University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball tips off the 2018-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule Saturday at 7:30 p.m. by hosting top-ranked Bellarmine University at the Physical Activities Center. Game coverage for all of USI’s regular season games, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN97.7FM and 95.7FM The Spin.
The Screaming Eagles enter Saturday’s action with a 4-1 mark and a four-game winning streak, while the Knights are 5-0 to begin 2018-19. Bellarmine was predicted to win the GLVC this season, while USI was picked fourth.
The USI-Bellarmine match-up is the second game of a three-game homestand for the Screaming Eagles at the PAC. USI concludes the three-game set December 16 when they host Midway University for a 1 p.m. contest.
USI Men’s Basketball Week 5 GLVC Quick Notes:
USI extends winning streak to four with win. USI extended its winning streak to four games with an 82-63 victory over Oakland City University. The Screaming Eagles led from start to finish, beginning with a 16-0 run to begin the game and extending the lead to 31 four times in the second half. Senior guard/forward Nate Hansen led all USI scorers with 16 points, while sophomore forward Emmanuel Little followed with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Stein named GLVC Player of the Week. Senior guard Alex Stein was named the GLVC Player of the Week after his 48-point effort versus Lake Super State University November 23. The award was the third of Stein’s career and his first of the season.
Stein in the top five. Senior guard Alex Stein is in the Eagles’ top-four all-time for scoring with 1,587 points. Stein is 32 points behind third-place Stan Gouard (1,619 points, 1993-96).
Hansen powers Eagles off the bench. USI senior guard/forward Nate Hansen has powered the Eagles off the bench. Hansen is third on the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game and has led the Eagles in points twice (20 points versus Malone; 16 points versus Oakland City). He is also is averaging a team-high 3.6 assists per contest.
USI vs. Bellarmine. USI leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 50-42, but has lost the last five to the Knights and eight of the last nine (2014-15 to 2017-18). The last USI win over Bellarmine was at the PAC in the 2015-16 season in overtime, 89-82.
Bellarmine in 2018-19. The Knights are ranked number one nationally in both NCAA II polls and are 5-0 to start the season. Bellarmine started its week with a 74-60 home win over future GLVC member Lindenwood University.
USI vs. #1 Bellarmine. The Eagles are 2-2 against the Knights when they are ranked number one. USI defeated a top-ranked Bellarmine on 2012 Senior Night, 75-72, and in the 2012 GLVC Tournament, 71-68, in Springfield, Illinois. The Eagles lost to the Knights during the 2011-12 regular season, 67-53, and last season, 78-62, both at Knights Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
USI vs. #1 Teams. USI is 4-6 historically versus number one ranked teams (2-2 vs. Bellarmine; 0-3 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan College; 0-1 vs. University of Findlay; 1-0 versus Michigan Tech University; 1-0 versus Metropolitan State University of Denver).
USI vs. Midway. USI and Midway will be meeting for the first time in the history of the programs on December 16 at the PAC.
Midway in 2018-19. The Midway Eagles are currently 5-3 overall in 2018-19 with games versus Cincinnati Christian University (December 1); Indiana University Southeast (December 4); Brescia University (December 8); and Indiana University Kokomo (December 15) before visiting the PAC.
