to take a 70-61 win on Saturday in Chicago
- In the first half, the Aces jumped out to a 26-16 lead before the Flames countered with a 48-18 stretch to put the game out of reach
- Trailing by 20 with 3:14 remaining, UE rallied to get within nine points
- Strawbridge paced UE with 20 points
Game High
- Kenny Strawbridge Jr. led all players with 20 points in Saturday's game at UIC
- It marked his first 20-point game since Dec. 21 versus Bellarmine and was his 8th such effort of the season
- Over his last two games, Strawbridge has shot 48.8% while tallying 15 PPG
- In the nine games before, he converted just 36.0% of his attempts (41/114)
- He was 7-for-10 from the field versus Indiana State and has chipped in at least 8 points in 24 out of 25 games
- He continues to lead the Aces while sitting 9th in the MVC with his season average of 15.1 points per game
Another Career Mark
- Hitting 8 out of 16 attempts in the home game against Indiana State, Yacine Toumi registered a career-high 19 points
- Toumi is averaging 13.2 points in his last five games while shooting 44.3% (27/61)
- His 19-point game passes his previous high of 18, which came twice this season (Campbell and Valpo)
- On the boards, Toumi is tied for 12th in the MVC with an average of 6.0 per game
- He has grabbed at least five rebounds in 12 of the last 13 contests while raising his season average from 5.1 to 6.0 per game
- His top tally of 11 came in the win over Bellarmine and had nine at UIC
Scouting the Opponent
- Falling in their last three games, Northern Iowa enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 12-12 and a mark of 8-6 in the Valley
- Three Panthers are averaging double figures, led by Bowen Born's tally of 18.9 point per game
- Born paces the team with 67 assists and a total of 63 3-point makes
- In the first meeting on Dec. 3, Bron led all players with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting
- Tytan Anderson checks in with 12.5 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds
- Michael Daux comes into the game with a 10.1 PPG average
