Eagles Face Tough Opponents In Hall Of Fame Classic

Eagles Face Tough Opponents In Hall Of Fame Classic

USI plays old rival Saturday

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball faces some of its toughest competition of the year when it plays in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic November 18-19 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles (2-0) are slated to play Florida Southern College (0-2), who won the NCAA Division II national championship at the Ford Center in 2015, Friday at 8:30 p.m. and long-time rival Kentucky Wesleyan College Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Game coverage for the classic games, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on WEOA 98.5FM/1400AM and 95.7FM The Spin.

The SCB Hall of Fame Classic also features second-ranked Lincoln Memorial University (2-0), third-ranked University of Alabama-Huntsville (2-0), and 12th-ranked Bellarmine University (1-1). Additional classic game times are 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day. (Note: Rankings by D2SIDA.)

USI Men’s Basketball vs. SCB Hall of Fame Classic Quick Notes: 

• USI starts the year 2-0. USI got the 2016-17 season off to a bang with victories over Lake Erie College, 90-77, and Ashland University, 74-62. The Eagles are 2-0 for the 28th time in the history of the program and the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
• Leaders vs. Lake Erie and Ashland.­Sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) led the Eagles in the first two games, averaging 27.5 points per game. Stein posted a career-high 36 points in the comeback victory over Ashland. Junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) averaged 21.5 points per contest in his first USI weekend, while senior forward Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) posted 13.5 points per outing. Rajala topped the USI scoring column versus Lake Erie with 29 points in his debut.
• Stein named GLVC Player of the Week.Sophomore guard Alex Stein was named the GLVC Player of the Week for his efforts in the wins over Lake Erie and Ashland. The award was the first of his career.
• Florida Southern vs. USI.The Moccasins of Florida Southern hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with USI. Florida Southern won the last meeting, 91-90, in 2014-15 on their way to winning the 2015 NCAA Division II national championship. USI’s only win over Florida Southern was 89-88 in 2008-09, a win that was later vacated.
• Kentucky Wesleyan vs. USI.The Panthers of KWC lead the all-time series with USI, 49-40, but the Eagles have won the last four meetings and five of the last eight. The last meetings were in 2013-14 when USI swept KWC, 70-61, at the Sportscenter and 80-68 at the PAC.
• USI –KWC at neutral site.KWC leads the series, 11-4 (8-3 at Roberts Stadium; 0-1 at the Great Lakes Regional at Riverfront Coliseum; 1-0 at the Great Lakes Regional at Michigan Tech University; 0-1 at the Great Lakes Regional at Lewis University;  1-0 Great Lakes Regional at Bellarmine University.)
• Series Non-Conference Record.KWC leads the series in non-GLVC games, 13-7 (Regular Season Non-Conference: 3-3; GLVC Tournament or Playoff: 5-2; NCAA II Tournament: 5-2).
• USI at the Ford Center.The Eagles are 5-1 at the Ford Center as part of the 2013 and 2014 GLVC Tournaments. USI was 2-1 in 2013, but won the GLVC Tournament championship with three-straight wins in 2014.