In-state rival Indiana State marks the next opponent as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team returns home to face the Sycamores on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
UE fell to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the Valley with an 81-65 setback at Drake on Saturday. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in the win. Ryan Taylor led the way with 28 points on an efficient 9-of-15 shooting effort.
Fans will have the opportunity to buy a Mystery Bag at tomorrow’s game. Bags cost $5 each.
Each bag will include a random Aces t-shirt, and one of the following prizes:
-Purple Aces fidget spinner
-2 wristbands to a home baseball or softball game
-2 tickets to a future MBB home game
-2 all-session passes to Arch Madness
The bags will be available for purchase in the Ford Center lobby starting at 6pm until halftime.
Ryan Taylor has played all 80 minutes over UE’s last two games and his work paid off at Drake with 28 points in an accurate 9-of-15 shooting effort. He has scored at least 11 points in all 12 of his games this season and is averaging 21.1 PPG on the season and 20.5 in the Valley.
The MVC leader in assists and steals continued to add to those numbers on Saturday at Drake as he finished with 14 points, four helpers and three swipes. Smith is 17th in the nation with 2.4 steals per game and is 65th in the NCAA with 5.0 assists. In his seven games since the Dec. 5 win at Bowling Green, Smith is averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.4 steals and 3.1 rebounds. Smith went a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line on his way to 15 points as the Aces defeated Missouri State last week.
Sophomore K.J. Riley has had a solid season for UE, but has flourished in conference play.  Averaging 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game overall, Riley has seen that output rise to 9.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in league play. He has hit double figures in four out of six MVC contests while his 74 free throw makes and 99 free throw attempts rank in the top 105 nationally.
Indiana State makes its annual trek to the Ford Center with an 8-10 mark and an even 3-3 record through its first six league games. Jordan Barnes leads the Sycamores with 17.2 points per game and a total of 72 assists; he has connected on 70 3-pointers. Next up is Brenton Scott, who has posted 14.6 PPG;in eight games against Evansville, Scott has posted an average of 15.8 points per game, including 24 points in Terre Haute in 2016.
