UE faces Ramblers on Saturday and Sunday
After earning its second home series sweep, the University of Evansville men’s basketball is set to travel to Chicago for a 2-game set at Loyola this weekend
– The Purple Aces face the Ramblers on Saturday and Sunday with each game starting at 1 p.m….the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ will have full coverage
– Two of Evansville’s top defensive efforts of the season saw the Aces earn a series sweep over Valparaiso
– Off to its best MVC start since 2015-16, UE travels to Gentile Arena for face a Loyola squad that is receiving votes in both polls…the last two trips to the venue have not been very positive for UE, who fell in those contests by an average of 23 points per game
– Loyola uses an efficient formula in its success – the Ramblers are second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 56.2 points while their offense is the third-most efficient in the NCAA shooting 51.7% from the field
Last Time Out
– Trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half on Monday, the Aces cut that deficit to nine points at the break before outscoring Valparaiso by a 34-18 margin in the second half on the way to a 58-51 win
– Four players reached double figures for UE with Jawaun Newton and Shamar Givance scoring 12 while Jax Levitch posted 11 and Noah Frederking added 10 points
– The difference came on the defensive side as Valpo shot 54.2% in the first half while hitting five out of eight triples..in the second half, the Crusaders shot 37.5% while going 0-for-5 from outside
– Levitch was a perfect 3-for-3 from outside and now leads the MVC in 3-point accuracy
Elite Company
– Evansville currently averages 10.2 3-point makes per game this season. Just one team in MVC history has averaged 10 or more triples per game – Bradley in 2006-07 (10.0/game)
– In league action, the Aces have been even better, standing with 10.7 outside makes per contest…no MVC team has averaged 10 3-point makes in league games since the shot was enacted before the 1986-87 season…the highest mark belongs to the 2007-08 Bradley squad, who finished with an average of 9.8
Making the Comeback
– In Monday’s contest against the Crusaders, the Purple Aces faced a 16-point deficit in the first half as Valparaiso used a 19-4 run to open up a 28-12 lead with 5:35 left in the first half…Evansville cut the gap to a manageable 9 points at halftime before completing the rally in the second half
It marked the largest comeback for Evansville since erasing a 17-point deficit against Ball State on December 9, 2018…that game saw UE put forth an unbelievable 44-11 run that turned a 43-26 deficit into a 70-54 lead before winning by an 89-77 final
– The last time Evansville overcame a 16-point deficit against a conference opponent was on January 1, 2015 against UNI. Interestingly – the Aces trailed UNI by a 28-12 score (identical to the 2/1/21 game against Valpo) before coming back for a 52-49 win over the 23rd-ranked Panthers
Turning the Corner
– After going winless in league play last season, Evansville has already won six conference games in 10 tries
– With one more Valley win, the Aces will become just the second team in league history to follow a winless season by winning more than six conference contests
Scouting the Opponent
– Loyola stands at 15-3 overall and 10-1 in the MVC and is receiving votes in both national polls…in the AP Top 25 poll, the Ramblers are 28th with 52 votes and sit in 29th in the Coaches Poll with 43 votes
– They head into the weekend with an 8-game winning streak following a sweep at Missouri State where they won by an average of 23 PPG
– Cameron Krutwig is getting the job done in all facets of the game for Loyola – he leads the team with 15.2 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 15 blocks and 34 free throw makes
– He is tied for second on the team with 45 assists
– Tate Hall checks in with 9.3 points while Braden Norris controls the offense and has dished out 56 assists on the season
