Aces Face Rice In Opening Game
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A stretch of four games in five days continues on Monday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team opens the Gulf Coast Showcase against Rice at 10 a.m. CT. The game will be carried live on Flo Sports and the Purple Aces Radio Network.
Last Time Out
– On Saturday, UE fell by a final of 75-69 to UCF at the Ford Center
– A turning point came in the final minute of the first half – the Knights held a 4-point lead before a 5-0 spurt sent them to the half up by nine
– UCF led by as many as 21 in the second half before winning by 16
– Shamar Givance was 4-for-7 from outside on his way to a team-high 14 points…he added six assists and a steal
– Noah Frederking was 5-of-7 from the field and scored 12 points while Jawaun Newton completed the game with 10
Doing Just About Everything
– Every time he takes the floor, Shamar Givance is a threat to record a triple-double and he has continued on that path through four games this season
– Following a 7-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound effort at Cincinnati, Givance led the Aces in points (16), rebounds (7) and steals (3) in the victory against IUPUI
– At Belmont, Givance had his season-high of 17 points, which led all scorers…he was 5-for-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from outside, tying his career-high in long-range makes before totaling 11 points, 7 helpers and 5 boards against DePauw
– Grievance added six more assists and 14 points versus UCF while hitting 4 of his 7 attempts from long range…after starting the season 1-for-6 from outside, he has knocked down 8 of his last 16
Making the Adjustment
– Junior Antoine Smith Jr. has gotten off to a nice start to his UE career…in the regular season opener, he played close to 29 minutes while recording 3 points and 2 rebounds before seeing 20:31 of work against IUPUI
– His first regular-season start came at Belmont where he grabbed two rebounds
– Smith had his top UE performance against UCF, scoring 7 points on 3-of-6 shooting
Back in Form
– Noah Frederking missed the Belmont game due to a mild injury, but rebounded nicely in the last two games
– Frederking recorded his first double-figure game of the season versus DePauw, scoring 11 points while hitting 3 of his 4 outside tries before adding 12 against UCF
– The 5th year senior averaged 3.0 PPG over the first two games but has notched 11.5 PPG in the last two
– He has hit 7 of his 12 3-point attempts on the season and started the weekend in the top five in the MVC
Looking Back
– The last trip to the Gulf Coast Showcase for UE came in 2014
– Following a 58-52 win over Fresno State in the opener, UE dropped a close 64-62 game to Green Bay
– The finale saw the Aces defeat San Francisco by a 79-72 final
Scouting the Opponent
– Rice stands at 3-1 following its first four games of the season
– Prior to heading to Florida, the Owls defeated New Orleans by a final of 83-78
– The lone defeat for the Owls came against crosstown rival Houston – 79-46 – on Nov. 12
– Three Rice players average double figures led by Travis Evee
– Even paces the team with 17.8 points per game while draining 46.9% of his 3-point tries
– Carl Pierre checks in with 12 points per game while Max Fielder is averaging 10 points and a team-high 10.8 caroms per contest
