Eagles Receive Votes For Top 25 Poll For The Second Time
 University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball returns to the road Sunday with the hope of getting its four-game road swing off the ground. The Screaming Eagles are set to visit seventh-ranked Truman State University Sunday at 3:15 p.m. and Quincy University Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before concluding the road trip at McKendree University on January 9 at 3 p.m.
The first game of the road trip at the University of Indianapolis on December 20 was postponed due to COVID-19 and is in the process of being rescheduled.
Fans can catch all of the game coverage for the 2020-21, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 97.7FM and 95.7FM The Spin.
USI, which has received votes for the NABC Division II Top 25 poll in each of the last two ranking periods, is scheduled to return to the friendly surroundings of Screaming Eagles Arena when the Eagles welcome UIndy January 16 for a 3:15 p.m. contest.
USI Men’s Basketball vs. Truman State and Quincy Quick Notes: Â
USI postponement, rescheduled games. USI had to postpone the December 20 game with the University of Indianapolis due to a COVID-19 close contact. The Screaming Eagles also have rescheduled their games with Lewis University for January 26 and the University of Illinois Springfield for February 5.
Eagles’ last action. USI got out of quarantine in December to post an 81-70 victory over McKendree University on December 12 to conclude the Screaming Eagles’ season-opening homestand. Junior guard Jelani Simmons led the Eagles’ scorers with 18 points, while senior forwards Emmanuel Little and Josh Price followed with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Price gets a third-straight double-double. USI senior forward Josh Price finished the win over McKendree with his third-straight double-double to start the year, posting 14 points and 10 rebounds versus McKendree. Price is the first Eagle to start the season with three-straight double-doubles since Aaron Nelson had 15-straight to begin 2013-14.
Hughes and Rivera have big days in return to the court. Senior guards Clayton Hughes and Mateo Rivera had big days in returning to the court. Hughes tied a career-high with four steals, while dropping in nine points. Rivera scored seven points and dished out a pair of assists in his first appearance of the year.
2020-21 Eagle leaders. Senior forwards Emmanuel Little and Josh Price lead USI after the season-opening homestand with 17.7 and 17.3 points per game, respectively. Price also leads the squad with 12.7 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Jelani Simmons and sophomore guard Tyler Henry round out USI’s double-digit scorers with 16.7 and 10.0 points per contest, respectively.
Little climbing in the record books. Senior forward Emmanuel Little is 11th all-time at USI with 1,222 career points, four points away from entering the top 10 in program history. Little also is fifth all-time with 738 career rebounds, 44 behind fourth place Billy Harris (782).
Casey added to the roster. Freshman center K’suan Casey was added to the USI roster after transferring from the University of Tennessee-Martin during the holiday break. Casey, who did not play in a game at UT-Martin, was named Kentucky All-State in 2020 after posting 18.5 points per game and helping lead the Maroons to a 31-3 mark as a senior.
USI vs. Truman. USI holds a 7-2 series lead over seventh-ranked Truman State, 6-1 in league play since the Bulldogs joined the GLVC in 2014. USI won the only meeting in 2019-20, 79-76, at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Truman in 2020-21. Truman State is a GLVC-best 5-0 going into the end of the 2020 calendar year. The Bulldogs won their last outing, 96-91, over Quincy University and are scheduled to host Maryville University December 31 to end action in December.
USI vs. Quincy. USI leads the all-time series with Quincy, 33-10 overall and 31-8 in league play since the Hawks joined the GLVC in 2012. USI won the only meeting in 2019-20, 84-67, at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Quincy in 2020-21. Quincy is 1-5 at the end of the 2020 calendar year and is only one of five GLVC teams to get at least six games in before the holiday break. The Hawks will host UIndy January 3 before welcoming the Eagles.
