 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In search of its first Missouri Valley Conference victory of the season, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team welcomes Valparaiso to the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon. Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Setting the Scene
– UE head coach David Ragland was an assistant on Matt Lottich’s Valpo staff for two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18)
– Both sitting at 0-7 in Valley play, the Purple Aces and Beacons are looking to break through for their first conference triumph
– UE has fallen by an average of 23.6 points per game in its seven MVC games
– The closest match-up came on Jan. 7 when the Aces dropped a 69-61 home game to Illinois State
Last Time Out
– After staying within striking distance in the first half of Wednesday’s game at Bradley, a huge run to open the second half doomed the Aces in a 91-46 loss
– Up 46-30 at halftime, Bradley outscored UE by a 41-5 margin in the opening 17 minutes of the second half
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registered a team-high 13 points while Marvin Coleman II added 11
The Mark of Consistency
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 13 points at Bradley and has chipped in at least 8 points in 17 out of 18 games
– He continues to lead the Aces while sitting 8th in the MVC with his season average of 16.0 points per game
– Finishing with a game-high 22 points at Indiana State, he reached the 20-point mark for the 7th time this season
– In the Dec. 21 game against Bellarmine, Strawbridge was held scoreless in the opening half but rebounded with 22 points in the final 20 minutes
Raising the Bar
– Yacine Toumi has hauled in at least five rebounds in six straight contests while raising his season average from 5.1 to 5.8 per game
– His top tally of 11 came in the win over Bellarmine while he added 9 at Bradley to solidify his mark of 5.8/game, which is tied for 15th in the Valley
– He looks to get back on track with his offense as he is shooting just 20.0% (7/35) over the last three games while averaging 5.0 points
Keep on Rolling
– Over his last eight games, Marvin Coleman II is averaging 14.6 points per game while raising his season average from 5.4 points to 9.5
– He scored a career-best 22 points at Missouri State on Jan. 4 and followed that with 16 points against Illinois State
– Coleman reached double figures just once in the first 10 games before doing so in seven of the last eight outings
– His effort at Missouri State bested his old record of 18 points, which came earlier this season against Campbell
Scouting the Opponent
– Valparaiso heads to the Ford Center for Saturday’s game with a 6-12 record while dropping their first seven league contests
– On Tuesday, the Beacons lost a home contest to Belmont by a final of 74-59
– Ben Krikke paces Valpo with a season-scoring average of 17.8 points per game along with his rebounding tally of 5.9 per contest
– Kobe King is second on the team with a mark of 16.6 points while Quinton Green checks in at 10.5 PPG
– Nick Edwards paces the team with a season total of 86 assists and 26 steals
