EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Making its first postseason appearances since the 2015 CIT, the University of Evansville men's basketball team is in Daytona Beach, Fla. for the College Basketball Invitational. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m. CT with the FloHoops and the Purple Aces Radio Network on the call.
All-Bench Team Honorees
- Chuck Bailey III and Tanner Cuff were both named to the 2024 MVC All-Bench Team on Tuesday afternoon
- Bailey played in 32 games as a freshman while making one start
- The 4-time MVC Freshman of the Week averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 boards per game
- Cuff saw action in all 33 regular season games with his top game being a 16-point effort in the win over UIC
Last Time Out
- Arch Madness saw the Purple Aces win their first game in St. Louis since 2017 with a 59-53 win over Illinois State in the opening round
- Ben Humrichous posted his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Yacine Toumi approached a double-double with 10 points and 8 caroms
- In their second-round game, UE faced eventual league champion Drake and fell by a 79-58 final
Finishing Strong
- Yacine Toumi had an excellent showing at Arch Madness, approaching a double-double in both games
- Toumi averaged 12 points and 8.5 boards as he opened with a 10-point, 8-rebound effort in the win over ISU before adding 14 tallies and 9 caroms versus Drake
Reversing the Trend
- Entering the SIU game, Antonio Thomas averaged 2.8 points in the prior four games while shooting 21.4%
- He rebounded against the Salukis with 10 points before adding 11 at Belmont; he has notched 9.0 PPG while going 17-of-32 from the field in the last five contests
- Thomas continues to be efficient from the line, connecting on 85.9% of his tries (4th in MVC); he has hit 30 of his last 32 tries
Scouting the Opponent
- Quinnipiac posted a 24-9 record while going 15-5 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action
- The Bobcats won the MAAC regular season championship and won their MAAC Tournament opener before falling to Saint Peter's by a score of 62-60 in the second round
- Matt Balanc leads a trio of double digit scorers for the Bobcats
- He has a team-high 18.2 points per game while Amarri Tice and Paul Otieno average 13.2 and 10.9 PPG, respectively
- Savion Lewis was one of the top point guards in the nation, accumulating 244 assists; that tally was second in the nation while his average of 7.4 per game was third in the NCAA
