UE Tangles With Illinois State At 1 p.m
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another weekend home game for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team features a match-up against Illinois State on Saturday afternoon inside the Ford Center. Tip is set for 1 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Sleeves are Back
– Most basketball fans associate sleeved uniforms with the Purple Aces and for the first time since December 15, 2018, UE will display its trademark look
Last Time Out
– A midweek trip to Missouri State saw the Bears defeat the Purple Aces by a final score of 85-62 on Wednesday
– Marvin Coleman II reset his career scoring high with 22 points while hitting 9 of his 15 attempts from the field
– Finishing with 18 points was Kenny Strawbridge Jr.
– MSU turned 16 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points while forcing 16 UE turnovers on the other end of the floor
He Did It Again
– Connecting on a career-best 9 field goal attempts, Marvin Coleman II scored his top collegiate total of 22 points on January 4 at Missouri State
– An unbelievable streak has seen the fifth-year player reach double figures in five of the last six games after reaching the mark just once in the opening 10 games; the recent streak has seen his average jump from 5.4 PPG to its current mark of 9.0
– It bested his old record of 18 points, which came earlier this season against Campbell
– Over the last six games, Coleman is 15.0 points while seeing at least 35 minutes of action in each of those contests
The Mark of Consistency
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 18 points while hitting 7 of his 9 free throw tries at Missouri State
– He continues to lead the Aces while sitting 8th in the MVC with his season average of 16.2 points per game
– Finishing with a game-high 22 points at Indiana State, he reached the 20-point mark for the 7th time this season
Scouting the Opponent
– Led by first-year head coach Ryan Pedon, Illinois state enters Saturday’s game with a 6-10 mark along with a 1-4 MVC record
– On Wednesday, the Redbirds dropped a 76-67 home game against the conference-leading Sycamores
– Kendall Lewis has established himself as the top force for ISU
– Lewis paces the Redbirds with 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45.8% from the field
– Darius Burford is the second Illinois State player to average double figures, posting 11.0 PPG
