The trip to Iowa will be completed on Saturday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team takes on UNI in the first meeting of the season between the squads inside the McLeod Center. The tip is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network presented by Learfield.
Setting the Scene
– UE dropped a 78-66 contest at Drake on Wednesday evening; the team remained in Iowa following the contest and traveled from Des Moines to Cedar Falls on Friday
– Head coach Walter McCarty will not be on the sidelines for Saturday’s game; he was suspended for comments made following the game at Drake
– Evansville has dropped its last five games inside the McLeod Center after winning back-to-back games in 2012 and 2013
– This will mark the second time the Aces have faced UNI and Drake in back-to-back road games since joining the MVC; the last time came in 1996 and the Aces dropped both contests
Last Time Out
– For the second game in a row, Evansville allowed the opposition to shoot over 50% as Drake finished at 52.5% on its way to a 78-66 win on Wednesday inside the Knapp Center
– Evansville took an early 6-2 lead, but the Bulldogs came back to wrestle away a 35-31 halftime advantage; DU led by 19 in the second half before finishing off the 12-point win
– Marty Hill and John Hall paced the squad with 13 points apiece while K.J. Riley scored 12
Takeaways from Drake
– UE fell to 1-8 in its last nine trips to Des Moines; seven of those losses have come by 10 points or more
– K.J. Riley added six more free throw attempts and makes; he rose to third in the NCAA with 158 attempts and 12th with 118 made free throws
– John Hall was 3-for-5 from outside 9-of-15 from long range in the last four games
Rebounding Machine
– John Hall added to his conference-leading rebound tally and continues to pace the league with 8.2 per game
– In home games, Hall has averaged 10.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game; he also has four double-doubles at the Ford Center
– In the game against Jacksonville State, Hall grabbed a career-high 14 boards
– The Philadelphia native leads the MVC with 8.2 rebounds per game while his total of 7.15 defensive caroms is 29th in the country
– Hall had an efficient outing in the win at Missouri State, going 4-for-4 overall and 3-3 from outside; he is 9-of-15 from long range in the last four games
Scouting the Opponent
– UNI is 8-12 on the season and 3-4 through their first seven league games of the 2018-19 campaign
– The Panthers have dropped their last two contests, both on the road, to Valparaiso and Southern Illinois
– On Wednesday in Carbondale, the Panthers dropped a 70-62 contest
– A.J. Green leads the way for UNI with 15.4 points per game and a total of 40 assists
– Green is an 84.7% shooter from the line and has played a team-high 29.4 minutes per game
– Wyatt Lohaus checks in with 9.7 PPG
