Game time is 6 p.m.
Following a 5-day winter trip to Iowa, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team is back home for its next two games, starting on Wednesday evening with a 6 p.m. game against Bradley. The game will be available on ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network presented by Learfield.
Setting the Scene
– Evansville lost its third game in a row on Saturday, falling by a final of 81-74 at UNI
– UE takes on Bradley for the first time this season on Wednesday; the Aces have fallen in three of the last four games against the Braves
– Looking ahead to Saturday, it will be the “Party Like It’s 1999†game featuring the 20-year reunion of the 1999 NCAA Tournament Team, who won the MVC regular season championship
Last Time Out
– In another game that came down to the wire, the Purple Aces lost an 81-74 game to Northern Iowa
– John Hall tied his career mark with 21 points while adding 10 rebounds in his fifth double-double of the season; he was 5-for-7 from outside
– The turning point in the game came when Shamar Givance hit a layup with under six minutes remaining to get the Aces within one; a flagrant foul on him gave UNI two free throws before a triple on the ensuing possession pushed their lead to six
– K.J. Riley added 19 points, including a 7-of-11 effort from the line
Takeaways from UNI
– Evansville held a 36-31 halftime lead and scored the first five points of the second half to push the lead to ten; UNI finished the game on a 50-33 stretch
– With the loss, the Aces have dropped the last six games at the McLeod Center and 11 of their last 12 games played in the state of Iowa
– UE connected on 10 3-pointers against the Panthers; it was the third time in the last four games UE has hit double digit triples; Evansville has connected on at least seven 3-pointers in each MVC game
Rebounding Machine
– Over the last week of action, John Hall has been hitting with precise accuracy, especially from long range
– In the game at Drake, Hall was 3-for-5 from outside before going 5-of-7 from 3-point distance at UNI; over the last four games, Hall has connected on 13 out of 19 3-point tries
– Hall had what was arguably the best game of his UE career at UNI, going 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-for-7 outside while tying his career mark with 21 points and hauling in 10 rebounds
– He added to his conference-leading rebound tally with 10 at UNI and continues to pace the league with 8.3 per game
– In home games, Hall has averaged 10.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game; he also has four double-doubles at the Ford Center and five overall this season
– In the game against Jacksonville State, Hall grabbed a career-high 14 boards
– The Philadelphia native leads the MVC with 8.3 rebounds per game while his total of 7.19 defensive caroms is 26th in the country
Scouting the Opponent
– After starting Valley play with an 0-5 mark, Bradley has won two of their last three, taking down Southern Illinois and Illinois State before falling by a 55-37 final at Missouri State on Saturday
– Overall, the Braves are 10-11 and 2-6 in the MVC
– Darrell Brown and Elijah Childs average 14.2 and 11.6 points per game, respectively, to pace the Braves
– Brown has notched a team-best 65 assists while Childs has hauled in 7.8 rebounds per contest
