UE enters the game with a 9-2 mark
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A span of three games over a span of five days concludes on Wednesday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team faces Tennessee Tech at the Ford Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network having the coverage.
Looking at the Start
– Sitting at 9-2, the Purple Aces are off to their best start since 2017 when the program won 10 of its first 12 games
– Evansville has won its first five home games for the first time since 2018; UE opened each season between 2015 and 2018 with wins in their opening five home contests
Last Time Out
– Once again, contributions came from everywhere on Monday as the Aces defeated UT Martin by a score of 98-91
– Five UE players reached double figures with Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registering a season-high 21 points
– Tanner Cuff set his career mark with 14 points and came close to a triple double, adding 8 assists and 8 caroms
– Ben Humrichous and Yacine Toumi scored 15 apiece while Chuck Bailey III finished with 12
Make it Three
– When the Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly awards on Dec. 18, Chuck Bailey III was named the Freshman of the Week for the third time in 2023
– In the win at Bellarmine, he scored 12 points and had a 4-point play that broke a tie in the final four minutes to give the Aces a lead they would not give up
– He followed that up with 12 points against UT Martin while adding 6 rebounds
– Bailey is fourth on the squad with 10.0 points per contest
Doing It All
– Monday’s game versus the Skyhawks saw Tanner Cuff put together the top game of his collegiate career
– He finished with a career-high 14 points along with 8 boards and 8 assists
– With 39 assists against 10 turnovers, he paces the MVC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.90; that tally is 10th in the NCAA
– Cuff has multiple assists in 7 of the last 8 games with his top total of eight coming at MSU and vs. UTM
– Over the last two games, Cuff has gone a perfect 10-for-10 inside the arc
Season-High
– Scoring seven of UE’s first 10 points against the Skyhawks, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. finished the game with a season-high 21 points
– His previous season mark of 17 came in the Nov. 25 win over SEMO
– In the second half of the Nov. 18 win over Ball State, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. reached the 1,000-point mark in his D1 career
Scouting the Opponent
– Tennessee Tech comes to Evansville with a 2-game win streak that has improved their record to 5-7 on the season
– The Golden Eagles are coming off a 70-67 win over North Alabama on Saturday
– Four players average double figures for TTU with Jayvis Harvey pacing the team with 16.4 PPG
– He is a 45.7% shooter from the field and holds the team lead with 37 assists
– David Early posts a 15.5 PPG average while Rodney Johnson Jr. and Josiah Davis average 13.1 and 10.8 points, respectively
– Johnson is the leading rebounder with 6.6 per contest
