Tip set for 6 p.m. at the Ford Center
Basketball season is here with the University of Evansville men’s basketball team welcoming crosstown squad University of Southern Indiana to the Ford Center on Monday for an exhibition contest.
Tip is set for 6 p.m. and fans are encouraged to arrive early as a large walk-up crowd is expected. It will mark the lone exhibition contest for the Purple Aces, who are set to open up the season on Saturday, November 9 with a 6 p.m. game against Ball State.
Europe Trip
– Evansville got a head start to its 2019-20 season by playing three games on a trip to Europe in early August
– The Aces opened with an 84-82 win over the London Lions before earning another close win over Gembo Borgerhout, earning an 83-81 victory
– UE put it all together in the finale as they picked up a 77-64 win over AK Training Camp in France
Non-Conference Schedule
– Coach McCarty and his staff have put together an extremely competitive schedule once again
– An exhibition against Division II Final Four participant USI opens play before UE opens the regular season with a home game against Ball State on Nov. 9
– Three days later, the Aces play their first-ever game against the University of Kentucky; Walter McCarty remains a popular Wildcat and won the 1996 National Championship with the team
– Another big home game is on tap on Nov. 18 when the Aces take on SMU before traveling to the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase in Nassau where they open against East Carolina
– From there, UE wraps up the month of November with a trip to IUPUI before beginning December with home games versus Western Illinois and Miami Ohio
– The Aces take a quick 2-game road trip to Green Bay and Jacksonville State before wrapping up the pre-conference slate with a home contest against Murray State on Dec. 21
UE’s Senior
– K.J. Riley finished his junior season 16th in the nation in free throw attempts (244) and 24th in the NCAA with 176 free throw makes
– He reached double figures in 24 of the final 27 games last season and finished as the Aces’ leading scorer with 13.6 points per game; that tally was 12th in the MVC
– Riley saw his scoring go from 6.8 PPG as a sophomore to 13.6 as a junior; his free throw attempts skyrocketed from 139 to 244
Scouting the Opponent
– USI is coming off of an excellent season that saw them earn a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which was held at the Ford Center
– The Screaming Eagles made it to Evansville with three wins at the Midwest Regional as they defeated Ashland University, Lewis University and Bellarmine University
– A 94-84 win over West Texas A&M saw USI advance to the Final Four where they came up just short against Point Loma Nazarene University
– Two of their top three scorers return, led by Kobe Caldwell, who posted 13.3 points per game last year to rank second on the team; Emmanuel Little also averaged double figures with 11.5 PPG
– Following the game against the Aces, USI heads to West Lafayette on Nov. 1 for an exhibition game versus Purdue
